Open Letter to Firaxis

[Ultraman]

Hi guys! Just an idea to collate the changes we hope will appear in BtS. I've not seen a similar thread, so I'm starting this. Please add what you hope to see.

Dear Firaxis

I know you guys come here a lot for ideas and feedback, and that's great. Here is a list of the tweaks Civers hope to see in the next expansion pack / upgrade for our favorite game:

1. Aircraft to be able to get experience points - and their own promotions.
2. New promotions for all units.
3. BetterAI. A comment I see often is "stupid AI!"
4. Ranged bombardment for naval and artillery units.
5. Multi-domain capability in XML.
6. More units. Lotsa units ....
7. And ethnically diverse ones too!
8. A proper game editor! Like what you had in Civ3!

 

[bonafide11]

Just a couple additions of my own:
- Improved naval system, I think each ship should be able to carry at least an additional unit (galleys = 3, galleons = 4, etc.)
- Less predictable AI, have more diverse strategies between leaders

And most importantly,
- I think the workers need to be more complex in the later eras. With the new concept of Corporations, I really would like to see the corporations relate to the system of workers. In fact, by gunpowder you need less workers, where you should really need more, especially for a large empire. The workers need to affect your economy other than the mere land improvements. If there are corporations, there needs to also be some sort of labor unions. You wouldn't have corporations without the many workers! Another possible way to address the misrepresentation of the significance of the workers is to improve the Labor and Economic civics, perhaps have them mutually affect one another more.

Please Firaxis, consider how much the workers have contributed to the success of your company, and include a more accurate representation of them in the late game!

 

[Ultraman]

Yup! Thanx for that. Couple more from me -

1. Have events. One Civ3 scenario I played had the enemy Civ break into civil war the first time you capture their capital. Cool.
2. Seasons would be great. Russia in the winter ...

 

[flyingchicken]

Seasons. That would at least mean one turn should be 1/4 a year.

So, by simple calculations, one game would reach 24,200 turns.

In a addition, there are the seasons per tile area (geography).

My poor PC would suffer by 3500 BC.

If you want something, mod it. For now.

 

[Ultraman]

Yo flyingchicken, actually no. Not for new games, but for scenarios. It's possible now to designate a turn as a year, a month, or a week. Am suggesting the ability to designate a turn as a quarter. You can still designate the total number of turns. I've seen a number of posts wanting seasons. Nah, I won't want thousands of turns either! My computer is struggling as it is.

 

[flyingchicken]

You didn't specify, so I assumed the list was for the general game. And I have been playing Civ enough to know that you can designate weeks and months.]

Bah. Only one thing from the list is needed: an even more powerful editor -- they'll save on work and we all get what we want (eventually).

 

[Ultraman]

flyingchicken, ultimately, you're right!

 

[ViterboKnight]

Don't forget: an improved roleplay in aeronaval battles.

(battleship beats destroyer, destroyer beats submarine, submarine beats battleship)
(a larger use for air units)

 

[Neoclast]

Air Units should be able to sink ships.

 

[Yakk]

Air Units should be able to sink ships.

Silly, that is what loose lips do.

 

[Dutch Canuck]

Okay, I'll bite. Here's a wee listy from me (in no order of importance) for expansions to the core game:

1) Hovercraft unit - capable of moving ONLY on coastal water tiles, fresh water tiles, and any flat land next to a river or fresh water lake. Design it to transport marines and workers (no settlers), and arm it appropriately to support amphibous military actions.

2) Add-on the ability of workers to build "large" canals, where such canals allow the slow passage of naval units across an ithmus that is 2+ tiles in width.

3) Re-introduce marshland and volcanoes - I liked these map features in CIV III, I'm surprised they aren't in CIV IV!

4) At minimum, a USER FRIENDLY EDITOR with basic instructions/tutorial (maybe as a pdf we could download), and a host of quality extra units, some fantasy or sci-fi, that we can create simple mods with extra units or modify existing ones without too much trouble. Please?

5) More complete information in the civilopedia! Cost savings for certain resources, inflation defined, and other secondary stuff that seems to have been overlooked. (I don't have my list with me )

6) A few more religions. How about one or two polytheistic ones (separate from Hinduism) that endured for many generations in the ancient era? (I'm not an expert on such things so it's hard for me to specify. I know I'd like to see a bit more...)

