[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Caravans

[Tony Stuckey <stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, Jan 05, 2000 at 08:51:12PM +0100, Mathias Broxvall wrote:
> >It would be nice to implement Civ2-style trade-routes, controlled by a 
> >ruleset 
> file.  I've started thinking about this, but so far only have a tentative 
> example of a "commodities.ruleset" file (see attachment).
> 
> How about specifying tileset prerequicites and weights to the commodities
> available at a specific city. Also techonologies could be needed as
> prerequicites. For example:
[snip]
> The purpose of the above commodities is that atleast one mountain square
> is needed to produce copper as soon as the player has the metalworking
> advance. (Was that tech in the old board game perhaps?)

        Metalworking was certainly in AdCiv, I don't recall if it was in
Civ or not.  I've only ever played the Civ board game twice, then I
realized that AdCiv is truly the coolest board game ever and you should
never play anything else. :)

> Machinetools can be manufactured as soon as the player has industrism
> and hides is a default commodity any city can produce. For instance, if
> there is a limit of one commodity per city then mountain cities should
> always produce copper, other high tech cities always tools and hides would
> only be a default commodity for the poor cities.

        As I recall, all cities always produce 3 commodities.  There were
commodities like Beads which did not appear in the board game.  Demand I
never got a feel for how it worked -- it always just seemed random to me.

> As a matter of the maximum number of trade routes *from* a city one could 
> either
> set a fixed number (three?), let it grow with city size (half city 
> population?)
> or let it be as many as is specified in the commodities section and is
> applicable to the city in question (limited by what terrain tiles are near the
> city and the owner's technology). 

        It was definitely a fixed number in Microprose Civ.

> Also perhaps it would be an idea with a "minimum distance" between commodities
> so that rare commodities don't occur in cities next to each other? (Could be
> hairy to implement tough...) or perhaps it's good to have a uniform 
> distribution
> of goods so that part of the continents can be regarded as "gold belts",
> "vine districts" etc.. I.e. player A has lots of cities producing Wine
> but none producing Gold, player B the opposite. Therefore they have to
> trade between themselves to trade optimally

        If the cities are next to each other, the trade route will be
useless anyway.  Value of the initial return and value of the per-turn
trade both depend on distance.  And it's cut in half for being on the same
continent.  And probably cut in half again for being the same nation.
        The trade route rules really encouraged trade *between* nations.
-- 
Anthony J. Stuckey                              stuckey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And they said work hard, and die suddenly, because it's fun."
        -Robyn Hitchcock.