Growth Curves

[sir_schwick]

I know many players will brand me crazy or a realist, but I think that it should be a lot harder to just expand at willy-nilly in the early game. I also think growth and super-developement shoudl also be difficult for larger nations in the middle ages. If you look at history, population especially, technology and development did not really start experiencing significant growth until the industrial revolution. From there civilization exploded into what it is now.

Here are some ways that ****** growth:

Command Distance:
As a leader, you have to rely on messengers and emissaries to carry out your orders and those of your advisors. Communication and transportation technology will limit how much far you can effectively control. Cities will have a few levels of central control. Command range will be how long it takes your fastest unit to reach the city using the existing infrastructure.
Central Authority- 1 Turn. You don't have many problems with Culture flipping, corruption, or rebellion.
Partial Central Authroity - 3 Turns. Mostly problems with increased corruption and taxes.
Partial Local Authority - 6 Turns. They are more likely to flip to a really strong culture, or seccede if you are not very good for them.
Local Authority - 10 Turns. They consider themselves descendants of their legacy, but will be very hard to whip or conscript. Expect separtist problems.

Urban Disease:
One of the big reasons settlements were limited in size was disease. As Civ settlements get bigger, they should have much greater risk of disease in the city. Basically, in the early Ancient Era you should not be able to make a city above size 3 wihtout being hit by some epidemic. This would be reduced by sanitary and medical technologies.

Thos are the only two I can think of right now. Comments are definitely welcome.

 

[Jake5555555]

I agree. There should definatley be a system to limit growth in the early ages.

The farther away an area is from you capital the more corrupt and likely to leave your empire they would be. They should also be difficult to force to do things, like the draft and forced labor. Some goverments, troops in the far off areas, better communications technology, and the happyness of your people should affect how corrupt and likely to secede they are.

Maybe instead of needing a hospital to grow beyond a certain size, it would simply prevent disease.

 

[Colonel]

Four Small Wonders-Each would be at the end of an age, and each would stop that age's dieases from happening in any of your cities-Modern era Small Wonder would be in the mid modern era

Have Four groups of Diseases
Ancient Diseases-Affect any city above size 3 and only stopped by above mentioned Small Wonder at the end of the Ancient Era- and they destroy far away cities
Middle Age Diseases-No cities above size 6 Far off cities still destroyed but range is farther-stopped by Small Wonder at end of middle age
Industrial Age Diseases-Size 12 Limit-Cities Far Away no longer destroyed but can be put down to 3 size unless connected by rail Stopped by SW
Modern Age Diseases- Cities Limited size 16 until SW cities no longer need to be
connected by rail

The Size limit wouldnt be an actual size limit but if you grow behond that you would be at risk for that era's diseases
Also normal Aqueute-spelled wrong- and hospital would still have same effect and size limit would be stopped until built like normal

 

[sir_schwick]

Actually, I didn't intend for far off cities to be destroyed. I intended for them to seperate from the main civilization, requiring either large loyal garrisons or other reason for them to stay. Over time you could also create administrative hubs that function almost as or as good as your palace. That way you could have far-reaching empires at the end of the middle ages and easily in the industrila era before railroads. The biggest phenomenon this would create would be colonial seperation, something many players want.

Also, I don't think anything should be able to cure population limiting diseases completely. Aqueducts would raise the pop limit by 1. Hospitals by 3. TEchnology and some other buildngs would raise it by various amounts, until the middle-modern age when pop limit is lifted. Some wonders would also allow it to be raised 1(significant in ancient era) or so.

Also, the diseases weren't plagues, but just normal problems that result from inefficeint waste management and sanitation.

 

[Colonel]

so i was a little off on what your idea was meant to imply but ok ur is better Good Job