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Give the Film Studio to all Civs: A proposed overhaul to America

TheSpaceCowboy

The Gangster of Love
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Messages
610
I’d like to propose a complete overhaul of the American civilization, including an additional leader.

Firstly, America’s unique building, the Film Studio, would be available for all civilizations. It’d be unlocked at Radio, and like the Art Museum and Archeological Museum, it’d be an alternative build to the Broadcast Center. It’d no longer have the 100% tourism bonus, nor produce any Great Artist or Musician points. Instead, it’d be the only building to produce Great Director points, and would house up to three Great Works of Cinema.

America’s new unique district would be the Suburb, a replacement of the Neighborhood. It’d cost only half the production of a Neighborhood, but would have a maximum housing of only five. Each Suburb would include a Main Street, the content of which would change depending on the adjacent tiles. On a Suburb’s Main Street, you might see a:

  • Bar (if adjacent to a Vineyard): +1 Amenity
  • Church (if adjacent to a Worship Building): +1 Faith
  • Coffee Shop (if adjacent to a Coffee Plantation): +1 Production
  • Elementary School (if adjacent to a University): +1 Science
  • Gas Station (if next to an Oil Well): +1 movement to friendly units
  • Grocer (if adjacent to a Farm or plantation): +1 Food
  • Jeweler (if adjacent to a Jewel or Silver Mine): +1 Gold
  • Movie Theater (if adjacent to a Film Studio): +1 Culture

Replacing Founding Fathers as America’s unique ability is E Pluribus Unum. America does not found cities but States. When founding a State, any of the 50 States may be selected, each with a unique benefit based on the maps geography, as follows:

  • Alabama: The Land of Cotton (+1 Culture from Cotton, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Alaska: (x2 Silver from Mines or Oil from Wells built over either Snow or Tundra)
  • Arizona: (+1 Appeal to Desert tiles)
  • Arkansas: Diamond Mine (+1 Gold for Gems)
  • California: Napa Valley (+1 Culture from Wine)
  • Colorado: Mile High (+1 Appeal adjacent to Mountains)
  • Connecticut: Whalers (Whales provide +1 Oil after Square Rigging)
  • Delaware: Tax Haven (x2 Gold from Commercial Hub adjacency)
  • Florida: Florida Oranges (+1 Food from Citrus)
  • Georgia: Sweat Tea (+1 Culture from Tea, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Hawaii: Vacation Destination (x2 Tourism from Seaside Resorts)
  • Idaho: (+1 Food from Potatoes (new resource))
  • Illinois: Navy Pier (allows construction of a Royal Navy Dockyard on Lake tiles)
  • Indiana: Land of the Indians (+1 Culture on any tile formerly occupied by a Barbarian village)
  • Iowa: Caucus (+1 Amenity from triangular farms)
  • Kansas: America’s Breadbasket (+1 Food from Wheat)
  • Kentucky: Derby (+1 Amenities from Horse Pastures)
  • Louisiana: Bayou (+1 Culture from Marshes)
  • Maine: +1 Food from Lobsters (new resource)
  • Maryland: Chesapeake Bay (+1 Food from Crabs)
  • Massachusetts: Boston Clam Chowder (+1 Food from Pearls)
  • Michigan: Motor City (+1 Production from Aluminum)
  • Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes (+1 Appeal adjacent to Lake tiles)
  • Mississippi: Cash Crop (+1 Culture from Sugar, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Missouri: Gateway to the West (+100% Production towards Settlers, who gain additional movement points)
  • Montana: Yellowstone (x2 Tourism from National Parks)
  • Nebraska: Cornhuskers (+1 Amenity to Farms adjacent to a University)
  • Nevada: Viva Las Vegas (Entertainment Complex receives +1 Amenity per adjacent Desert tile)
  • New Hampshire: Old Man of the Mountain (+1 Tourism from Natural Wonders and adjacent tiles)
  • New Jersey: Jersey Shore (Can construct Seaside Resorts on any Coastal tile)
  • New Mexico: Los Alamos (Desert tiles reduce the Production cost of the Manhattan Project)
  • New York: Greatest City in the World (+50% Production towards Broadway and the Statue of Liberty, no Governor needed for Washington Square Park)
  • North Carolina: Blackbeard’s Treasure (x2 Tourism from Artifacts recovered from shipwrecks)
  • North Dakota: Fracking (+1 Gold from Oil over plains)
  • Ohio: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (x2 Tourism from Great Works of Music)
  • Oklahoma: (x2 Oil from Oil Wells)
  • Oregon: (+1 production to Lumber Mills)
  • Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Steel (+Production from Iron)
  • Rhode Island: Colossus of Rhodes (+50% Production towards the Colossus)
  • South Carolina: Indigo Plantation (+1 Gold from Dyes)
  • South Dakota: Rush Mount Rushmore (+50% Production towards Mount Rushmore (new Wonder))
  • Tennessee: Athens of the South (x2 Great Musician Points)
  • Texas: Everything’s Bigger (Extra territory upon founding, can expand further than normal)
  • Virginia: Old Dominion (+1 Culture from Tobacco, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Vermont: Green Mountains (+1 Appeal next to hills with forests)
  • Washington: Seattle’s Best (+1 Food from Coffee)
  • Wisconsin: Dairyland (+1 Food from Cattle)
  • West Virginia: “Take me home, country roads” (+1 Production from Coal)
  • Wyoming: (+1 Food from Buffalo (new resource))


