Engineers need something to do late in the game

[Lordclane]

Once you've built your land completely over with railroads, there's not much for them to do, other than occasional conversions of land from one use to another. It would be nice if they had something to do... perhaps, using the future technology paradigm, they could make "further improvements" to existing improvements, increasing money return, production, or food (depending on what was being improved)....

 

[Tlalynet]

I liked the earlir games where they could just return to being citizens once they where done.

 

[bonafide11]

You mean workers?

 

[GarretSidzaka]

yeah, i wish they would bring back 'terraforming" or whatever it was called in civ2 where you could knock down mountains or build them and stuff!!!

 

[Tlalynet]

Terraforming would be good too, but it would be a VERY late game mechanic. On the other hand, why are deserts worhtless? HUGE cites are built in deserts (and they DONT have floodplains either)

 

[K.F. Huszár]

I think workrs and engineers have something to do in late games as well, due to random events or hostile espionage actions.

Otherwise terraforming is good idea. But it should be VERY difficult.

 

[King of Town]

Typically huge cities in deserets were built near oasis. You need water to survive. Now it is all pumped in from underground. The huge cities in the desert in Arabia, have to have desalianation plants to get water from the seas. Deserts are useless because they are useless as anything other than something to look at.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

i live in phoenix, and i think that they misrepresent desserts, and should at least allow mining

 

[Tlalynet]

Pheonix is as desert as it gets, but it supports not only mining but with proper care a wide variety of crops and fruits and animals. There are farmers markets all over pheonix, I miss the fresh honey. Pheonix channels much of is water from a distance, but that is far from a modern invention.
As far as desalinization goes, California has hills grassy enough to support wineries but they still need desalinization plants to keep water to the masses. Desert tiles are far from worthless...

 

[Scaramanga]

i live in phoenix, and i think that they misrepresent desserts, and should at least allow mining

They do allow mining - quarry too. There just has to be a source of something there (iron, copper, stone, etc.).

 

[DigitalBoy]

CivIII had something to keep your workers busy, pollution. Although I'd rather not go down that road again. ;p

 

[Snofru1]

If you invest enough ressources you can produce food in the desert, just see what Israel has done in the Negev.
I like the idea: Make it late game, make it slow, but let workers irrigate desert.

...and then let´s build ski resorts in the mountains, generating gold !

 

[Supr49er]

CivIII had something to keep your workers busy, pollution. Although I'd rather not go down that road again. ;p

Yes The manual tedium of clearing pollution was the worst.

 

[Mesix]

Perhaps allow windmills in the desert. That wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

 

[Bairuiwen]

How about a new improvement/technology, Solar Energy. Let the workers build solar power thingies in the desert, it can also lower the city's unhealthiness.

 

[magichj]

How about a new improvement/technology, Solar Energy. Let the workers build solar power thingies in the desert, it can also lower the city's unhealthiness.

This is a great idea! Could add and to the city. It would be great if it could provide power as well... but there are no other examples of upgraded tiles doing anything like that, making me wonder if it is feasible.

 

[JavalTigar]

This is a great idea! Could add and to the city. It would be great if it could provide power as well... but there are no other examples of upgraded tiles doing anything like that, making me wonder if it is feasible.

I don't think power would be possible but what if it gave something like the health bonus that comes with forests.


I would also vote for terraforming as well

 

[lutzj]

statue of liberty, pentagon, space elevator, and mining co. (realistically you wont get many more than one or two engineers this late in the game, so you can choose what to build.)

 

[Wodan]

Workers are great to "seed" your colonies. As the OP said, what other use are they, late game? If you're conquering, you can use a dozen or so to convert new cities to your use, but otherwise... ? So, as you establish colonies, start them going with a few roads and terraforms, and then gift them a few workers. It settles them and gets them making buildings and frigates or whatever, which ARE of use.

Wodan

 

[GarretSidzaka]

yeah, there definitely needs some use at end game. the freaking "advisor" tells me to pump out workers throughout the game, and then in the modern era i have cities with 10 or more just sitting there eating up money!!! GRR!