Loaf Warden
(no party affiliation)
**Disclaimer: Please note that I have put this thread in GD instead of in Creation & Customization for a reason. The idea is not, as far as I know, something that modders or scenario creators could actually do right now, so this is not a suggestion to them that they start doing it. Rather, it is an idea that would have to be programmed in by the actual makers of the game and would probably have to wait for Civ IV. Therefore I consider it a 'Civ IV' suggestion and have therefore judged GD to be the correct place for it.**
Now then.
I was taking a look at an Age of Discovery scenario from the Civ II downloads section, and it occurred to me that while the scenario itself was very well made, the European side of the map was far too cramped. This could not be helped, since Western Europe is quite small compared to the American continent, and it would have shot the scale all to hell to enlarge Europe to allow more room to move.
Still, I realized that the problem of scale is one that was not fixed for Civ III, and if it has been discussed here before I apologize for missing it. At any rate, I had an idea that I believe would fix the problem.
I think they should program a feature whereby scenario makers could put their scenarios on a number of different maps. Certain tiles could be assigned as 'teleport' tiles (a phrase I'm borrowing from RPG Maker; don't take the word 'teleport' too literally) that would automatically take units to a pre-specified tile on another map.
Think of the possibilities. We could finally have an Age of Discovery scenario where Europe was large enough to not be cramped without the Americas having to have an overwhelming vastness. Sea tiles on the eastern edge of the America map would 'teleport' to sea tiles on the western edge of the Europe map, so ships could move freely back and forth between them. We could have World War II scenarios that involved both the European and the Pacific theaters. Just have one map for the enormous Pacific, and another one for Europe. To play WWII on a regular world map wouldn't really work; Europe is just too small to deal with all the cities and units we'd need to really get a feel for the scale of the war. Having separate maps in the same scenario would solve the problem.
And that's just two ideas from Earth history. Fantasy and SF scenario makers could really have fun with this. Once you get into that realm, the possibilities this opens up are pretty much endless.
Naturally, this would only be an option for scenarios. It would be nonsense in an epic game, but I think it has the potential to make certain scenario concepts much richer and more rewarding. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Would it improve scenarios, or bog them down in too much detail? Could it be programmed smoothly, or would it be a logistical nightmare to work with? Let me know what you think.
Now then.
I was taking a look at an Age of Discovery scenario from the Civ II downloads section, and it occurred to me that while the scenario itself was very well made, the European side of the map was far too cramped. This could not be helped, since Western Europe is quite small compared to the American continent, and it would have shot the scale all to hell to enlarge Europe to allow more room to move.
Still, I realized that the problem of scale is one that was not fixed for Civ III, and if it has been discussed here before I apologize for missing it. At any rate, I had an idea that I believe would fix the problem.
I think they should program a feature whereby scenario makers could put their scenarios on a number of different maps. Certain tiles could be assigned as 'teleport' tiles (a phrase I'm borrowing from RPG Maker; don't take the word 'teleport' too literally) that would automatically take units to a pre-specified tile on another map.
Think of the possibilities. We could finally have an Age of Discovery scenario where Europe was large enough to not be cramped without the Americas having to have an overwhelming vastness. Sea tiles on the eastern edge of the America map would 'teleport' to sea tiles on the western edge of the Europe map, so ships could move freely back and forth between them. We could have World War II scenarios that involved both the European and the Pacific theaters. Just have one map for the enormous Pacific, and another one for Europe. To play WWII on a regular world map wouldn't really work; Europe is just too small to deal with all the cities and units we'd need to really get a feel for the scale of the war. Having separate maps in the same scenario would solve the problem.
And that's just two ideas from Earth history. Fantasy and SF scenario makers could really have fun with this. Once you get into that realm, the possibilities this opens up are pretty much endless.
Naturally, this would only be an option for scenarios. It would be nonsense in an epic game, but I think it has the potential to make certain scenario concepts much richer and more rewarding. What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Would it improve scenarios, or bog them down in too much detail? Could it be programmed smoothly, or would it be a logistical nightmare to work with? Let me know what you think.
