More distinctive civs

[Rusty Nail]

I would suggest greater differentiation among civs, as in Rise of Nations, where each civ has really noticeable superiority in some aspect of play, i.e.more than just a UU and current type advantages. For example, I have been experimenting with a 6 nation mod of this type with unique tech paths and many non-tradable techs and it is great fun. Civ types: (1) superior defence, extra HP, defensive values,unique wonders , double walls etc. (2) Superior Navy at all levels plus amphbious attack and naval bombardment (3) Superior one-move units with extra power, but few or no good 2-move units (4) Superior use of ranged attack with most units (longer and stronger) but weaker ordinary units. (Incidentally, range attack is an area of great potential where the AI should be beefed up, as it thinks only defence with ranged units) (5) Superior commercial civ with piles of special buildings and wonders producing wealth, but with fairly standard units. (6) Superior 2-move units for offense but with a weak defence. I am sure others could think of many more variations. This could add more spice and strategy to the game.

 

[Mewtarthio]

It worked very well in SMAC. However, I'm not sure it would work out for Civ, given its "alt-history" theme.

 

[Lumbergh]

This seems to be an excellent idea, since civs pt different emphasis on different parts of society/military based upon their location, environment/resources. For example, the russians and mongols placed higher emphasis on their mounted cavalry, while others such as the romans emphasized the slower, more powerful infantry.