Texas Civilization

[barron of ideas]

I am new to this forum, and was advised by Thunderfall that this was the right place to put my idea for a new civilization, the Texas Civilization. I hope someone with mod capabilities will take this idea and run with it. Those that can, do, those that can't, theorize.

First, the Texas Civilization is not an oxymoron, like millitary intelligence, or jumbo shrimp. I lived in El Paso when I was about seven years old, and went to second grade there. It was perfectly (well not perfectly) civilized. Just becase Texas is the best place on earth (ask any male Texan) does not mean they are obnoxious about it. They will even admit the only thing between Texas and the North Pole (in winter) is a few strands of barbed wire.

So, what are my ideas;

First, for unique unit: The oil scout. A regular scout, but it can find the loctions with oil. For moding this capability, you may need to give Texas Refining (while the scout moves?). Another unique unit is the Texas Ranger. Horseman or Cavalry, "one ranger, no riot" should have an impact on unrest for the city it is stationed in. Alternatively, "The Lone Ranger (and Tonto?)" a unique unit that would be like a mobile Forbidden Palace. Or at least a police station/courthouse.

For attributes, expansionist (so they can have the oil scout) and commercial.

For leader: LBJ is the most powerful Texan ever, or some of the Bush Family (I like Barbara Bush, we need more female leaders.)
If rights problems use Sam Houston

 

[barron of ideas]

1500 characters was not enough!

Also, I don't seem to have the hang of proofreading from the preview. Once you push that button, I have no idea how to edit the preview if you see some errors to correct. Oh well, live and learn.

There are more ideas for a Texas Civilization.

The university should be Sam Houston Institute of Technology (or just the initials, for a small wonder?)

We clearly need to consider adding a Mexican Civilization, to be so far from God, so close to Texas. Its entertainers would be bullfighters. Texas Entertainers should be baseball and football players.

Culture group, with Abe and Hiawtha. Suggest yellow (the Yellow Rose of Texas) or dust brown. If modded from the English (as they also are expansionis and commercial (I think) ok to keep the same color-orange. (I would have thought orange would be best for Holland (the house of Orange, King William and all that.)

I think I had other ideas in my 2800 post that got edited down to 1500 characters, but I forget easy. Easy come, easy go. So for now, I am Barren of Ideas.

 

[barron of ideas]

Did I say, if Texas gets a cow, it should be on desert? Texas should get more than its fair share of desert, and lots of oil.

Special terrain could we animate tumbleweeds? There are oil pumps that go up and down to replace mining the oil locations.

Jackrabits, rattlesnakes.

Could the special cowboy unit move cows from a terrain square to another square closer to where you want it (to work it?)

Game in Texas would look more like antelope, or maybe doves/quail, not a lot of large horned animals other than cattle.

The NASA wonder?

bring the rubber room, I am starting to babble.

 

[Colonel Kraken]

It really does sound like it would be a big hoot to create the Texas civ. It'd be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, some of the things you're wanting to do I don't think are possible. I certainly don't have the capability to do what you ask. If I did, I'd help.

And, no, I'm not from Texas.

 

[Stat Kat]

Barron, I am from Texas and I went to the Sam Houston Institute of Technology (well, really Sam Houston State University) and agree with the Colonel that most of your ideas couldn't be implemented... it's nice to see on CFC that some else knows our little acronym for the school I so dearly love.

 

[barron of ideas]

Originally posted by Colonel Kraken
It really does sound like it would be a big hoot to create the Texas civ. It'd be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, some of the things you're wanting to do I don't think are possible. I certainly don't have the capability to do what you ask. If I did, I'd help.

And, no, I'm not from Texas.

I am glad you agree it is a reasonable project, for someone with the ability to mod new civilizations. Don't have to have oil scouts or the mobile forbidden palace looking like The Lone Ranger. The advantage of not knowing what is possible or not is that I can throw out these ideas and not be responsible for thinking of some way to carry them out. It does seem to me that it would be possible to start Texas with Refining, or let their "oil scout" have it pop up as a goodie from a goodie hut. What controls what technologies you can get from goodie huts? edit the list, whatever that means.

