The Official Civ4 Ideas Thread

[Bart2k4]

It is a very we'll known fact, that illegal drug sales go up into the trillians. I would like it, if you could farm/cultivate drug plants and use it as an illegal export on the black/underground markets. Lets face it, drugs have been around for thousands of years.

A real life example of this is: Columbia(crack), Mexico(all), Afganistan(heorine), Jamaica(weed), etc, etc.

How it would work is, when your civilization exports a drug(illegal) and another civ accepts to import that drug(they legalizaed) resource, all the cities get comtaminated with that drug, it gives happy faces to *oppressed people, war weary and drafting complainin* to the enemy civ and couses corruption(lol, naturally) and steals 1 gold coin from everyone citizen that become happy from it in that city.... now if that nation decides to stop its import, all those happy people, turn into unhappy plus half of the *naturally happy people* turn unhappy and all content become unhappy..... or something along those lines......unless you people can come up with something better.....

Oh... and if a civ. doesn't want to import such a drug, you can send non-combat units into the city to get everyone hooked(with risk of getting cought, of course)! lol.

I am not a druggy, lol, and I wanted to say this because its an original idea and drugs themselves have been around ever since humans, my point was, creating an "addictable" resource, that other nations suffer penelty from stopping trade with it.

 

[Khan Quest]

Space Age

I would like to see one more age. A spaceship capable of travelling to Alpha-Centari with our current and very near term technology just isn't reasonable. Most, if not all, the spaceship components could be moved to the new space age. Some new technologies could be Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology, Gene-splicing, Super-conductors, Bionics, Advanced materials, Photonics, Bio-synthesis, Regeneration and Fusion. Some Wonders could be Space station, Mars base, Biosphere III (since biosphere II was lame), 1st AI computer, 1st bioengineered eco-system.

--

Archaological Treasure.

The site of a battle, ruined city or barbarian could provide a transitory bonus of gold and/or trade. The location would be within one tile of the actual site (to keep us guessing) and would appear at least one age later than the event occurred. If the site is not within a city radius or in neutral terratory the bonus would go to the nearest city. If two cities share the site, whichever is working the tile or whoever is larger gets the bonus. A worker working the site would maximize the bonus. Military units passing over a site would have a small chance to discover the site. Workers passing over would have a better chance. A citizen working the tile would have a better chance, and a worker working the tile would have the best chance.

 

[hahntsak]

Originally posted by Bart2k4
It is a very we'll known fact, that illegal drug sales go up into the trillians. I would like it, if you could farm/cultivate drug plants and use it as an illegal export on the black/underground markets. Lets face it, drugs have been around for thousands of years.

A real life example of this is: Columbia(crack), Mexico(all), Afganistan(heorine), Jamaica(weed), etc, etc.
Oh... and if a civ. doesn't want to import such a drug, you can send non-combat units into the city to get everyone hooked(with risk of getting cought, of course)! lol.

I am not a druggy, lol, and I wanted to say this because its an original idea and drugs themselves have been around ever since humans, my point was, creating an "addictable" resource, that other nations suffer penelty from stopping trade with it.

how about America and tobacco? it's legal but same methods and britain got chinese hooked on opium... i think they fought a war about that...
but i doubt anyone would willing let that in. how about hidden addictive stuff in trade deals [lots of drugs piggy back normal trade] or via early espionage like steal techs. you could supply contraband to get them hooked, then they'll beg for it.

btw, great idea!

 

[thasan]

Originally posted by hahntsak
i got an idea for the next civ: bonus resources [non tradable] that can later become tradable [perishables].

example: fish, at first may not last long but later with better shipping techs that occur - electricity these resources could suddenly be traded [perishable resource flag]. perhaps with terrace farming rice, maize, and wheat cound grow on hills when reappearing [crop resource flag].

lets hear more ideas for resources.

:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
finished product selling:

goodjob: hahn.

i also want to raise the point of considering about the finished product selling at a higher price...like steel (from iron), tinned fish, leather goods, local handmade goods (which ONLY will come from that civilization)

still thinking about resourcs

 

[hahntsak]

Originally posted by Khan Quest
Space Age

I would like to see one more age. A spaceship capable of travelling to Alpha-Centari with our current and very near term technology just isn't reasonable. Most, if not all, the spaceship components could be moved to the new space age. Some new technologies could be Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology, Gene-splicing, Super-conductors, Bionics, Advanced materials, Photonics, Bio-synthesis, Regeneration and Fusion. Some Wonders could be Space station, Mars base, Biosphere III (since biosphere II was lame), 1st AI computer, 1st bioengineered eco-system.

