BlackBetsy
Emperor
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2005
- Messages
- 1,049
I think this is somewhat related to a number of the economic threads going around, but I don't know where to affix it.
It strikes me that one thing about countries/regions in the world is that they are known for specialization...Cuban cigars, French wine, German beer, etc. It would add a more realistic "flavor" to Civ if there were more of these features, i.e., civ-dependent luxuries. That way, even if you don't have access to natural luxuries (gems, silks, etc.), you might have something to trade. In addition, a Civ dependent on the civ-specific luxuries of another civ would be less likely to go to war.
That brought me to another idea. In Sid Meier's Colonization, undifferentiated "citizens" could become "masters" at particular feats. An indentured servant could be upgraded to a free citizen, and a free citizen could become a "Master Tobacco Farmer" after working the tobacco fields for a while, thus increasing production.
I would enjoy seeing such "master" citizens introduced into Civ 4. If they worked a flood plain and became a master farmer, you could take them out of the flood plain city - not as a settler, however, just as a citizen, and have them get more food in a city on the plains. Say they are a +1 food "farmer." In the same way, a citizen could become a "miner" or a "trader" that could boost shields or trade.
I think it would also be enjoyable to see workers specialize after a while. You could build a more expensive "miner" at 30 shields who could mine hills, etc. in 25% fewer turns, or a worker that mines hills X consecutive turns become such an expert in its own right. That way, you could trade off your miner or your swamp-drainers or your expert irrigators to other Civs for their complementary workers.
In this regard, I wouldn't mind increasing the sale of workers between civs. Early in the game, I trade for workers all the time - they are highly valuable in preserving population and boosting production, but the limitation on trading to when a worker is in a capital city seems a little odd to me. You could still have slave workers which are less productive when workers/settlers are captured, but you might also buy expert miners (acquired ONLY through trade) from other civs that aren't slaves.
It strikes me that one thing about countries/regions in the world is that they are known for specialization...Cuban cigars, French wine, German beer, etc. It would add a more realistic "flavor" to Civ if there were more of these features, i.e., civ-dependent luxuries. That way, even if you don't have access to natural luxuries (gems, silks, etc.), you might have something to trade. In addition, a Civ dependent on the civ-specific luxuries of another civ would be less likely to go to war.
That brought me to another idea. In Sid Meier's Colonization, undifferentiated "citizens" could become "masters" at particular feats. An indentured servant could be upgraded to a free citizen, and a free citizen could become a "Master Tobacco Farmer" after working the tobacco fields for a while, thus increasing production.
I would enjoy seeing such "master" citizens introduced into Civ 4. If they worked a flood plain and became a master farmer, you could take them out of the flood plain city - not as a settler, however, just as a citizen, and have them get more food in a city on the plains. Say they are a +1 food "farmer." In the same way, a citizen could become a "miner" or a "trader" that could boost shields or trade.
I think it would also be enjoyable to see workers specialize after a while. You could build a more expensive "miner" at 30 shields who could mine hills, etc. in 25% fewer turns, or a worker that mines hills X consecutive turns become such an expert in its own right. That way, you could trade off your miner or your swamp-drainers or your expert irrigators to other Civs for their complementary workers.
In this regard, I wouldn't mind increasing the sale of workers between civs. Early in the game, I trade for workers all the time - they are highly valuable in preserving population and boosting production, but the limitation on trading to when a worker is in a capital city seems a little odd to me. You could still have slave workers which are less productive when workers/settlers are captured, but you might also buy expert miners (acquired ONLY through trade) from other civs that aren't slaves.