If I knew how to do this, I would, but I am nearly computer illiterate. Fortunately there is a great big community out there, someone may know how to do at least part of it. Even if we only get Barbara Bush as the leader, it would be worth while imho.

 

[barron of ideas]

Originally posted by Stat Kat
Barron, I am from Texas and I went to the Sam Houston Institute of Technology (well, really Sam Houston State University) and agree with the Colonel that most of your ideas couldn't be implemented... it's nice to see on CFC that some else knows our little acronym for the school I so dearly love.

Well there is two votes for it can't be done. Never give in, never give up, if you build it they will come. If it can't be done, so be it. Maybe the posting needs a little more time. Maybe Firaxis would take the ball and run with it, they would sell a lot more games in Texas if they optimized it for people from Texas. I'll keep lurking, maybe someone, somewhere feels like a challenge! I agree, I sure don't know how to do this. But why wouldn't somebody know?

 

[sgrig]

Texas Civilization ??

(sorry, I've never been to Texas, but I just couldn't stop laughing)

 

[bewareofgnomes]

whats so damn funny about a texas civ? texas is the ONLY state that was at one time its own country. that deserves something, doesnt it.

 

[mrtn]

Originally posted by bewareofgnomes
whats so damn funny about a texas civ? texas is the ONLY state that was at one time its own country. that deserves something, doesnt it.

Texas is the only American state that was at one time it's own country. And that... says it all.

 

[jamesjkirk]

What about California?

 

[bewareofgnomes]

well, they didnt have to fight a revolution. i dont remember them being a nation though.

 

[Procifica]

California was the Bear Flag Republic for a few months in 1848 I believe.

First, for unique unit: The oil scout. A regular scout, but it can find the loctions with oil. For moding this capability, you may need to give Texas Refining (while the scout moves?). Another unique unit is the Texas Ranger. Horseman or Cavalry, "one ranger, no riot" should have an impact on unrest for the city it is stationed in. Alternatively, "The Lone Ranger (and Tonto?)" a unique unit that would be like a mobile Forbidden Palace. Or at least a police station/courthouse.

Oil Scout can't be done, not possible with PTW or CIv3 Editor. One specific unit cannot 1) find a resource, or 2) you can't limit one specific unit to being able to get it out of a goody hut.

Military units already prevent unhappiness/riots. This is dependent upon government type, not upon the unit itself. So, this can't be implemented either.

A unit cannot function as a "building", mobile or otherwise. Its just not possible with the Civ3/PTW editors.

I know you're from El Paso, but I used to live in Killeen and Brady, and I can tell you that neither of those areas are anything near a desert. Killeen's annual rainfall is about 35 inches/year and Brady's was about 19 inches/year. These were in central and west central texas respectively. I've also been to Austin and Dallas-Ft. Worth and neither of these are deserts either. Only in western Texas (like El Paso, or Midland/Odessa) are there desert areas.

Could the special cowboy unit move cows from a terrain square to another square closer to where you want it (to work it?)

This also isn't possible with the editor.

Its quite odd, for someone who was raised in Texas, you know all the typical stereotypes VERY VERY well. Oil is mainly located along the Gulf of Mexico, though there are some wells scattered elsewhere. Tumbleweeds would only be found in western texas. Cowboys...I don't recall seeing these in the parts of Texas I lived in.

If Firaxis optimized the game for one state, they'd have to do it for all 50.

Creating a Texas Civ might not be a bad idea though...give them a Unique Unit, and the expansionist/commerical as you stated, and Barbara Bush as the leader.

 

[mrtn]

Originally posted by Procifica
...Military units already prevent unhappiness/riots. This is dependent upon government type, not upon the unit itself. So, this can't be implemented either.

This was possible in SMAC

...Creating a Texas Civ might not be a bad idea though...give them a Unique Unit, and the expansionist/commerical as you stated, and Barbara Bush as the leader.

Why not Militaristic/Religious? To represent your current President, among others.

 

[Bobby Lee]

I live in Texas currently and have all my life...

