New unit - Enviornmentalist

[homer]

Ive designed a new unit that Im still play testing to see how well it works out, but I thought it was a funny enough idea to share with everyone now.

Environmentalist

cost 4 and 1 pop
pre req: ecology

Att = 1
Def = 1
Mov = 1
all moves as roads
hidden nationality

plants forests
cleans pollution
pillages
Join city
automate

OK. Here's thought with this. They are primarily guys who plant trees and clean up pollution, but they can also be used to go pillage your enemy's territory without you getting blamed! (i.e. do we declare war on France when Greenpeace does something stupid?!)

Dont know if this will work well in the game or not yet.. but if anyone else wants to play test it.. I think it would be a fun unit (at least for a human player)

 

[xanadu]

In order to make it more realistic, (like real-life environmentalists), the unit should be capable of attacking and destroying any city improvements. Also, they should have a negative impact on the economy of whatever nation owns them--unless it's communist--and the one whose borders they are within. Any time the environmentalist attacks, it should pollute the square it's in. Every environmentalist built in a city should double the amount of corruption in that city for 30 years--cumulative. If I think of any more, I'll let you know.

 

[Dark Sheer]

Originally posted by xanadu
In order to make it more realistic, (like real-life environmentalists), the unit should be capable of attacking and destroying any city improvements. Also, they should have a negative impact on the economy of whatever nation owns them--unless it's communist--and the one whose borders they are within. Any time the environmentalist attacks, it should pollute the square it's in. Every environmentalist built in a city should double the amount of corruption in that city for 30 years--cumulative. If I think of any more, I'll let you know.

It would be nice if the unit only destroy industrial improvements such as factory, energy plant and perhaps offshore platforms

I don't think any environmentalist will actually destroy a temple right ? And why should it create more corruption?? Lastly, if the idea is to go for a better environment, why the polution effect? Perhaps a better idea would be to create an unhappy citizen in the city where these are stationed (Considering the possible demonstration staged by these environmentalist?)

 

[Morten Blaabjerg]

homer wrote:
...but they can also be used to go pillage your enemy's territory without you getting blamed!

How does the AI react to "landbased" privateers? Does it kill them off, or allow them to operate? Either way, if it works out, it might add a new dimension to warfare preparations and operations in occupied territory. Its a neat idea. It can be used for all types of spies, terrorists, infiltrator teams, saboteurs etc.

 

[xanadu]

The adding pollution thing was to reflect the tendency of well-intentioned envronmentalists to actually make problems worse. (Greenpeace attacked an oil tanker off the coast of Norway once...duh.) Not only that, those people have a tendency to make a big deal out of small issues, (save the titrat!)--and the pollution would also represent the time needed to sort it all out legally.

 

[PatriarchTheoni]

The idea seems interesting, but, could you imagine the Computer players creating hordes or these units, entering your territory and destroying everything. If created, some kind of limitations on amount should be made. I mean, Greenpeace dosen't draft from the general public, do they?

 

[Quokka]

If you wanted to put a limit on them how about they can only be built in cities that have 3 or more unhappy people? This should limit the number of cities that can make them, as they would have to be fairly large cities with at least 3 happy people too. They are also likely to have a few content people as I have never seen a city with 3 happy and 3 unhappy only. This would mean the city would have to be at least size 6 to make them.
Correlation to the real world is that smaller and/or newer cities generally have less environmental impact and thus less activism.
Activists are after all a 'luxury' and most come from larger cities as they are a small % of the population and large cities are the only areas where enough can congregate to be effective. They are disaffected people and unhappy about the state of the environment.
Another thought that I had after reading this was to make Environmentalists another Specialty Citizen, one that could reduce Pop pollution effects in their city.