--

Archaological Treasure.

The site of a battle, ruined city or barbarian could provide a transitory bonus of gold and/or trade. The location would be within one tile of the actual site (to keep us guessing) and would appear at least one age later than the event occurred. If the site is not within a city radius or in neutral terratory the bonus would go to the nearest city. If two cities share the site, whichever is working the tile or whoever is larger gets the bonus. A worker working the site would maximize the bonus. Military units passing over a site would have a small chance to discover the site. Workers passing over would have a better chance. A citizen working the tile would have a better chance, and a worker working the tile would have the best chance.

1. good point, but i'd go further. a stone Age, and put all most primitive stuff there. six or moreage or at least let scenarios editor add/delete eras [poss max of say ten eras]

2.. perhaps if named by one party at time of the battle that part could be worked the other 2 situations might be easier. when you defeat a barbarian an invisible marker remains as it could when a goody hut associated with a particular tribe was uncovered., later a flag could appear and when right clicked, the info could be given. date, parties, outcome or barbarian tribe and civ and what they gave civ - or how they ambushed the civ.
this might be linked to the tile naming feature suggesred earlier.
[you name a tile ('big river') on your map facilitating go to like cities and when you trade maps in mp you could refence these, well a battle marker would be great. perhaps after a battle you could have option win or lose to mark the spot. so if they nail yoiu at 2-3 different spots you could have multiple rallying points or ask an ally to defend one or more points while you take one of their flanks...

great ideas

 

[hahntsak]

Originally posted by thasan
:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
finished product selling:

goodjob: hahn.

i also want to raise the point of considering about the finished product selling at a higher price...like steel (from iron), tinned fish, leather goods, local handmade goods (which ONLY will come from that civilization)

still thinking about resourcs

how it could work: a flag you check in editor and a dependent resource needed.

btw crack and hashish would be improved products on addictive resources.
if addictive it could become available via embassy/ spy interface to hook another civ.
there should be a difficult but possible way to rid one's civ of these addictions. very difficult.
but this is workable good idea. perhaps railroads could a) chargeto load unload and b) require steel and coal, but maybe steel requires 2 raw materials [ iron and coal]
just a thought

 

[thasan]

idea: finished product

Originally posted by hahntsak


how it could work: a flag you check in editor and a dependent resource needed.

maybe steel requires 2 raw materials [ iron and coal]
just a thought

yup, hahn. maybe with specific factory (like a small wonder e.g. iron factory which will not give any production bonus) or tech like blast furnace, u can make steel and sell it to the market. it will give you little extra money per turn but AI may choose to buy it from you, or to buy steel..etc etc etc.

handmade goods can be a good luxury resource as well in the modern ages ONLY.

what do you think??

 

[hahntsak]

btw regarding finished product or improved resource or value added resource... whatever it's called.

1. japan turned imported iron into steel.

for addictive substances :
1. tobacco legal but addictive still.
phillip morris wants to export cigs to China now... it's still king.
notbad fora good that doesn't have to list ingredients and stuff, hahaha...
crack would love to have tobbacco's power and status, hahahahsa...
2. opium {britain to china} they fought war about just that.
3. heroin [made from opium] imported to america, englasnd , etc from opium exporters.

hey on addictive substances like say hemp/ganja/ you know what could we put negative values for food to show excess food eaten [munchies!] or minus produvction?

 

[hahntsak]

Originally posted by thasan
idea: finished product




yup, hahn. maybe with specific factory (like a small wonder e.g. iron factory which will not give any production bonus) or tech like blast furnace, u can make steel and sell it to the market. it will give you little extra money per turn but AI may choose to buy it from you, or to buy steel..etc etc etc.

handmade goods can be a good luxury resource as well in the modern ages ONLY.

what do you think??

some improved good came earlier but most would be modern era or space age.

