Unit Idea: Traveller

[The Rusty Gamer]

One of the design problems with Civ 4 appears to be that you can't seem to be able to have population transferring from city to city. So this is the idea.

Be able to build the traveller unit, which really represents a number of travellers. This uses up one population, besides the usual production cost.

You can then send the traveller unit to another one of your cities. When the traveller unit joins it, one population is added to that city.

There could be limitations such as a traveller not being able to enter a city which is in revolt,unhealthy, or is suffering from starvation, or would cause such things if the unit joined the city. In fact, such an unhappy, unhealthy, revolting city may in itself be able to build travellers at a cheaper rate! People want to leave!

The traveller unit could also then be used as another bargaining chip for trade with other civlizations, effectively creating immigration and emmigration. Giving away a traveller, which means a population point to another civ, could give a huge diplomatic bonus.

Rather unrealistically, but for simple game-play purposes, I see instant assimilation into another culture. Otherwise, it may get overly-complicated.

 

[Hydromancerx]

Sounds more like an "Immigrant" than a "Traveler". Travelers usually go back to where they came from while Immigrants usually stay where they have moved to.

 

[The Rusty Gamer]

Hmmm...how about a "wanderer"? Didn't want to call it an immigrant because, depending on the POV, it could arguably also be an emmigrant. Besides, just moving from city in your own civ, it wouldn't be called that. Only from transferring to another civ could it be called an imigrant/emmigrant.

Name aside, what about the general idea of the unit?

 

[NBAfan]

I like this kind of unit.

 

[Killtech]

what about a simple settler for the job? angry citizens or unhealthy cities might generate settlers via events. these event spawned settlers - or emigrants - are given to another civ (they are should not be under your control) that they chose to immigrate. of course the civ must be at good terms with you. however the settlers also spread some of their original cities culture to the city they settle/the city they found.

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

I believe that this is mostly what Orion Veteran's Immigrant mod does.