Feel free to offer suggestions for Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, and Utah.

While I’d keep Teddy as is, I’d also add

Ike-2a.jpg


Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Leader Ability: Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces

  • America immediately has access to the Liberation Casus Belli
  • Wars of Liberation generate no Weariness or Warmongering
  • When declaring a War of Liberation, America will automatically levy all of its suzerains’ units for free for up to 20 turns - this is forfeited if America starts any other conflicts

Leader Agenda: Containment
Ike likes Civilizations with whom he shares a government and will push strongly for an alliance. Ike and loathes civilizations with a different government that try to expand. Ike will always try to liberate captured City-States.
 
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Arkansas is the home to the only working diamond mine in the Americas so they could buff gems.

Delaware is home to many credit card companies due to their lax usury laws, so they could get some sort of buff to banks or maybe commerce hubs in general.

There's no corn resource so add one and give it a buff with Nebraska. You forgot Iowa so maybe they can also get some sort of Agriculture related buff like double adjacency for farm triangles or maybe only requiring two adjacent farms if that's too much.

Connecticut was home to the Hartford Whalers (former NHL team) so they could buff whales.

Oregon has tons of forests so maybe a buff to chops?

Mt. Rushmore is located in South Dakota, so they should get that buff. Oil is North Dakota's biggest industry, so they could get a buff to that instead.

New Hampshire is home to a giant granite cliff which looks like a man's face, so maybe they should get some sort of bonus for having a natural wonder in the borders?

Given how miserable Ohio's professional sports teams are (the Cavs title two years ago not withstanding) I propose that the arena building in the entertainment complex give -1 amenity :). Being serious they are the birth place of the tire industry. Ohio grants vulcanized rubber a unique resource which grants extra production to any industrial zone which has a factory. Their proximity to the Great Lakes could also make +1 amenity for every lake tile adjacent to the city center an interesting option.
 
I like your ideas. The only problem is that it's not possible to attach a bonus to a specific city which in your mod would be a state. The bonuses can only come from buildings, improvements, policies, techs/Civics, districts. You would need a creative work-around.
 
I remembered this idea after Chrisy15's reworked Iroquois for V--it was a similar idea, where there were five tribes with unique bonuses instead of 50 states. The bonuses were tied to a reworked longhouse, but I'm sure they could just as easily be attached to a dummy building to provide bonuses to resources/terrain/improvements. I think this mod feasibly could be put together for V, so I simplified the state bonuses with that in mind--but I also included a few Civ VI-specific bonuses as well in the event something similar ends up being possible in the future.

