Vokarya's Workshop: Wonders

[88GTS]

Those bonuses actually make more sense to me as a wonder

I actually meant it as a wonder designed to benefit corporations, guess I wasn't really clear.

 

[Vokarya]

Just a suggestion, since it looks like there was a debate on whether this should be a corporation how about effects along the lines of:
+ from spices, + from all plantations, and -xx% cost to spread corporation, and/or reduced corporation maintenance?

That could make it a wonder with heavy corporation focus.

That's not a bad idea, but the XML doesn't really allow it. There is almost no ability for buildings to interact with corporations through XML. I think I can brute-force that kind of stuff with Python, but I'd rather not.

 

[Vokarya]

I went looking through the XML schema for buildings, and I found a tag that I didn't think had been implemented in AND, but turns out to be there and working after all. This tag is <ExtraFreeBonuses> and allows a building to produce more than one kind of resource. I reworked East India Company to produce several Luxury Resources, like this:

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I think a good-sized empire would already have some of these resources, but not all, and EIC would fill in the gaps. (I also changed the tech to Mercantilism. I'm still going to move Corporation.) Would this be appropriately Wondrous enough?

 

[Noyyau]

Wondrous is the right word.
Seems almost too many resources! Maybe 1 or at most 2 of each?

 

[Vokarya]

Wondrous is the right word.
Seems almost too many resources! Maybe 1 or at most 2 of each?

I thought 3 would give you some trading potential. The only options are fixed quantity or scaling (like Hollywood), which would be way too strong on big maps.

 

[Noyyau]

I thought 3 would give you some trading potential. The only options are fixed quantity or scaling (like Hollywood), which would be way too strong on big maps.

True, but unlike Hollywood there's a lot of resources given, not just one. As you said you probably already own a few of those resources, so that 1 or 2 extra is what gives you the trading potential, I think.

 

[Vokarya]

There are still several Modern Era technologies that need help. The one-trick tech list of the Modern Era includes Modern Physics (Research Lab), 3D Modeling (Design Studio), Fiber Optics (Internet), Hydroponics (Hydroponic Farm), Microprocessor (Solar Plant), Superconductors (Supercollider), and Magnetic Levitation (Maglev), with 1.5-trick techs Computers (SETI Program and +1 from Silk Farm) and Fuel Cells (Stealth Submarine and the Transhuman-Era Tactical Fusi).

The Agency is a Wonder I would like to introduce to help Fiber Optics. The reason for the name is that it's a composite of every real and fictional intelligence agency of the Cold War era without having to make separate Wonders for all of them. This was also the name that was used in Call to Power 2, which is where the movie comes from. The bonuses from The Agency are threefold: free Intelligence Agencies in every city, +2 espionage points from all Spy specialists, and +4 XP for new Espionage units.

I will admit the tech choice is pretty arbitrary; Fiber Optics is at the right time point in the middle of the Modern Era and it feels like FO needs the most help. Computers would probably be the second best choice.

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[Arakhor]

Could you perhaps have Fibre Optics boost things like the Research Lab and Design Studio, to represent better transmission of data? I think The Agency would be better off under Computers, to be fair.

 

[Vokarya]

Could you perhaps have Fibre Optics boost things like the Research Lab and Design Studio, to represent better transmission of data? I think The Agency would be better off under Computers, to be fair.

I don't want to resort to minor bonuses if I can find something else. It doesn't feel very elegant.

 

[Afforess]

I'd vote to axe Modern Physics and move the Research lab to another tech. "Modern" physics doesn't mean anything specific. Researching "Modern" XXX doesn't even make sense...

I don't think any techs should have era monikors before them. It means they are misnamed. (Ancient Medicine included).

 

[Vokarya]

Two more before I sit down and compile everything for a new build. These are a pair of Transhuman Era Wonders. I think we need to do some development in the Transhuman Era to make sure that you don't run out of cool things to do while pushing to the end game.

Dinosaur Park is the big one. It's a helper for Artificial Evolution, which currently only has the Incubation Center and the +1 food from a bunch of improvements. Since it comes so late in the game, it provides a big bonus: +4 happiness worldwide, an additional +2 happiness on the same continent, +1 commerce per 5 connected cities with no maximum (tourist revenue), and +20% science. It requires multiple Cloning Laboratories and a city with a maximum latitude of 30 degrees, a Jungle in the city vicinity, and a Cloning Factory to produce the dinosaurs.

I looked around for appropriate building artwork, and I couldn't really find anything. There is a Zoo model floating around, but I couldn't get another animal into it and I don't know why. So I went with a small version of the Tyrannosaur from the Dinosaurs modmod.

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Since I try to avoid doing anything once whenever possible, Dinosaur Park also has a little brother. Pleistocene Park is an attempt to reconstruct the ecosystem and megafauna of the Ice Age. (This is actually being attempted right now in Siberia.) It comes a little earlier (requiring Cloning + Ecological Engineering) as it is possible that DNA from Ice Age animals might actually survive, while creating dinosaurs is reverse-engineering (which is why DP requires Artificial Evolution). Pleistocene Park must be built in cold lands, at a minimum of 50 degrees latitude and a Tundra square in the city vicinity. It also provides less happiness, smaller amounts of science and culture, and has a cap on how much commerce it can pull in, although you are not likely to hit the limits on any regular-size map.

