RE: Social Engineering...or not?

[TheDarkPhantom]

As many people of mentioned it on different forums, how about holding a poll.

So, should Civ4 replace Governments with the more flexible and somplex Social Engineering system like that of Alpha Centauri. If your familiar with it already, then don't bother reading the rest of this post, just vote.

For those unfamiliar or unaware of the Social Engineering system from SMAC, I'll try and give a clear explanation:

Essentially in Social Engineering, rather than having a 'Government' and choosing from 1 of 5 or 6 or whatever, what 'Government' in Civ3 represents is split into smaller decisions. In Civ3 your government seems to be a combination of your economic system, how you make decisions, and what your society values and is driven by. In Social Engineering rather than choosing one overall structure of this (such as Fascism, an Autocratic, Planned, Militaristic Government) you instead choose seperately how your nation makes decisions, what your society values and how you run your economy. Each of the possible options has different effects, both positive and negative.

So for example, the Social Engineering in Civ4 might consist of the following options:

POLITICAL POWER - Democratic/Autocratic/Oligarchic/Consensus
ECONOMICS - Free Market/Planned(Communist)/Mixed(Socialist)/Green
SOCIETIES VALUES - Wealth/Knowledge/Power/Fundamentalist

Each option gives different bonuses/penalties. In Alpha Centauri there were about 10 values in could effect such as Espionage ('Probe' in SMAC), Science Research, Income, Ecology etc etc. It basically allows more flexibility that just choosing one option which encompasses the 4 things set out below. You can still be a Communism (Autocratic Planned Power) or Democracy (Democratic Free Market Wealth/Knowledge) but now there are many more possibilities, such as a Democratic Communist society or a Ruthless Autocratic Scientific nation.

So anyway, vote in the poll and let everyone know what you think about the introduction of Social Engineering to replace the more simplistic government system.

 

[Jake5555555]

There should be a mix. We should use social engineering with the different combinations like in SMAC, but the governments should have more wide rangeing changes.

 

[dh_epic]

I'm all for adding social engineering in one shape or form. I never played SMAC, but I like this "shades of gray" approach, especially considering not all democracies are the same in real life. Whether they replace governments, or preferably find a balance with the current system, I'm all for it.

 

[crimson238]

I like the way it sounds. I played SMAC once or twice but I can't remember this aspect of it. I'd like to be a Democratic Communism who really likes burritos.. if possible.
Seriously though, this could add a whole lot of civ diversity while not requireing too much more mirco-management from the player, although I can imagine it might be a slight AI nightmare...
Also, should this do away with the "preffered" government approch i've heard echoed here on the forums.. with each civ liking one type of government ( i mena afterall, doesn't every civ like being rich, smart and pwoerful in the end?)

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

I personally feel that 'governments' from civ1-3 should be retained, but that Social Engineering should be added in order to allow for greater differentiation between civs with the same broad 'Government type'. Governments types would also determine the default and min/max settings for the different Social Engineering Traits.

Yours,
The_Aussie_Lurker.

 

[Babbler]

How about if you have the governments of civ 1-3, but you could create certin "policies," which would affect various factors in the game, dependant on you gov't type and tech level.

 

[socralynnek]

Yeah, I like that idea. Adding strategic depth but not too complicated and it is something that even the new players can understand easily!