One of the main things I liked the most about Chrisy's reworked Iroquois was that the randomness was attached to the longhouse so that you were guaranteed some sort of bonus as long as you settled near forest--with truly random bonuses, you could end up with something like a bonus to crabs for a landlocked city. I tied state bonuses directly to improvements or terrain to alleviate this, as there is a way to check what's nearby when you settle a city, and thus select a state from a smaller set that would benefit rather than a truly random set. Essentially, if you settle a city by the coast, it'll be a state that has some sort of coastal benefit; a city near forest should have a related benefit, and so on. Features/terrain would have a priority list to prevent conflict; if you settle next to both coast and river, for instance, coast would take precedence and you would get a coastal state... unless you've already settled all the coastal states, then you'd get a river state. A rough priority list would be as follows:

Tundra > Natural Wonder > Coast > Lakes > Marsh/Floodplain > Mountain > Desert > Camp > Pasture > Plantation > Forest/Jungle > River > Quarries > Hills > Grasslands/Farms > Plains > Neutral

So if you settle next to a tundra tile and a river, you're guaranteed Alaska (the only tundra state). Settle again in tundra bordering river, and you'll get a river state. Exhaust the river states and you get a neutral state, and if you get through those, then a truly random state. This way you can bias the states you found one way or another while still being somewhat random. With that in mind, here's how I loosely laid out the state lists. As with the original idea, the bonuses only apply within the city's borders.

Capital (always the first city):
Washington D.C.: +1 Governor Title upon completing a district

Tundra:
Alaska
: +1 Production from tundra tiles

Natural Wonders:
Arizona
:
+1 Culture from tiles adjacent to Natural Wonders

Coast:
Massachusetts:
+1 Science from Fishing Boats
Maryland: +1 Food from Fishing Boats
Rhode Island: +1 Production from Fishing Boats
Maine: +1 Gold from Fishing Boats
Connecticut: +1 Culture from Fishing Boats
Hawaii: +1 Appeal to all tiles

Lakes:
Minnesota:
+2 Culture from lake tiles
Michigan: +2 Production from lake tiles
New Jersey: +2 Gold from lake tiles

Marsh/Floodplains:
Florida:
+1 Science and +1 Gold from marsh and floodplain tiles
Louisiana: +1 Food and +1 Culture from marsh and floodplain tiles

Mountains:
Montana:
+2 Culture from mountain tiles

Desert:
New Mexico:
+1 Culture from desert tiles
Utah: +1 Faith from desert tiles

Camps (furs and bison):
Oregon: +1 Gold from Camps
Wyoming: +1 Food from Camps
Iowa: +1 Production from Camps

Pastures (dairy and livestock):
Texas: +1 Science from Pastures
Vermont: +1 Food from Pastures
Tennessee: +1 Production from Pastures
Wisconsin: +1 Gold from Pastures
Kentucky: +1 Culture from Pastures

Plantations:
Pennsylvania:
+1 Science from Plantations
Alabama: +1 Food from Plantations
Georgia: +1 Production from Plantations
South Carolina: +1 Gold from Plantations
Virginia: +1 Culture from Plantations

Forest (lumber mills):
North Carolina: +1 Production from Lumber Mills
New Hampshire: +1 Gold from Lumber Mills
Washington: +1 Culture from Lumber Mills

Rivers:
Mississippi:
+1 Food from tiles adjacent to rivers
Missouri: +1 Production from tiles adjacent to rivers
Colorado: +1 Culture from tiles adjacent to rivers

Quarries:
West Virginia:
+1 Production from Quarries
North Dakota: +1 Gold from Quarries

Hills/Mines:
California:
+1 Science from Mines
Nevada: +1 Culture from Mines
Arkansas: +1 Production from Mines

