The Civ selling/buying system

[GenghisK]

I was talking about civ 2 paradoxes and stupidities in civ 2 discussions forum and there was something I thought useful to submit. The automatic selling system.

Example: you are short on cash, the comp automatically sells a temple or a bank to upkeep the rest. And this is stupid because you can't choose. And worse, even though you can only miss 1 gold, it will sell a whole building. Does it really make sense?

That's why, we should be able to have a mortgage system, or even be able to loan from another civilization. After all, USA can perfectly loan from Swiss banks can they? And that should add another diplomatic dimension, since your foreign relations can improve by this exchange. It might be an additionnal civ advance, that prerequisites trade and banking of course.

What's your opinion? I have left this subject quite open so all the ideas are welcome.

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[a_disciple]

I must agree, there should be a possibility to take a loan if you are short on cash. In SMAC there was a system where you could loan money from another faction!

CEO Morgan comes online on my commlink; "Brother Lal I am short on cash, could you rent me 450 energy credits, and I wil pay it back ... (something) ... for a hundred years!" (something like this)

This way of taking loan could be boosted up, and become more serious in Civ III! Just a suggestion!

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"How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!" (The Bible about Solomon)

 

[Legionary]

LOAN is in fact a GREAT idea. It may very well be the only thing missing from Civ3's otherwise brilliant diplomacy (bargaining table).
You could just ask for an amount of money, offer to pay it back in a certain number of turns with x% interest (just a thought). If it is not payed back in the agreed number of turns, this should give the lender opportunity to declare war on you (wouldn't necesserily have to do so, though) without affecting his reputation (and even maybe damaging your reputation for not paying in time).
Another suggestion:
You should be able to ask another civ for money, military units in a friendly way, not demanding.(If the other civ is rich, but needs to rely on you for some reason, and you need money desperately.) In Civ2 a stronger civ would automaticly refuse this offer, but in real life it is done very often.
But I guess Civ3 would require much better AI to have really realistic features in diplomacy.

 

[block613]

Actually loans will be allowed in Civ III. In the diplomatic screen you could request a lump sum of money and offer to pay annually. The only problem with this is that I didn't see any way to set the number of years you would pay.

 

[spycatcher34]

This sounds like a really good idea. Even if you dont really need the money but say you wanted to start a war a little extra cash will go a long way.A_Disciple didnt mention something about the system in SMAC if they borrowed 348 (gold) credits they would pay you back like 600 over a 100 hundred year time and if you accepted the deal it would add to your commerce points.

 

[HIEROPHANT]

then you could trick the ai get a huge loan not pay them and kill there civilization.

 

[starlifter]

Even basic loans at loan shark rates are preferable (and more realistic) between turns... it is stupid to "sell off" infrastucture to pay temporary shortfalls.

Further refinements would be nice, too... but a basic loan system would add quite a bit to the game!

 

[stormerne]

I think GK was emphasising the possibility of borrowing from a "neutral" organisation like the IMF rather than another civ.

Loans are made on security. The security is the city improvement (or should it include wonders?). There are a number of questions that arise from this:
* What happens if you default on repayments? Should you lose your improvement/wonder with no compensation, rather like the Civ2 "fire-sale"?
* And to protect their investment with you, a lender normally imposes conditions on your use of the security. Does that mean that a mortgaged improvement would have its effects modified for the duration of the loan?
* In the real world, lenders can trade mortgages between themselves. You might suddenly find yourself owing money to an organisation you don't want to.
* And should finance from neutral organisations be available only when the prerequisite advance has been made, perhaps globally? International banking perhaps? Or just the Corporation? Or maybe when Adam Smith's has been built?

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[Mongol Horde]

Great ideas Stormy although I personally think that points 2&3 would be a little over complicated. A loan option from a central bank kind of thing would be excellent, you would need pre-reqs definately banking maybe UNited Nations has to be built also.You would submit a request for a loan and a repayment period, they would then come back with repayment period and the buildings of yours which will act as security. You can then accept or decline.

I don't think that the central bank would approve of you spending money on a war effort though.