Trust me Militaristic and Religious is not the traits that fit Texas though I'm not quite sure Expansionist and Commercial does either but they do get closer. The Presidents niether the current one or previous ones were necessarily a good representation of Texans and are not very typical in many ways.

Personnaly I don't think that barron has Stereotyped that much otherwise all the citizens would wear Stetsons. The idea of a cattle drive (where he wanted to be able to move cows around the map) is not a bad idea I'm just pretty sure we can't do it atm. Procifica where did you live in Texas and what do you define as a Cowboy? I see plenty who look like 'em (though less who actually do anything to that effect). You don't have to go on Cattledrives to be a Cowboy anymore...essentially a modern Cowboy is one who works with Cows. (yes i realize that definition is simple but it is essentially the truth.) He never said anything about where the oil wells are located I don't believe and while most of the oil wells are in th Gulf area there is a HUGE number of them around the Midland Odessa area (ever heard of the Permian Basin???) as for the tumbleweeds while it is an interesting idea the only way to do it is to alter EVERY terrain type's graphics that could have them so that ALL your desert areas would have them in the square and im pretty sure there is no way to animate them so they roll around.

I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!

Hold out Barron...while I can't help surely theres sumone who can and will!!

 

[xghost]

Let me be the first person to disagree with this idea of a 'Texas Civlization'. Texas shouldn't be considered a Civilization, becuase it only stayed independent for a couple of decades and even then they wanted to join the Union! I do however like the idea of a Barbara Bush leader head.

 

[jamesjkirk]

If there had to be a choice for ONE state to make a civ out of, it'd be Texas, and then probably California, or the other way around. These definitely have the two most distinct cultures in the US. Some of the other states are "different" but I don't really see much distinct in the way of culture there. Most other cultural groups in the US can be broken down by region.

Also, Hawaii was an independent kingdom for a long time also, so it should be up there too.

I haven't been to Texas much, but I would define cowboys by their clothes and attitude more than whether they actually work with cows or not. Although maybe nowadays it's just become interchangable with the word "hick." Though I'd much rather watch a cowboy movie than a hick movie

 

[Bobby Lee]

no Hick and cowboy are only interchangeable in the Dallas area...(i would know i live there to my dismay)...As a person who considers himself a sort of ummm...for lack of a better word semi-cowboy I would say that clothes aren't the defining factor though I've never met one who couldn't dress the old western part...the thing is you also get in the fakes if you define it only by clothes...but thats not the subject...

I believe that Texas should have its own Civilization or at least it should be created because we are one of the most distinct States in the US ....and yes I think we have more rights to it than California as we were our own nation for 9 years (longer than any other state in fact I'm not even sure there is any other states that were thier own nation) and the truth to the matter about how we wanted into the US so bad is that there is very little proof that we did...in fact it is still in question whether or not the state actually voted to become a state (it is a fact that there were not enough voters who voted in the state when it came to a vote thereby if you want to get technical, Texas is technically still its own nation though most ppl don't know that and thus we don't act like our own nation.)

I think I will start doin some lookin into how to add civs and such and how to do all the things required to make it a complete mod as soon as I finish the one I'm workin on currently (though don't wait on me cause that's gonna be awhile)

 

[xghost]

Word to Bobby Lee:

Just because Texas is supposively a very distinct state and was indepent for nine whole years, it doesn't mean you people should just go wasting your time creating a whole civilization for them! Have you noticed how only the mightiest and most influential nations of all of earth's history are in Civ III? I don't believe Texas was ever (or for that matter will ever) become one of the world's super power. Oh yeah, and for the record, Texas may be distinct, but not nearly as distinct as Maryland dude. People there are trying to ban smoking , they give their kids a quality education, and they don't go polluting Ameica. But don't look at me, I don't live there, I'm just trying to get a point across.

 

[bewareofgnomes]

im glad i stumbled into this thread and jumpstarted it. were not suggesting or at least i dont think we are) that texas should be implemented in an exp pack or something as a new civ. it would just be fun to see a texas civ. maybe make a californian one and we could have 3 factions competing for control of the continent. alos, you could make a mexican one and we could have a pretty good scenario.