Farms:
Ohio:
+1 Science from Farms
South Dakota: +1 Food from Farms
Idaho: +1 Production from Farms
Indiana: +1 Gold from Farms
Oklahoma: +1 Culture from Farms

Grasslands:
Nebraska:
+1 Food from grassland tiles
Illinois: +1 Production from grassland tiles

Plains:
Kansas:
+1 Food from plains tiles

Neutral:
New York:
+1 Housing from districts
Delaware: +1 Envoy upon completing a district

I played it a bit loose with state bonuses--the resource first, then the bonus. ie: Californian mines obviously aren't very science-y, but California's history is intertwined with mining, and it is home to some of the top universities in the world; hence, mines + science. Similarly, Nevada has mines to represent its 'silver rush' and culture to represent tourism. Most of the science-yielding states are the ones with big universities in general; culture-yielding ones are ones that are big on tourism (ie: Colorado, Nevada) or derive identity from the resource (ie: Minnesota and lakes, Connecticut and maritime industries). They're all relative to one another in the same group in terms of yields.

I think a system like this would be an improvement over a truly random one, since 1) you have assurance the boost will be somewhat useful, 2) you have some control as to what state you'll get, but not total, and 3) it's intuitive--found a city near a resource, get a state whose history/economy is tied to that resource.

Theoretical situations to help explain how the system would work:
Spoiler :

You found Washington D.C. You settle a second city surrounded by six plain tiles--the only plain state is Kansas, so this is automatically your next state. Your third city is surrounded by 3 plains tiles, a mountain, and a river bordering a forest. The mountain takes highest precedence, and your third city is Montana. You found your fourth city next to the coast, surrounded by 2 grassland land tiles. The coast takes precedence, so you end up with one of the six coast states; by luck, you get Connecticut. Your fifth city is also surrounded by six plains tiles; since there are no more plains states, and you have no other tiles surrounding you but plains, you get a neutral state--New York. Your sixth and final city is situated next to a river, a mountain, a lake, and three grassland tiles. The mountain takes precedence, but there are no mountain states left. The next-highest priority is the lake, so you'll get one of the lake states; it ends up being Michigan.
 
As a New Jersey native, I've got to ask: why would it be associated with Lakes? Its most notable lake is Sunfish pond, which a strong swimmer can easily swim from on side to the other. I'd think it;d either be a Coastal state (the Jersey Shore) or a Farms state (the Garden State).

And while the Colorado River is notable, Colorado would definitely have to be a Mountain state.

Would multiple features on a tile factor into your algorithm? Vermont, being the Green Mountain state, ought to be triggered by a hill with woods on it.

Also, some of these are improvements, not features. How would a Quarry state be triggered without a quarry already built? Maybe West Virginia is triggered if there's a Coal resource instead? Kansas triggered by a Wheat resource, Florida by Oranges, Wisconsin by Cattle, etc.

I'd probably push Natural Wonders to the front of your algorithm; Crater Lake would always trigger Oregon and Yosemite would always trigger California.
 
As a New Jersey native, I've got to ask: why would it be associated with Lakes? Its most notable lake is Sunfish pond, which a strong swimmer can easily swim from on side to the other. I'd think it;d either be a Coastal state (the Jersey Shore) or a Farms state (the Garden State).

And while the Colorado River is notable, Colorado would definitely have to be a Mountain state.

Would multiple features on a tile factor into your algorithm? Vermont, being the Green Mountain state, ought to be triggered by a hill with woods on it.

Also, some of these are improvements, not features. How would a Quarry state be triggered without a quarry already built? Maybe West Virginia is triggered if there's a Coal resource instead? Kansas triggered by a Wheat resource, Florida by Oranges, Wisconsin by Cattle, etc.

I'd probably push Natural Wonders to the front of your algorithm; Crater Lake would always trigger Oregon and Yosemite would always trigger California.