wheat into bread could occur in ancient era but not stone age [primitive peoples had unleavened bread so bread as we know it would be an improvement. as cloth from cotton or flax or leather from cattle or rugs from sheep and camels [persian rugs =$$$]


btw i want
cobalt [for future laser stuff]
camels
opium
heroine
hemp
bread
marble or
stone quarry as standard resource
amber [with dna research --- jurassic park army?]
flax and linen
polyester cloth from oil
plastic from oil
jewelry from gems


that's a partial list

 

[Sparrow3]

Originally posted by Khan Quest
Space Age

I would like to see one more age. A spaceship capable of travelling to Alpha-Centari with our current and very near term technology just isn't reasonable. Most, if not all, the spaceship components could be moved to the new space age. Some new technologies could be Artificial Intelligence, Nanotechnology, Gene-splicing, Super-conductors, Bionics, Advanced materials, Photonics, Bio-synthesis, Regeneration and Fusion. Some Wonders could be Space station, Mars base, Biosphere III (since biosphere II was lame), 1st AI computer, 1st bioengineered eco-system.

I would add asteroid mining, Mars colonization, orbital space colonies, and solar system exploration. New research could be advanced interstellar drives and terraforming

Originally posted by Khan Quest
Archaological Treasure.

The site of a battle, ruined city or barbarian could provide a transitory bonus of gold and/or trade. The location would be within one tile of the actual site (to keep us guessing) and would appear at least one age later than the event occurred. If the site is not within a city radius or in neutral terratory the bonus would go to the nearest city. If two cities share the site, whichever is working the tile or whoever is larger gets the bonus. A worker working the site would maximize the bonus. Military units passing over a site would have a small chance to discover the site. Workers passing over would have a better chance. A citizen working the tile would have a better chance, and a worker working the tile would have the best chance.

How about a new city cultural improvement: Museum. Culture value of 1; but if battle site/ruined city is found culture value increases to 2 or 3.

 

[Mr. Cackle]

I just got this idea:

Prospector. Some resources require a prospector to be visible by a prospector for them to be discovered! Or perhaps a prospector would be the same as an explorer? Anyway, thought it would be cool.

 

[hahntsak]

Originally posted by Sparrow3

I would add asteroid mining, Mars colonization, orbital space colonies, and solar system exploration. New research could be advanced interstellar drives and terraforming


How about a new city cultural improvement: Museum. Culture value of 1; but if battle site/ruined city is found culture value increases to 2 or 3.

1. i'd doubt ti until the expansion 'civ4: space AGe' but with multiple maps it could be done. one question though if a civ was on multiple maps [on earth and mars] and was wiped out on earth was destroyed could the mars team keep it alive? hmmmm

2. museam would be cool and highlight the need for improvements that can be aware of a geme marked tile within a city's radius .

locations of where leaders were created should also recieve marking too. imho

 

[Bart2k4]

I would add asteroid mining, Mars colonization, orbital space colonies, and solar system exploration. New research could be advanced interstellar drives and terraforming

All of you have forgotten about the "Space Elevator" wonder! Its attainable to build within 30 years in our life time [note:...don't believe me, check it out ] so why not have that as a wonder in the space age? Once one civ builds it, it establishes a permanent orbital city above it.(causing multimaps)

I love hahntsak's list, and I agree with him/her. What I thought was, certain cities that have to have certain resources in their range gain access to building certain buildings that refine the resources, etc.

Iron [Raw] + Coal [Raw] = Builds Iron works = Steel [Refined]
Steel [Refined] = Battleships [Units] , Skyscrapers[Building],etc,etc

Basically I want the game to rely heavily on resources [Raw/Refined], so there should at least be 50(or more) different kinds! And ‘every’ unit, building, commerce, etc, relies HEAVLY on whether you have the resources [Raw/Refined/Produced] or not............ Just gives you more reasons to *justify* conquering other nations land if they don't want to share that resource.

 

[Bart2k4]

3) Cultures should get additional strengths and weaknesses based on their ethnic stock, for instance Germanic peoples would have high intelligence (faster research), Slavic peoples would have extreme toughness (cheaper to support soldiers), Asian peoples would have good work ethic (less corruption), et cetera.

Interesting idea, although what yould you say about the 'Irish'? And maby certain days give bonus benifits to them, like on Saint Patricks day? When the oll' irish fighin' spirit is high and mighty?? j/k

 

[Risbinroch]

Some are probably editor wishes too

1. Cities should not be burned to the ground so often. It should cause all hell to break out if you do this in modern times. Just think that US burned Baghdad to the ground and killed all its citizens... Don't think the world community would be very pleased of such an act. If this is not possible, make it possible to alter such things in the editor.

