why can't you just choose two traits?

[al_thor]

Yeah, the UU has lost a bit of it's importance since it no longer sparks a GA. Still, some of the UU's are kinda cool.
I'm more into the traits (boobs), so I will have to look into this modding. I hope that my wife will be agreeable.

 

[neriana]

Traits are like boobs.
To some people it is important to allways get their favorite kind of pair.
Others like to try diferent kinds every time

How would you feel if someone said "traits are like testicles," and then continued the comparison?

We are not amused.

 

[Sub]

I believe its done for ballance. I would personally love to choose whatever traits I want though.

 

[Penitent]

neriana that would be most amusing

I agree, the Romans are by no means weak thanks to their UU, use the Preatorian to conquer a big empire and suddenly their traits make sense. Have the balls to get out of your comfort zone and you'll enjoy it.

 

[PriestOfDiscord]

Because everyone would pick the trait combo that wasn't put in the game, and for good reason: Industrial/Philosophical.

 

[PriestOfDiscord]

Ack, double post.

 

[al_thor]

Hmmmmmm......I think that might have been the combo I was looking for. Not sure, but it might have been.

 

[Zhahz]

It seems to me that the starting traits, techs, and UUs are somewhat balanced and that being able to customize would likely hurt the balance quite a bit.

For example, no aggressive civs start with mining, which suggests that early testing found them to be too powerful if they started with mining.

I also think the traits themselves are reasonably balanced. I have my favorites but I get bored if I play the same traits all the time so I'll mix it up and I've played as every trait at least once. Different starting techs and UUs can affect how I play too so I like variety in that as well.

 

[josephstalin]

That is so bad idea, this will make a game just a graphics mode.

 

[bigphesta]

Traits are like testicles. There, happy?

 

[NuclearElephant]

Yes! It would be very nice to be able to pick your traits. I was looking for an industrious philosophical civ a while back and low and behold, they do not exist.

-NE

 

[Maxor127]

I just don't like playing as women. I don't remember if Civ IV does this, but I remember in Civ 3, it would ask you if you were Male or Female when you began the game but it wouldn't affect your portrait at all. I also create my own leader name and name some of my own cities so it's just weird to have a cross-gender thing going on. When I first read about two leaders for civs, I thought there would be two for every civ representing male and female. Is there an easy way to use another civ's portrait for a different civ? Like have Caesar's portrait with Elizabeth's Civ and traits. I'd also like to just pick my own traits. There should be a Custom civ option at the beginning of the Civ select screen where you could pick your portrait, name, traits, etc. That's much easier than dealing with text-editing files and figuring out XML and stuff.

 

[King Flevance]

I think this is a great idea. My first game I was looking at the traits in the book and wanted to play whatever civ was Industrius and Philosophical, howver, not one existed so I went with Cre/Phil. I really wanted to see the GP system.

I think now I would go with Agg/Cre

 

[CrackityJones]

I do like the idea, but I worry that if it were built-in and so easily accessible, I'd probably always use it, never playing with the pre-ordained combinations, and losing out on some of the flavor and challenge as a result.

As for the UUs, I like having them linked to particular civs, but MRM's research-based alternative isn't bad. I'd propose a slight modification -- give the special unit to the first country to discover the pre-req tech. (Makes some amount of sense as well -- armies attempt to copy the military innovations of their contemporaries, but their copies fall short of the real thing.)