Discussion: Wonders, Projects, and other Buildings

[cfkane]

Not a bad idea.

I guess I had some similar thoughts about this when I thought of the Alliance wonders. I'd been thinking about Alliances with Oz, Narnia and Wonderland, which I guess could work into this mod. Though the details of how the connection between worlds works could be easily explained in the pedias, so naming the Alliance with Narnia "Digory Kirke's Wardrobe" may not be necessary.

And I'd be okay working in an aspect of a multiverse into the mod's continuity. I always figured the backstory to be a kind of "Elseworlds" story only loosely connected with other timelines.

But as for a multiversal wonder, what about Stephen King's The Dark Tower? The All-World of that series could easily be a far future of our version of Earth, long after the events of this mod, or events of stories we've connected to it like Star Trek and Futurama. It would be available in the very late game, probably with Future Tech, and could allow the recruitment of more colorful non-earth characters like the ones you've mentioned.

 

[Dibukk]

Hey, nice idea!
But my main intention of creating a multiversal wonder was to (at least) mention prominent Fantasy material like Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons. That's why I'm worried that typical Fantasy heroes wouldn't fit into the late game world of lasers, cyborgs and nukes, firstly because, well, they are medieval and secondly it would be strange to see a swordsman like Aragorn destroy hordes of Assault Mechas.
Although, I presume we could avoid the second problem by introducing more powerful (but still well-known) heroes like Gandalf, Urza and the Lady of Pain, instead.

EDIT: These ideas kept me thinking so I added two rough drafts of heroes that could be introduced:

Arthas Menethil (from Warcraft):
-stronger than a normal unit but weak for a hero
-starts with March and Medic III
-upon death: is reborn in a city as The Lich-King, a stronger unit with Resurection but without March and Medic that transformes every slain troop of humans into zombies
Pictures: Prince Arthas 1, Prince Arthas 2, Lich-King 1, Lich-King 2

The Lady of Pain (from the D&D setting Planescape):
-hoovering unit with only 1 or 2 movement and no bonus from streets
-strong fighter but can only defend
-in a city: removes all unhappiness and sickness, increases gold, science and hammers but prevents spread of religion, birth of Great People and construction of other heroes in this city
Pictures: 1, 2, 3

 

[Dumanios]

Well,we have the Stargate.And in Disney's Sword in the Stone(The Arthur one in case I got the title wrong)Merlin could travel anywhere in the world in a millisecond,and he knows the future. Maybe Merlin's Tower could be a wonder that'll allow the having of Heroes like Arthas,Bilbo Baggins,Cloud Strife,The Lady of Pain and other famous fantasy heroes and villains.What to do with Merlin the Hero you ask?He could require Merlin's Tower and be stronger,being able to not be gone when he spreads a religion and able to use magic.

 

[cfkane]

I'm adding three new Wonders to the list.

The first is Alkoremi, the palace of Vathek. In the novel it's described as having vast corridors and wings dedicated to different sciences, arts, and pleasures. It will replace the Taj Mahal.

The second is Bedrock, which replaces Stonehenge. I realized I made a Flintstones reference in an early pedia entry. I gave it some thought and figured that in this universe, how can Bedrock not be considered miraculous? Domesticated archosaurs? Vast urban planning? A capitalist system in place long before the Pyramids were built? Hell, archaeologists in the real world would go nuts if they only found evidence of toolmaking in this time. plus, it's kind of funny.

The third is Hogwarts. I had included a version of Hogwarts earlier on as a shrine for Witchcraft, but dropped it in favor of the Brocken. This version will be based on tsentom1's Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (assuming I can get ahold of it, since the download link appears to be broken). The wonder gives access to all religions. Given that all religions have a unique unit in this mod, it should be a strategically interesting wonder to say the least.

I'm working on graphics for the last two. Here's what I have so far:

 

[Dumanios]

Hey, nice idea!
But my main intention of creating a multiversal wonder was to (at least) mention prominent Fantasy material like Lord of the Rings or Dungeons and Dragons. That's why I'm worried that typical Fantasy heroes wouldn't fit into the late game world of lasers, cyborgs and nukes, firstly because, well, they are medieval and secondly it would be strange to see a swordsman like Aragorn destroy hordes of Assault Mechas.
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FF7 and FF8 already do this.

 

[Moogi]

The second is Bedrock, which replaces Stonehenge. I realized I made a Flintstones reference in an early pedia entry. I gave it some thought and figured that in this universe, how can Bedrock not be considered miraculous? Domesticated archosaurs? Vast urban planning? A capitalist system in place long before the Pyramids were built? Hell, archaeologists in the real world would go nuts if they only found evidence of toolmaking in this time. plus, it's kind of funny.