I probably should have been more clear about the improvement ones. Resources that would build those improvements would trigger the state, so stone would count as a "quarry" tile, sugar as a "plantation" tile, etc. The "Farm" states refer to wheat and rice resources, whereas the "plains" and "grasslands" categories are true flat land with no bonuses/luxuries. Multiple features on a tile would still follow the same path, so forest takes precedence over hill in that case. I purposely didn't make any double-requirement states or specific-natural wonder states so that you could feasibly found any state regardless of the game you're playing. It'd be more accurate for Crater Lake to be tied to Oregon, or specific luxuries like tobacco for the "plantation" states, but you don't always get those things on the map.

As for the weird placement there are some states that I had trouble fitting--namely, New Jersey, Iowa, and Illinois. New Jersey's definitely a coastal state, but there weren't any bonuses left to tie to those; tourism or housing to seaside resorts could work out better. As for Colorado I agree it could go either way, neither category is exactly filled to the brim. I wanted both Montana and Colorado to get Culture from their terrain since it's important for them both, so I made Montana get culture from mountains and Colorado get culture from rivers; it also worked out so that all the major US rivers got relevant bonuses. Mountain Colorado would get +2 Gold per mountain since tourism is a big industry, but for most other ones tourism=culture bonus. There's room for change there so I'm not worried about that one, it'd be an easy flip.
 
Colorado could get +1 tourism for each mountain tile in the city range. Colorado is home to many ski resorts.
 
I like the concept, though I doubt we'd ever see anything that complicated. A few thoughts as an avid coffee drinker: Americans consume a lot of coffee, but we only grow it in Hawai'i. As famous as Oregon and Washington are for coffee roasters (my favorite coffee, Stumptown, comes from Portland), I think a better bonus for Washington would be something to the effect of:
  • Cascadia: +1 :c5culture: for tiles adjacent to mountains.
 
New Hampshire: Live Free Or Die, +2 points towards CS envoys, no warmonger from annexing city states who DoWed you with their suzerain.
 
New Jersey's definitely a coastal state, but there weren't any bonuses left to tie to those; tourism or housing to seaside resorts could work out better.
The new water park /amusement pier could work although it's probably not an improvement but a district. But that could definitely work with the original Jersey Shore ability and leave the seaside resorts to Hawaii.
 
I still really like my concept for unique states, but decided to refine it a bit.

E Pluribus Unum - America does not found cities but States. These have unique bonuses that only extend within their own borders. States would be selected from a screen similar to that of the Pantheon or Religion select screen. Several States have an emphasis on District placement, while others focus on resources or appeal.

District-focused States
  • District of Columbia: America’s Capital (Always built first. +50% production towards the Government Plaza and its buildings)
  • New York: “If I can make it here” (+50% production towards City-Center buildings and Wonders)
  • Massachusetts: Ivy League (+50% production towards the Campus and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Campus’ adjacency bonuses, and matches +1 Great Scientist points per adjacency)
  • Utah: Promise Land (+50% production towards the Holy Site and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Holy Site’s adjacency bonuses, and matches +1 Great Prophet points per adjacency)
  • California:Hollywoodland (+50% production towards the Theater Square and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Theater Square’s adjacency bonuses. and matches +1 Great Musician or Director points per adjacency after researching Radio)
  • Texas: “Remember the Alamo (+50 production towards the Encampment and its buildings. +1 Great General points per Encampment building)
  • Illinois: Navy Pier (+50% production towards the Harbor and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Harbor’s adjacency bonuses, and matches +1 Great Admiral points per adjacency)
  • Delaware: Tax Haven (+50% production towards the Commercial Hub and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Commercial Hub’s adjacency bonuses, and matches +1 Great Merchant points per adjacency)
  • Michigan: Motor City (+50% production towards the Industrial Zone and its buildings/projects. Doubles the Industrial Zone’s adjacency bonuses, and matches +1 Great Engineer points per adjacency)
  • Nevada: Viva Los Vegas (+50% production towards the Entertainment Complex and its buildings/projects. The Entertainment Complex receives an adjacency bonus of +1 Amenities for desert tiles)
  • New Jersey: Suburban Sprawl (+50% production towards the Neighborhood and its buildings)
  • North Carolina: First in Flight (+50% production towards the Aerodrome and its buildings)
  • South Carolina: Myrtle Beach (+50% production towards the Water Park and its buildings/projects. The Water Park receives a bonus of +1 Tourism per Amenity)
  • Tennessee: Valley Authority (+50% production towards the Dam district and its buildings)
  • Ohio: Saint Lawrence Seaway (+50% production towards the Canal district and its buildings)


