Vote: Extended space race ??

[Jopo]

In Civ games so far the Space Race has been quite short, you build the Apollo Program and then you build the starship to Alpha Centauri.

I say it´s TOO SHORT, there needs to be A LOT more stuff to do in space and the starship needs to be a whole lot HARDER to build.
At our current level of technology, a starship would be IMPOSSIBLE to build, we don´t have powerful enough engines, we don´t have cryogenics (necessary for a "sleeper ship"), we don´t have Faster Than Light engines or Warp Drives (necessary for any other sort of starship), we don´t have artificial gravity (necessary for long duration flights).
In short, we don´t have many of the technologies necessary to go to stars, we can barely reach Mars if we try real hard.

I say the Space Race needs to be a LOT longer and take more steps to complete.
First you have the Apollo Program and the Moon Race. Then you have other programs like the Space Shuttle and the ISS (necessary scientific steps to study zero-g environment etc. ).
After those you have the Mars flight and Colonization of Mars (every civilization can produce their own Mars flight wonder and Mars Colony). Modular projects built by building modules like in the starship. You have Space Station modules and Mars Colony Modules etc.
Of course the assembling of ships to go to Mars etc. requires a system to get stuff into orbit CHEAPLY, so the Space Elevator national wonder must be built (it should be a national wonder because after they discover the technology to make it possible, EVERY major nation on earth will probably build their own Space Elevator to gain better access to space).
When you at last discover the necessary techs to build a starship, you can start assembling it in orbit ( a large ship like that HAS TO BE assembled in orbit), first you must build a Space Dock to build your ship of course. Of course there has to be a project or wonder "the search for habitable planets", before you can launch. Then you assemble your starship and launch it. At this point there could be a choice, there could be SEVERAL star systems where you can go, there could be a list of nearby star systems and you could send a starship to them all, if the space race is made long enough (could be modded). Perhaps one starship isn´t enough to guarantee victory, but you would need SEVERAL to gain enough "space influence" points to declare yourself the victor. This for those who REALLY like a long game, of course one starship might be enough if it is set so in the victory conditions.

So SEVERAL modular projects to build, A Space Station, A Mars Colony and the Starship. More could be modded.

Cheers!

 

[Mercade]

It's long enough, but I wouldn't mind it becoming longer.

 

[SHADOW-XIII]

I was always having that idea of 2nd world map - when you build your space ship and put a unit there (settler?) after waiting couple of turns (spaceship travel) you are able to toggle between new world map (new planet) and old one.

That would be nice to see that new planet expansions would break in revolutions between civ that goes back to the old Earth world...

Much more: first space ships would be slow and limited in space (1 unit) ... so that would prevent overcrowding distant planet with nation I suppose but in future techs player could develop new technologies (travelling with light speed, more space in bigger ships), etc, providing at the end stable trade network

afterwards .... another planet?

 

[playshogi]

By that point in the game, I'm ready to wrap things up, not prolong it.

 

[Colonel]

I wouldn't mind maybe a mission to the moon and to mars but I don't even like the concept of building a space ship in this game. I think it should be build a wonder for mars and the moon. Also maybe a national wonder for a space station which would gain you scientific points. Last I would like a satellite unit for recon of enemy territory that could stay up there indefinitely.

 

[Vault Boy]

i think that the space race needs to be prolonged, instead of just building a spaceship, you should have to set up colonies on other worlds and research mysterious alien technology.

An "extended" space race sounds like a good idea for a mod...

 

[Picard42]

By that point in the game, I'm ready to wrap things up, not prolong it.

Amen. 90% of the time, at this point in the game, either I'm far enough ahead that my victory is a foregone conclusion or far enough behind that I'd be better off just quitting.

It's not like this can't be modded anyway. Just add a bunch of techs at the end and move the component requirements further down the tech tree. At least that way it's optional.

 

[BobDole]

By that point in the game, I'm ready to wrap things up, not prolong it.

Yeah, by the time you start slapping together your spaceship in Civ IV, you could've won a Diplomacy or Cultural Victory, and maybe have already won a Conquest/Domination victory, or be well on your way towards doing so since war in the Modern Era was pretty easy. Making the process even longer would just make everyone skip over it probably. I think the need to bring the Spaceship parts to the capital is enough of a change.

 

[Howard Mahler]

I play without the space race.

I forget the last time I played without the no space race option.

It was fun in Civ I, but got tiresome to me soon after that.

To each his own.

 

[Pouakai]

I've allready got a topic here, but regardless, I think an extended space stage would be great.

 

[muxec]

If you are in space race it already means that the game lasted for way too long. 1 ship is enough. It's Civ5, not CTP3.

 

[GamezRule]

I would like to see it extended, like the ship has to make it out of the solar system or something?

 

[LDiCesare]

All the elements you mention are good, but it's still going to be too long. When this stage of the game is reached, you want to end the game and start anew, except in a few peculiar cases like OCC.