Some building ideas...

[Lusikka755]

So, here's a few building ideas. Glad if somebody could make even some of them (some of the ideas are picked from other forums, some are my own):

Improvements:

Customs - +50% Taxes Output
Shopping mall - +50% Tax Output, 1 happy face


Wonders:

The Great Harbor (of Alexandria) - Harbor to every coastal city on continent
FBI - A Police Station to every city
Petronas Towers - Bank to every city
The Code of Hammurabi - Courthouse in every city
The UFO of Roswell - 2 Free Techs
Aristotles Lyceum - doubles scientific research
The Terracotta Army - build armies without a leader

 

[Lusikka755]

No Replying...

I didn't realize the ideas were that bad.

 

[Drift]

It has just been a little slow on the building front, also the summer takes its toll on the activity. I think the ideas are fine, although some of them could be a tad overpowered.

I personally have no time or interest to take up any projects at the moment, like I said it is summer and I'm dead tired after work anyway. :|

 

[Ozymandias]

Originally posted by Lusikka755
So, here's a few building ideas. Glad if somebody could make even some of them (some of the ideas are picked from other forums, some are my own):

Improvements:

Customs - +50% Taxes Output
Shopping mall - +50% Tax Output, 1 happy face


Wonders:

The Great Harbor (of Alexandria) - Harbor to every coastal city on continent
FBI - A Police Station to every city
Petronas Towers - Bank to every city
The Code of Hammurabi - Courthouse in every city
The UFO of Roswell - 2 Free Techs
Aristotles Lyceum - doubles scientific research
The Terracotta Army - build armies without a leader

Some very interesting ideas. My principal concerns would be game balance when adding improvements in every city -- unless they're tied to specific government types ...?

- Although I must admit I'm intrigued by the Roswell idea -- would there be specific alien artifact "resources" and how would you handle those?

Best,

Oz

 

[Lusikka755]

But if the wonder is VERY expensive (about 1000 shields) it would take a while to build it in the ancient times. If you get that built, you really earn a harbor in every city...

Or then the wonder could be government specific, as you said, or could require a very rare resource.

And the Roswell thing was really a joke, but it could work like that...

 

[Bjorn Bjornson]

I got so damn sick of the AI building Wonders in cities that had no other buildings - i.e. "undeveloped" cities.

So one thing I did was make almost every wonder require a prerequisite building in the city.

It worked out really good, although one building, Work Camp, which was a requisite for many ancient age wonders, was never built by the AI (I made it so it would raise production 25%, but cause an unhappy face) - the AI didn't seem to go for that, even when I made more buildings and objects to increase happiness throughout the entire game.

But it works out well, and stops the stupid every AI civ builds the same wonder then switches over when another finishes the wonder to another wonder then we got a half dozen undeveloped AI cities with "Great Wonders" in them. Stupid.

But anyway, I already have made the two basic buildings you suggested. Shopping Mall comes with "Consumer Goods" and raises luxury + tax output; and (I call it Port Authority) comes with "Imperialism" and raises tax output AND lowers corruption - useful for those little island cities on the periphery of your empire - and requires a harbor in the city.

 

[Lucky Dragon]

See the link at the bottom of this post... I created a "Customs Post" improvement for my mod. It reduces corruption in the city where it's built. It requires a harbor, so it has to be built in a coastal city. Was that sort of what you had in mind?

 

[Dom Pedro II]

Actually, interestingly enough, customs posts were some of the most corrupt institutions in places like the United States... or at least thats where I know something about it. The Customs House where Chester A. Arthur worked (in New York I believe) before he was made Vice President (and later President) was unbelievably corrupt... of course, this was in the days of Tammany Hall and all that.

But I think lowering corruption in Civ3 terms is applicable. Since it returns gold to the state that would otherwise be lost through "corruption" or what we could assume would be smuggling or something of that nature.

 

[Bjorn Bjornson]

"Actually, interestingly enough, customs posts were some of the most corrupt institutions in places like the United States... or at least thats where I know something about it."

Well, any place built for or by any type of bureaucracy, is naturally going to be ripe with corruption.

But, a "customs post" (and it's bureaucratic arm) can be considered extra governmental presence in the city, which - in Civ3 standards, and they way their "corruption" system works - is plenty reason to make the improvement lower corruption, as it puts more of the Civ's rule in that city.

 

[Dom Pedro II]

Well, any place built for or by any type of bureaucracy, is naturally going to be ripe with corruption.

Yes, this is quite true... especially when they're whole purpose is to handle money.

I can't remember the details unfortunately, but I do remember that that particular customs house was bad and that Chester A. Arthur was plucked up from his job there right before a big scandal was about to break, so it was great timing for him...

EDIT: I also wanted to note that I specified United States because I was saying that customs houses were especially corrupt compared to other institutions in the U.S. That customs houses in Europe and such were just as corrupt, I have no doubt, but I don't know what they were like in relation to the rest of their government bureaucracies.

 

[Ozymandias]

Originally posted by Bjorn Bjornson
I got so damn sick of the AI building Wonders in cities that had no other buildings - i.e. "undeveloped" cities.

[...]

It worked out really good, although one building, Work Camp, which was a requisite for many ancient age wonders, was never built by the AI (I made it so it would raise production 25%, but cause an unhappy face) - the AI didn't seem to go for that, even when I made more buildings and objects to increase happiness throughout the entire game.

The prerequisite building idea is a very good one.

Re: the Work Camp, AFAIK the AI NEVER looks ahead more than the current turn for choosing whether or not to build an Improvement; also AFAIK nobody's decoded the algorithm by which the AI chooses whether or not to build something.

-Oz