Resource-focused States
  • Alabama: The Land of Cotton (+1 Culture from Cotton, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Arkansas: Diamond Mine (+1 Gold for Gems, +2 w/Mine)
  • Connecticut: Whalers (+1 production from Whales, +2 w/Fishing Boat. Whales provide +1 Oil after Square Rigging)
  • Florida: Orange Juice (+1 Culture from Citrus, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Georgia: Sweet Tea (+1 Culture from Tea, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Hawaii: Tropical Paradise (Bananas provide +1 Culture, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Indiana: Indy 500 (+1 Production from Aluminum, +2 w/Mine)
  • Kansas: America’s Breadbasket (+1 Food from Wheat, +2 w/Farm)
  • Kentucky: Derby (+1 Amenities from Horses, +2 w/Pasture)
  • Louisiana: Jambalaya on the Bayou (+1 Culture from Rice on a March, +2 w/farm)
  • Maryland: Chesapeake Bay (+1 Food from Crabs, +2 w/Fishing Boat)
  • Mississippi: Cash Crop (+1 Culture from Sugar, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • New Mexico: Los Alamos (+1 Science per Uranium, +2 w/Mine)
  • North Dakota: Badlands (+1 Science per Amber, +2 w/Mine)
  • Oklahoma: “Oklahoma!” (+1 Gold from Oil, +2 w/Oil Well)
  • Oregon: Portlandia (+1 Culture from Fish, +1 Gold w/Fishing Boat)
  • Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Steel (+1 Production from Iron, +2 w/Mine)
  • Rhode Island: New England Clam Chowder (+1 Food from Pearls, +2 w/Fishing Boat)
  • South Carolina: Indigo (+1 Culture from Dyes, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Virginia: Old Dominion (+1 Culture from Tobacco, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Washington: Seattle’s Best (+1 Food from Coffee, +1 Gold w/Plantation)
  • Wisconsin: Dairyland (+1 Food from Cattle, +2 w/Pasture)
  • West Virginia: “Take me home, country roads” (+1 Production from Coal, +2 w/Mine)
  • Wyoming: Cowboy Country (+1 Culture from Sheep, +1 Gold w/Pasture)

Appeal-focused States:
  • Alaska: Great White North (+1 Appeal on Tundra tiles, +1 Appeal adjacent to Snow)
  • Arizona: Grand Canyon (+1 Appeal on Desert tiles)
  • Colorado: Mile High (+1 Appeal adjacent to Mountains)
  • Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes (+1 Appeal adjacent to Lakes)
  • Missouri: Gateway to the West (+1 Appeal adjacent to Rivers)
  • Montana: Big Sky Country (+1 Appeal on Plains)
  • South Dakota: Mount Rushmore (+1 Appeal adjacent to Natural Wonders)
  • Vermont: Green Hills (+1 Appeal adjacent to Woods on Hills)
 
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Take Me Home Country Roads is about western Virginia not West Virginia. All the places named in the song are in the state of Virginia.
 
Dear Ed Beach,
TheSpaceCowboy has just given you your third expansion.

This idea could be extended to any civ really. There would need to be some rules establish around how some of the states are determined. If a city has both a lake and a mountain is it Minnesota or Colorado? If you build two cities the minimum distance could they both be in one state?

Edit: I see that a priority list was suggested.
 
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