[SDK] UN Mod Proposal: Suspension

[Padmewan]

For our Roanoke Mod, I am looking into making the UN and diplomacy a more central part of the game. In the spirit of cautious optimism, however, I think I will try to implement each tweak one by one. Most of them may have general applicability to other mods, so I will do my best to keep them flexible.

First of all, since our mod will not be using the moniker "UN," let's not get into a debate here about whether in vanilla Civ4 "UN" means "UN," "UN Security Council," or "IMF." Maybe it's best to say "any or none of the above."

The first such change is to make the UN a voluntary organization which you can join or be expulsed from. However, as I started laying out this change I realized it would entail huge re-engineering of the system, so instead a first baby step towards this would be "Suspension."

First, there needs to be some benefit to being a member in good standing of the UN. So here are some suggestions for additional benefits of the UN:

• +1 diplomatic relations with all other members
• +1 trade with all members

So, what would cause a member to be suspended? Some more possibilities, some easier to implement than others:

• Refusal to accept a mandated civic
• Low diplomatic standing with everyone ("voted off the island")
• Conducting an "atrocity" (as in SMAC) -- perhaps best rolled up into low diplomatic standing

What happens when you are "suspended"?

• No benefits (or restrictions) from membership
• -1 diplomacy with all members in good standing

In the spirit of incremental change, I want to keep this as simple as possible. I can tell by reviewing the above that this is already a mod of potentially huge scope, perhaps beyond my time availability. So keep that in mind when making suggestions (unless you are also willing to help code!)

 

[zulu9812]

sounds like a plan to me - perhaps the relationship with unfavourable civs could be further adjusted such that they refuse to talk with you until you rejoin?

 

[Padmewan]

sounds like a plan to me - perhaps the relationship with unfavourable civs could be further adjusted such that they refuse to talk with you until you rejoin?

If I were to extend this into XML -- thanks to Kael's tutorial this would not be hard to do -- each Civ could have its own tolerance for (a) being suspended and (b) others who are suspended. After all, in the Real World some nations have less respect for the UN charter than others, and some have less concern about dealing with pariahs.

Of course, you might also say that these tolerances are not "innate" to the nation in question but rather a matter of circumstance. This would require a lot more AI, or maybe not. Perhaps even with a -2 "UN Suspension" penalty you still might be friendly to a nation that's supplying you with, ahem, uranium?