I was wondering if anyone would be interested in playing a slightly modded Civ2 - that is, it isn't a different scenario or anything, but just Civ2 with a few things changed to make the game what is (I think) significantly more interesting.
Major Changes
1: Grassland shields don't produce shields (but if you build on a grassland, you'll still get a shield).
Rationale: Rather than grassland shields being the super-land square that they are now, players have more choice in their build: a grassland with 3 food and no production, or a plains with 2 food and 1 production, or a forest with 1 food and 2 production. A certain fact of the matter is that getting rid of grassland shields really makes city-build gameplay far more interesting.
2: Catapults, Cannons, and Artillery have the "ignore city walls" bonus.
Rationale: Well, first of all, it doesn't make sense that they don't have this bonus...but more to the point, this opens up a window for warfare at any stage of the game without the need for massing Crusaders.
Mediocre Changes
1: I'd start it up a scenario and disable the "capture tech when conquering a city" option.
Rationale: First, it's stupid - in particular, when a city's conquest isn't certain yet and it gets captured back and forth several times only to have lots of tech get "earned" through one city. This can only be classified as dumb. Secondly, it's not difficult to bring a single diplomat along with an invasion force: one diplomat per enemy city is way more than enough to steal all the techs one needs.
2: Ships have +1 speed. I'll admit there's no particular necessity for this, and the only rationale I have is that when you consider that railroads give instantaneous movement in the game (but not in reality), ships need a little something to make up for this, and it doesn't seem so bad.
Minor Changes
1: Units that are clearly supposed to be defensive have had their stats changed to reflect this reality (that is, Musketeers are now 2/3, Riflemen 3/4), with a few other minor changes to units here and there (ex. Legion and Knight normally both cost the same, but who would build a Legion for the same cost as a Knight when a Knight is either the same or superior to a Legion in every way (excepting attacking Pikemen)? Reduced Legion's price. etc.)
2: Some Wonders have their cost changed (Great Library increased, for example), and other small things like this.
3: Special terrain bonuses are more uniformly balanced out and unique, with standard-type terrain being weaker in strength (that is, you can easily create Forests and Plains, and later on Hills, but a Jungle square either exists or it doesn't, so special resources on a Jungle or other impossible-to-create square would be stronger).
4: Irrigation, Mining, and Terraforming take a bit less time to do.
Would anybody be interested in playing a game? It matters little to me whether we could schedule a time or do a PBEM game, though games where the players can interact while playing tend to have more oumph to them.
Major Changes
1: Grassland shields don't produce shields (but if you build on a grassland, you'll still get a shield).
Rationale: Rather than grassland shields being the super-land square that they are now, players have more choice in their build: a grassland with 3 food and no production, or a plains with 2 food and 1 production, or a forest with 1 food and 2 production. A certain fact of the matter is that getting rid of grassland shields really makes city-build gameplay far more interesting.
2: Catapults, Cannons, and Artillery have the "ignore city walls" bonus.
Rationale: Well, first of all, it doesn't make sense that they don't have this bonus...but more to the point, this opens up a window for warfare at any stage of the game without the need for massing Crusaders.
Mediocre Changes
1: I'd start it up a scenario and disable the "capture tech when conquering a city" option.
Rationale: First, it's stupid - in particular, when a city's conquest isn't certain yet and it gets captured back and forth several times only to have lots of tech get "earned" through one city. This can only be classified as dumb. Secondly, it's not difficult to bring a single diplomat along with an invasion force: one diplomat per enemy city is way more than enough to steal all the techs one needs.
2: Ships have +1 speed. I'll admit there's no particular necessity for this, and the only rationale I have is that when you consider that railroads give instantaneous movement in the game (but not in reality), ships need a little something to make up for this, and it doesn't seem so bad.
Minor Changes
1: Units that are clearly supposed to be defensive have had their stats changed to reflect this reality (that is, Musketeers are now 2/3, Riflemen 3/4), with a few other minor changes to units here and there (ex. Legion and Knight normally both cost the same, but who would build a Legion for the same cost as a Knight when a Knight is either the same or superior to a Legion in every way (excepting attacking Pikemen)? Reduced Legion's price. etc.)
2: Some Wonders have their cost changed (Great Library increased, for example), and other small things like this.
3: Special terrain bonuses are more uniformly balanced out and unique, with standard-type terrain being weaker in strength (that is, you can easily create Forests and Plains, and later on Hills, but a Jungle square either exists or it doesn't, so special resources on a Jungle or other impossible-to-create square would be stronger).
4: Irrigation, Mining, and Terraforming take a bit less time to do.
Would anybody be interested in playing a game? It matters little to me whether we could schedule a time or do a PBEM game, though games where the players can interact while playing tend to have more oumph to them.