Social Policy Costs Going Down?

[bcaiko]

Given the changes to the Cultural Victory, the introduction of ideologies, and Poland's unique ability - I can't help but speculate that the cost of Social Policies will be going down. Otherwise, wouldn't Poland's free Policy upon entering every new era be overpowered? As it stands, a free social policy is worth building a Wonder for.

I realize we don't know much about how the new Cultural Victory works yet, or even if the Ideology trees require culture to unlock polcies like the others, but I can't help but think the overlay is going to force the discount of Social Policies.

Anyone wanna speculate?

 

[anandus]

On one hand on could argue that the policy cost might go up, because there's on policy tree less than there is now (five instead of six), but on the other hand it might be that the ideological tenets also factor in the policy cost which would be an argument of lower costs.

We need more info to be able to say something about that, I think.

 

[Gucumatz]

Anandus - We are getting 2 new policy trees, not one less.

 

[anandus]

Anandus - We are getting 2 new policy trees, not one less.

Yes, there are two added (Aesthetics and Exploration), but also three removed (Order, Autocracy and Freedom) and turned into Ideologies.

 

[Gucumatz]

Order, Autocracy, and Freedom still remain. Its just they get added Ideologies as well (In one of these previews/interviews, it mentions specifically that ideologies will be in their own specific section apart from the main policy trees including Order/Autocracy/Freedom)

 

[Buccaneer]

I hope they still make policies costly, that's one of the best decision making elements in the game.

 

[bcaiko]

I hope they still make policies costly, that's one of the best decision making elements in the game.

Then what to make of Poland's unique ability? With that costs as they are now, that ability seems game shattering.

 

[anandus]

Order, Autocracy, and Freedom still remain. Its just they get added Ideologies as well (In one of these previews/interviews, it mentions specifically that ideologies will be in their own specific section apart from the main policy trees including Order/Autocracy/Freedom)

I was in the assumption that it was seperate from social policies.
As they call the ideological policies explicitly ideological 'tenets' and the choice of tenets is different than social policies (much more freeform).

 

[Gucumatz]

Hmm... well I guess we will have to see at Pax

 

[mitsho]

We don't know

I'd also point out that it may just mean that later policy costs will go down but that the early game can stay unchanged to a large degree.

 

[Imalich]

Then what to make of Poland's unique ability? With that costs as they are now, that ability seems game shattering.

Exactly. It screams 'f*** you, Napoleon'.

Moderator Action: Please watch your language.

 

[Gucumatz]

I honestly hope France's UA gets changed. Not that its weak (it isn't) but France is always known as a culturally offensive state (Well you know what I mean). Its always tried to spread its culture abroad and would seem like a perfect civ to get a tourism bonus. (Perhaps add +2 tourism per city as well?)

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

but France is always known as a culturally offensive state

Yes, I find them culturally offensive as well. Ok, just kidding. The primary difference between giving a civ free sopols and giving them free culture is that culture also enlarges borders. I don't think that France needs a dramatic UA change, but they may need a boost to it. Maybe make it +4/city or +6 during the Medieval and Renaissance.

The French are quite resistive to Anglo-American cultural influence in the modern age, so perhaps their UA shouldn't end anymore seeing how the regular culture serves a defensive function.

 

[JanghanHong]

I honestly hope France's UA gets changed. Not that its weak (it isn't) but France is always known as a culturally offensive state (Well you know what I mean). Its always tried to spread its culture abroad and would seem like a perfect civ to get a tourism bonus. (Perhaps add +2 tourism per city as well?)

+2 culture per city before steam power, +2 tourism per city after steam power?

 

[Matthew.]

+2 culture per city before steam power, +2 tourism per city after steam power?

That would actually be a lot of fun from a gameplay point. The +2 culture creates a strong defense against enemy tourism, then when late-game hits you can go on the offensive and get a boost with tourism.

 

[JanghanHong]

That would actually be a lot of fun from a gameplay point. The +2 culture creates a strong defense against enemy tourism, then when late-game hits you can go on the offensive and get a boost with tourism.

Definitely, I can really see how this addition to UA would depict the end of Ancien Regime in the French Revolution and a much more egalitarian boom in art and architecture led by French Impressionist painters, the Eiffel Tower, and the Art Nouveau movement, all centered in gay ol' Paris.

 

[Buccaneer]

Poland will get up to 7 free policies? That might be ok since they may not last that long. A good cultural player can get that many in under 70 turns anyway. Besides, I would love to see just one civ be more aggressive culturally. But do not reduce the cost or to cheapen the choices we must make. Poland would still not be able to pull off a cultural victory even with a head start.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Poland is not about Cultural Victories. Sopols have little to do with that anymore. Cultural Victory is about raw culture and tourism. Poland's UA is more versatile than that. They get the sopol bonuses faster, and it can go any which way depending on what sopols they pick. They basically get to unlock any policy tree as soon as it is available to them.

Think of it as being the Mayan Long Count for sopols.

The one who really looks crappy next to Poland is Byzantium. The Byzantine's get one extra belief, and they have to work for it, and there is little synergy between their uniques. Is one Belief more powerful than 6-7 sopols? Poland gets a free sopol every era and there is synergy between their UU and UB.

 

[Fabiano79]

I hope that the game becomes longer actually. Civ games used to take weeks to finish, now we can finish a standard speed game in 10h or less.

 

[Matthew.]

Really? I heard it was the other way around.

I wish we knew more about how industrial era policies are getting changed. If they are still in and the tenet thing is in addition to those, it would make sense to change the number of policies in a given game. Not only because of the two new trees, but because it was difficult to finish the industrial trees before the game finished anyway.

Since there is no need to balance for Utopia, I don't see how an extra few policies would break the game. If anything, it would allow me to customize a bit more. With fewer policies you tend to stick to the same ones every game.