New roles for Great People?

[Optimizer]

Are there any interesting ideas how to create new uses for Great People? Ideas that are more interesting than rushing a building which grants a simple bonus.

So far, I have come up with these:

* Building terrain improvements at four times the rate of a regular worker.
* Building a special terrain improvement called a "Dig", which consumes the Great Person, but creates a precious resource (Gold, Silver, Gems, Oil, Uranium) within a few turns.

Your suggestions?

 

[mice]

Maybe a great person could do a 'Diplomacy Masterstroke' and remove 3-4 negative diplo modifiers.

Prophet or Merchant for example

Or a Great scientist could do technology espionage, stealing one tech form anotehr civ

 

[Optimizer]

I strongly think that the AI should have "free will", in other words there should be no gameplay options that directly affect the AI attitudes. This is necessary for balanced multiplaying.

 

[Optimizer]

Right now I am experimenting with allowing the Great Merchant being able to upgrade to a ship, called the Merchant Ship. This ship can do every thing a merchant can do, and cross the ocean. It becomes available with Compass, right before Caravels.

 

[ollj]

Great lover.
Increases city size.

Great conspiracy nutcase:
Nukes own capital city to blame it on someone else to make everyone declare war on that leader.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Right now I am experimenting with allowing the Great Merchant being able to upgrade to a ship, called the Merchant Ship. This ship can do every thing a merchant can do, and cross the ocean. It becomes available with Compass, right before Caravels.

I did something like that with a ship (the Kogge actually), and made it available with Compass as well. It seems to work, still tweeking the values regarding the amount of gold it produces.

 

[Fabrysse]

• Why couldn't they find new ressources that are not allowed without them ? For exemple, a Prophet could make some ancient temples to be visibles...
• They could influence international relations (as big ambassadors). You send one to an other capital, and then, he have an action (in function with his type) that modify the Leader attitude...
• They could become a (randomly choosen) unit of the next era.
• Great Scientists could make bad things (randomly)... An experimentation could cause an explosition => loose population in city, destroy buildings...
• They could prevent events, stop wars...
• A new great person (as great secret agent) could try to kill an other Leader, then this civ would be cut in several parts, and the cultural influence would give cities to other civs...
• ......

 

[Optimizer]

I am experimenting with these extra roles:

* Great Engineer: Functions as a super-worker.
* Great Scientist: Can build a Dig. A Dig is a terrain improvement that discovers a random mineral resource.
* Great Merchant: Gets the ability to move across water, including oceans after Astronomy, and only good results from goody huts. This makes the Merchant useful as a super-Explorer.
* Great Artist: Can build an Art Studio - a city improvement that produces Art - a new luxury resource.
* Great Prophet: Can build a Cathedral. Cathedrals are made more expensive, with the extra effect of spreading their religion.
* Great Spy: Can build a Secret Society - a city improvement equivalent to the Scotland Yard, but available in any city. Also has the effect of increasing happiness with Espionage budget.

I have achieved all this through XML-modding only.

What do you think?

 

[CHEESE!]

Necro but whatever.

I like the idea of the merchant ship, but if you do implement it, you should make sure they have dynamic names, like the Golden Hind or the Red Eagle and so on.

 

[Melendor]

A Great Prophet could spread your state religions for all (or some) cities of one civilization.

I like the Great Merchant Ship too.