2. Add eras, at least the possibility to add them in the editor. No really limits either. So you could add as many eras as you pleased.

3. I wish firaxis used more flavor units.

4. Some units should have bonus against certain units: you should also be able to set them in the editor. Pikemen should have a bonus against "mounted units" but not agains offensive foot units etc.

5. You should be able to set "order of defense" so that you could use the poor units as "cannon fodder" first.

6. Better editor, it should be possible to do mostly everything in it. Add Civilopedi entries, add civpedia pics etc. You shoulden't need to alter text files etc.

7. Easy to add new civs. Just add them in the editor, add the pics and that's that...

8. Canals, as I guess many allready have wished for. No real limits either, but the longer the canal, the longer it will take and more it will cost.

9. Allies should be able to move into the same tile. So that you could send troops and defend your allies cities etc.

10. Revolutions: but better then it was in previous civ. Like the Vikings could revolt to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland perhaps. This could be set in the editor, and each city could be marked with wath kind of "new" civ it would eventually belong to. Revolutions could happen in different ways: Some cities could declare their independence, they could sue for political power (with some effect on loosing money etc, but you still had military power over them), they could seek to be part of a other civ (much like today) but then there would be an act of war perhaps. You could choose to crush the rebels, to allow them independence. All with different events.

Example: USA could perhaps revolt to: Confederate States, or even just States (with cities belonging to that state) so that Texas could revolt from US.

11. Be able to sell military gear (units) so that a civ that don't have that good panzer as Germany, could still buy them. Or they could also loan them.

12. Puppet states.

13. If you have occupied all of another civs cities, and the civ is "dead" it could awake in the future, declaring themselves independent again. Like Israel, after what, 2000 year or so, they got their own country again.

14. Nations could capitulate and negotiations will be taken of what will happen, will they still produce their own buildings etc, but you control their territory. This will offcourse only be possible if there is the possibility of a nation wan't their independence again and such.

15. Much more negotiations and possibilities. Like pacts, you decide wich parts of an enemy's land you will have, and which part your ally will take.

16. More "sense" to the pacts allready present, so that wartimes isn't such a mess, with everyone at war with everyone...

17. Resources in the sea could be used: oil platforms (an automatic port in it for instance?) and fish and whales could be used even if it was far away from your cities, you would send an fishing fleet or something.

18. Buildings should be (or be possible to add in the editor) required for certain units. Tank Factory to build tanks, Air Factory to build planes etc.

19. Buildings should have the ability to be obsolete. So that slave markets or something should be obsolete at some point. And sacrifical altar that is in the meso america scenario, could be a civ-specific building obsolete in more modern times.

20. Units that can heal other units, like "ambulances" and such, in enemy territory. Should only have the possibility to do such things, or even "hospital ships" would be needful in certain scenarios.

21. Units support cost could vary: from 0.1 gold (you would need 10 units before it really cost) to 10 gold a turn. Most needfor for scenarios perhaps. Same goes for buildings.

22. Attack helicopters: could attack ground targets (esp. tanks which they should have a bonus against, and perhaps a negative bonus against infantry) but they should be returned to a city after a turn. They should also be able to cross sea. Much like it was with planes in CIV2.

23. More terrain. Polar terrain. So that the likes of Greenland is not such an attractive to settle. And also "real" Polar terrain in north and south, so you could set up "research stations" etc.

24. Resources should be tradeable like today. But when you import for instance horses, you should be able to breed them yourselves after a while, so that horse resources pop up in your own tiles too...

25. Be able to "seize" terrain even though you do not have a city there. Such should perhaps only be possible with certain units (explorers, conquistadors etc.) So that you could claim territory in another continent long before you actually build cities there, same with south pole and north pole.

all i could think of at the moment... just hope Firaxis listen to this (as for instance Sports Internactive (boys behind CM) do) Games are for their fans really, withouth fans, there would be no game... And CIV is a great game, though it could be much better...

 

[Risbinroch]

Oh and a couple more:

26. More units. Like camel units, at least one generic and one could be UU for a civ (arabs perhaps). Same with the Elephant, at least one generic. So that if you don't have the horse resource, you could compete with camels or elephant units instead.