My gods, did you just deconstruct The Flintstones? I am in awe.

 

[Dibukk]

Great ideas, all of them! It good to see that Hogwarts is in, such an important place of fiction must not be forgotten.

 

[Moogi]

Since the updated Japanese pedia mentioned Pokemon, this diehard fanboy has an idea for a new National Wonder!

Pokemon League
Requires 8 Colosseums
Requires Biology
+ 5
+ 2 (Great Scientist)
+ 5% per city
+ 2 in all cities

Feel free to change the stats around. This is just a rough idea.

 

[cfkane]

I realize I hadn't given much thought to new wonders in a while.

After raiding tsnetom1's old closet, I think his KGB wonder could be a good base for Rainbow Six (which sends all other nations into a brief period of anarchy)

 

[Moogi]

I realize I hadn't given much thought to new wonders in a while.

After raiding tsnetom1's old closet, I think his KGB wonder could be a good base for Rainbow Six (which sends all other nations into a brief period of anarchy)

That's deliciously evil. Add it.

 

[cfkane]

We've been putting together a fairly extensive backstory for this mod (thanks guys!), so I think we should start putting some of the background into the actual gameplay. For example, we've made a pretty big deal about the Awakening of Magic, and after a quick post in the Mod Components Request Thread I think we'll have a pretty good representation of the Awakening in the game soon, as an expensive late-game Project

So that's that. Any other ideas as to what we can put in the game that have been introduced in the pedias?

 

[johnny139]

I think that SOME kind of random event based on the Great Flood should be introduced. I have NO idea how it would work, but it's such a major part of, well, every mythology and religion, like, ever, that it needs some kind of representation.

 

[Dumanios]

great flood

All tiles turn into ocean
you lose.

 

[cfkane]

great flood

All tiles turn into ocean
you lose.

That's annoying and evil and there's no way I would put such a malicious event into the game.

 

[johnny139]

So, while on my little "break" from Pedia research, I thought it'd be fun to find some new replacements for various wonders. So. Here's some ideas...

La-Mulana (Angkor Wat; from La-Mulana) ~ Not too sure on this one, but, better something than nothing, eh? La-Mulana's a pretty recent game, a send-up to all those "explore an abandoned temple" video games, and thus, its main temple is La-Mulana, an ancient and MASSIVE temple that's supposed to be the origin of all culture and spirituality. Not a perfect fit, but... I dunno, maybe Pankot Palace from Temple of Doom instead? Not very ancient, though.

Tatari Ba (Ironworks; from Princess Mononoke) ~ In the English version, it's Iron Town, and in Japanese, it literally means "iron making place." It's more or less the central setting of the film - a HUGE town-type-place, buildings on top of buildings, that sort ot thing. Very urban, and everyone in the town works at this furnace thing to make iron and weapons. It's a bit big in scale - like, it's a literal town - but it IS wonderous, and it's vague enough to act as a National Wonder. I mean, every empire has an Iron Town of sorts, y'know?

Caduceus (Red Cross; from Trauma Center: Under the Knife) ~ Caduceus is the central medical organization in the game - with multiple branches (USA, Japan, and Europe) it's a good candidate for a National Wonder, and was important in stopping all sorts of nasty outbreaks, such as the GUILT bio-terrorist attacks of 2018. And, of course, it helped to find cures for AIDS and Cancer. So yeah.

Goldenrod Radio Tower (The Eiffel Tower; from Pokemon Gold and Silver) ~ The name is really generic, but... it's the radio tower from Goldenrod City. It transmits radio waves across the Johto region. Kind of a no-brainer.

The Abbey (The Great Library; from The Name of the Rose) ~ Evidently, the abbey contains a wing which contains all knowledge of the era. No one is allowed to enter, of course, but it seems like a big library without becoming of those IMPOSSIBLY big libraries. Of course, the abbey doesn't have a name... so, maybe, The Abbey of the Rose? Or something?

Hyperspace Stuff (The Space Elevator; from all sorts of stuff) ~ Duh! How have I not thought of this before? I'm thinking Hyperspace Gates, personally; in Cowboy Bebop, which is absolutely awesome, they act as "highways" to get from planet to planet. Earth to the Moon, Mars to Ganymede, all that. And the same exact type of thing exists in all sorts of media. Maybe you could make it the Hyperspace Drive from Star Trek, or Hyperdrive from Stargate, or whatever. Maybe "Prototype Hyperspace Doo-Dad," if Hyperspace in generally seems too advanced.