7) 1 or two more civics to each catagory, and/or a new catagory or two? (The latter choice would probably demand lots of re-working so maybe not a practical idea for an expansion, but? **shrug**)

8) A means to build long bridges, across 1-2 coastal water tiles, like the bridge network through the Florida Keys, so boats aren't always neccessary to move land units across such small water impendements. Maybe built with a workboat and an Industrial Age technology?

Cheers!

 

[Ultraman]

Dutch Canuck, I hope Firaxis bites too! Very good points, mate

Yakk, nice one!

Neoclast, thanx for that, that's one that I forgot to include.

ViterboKnight, roger that!

 

[Plotinus]

1. Have events. One Civ3 scenario I played had the enemy Civ break into civil war the first time you capture their capital. Cool.

I don't know how that happened, as events and civil wars are impossible in Civ III too. Perhaps you're thinking of Civ II. At any rate, the addition of events is one of the top items of most wish lists for improvements to the Civ III editor too.

 

[ChicagoCubs]

1. Ranged Bombardment for Artillery type units - One tile range for Cats and Trebs. Two tile range for cannons. Three tile range for Artillery. +1 range for each if the unit is on a hill. Add a promotion to increase the range.

With proper planning, you could move your artillery to a tile that could attack two or three cities while your units move between them.

2. Ship movement that scales with the map size. Ship movement remains the same for all standard and smaller size maps. +1 movement on large maps. +2 movement on huge maps.

3. Canal Building - Perhaps you use a "Great Engineer" and it takes like 10 turns to complete one tile's worth of canal. First you move the great engineer to where you want the canal to start (obviously beside some water). When you select the build canal, you get a "Go To" arrow, and then you choose your ending location. Canals tiles can not be improved, and any existing improvements, terrain, and resources will be destroyed. Adding great engineers to the canal will speed up the project. The canal tile will count a both an land tile (i.e. bridges going over it) and a water tile. Canals can be destroyed by bombing, but workers can repair.

4. Large Bridge Building - Perhaps you use a"Great Engineer" and it takes like 10 turns per tile of bridge. Bridges can only be built in coast (shallow) waters. Similar to the canal, you go to the starting point and hit build bridge then select the ending point. Bridges can be damaged by bombers, but workers can repair.

 

[Mutineer]

I disagree with all sugestions exept better AI.

Most of suggestion will only made game mach worse then it is currently. Please, speek for yourself only, not for every Civv fanatic fan!

 

[Onagan]

1) Air Promotions & Better Air Units.
Fighter should be able to dogfight, Bomber should be capable of destroying a specific building (no wonders). Longer range for Bombers.

2) More Civilizations and Leaders.
At least 50 Civilizations and 100 Leaders.

3) Inquisition
You should be able to get rid of enemy religions. But only after you speard a second religion in that city.

4) Enhanced City Governor (just like in Civ III)
I want to tell my city if he must keep on building units or buildings. I have a lot of new cities, witch need development, so they should be build buildings and my older cities keep the number units up.

 

[Hero]

Eliminate air units.

 

[Comrade Aart]

Eliminate air units.

and tanks..... I hate tanks.

 

[mice]

With the Apostolic palace, please no pop ups every three turns. It drives me crazy when someone else builds the UN and i get pop ups to click away for the rest of the game. If this happened earlier I would really hate it.

Better domestic advisor like we see in most mods.

Information on how much gold Spiral Minaret is making, how many beakers Sangkore is making, and the effects of new wonders like this.

Terraforming as in Genetic era mod.

Plot list enhancements as in Visa and Realism.

Better automation options for workers, eg 'clear jungle'.

Yes me too to more depth with air and naval units.

Ranged bombardment only works if the AI can use it. If they can't the game is completely unbalanced.

 

[flyingchicken]

1. Ranged Bombardment for Artillery type units - One tile range for Cats and Trebs. Two tile range for cannons. Three tile range for Artillery. +1 range for each if the unit is on a hill. Add a promotion to increase the range.

Could an old cannon shoot across London (two tiles far)? Can a modern artillery gun? Ranged bombardment is good, just keep the ranges one tile away (at least in the epic game). Should be scalable in scenarios and mods.