Shipping Routes?

[Carver]

From the new preview at Gamedaily:

"Also, the temple's Missionary units can be used much like spies, to enter a neighboring city and relay information. This was amazingly useful when those pesky Aztecs started moving in on my agricultural villages in the western half of my lands. I simply sent a Missionary into the village on the next island over, revealing the city's line of sight. This showed me how many units and what type they had stockpiled, and the route on which the ships left the city."

Now, forgetting all the arguments about missionaries for a moment, what stirs my interest here is the last sentence about routes ships take from the city. This implies that there are shipping/trade routes. Firaxis wouldn't employ these routes unless there were new ways to bloc trade. So how will it work? Can you simply place a warship on the trade route? Do you need more than one?

 

[Carver]

Of course, he could have just been talking about the LOS allowing him to watch normal ship movement in and out of the city.

 

[peanut35]

my guess is it is actually refering to where the ships came from and landed, like troop movements, more so than an actual military route, cause that would just be silly, enabling people to simply block another civ from landing on your country, so i think it is more of troop movements, and just a 'word' game in there

 

[eddie_verdde]

hmmm...this reminds me...it would be interesting if ships could be sent out on travels without you controlling them directly...it's a bit nonsense the fact that you're able to control your empire in your homeland and at the same time explore the oceans on the other side of the world. And what annoys me most is the fact that you receive all that information about exploration in real time.

Besides, for those who hate micromanaging, this would be perfect because you would no longer have to make decisions such as: "should I explore to the left or to the right" every single turn...you'd just send away the fleet on a route and wait for news...just like in the old times

You could also send the ships to patrol your coasts automatically, instead of moving them back and forth manually every turn.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

You're probably right, Peanut, but the fact that you can actually see trade routes (with the appropriate filter on) does increase the likelihood that this quote might refer to actual trade routes.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

 

[I am the Future]

I remember in call to power that you had to make trae routes and i realy liked that. So if they brought trade routes back i am all for it.

But my opinion dosnt matter so...

WE will have to wait and see

 

[Poseidon_55]

i am the future that is an awsome book loved it

 

[peanut35]

eddie_verdde, in repsonse to what you mentioned. There is an explore function in Civ3, where you can just tell your unit to try to uncover any Black area on the map, and i think it works for ships as well. So that function of less micromanagement is already in the game. So i am sure that they will carry over a similar function in civ4

 

[peanut35]

i am the future, what do you mean by you had to make trade routes?

 

[searcheagle]

i am the future, what do you mean by you had to make trade routes?

Hes talking about in Call To Power, a different game and Civ knockoff by another company.

You're probably right, Peanut, but the fact that you can actually see trade routes (with the appropriate filter on) does increase the likelihood that this quote might refer to actual trade routes.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

That, in my opinion, is the most logical interpretation. To see merely the origins and destinations is limiting but better then nothing.

 

[peanut35]

oh, thanks for the clarification, i read Play the World, not Call to Power, silly me

 

[searcheagle]

From the new preview at Gamedaily:

"Also, the temple's Missionary units can be used much like spies, to enter a neighboring city and relay information. This was amazingly useful when those pesky Aztecs started moving in on my agricultural villages in the western half of my lands. I simply sent a Missionary into the village on the next island over, revealing the city's line of sight. This showed me how many units and what type they had stockpiled, and the route on which the ships left the city."

Now, forgetting all the arguments about missionaries for a moment, what stirs my interest here is the last sentence about routes ships take from the city. This implies that there are shipping/trade routes. Firaxis wouldn't employ these routes unless there were new ways to bloc trade. So how will it work? Can you simply place a warship on the trade route? Do you need more than one?

Is there a hyperlink for this information?

 

[lanky316]

Actually on the original Civ if I remember correctly you had caravan units you had to take to other cities to actually make trade routes. Great feature, would like to see it back in

 

[I am the Future]

even if call to power was a knock off it was a good game. SOme cool units and stuff

Sorry it is off Subject

 

[peanut35]

i remember the caravan units, that was good, neat idea to bring it back, i forgot all about them. I think they were too powerful in civII, where you could use them to help assist building, IIRC. Also, i think i read somewhere that they have eliminated teh Line Of Sight, due to the extreme advantage, i think this came from testing teams that thought it was too powerful. but i'm not sure. Did anyone else think this or read this somewhere? or is it just my crazy imagination?