The Spear of Destiny (The Statue of Zeus; from... umm... the real world?) ~ Alright, this is kind of an odd choice - it's not fictional, it's not a statue, and it's not something you could really "construct." But it fits the ability PERFECTLY. In all sorts of fiction with Nazis (DC Comics, Fullmetal Alchemist...), it's one of the artifacts Hitler wants to take over the world. In DC, it's magic powers are the reason superheroes don't just fly over and smash him. So, it's a legendary artifact that repels invaders... War Weariness boost anyone? I figure it's legendary enough to count...

Xavier Institute for Higher Learning (West Point; from X-Men) ~ Not sure about this one, since it's not as "vague" as the others... but I could see Xavier opening multiple branches, couldn't you? It's not as much a military academy as it is a superhero academy, but it IS a training school, and, well, I think it'd do the job.

So. Hopefully some of that helps.

 

[Brenador]

How about the Department of Mysteries from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Increases science and great prophet points.

 

[Slhj]

great flood

All tiles turn into ocean
you lose.

On that, perhaps the wonder should be building Noah's Ark and the flood can be an event.


Here's a few more Ideas:

The Vault : No damge from nukes in this city; Barbarians cannot capture this city

Monolith: Moves you up one era

Deep Thought: Grants you any one Tech of your choice from any era

Rapture: Replaces Area 51; can store 2 naval units, spawns Big Daddies every few turns, health from water tiles, and a gold bonus from trade with own cities.

Camp Half-blood: Replaces Military Academy; allows you to regain 1 obselete wonder

Tara: +1 population in this city; Number of resources doubles in all city

Jedi Temple: Can build Jedi (national unit 10 allowed)

Omnitrix: Heroes are built 80% faster

Stark Expo: Gives all corparations in theis city


Projects

I'm not sure what system you're using exactly for Superheroes, and I wouldn't want (or expect) you to change what you're doing now, but, bear with me for a minute.

Now, I believe in order to build a Superhero, you first need to build a "Super Soldier" Program of some sorts. Right? Or was that scrapped? I'm not sure. BUT, if so... along with the "iconic" superhero, would it be possible to create a generic "Captain [Country]?" It would be much weaker than a full superhero, but still a powerful unit that could, I dunno, be attached as a leader or just go fight off enemies all on their own. Art probably based on Captain America, but with the "multicolor" part replacing his blue and a more generic shield.

Again, if you've gotten rid of the "building a wonder" requirement, it's entirely out of the question, but, I dunno, just thought it would be interesting to have some "mini-supers" running around with the big guys.

First one is based on the above

Super-Soldier Project: gives you A Captain (Country Name) with your flag colors (National Unit).

Spartan Program: allows you to train Spartan super soildiers (national unit: 5 allowed)

Avatar Program: allows you to train Avatars (national unit: 5 allowed)

Iron Man Suit: New heroes and villians recive a free Promotion

Droid Army: All machine units gain a second, identical version of itself

Clone Army: All non-machine units recive an identical clone unit

Dren Project: All clone units recive one free promotion

Weapon X: Builder recives Wolverine (Hero: one allowed)

Nanite Project: All new units begin with Naniods

The Grid: Roads built connecting all cities

The Adjustment Bureau: requires 8 security bureaus; allows new spy mission: influence events; 99% chance of success for any mission.

Alliance with the Grox: can build Grox Ships; Makes it harder to make new alliances

Alliance with the Predators: Allows to build Predator Hunters

Alliance with The Covenant: Allows you to build Grunts, Jackals and Elites

Other Buildings


Terraforming Tool: Makes random resources pop-up

Genetics lab: Grants units in this city one promotion

Could you please post a list of wonders that still have to be replaced?

Some ideas (some of them seem hard to program, though):

Academy of Law (place of training new Judges from the Judge Dredd series): replaces West Point

GDI (Global Defense Initiative, a militarized branch of the United Nations from the Command & Conquer series): I am thinking of some kind of UN-like wonder that initiates global electations (votes depending on military strength) and resolutions like creating trade embargos, declaring war, redestribution of troops etc.

G.E.C.K (the Garden of Eden Creation Kit): revalues the terrain around newly founded city: swamps, tundra and deserts turn into grasland, mountains turn into hills

Hoard of the Nibelungs: grants a huge pile of gold

The League of Assassins (the name is self explaining): gives spies powerful but expensive knew abilities like creating anarchy, assassinating enemy troops, led entire cities turn independendent

Valhalla (the hall of the fallen warriors from Norse mythology): every fallen unit is "stored", if somebody attacks your capital these units appear to defend your city

Here are some possible votes for the G.D.I.:

Trade embargos: stops trade to that nation
Declare war: can have entire world start a war with any member
Redistribution of troops: give certain troops to any empire
Quarantine nation: can stop any units from leaving a certain nation for 10 turns, also keeps out civilian units