Engineering Improvements you want!

[Zaimejs]

I was just reading the thread about Random Events... I saw "Forest Grows" and I thought... that shouldn't be random, that should be something you can engineer.

Looking at the way we shape our world, it would be nice if they added some late worker improvements so they aren't a complete waste of space for much of the game.

1. Grow forests
2. Build things in mountains... tunnels... ski resorts... monuments? That should be an American UI... Mt. Rushmore type stuff.
3. I think Hydroelectric shouldn't be a city building, but should be something engineers do... same with solar. Dessert tiles should be turned into solar energy tiles. Cool graphic.
4. Canals... this is a NO brainer. It should take time, but engineers should be able to connect oceans. We've been doing it for 200 years.
5. Build islands. It would be cool to add land mass on useless ocean tiles. Or to reach Krakatoa.
6. FRACKING!!!

 

[Mr. Grieves]

Growing forests and building canals would be really awesome. Any bad start could be made decent with some major investments.

 

[reddishrecue]

The engineer has a few capabilities, build wonders or make the manufactory. The engineer should be capable of more actions.

 

[shaglio]

5. Build islands. It would be cool to add land mass on useless ocean tiles. Or to reach Krakatoa.

You could get quite evil with this one. Just think of a civ on the southern or northern edge of a Pangaea whose sea access is blocked by ice on one end and has only a 1 tile exit on the other. You could extend the land on that side to touch the ice and completely enclose them - cutting off their Cargo Ship routes forever and limiting them to crappy Caravans.

Civ 2 allowed you to upgrade your workers to engineers who could then terraform mountains down to hills and hills down to plains. Given the way that mountains in Civ 5 are inaccessible (except with Carthage) and can be used strategically as choke points, I wouldn't like to see this return. EDIT: By "this" I mean terraforming. Having Workers upgrade to engineers who work faster and have more abilities is something I'd be willing to consider.

 

[Zaimejs]

The engineer has a few capabilities, build wonders or make the manufactory. The engineer should be capable of more actions.

Sorry, I'm not talking about Great Engineers, but Engineers as they were in Civ IV and in earlier incarnations of the game. Modern workers with machinery who could do some terraforming.

I don't think turning mountains into hills is realistic, but building mountain passes is. Slow movement, but we should have that option after dynamite is discovered.

 

[Jampine]

My thoughts on canals is that they should function as roads for boats, but they also act as rivers for non naval units crossing the tiles.

 

[CraigMak]

I really like the idea of being able to create canals or add/remove hexes of land to suit your needs. If your cap is only 1 hex from the ocean, I'm pretty sure your people would figure out a way to get boats to the ocean. Removing that tile with a worker after considerable effort would be a very cool AND realistic mechanic.

Creating mountains to make observatories would be cool too. These very strong things should not be left to chance of where you spawn.

 

[MisterBoomBoom]

I would love to see all the above but also add the ability of a great Admiral to claim sea/coast hexes like a great general does with his citadel.

 

[reddishrecue]

Sorry, I'm not talking about Great Engineers, but Engineers as they were in Civ IV and in earlier incarnations of the game. Modern workers with machinery who could do some terraforming.

I don't think turning mountains into hills is realistic, but building mountain passes is. Slow movement, but we should have that option after dynamite is discovered.

Oh ok. Well, we also know that engineers are citizens that are inside buildings that make production such as the factory or the windmill.

 

[Zaimejs]

Yes, connecting cities to the sea is a no brainer. Especially cities on rivers near a coast. We've been doing that for a long, long time.

 

[Mr. Grieves]

Honestly though, wouldn't it just be easier to have at least cargo ships run along rivers?

 

[Sonereal]

I would love to see all the above but also add the ability of a great Admiral to claim sea/coast hexes like a great general does with his citadel.

Why not get crazy? Floating Fortress improvement that allows you to park a land unit on it.

Like rocket artillery.

Also has the citadel's "hate everything adjacent to it" personality.

Spoiler :

Honestly though, wouldn't it just be easier to have at least cargo ships run along rivers?

The Belgian UA in Scramble for Africa would be perfect to represent the usefulness of rivers in trade. It is so basic I'm surprised it is a UA.

 

[SULOMON]

Canals and forests are good. The others are somewhat debatable.

 

[Zaimejs]

Oh, and fricking landing strips. I find this one of the most annoying things about Civ V. Fighting a war with airplanes across a large landmass sucks. (unless there is something that helps with this and I have missed it)

 

[reddishrecue]

We also know that water mills can be built in cities next to river and mills in cities that are in flat lands.

 

[civ54lyfe]

i'd love to have a comeback of C4 engineers. things like canals/tunnels/idk are good ideas if you make the options available a (possibly new) technology that would relate to minor terraforming w/large excavation machines.

my confidence that the options would be successfully used by the AI, however, is ...less than absolute...

 

[reddishrecue]

Engineers become useless when all the tiles are manufactories and all the wonders are built.

 

[danaphanous]

You could get quite evil with this one. Just think of a civ on the southern or northern edge of a Pangaea whose sea access is blocked by ice on one end and has only a 1 tile exit on the other. You could extend the land on that side to touch the ice and completely enclose them - cutting off their Cargo Ship routes forever and limiting them to crappy Caravans.

Civ 2 allowed you to upgrade your workers to engineers who could then terraform mountains down to hills and hills down to plains. Given the way that mountains in Civ 5 are inaccessible (except with Carthage) and can be used strategically as choke points, I wouldn't like to see this return. EDIT: By "this" I mean terraforming. Having Workers upgrade to engineers who work faster and have more abilities is something I'd be willing to consider.

yeah, but if they have the tech they could just canal it right back. I think this would actually end up being a boon more than a hurt to ppl if terrible spots