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Of course, I don't consider either of these two buildings complete without something to show the risk of an animal escape. Since this is the Transhuman Era, I have chosen not to make these events on the earth-shaking level. A megafauna attack either costs you 600-1000 gold or 2 temporary unhappiness and 1 turn of disorder; a dinosaur attack costs you 1000-1500 gold to avoid 3 temporary unhappiness and 2 turns of disorder.

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[Vokarya]

I'd vote to axe Modern Physics and move the Research lab to another tech. "Modern" physics doesn't mean anything specific. Researching "Modern" XXX doesn't even make sense...

I don't think any techs should have era monikors before them. It means they are misnamed. (Ancient Medicine included).

I agree with you, but we need to find better names. Modern Physics is actually physics incorporating both relativity and quantum mechanics. I think we would be better off calling it Nuclear Physics or Particle Physics. If we get rid of the tech completely, we have to restructure a lot of the early Modern Era.

 

[Afforess]

Particle Physics sounds much better. Also...Dinosaur park? You are just passing on the opportunity for Jurassic Park?

 

[Rezca]

@DinosaurPark: I'm glad you didn't name it "Jurassic" Park x'D
I'll be honest, the idea of a dinosaur attack actually kind of amuses me, so unless it would end up sending my city into critical anger levels I'd probably just let the dinos run loose, imagining the havoc they're causing. (The "T-Rex in the Autirum" CGI video comes to mind. CG dinosaur breaks in, eats several people, and just causes mayhem.)


Nice to see the second one too - really reminds me of Zoo Tycoon actually, definitely fun times


@Ancient Medicine/Modern Phsyics - I like the idea of renaming it Particle Physics. As for Ancient Medicine, I can't really think of anything that wouldn't sound out-of-place (Since at the time of research it'd be "modern" and cutting edge, but onwards it would indeed be ancient)

 

[Afforess]

If you read the Jurassic Park novels, the park on Isla Nublar was the main site, but there were going to be park sites in most world cities built after the opening of the original site.

Further, if the park owners had not cheaped out and paid Nedry the bonuses he asked for, the Parks would have likely been successful! Never go cheap on programmers!

 

[Rezca]

If you read the Jurassic Park novels, the park on Isla Nublar was the main site, but there were going to be park sites in most world cities built after the opening of the original site.

Further, if the park owners had not cheaped out and paid Nedry the bonuses he asked for, the Parks would have likely been successful! Never go cheap on programmers!

Neh, I never read them. Was too young to at the time, and when I was present while my parents were watching the first film... Absolutely terrified me. Today 20 years later, I'm just not interested that much in most sci-fi novels. Maybe someday I'll pick it up, but right now Halo's the only sci-fi series I'm really reading


But yeah, there in the 'Transhuman' era they've probably got a lot better resources for keeping dinosaurs contained. Better methods, more safety protocols, the like. Accidents do and will happen though, and then stuff starts getting broken XD


To be honest, I don't see many "Dinosaurs in the Modern Day" scenarios that don't involve the creatures just going off on a rampage, breaking stuff and devouring people. Cool for Hollywood and all, but it'd be nice to see a change of pace every now and then. 'How to Keep Dinosaurs' was a nice book, since it both had some good detailed up-to-date info on many creatures, but was also very humorous and amusing too. I liked the bits on the Microraptor, Troodon, and Deinonychus especially. Accidents can happen, but they can be trained and kept in check (Though the latter of the three you still need a license to own). The T.rex and other larger theropods? Heh, no private owner is allowed to have
Zoos and stuff only, and they need VERY STRICT safety measures, otherwise... Well, we've got plenty of fiction to show us what happens

 

[Afforess]

Jurassic Park wasn't scifi! There is no technical reason dinosaurs couldn't be made, except the lack of viable DNA. Cloning works. Crichton was the author of Jurassic park and he is definitely one of the greatest authors of the 20th century.

 

[<Nexus>]

I am very surprised (and glad) to see RAND taking these wonders

Jurassic Park wasn't scifi! There is no technical reason dinosaurs couldn't be made, except the lack of viable DNA. Cloning works. Crichton was the author of Jurassic park and he is definitely one of the greatest authors of the 20th century.

Excuse me, but if Jurassic Park wasn't a scifi, than what was it??
It is definitely scifi, which is about "What if?"

 

[Arakhor]

I like the sound of Particle Physics as a replacement name, which makes me wonder - do we have CERN or something like it in the game, as a wonder I mean? Something like giving a free accelerator to every city? That could certainly be something good for Particle Physics.

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

I like the sound of Particle Physics as a replacement name, which makes me wonder - do we have CERN or something like it in the game, as a wonder I mean? Something like giving a free accelerator to every city? That could certainly be something good for Particle Physics.

There's already the Supercollider national wonder