Upgrades to the Settler

[TheSpaceCowboy]

I think the disincentives to colonizing foreign continent brought on by the loyalty system can be ameliorated by the addition of two new Settler-type units later in the game:

Colonist
Unlocks with Exploration
Cost less movement points to embark or disembark
Receives additional movement over water
Cities founded by Colonists receive additional loyalty if on a foreign continent from both the Capitol and city of origin

Pioneer
Unlocks with Colonialism
Receives additional movement on land tiles of the same continent as the city of origin
No movement penalties for traversing hills, forests, or rivers
Cities founded by Pioneers receive a production bonus to all City Center buildings already built in the city of origin if on the same continent

The idea is to send Colonists across the ocean to establish a foothold, and from there Pioneers will spread out across the rest of the new continent. Along with the return of Terra style maps this could greatly improve the flavor of the Age of Exploration.

 

[all4game]

Good idea. Pioneer should unlock earlier than colonialism imo. Also colonialism is more about spanding abroad anyways. By the time you get colonialism, depending on the size of your continent, it would likely be filled with a lot of your cities, limiting its use. Perhaps it could be a settler alternative for a new America civ such as James Polk or for all leaders, from the beginning of the game but it costs more gold/production.

The Colonist idea seems good as it is, with R&F you are penalized for settling far away even more than base game. There are several succesful empires that have settle far away lands such as Britain, Spain, Portugal, France, etc.

 

[Acepox]

Yeah. I think we need a good mid game settler allowing new cities to catch up, and an end game one that allows new cities to actually be somewhat useful, as they would never catch up anyway.


I like the general idea, though, certainly!

 

[fail-deadly-]

I think that colonies should be very different from settlements. The colony archetype to me is an extractive state, where a few foreigners attempts to collect some valuable resource for trade purposes. So I think colonies should be in the trader line, not settler line. A colonist would unlock at Currency (or maybe Political Philosophy), and it could only be established on a different continent (or island not part of your home continent), must be in trade route range, and it requires/uses a trade route. Colonies have a major advantage in that they uses the loyalty modifier of the home city. The colonists themselves are transferred from the home city to the colony (takes 1-5 turns depending on the distance), and use food from the home city. Colonies do not have a build queue, nor do their border grow through culture, nor do they have normal city defenses, but they control territory similar to cities, and colonies get a 75% discount on buying unclaimed tiles. The only way to pillage a colonial trade route it to catch the colonist unit as it moves back and forth between the colonies and the home city. If a civ loses a colonial trade route to pillaging, they have 5-10 turns to restore it before the colony revolts (and turns into a normal free), or if a civ cancel a colonial trade route it turns into a normal free city.

 

[Arent11]

I think the disincentives to colonizing foreign continent brought on by the loyalty system can be ameliorated by the addition of two new Settler-type units later in the game:

Colonist
Unlocks with Exploration
Cost less movement points to embark or disembark
Receives additional movement over water
Cities founded by Colonists receive additional loyalty if on a foreign continent from both the Capitol and city of origin

Pioneer
Unlocks with Colonialism
Receives additional movement on land tiles of the same continent as the city of origin
No movement penalties for traversing hills, forests, or rivers
Cities founded by Pioneers receive a production bonus to all City Center buildings already built in the city of origin if on the same continent

The idea is to send Colonists across the ocean to establish a foothold, and from there Pioneers will spread out across the rest of the new continent. Along with the return of Terra style maps this could greatly improve the flavor of the Age of Exploration.

Nope, simply make later/more advanced settlers more expensive, but at the same time they kickstart your city. Cities founded by "colonists" or "pioneers" might receive a free city center building (monument, granary etc.), claim more tiles or get a free builder. That would also work fine with the idea of being a "pioneer".

And scrap the loyalty system. It doesn't add anything to the game & only frustrates casual players.