27. More luxery resources. Sugar and tobacco should be luxery. Copper (lead too perhaps) could be strategic and needed to build Bronze age units.

28. Trade food... So that a city that has a lot of factories etc and don't really produce food, can get surplus food from cities that produce lots of food. Make no sence with "hunger" in your civ, when other cities produce alot of food...

29. You should also be able to sell food to other civs, or just give them away to, or even loan them (so they get in depth with you, owing you money)

30. More on revolutions: when you make an revolution (change government) then perhaps that would be a trigger for a real revolution. Like if you changed to communism, some of your cities woulden't really like that, and would become "Democratic Russia", "Nationalist Russia" etc... And you would have to crush them (if theyd declared war on you...)

 

[Hakim]

Probably mentioned already, but I'd like the option to make federalism as a means to reduce corruption and avoid culture flips. It could have some other penalty.

I suggest making it an option like the mobilization-peace time menu, available for republic and democracy (the other are centralist to their nature?) after some tech have been discovered.

 

[mihoshi]

(Nearly)No workers and no city radius
Mostly worker workers do improvements near city. Why cities can't do it by themselves?

It may works like that. On city screen right-click on map tile and select what improvements you want to do. You may put some improvements in queue. Then change some inhabitants to "improvement makers" specialists. They will work then like workers.


Effectiveness of working shoud depend on distance from city and roads.

So, you have 90% productivity and building effectivity on nearby tile connected rail road, 80% with road, 70% without road. For example, substract -10% for one step with rr, -20% for one step with road and -30% for step without road.

Also allow to "build" multiple settlers at a time and for free. So, if you want to build road somewhere not near your cities - build camp ("temporary city") and build roads from it. Camp can be developed to real city by building houses for it's inhabitants. Cost of one-head-house is equal to present worker cost - 10 shields.

Why is it good?
It is more realistic. It integrates a lot of present fundamental mechanics in more natural way. So, this way roads are more like roads, people more like people and cities are more like cities. Modern cities can became bigger and more effective in railroad times naturally, without weird "+50% production on nowhere-going railroad tile" rules.

And it's mush less micromanagement. Most time in modern era I shuffle workers and slaves around the map doing one upgrade or another. It's not fun really. I just want to be able to cdo some clicks like "please build rr here, than mine,then rr on that cell" etc.

 

[Miluss]

Originally posted by mihoshi
(Nearly)No workers and no city radius
On city screen right-click on map tile and select what improvements you want to do. You may put some improvements in queue. Then change some inhabitants to "improvement makers" specialists. They will work then like workers.

(...)

And it's mush less micromanagement. Most time in modern era I shuffle workers and slaves around the map doing one upgrade or another. It's not fun really. I just want to be able to cdo some clicks like "please build rr here, than mine,then rr on that cell" etc.

The general idea is nice - it makes me sick as well to manage 100+ workers on doing this or that, but if you change citizens into improving specialist, does it not disturb the city growth? Say, in 2 size city, you turn one citizen into worker-like specialist, so only one citizen produces food, shields and so on.

 

[mihoshi]

Originally posted by Miluss


The general idea is nice - it makes me sick as well to manage 100+ workers on doing this or that, but if you change citizens into improving specialist, does it not disturb the city growth? Say, in 2 size city, you turn one citizen into worker-like specialist, so only one citizen produces food, shields and so on.

Yes, it is. But if you take all ideas of my posts together - it will work.
Of course, value of food/shields from tile and penalty for distance must be balanced.

Also it must be done something with "making city nails one head to a ground" rule. As you know, you need two heads to make settler. When you found a city you got one head, bu two working tiles - central tile is manned with "nailed to ground" head It is done to balance present system, but it is not necesarry.

Penalty for no-road vertical/horisontal step is 20%, road-step is
10%, rr step is 5%. Diagonal step is 1.5 hor/ver one.

Let settler = 1 head, production is rounded to nearest and one average square produce 3 food and 3 production.

You convert 3 heads from some city to 3 settlers. Use it to make all-new 3-head town.

One head works in central square = 3f3p. Second works on nearby unupgraded tile. It will be 30% penalty. 3*0.85 = 2.55 So, 3f3p also.

You have one worker to build irrigation on central square, when it's done first will do 6f3f.

Other way is to use shields to determine speed of upgrading, but don't sure about this.