[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Rules, ICS, suggestions.

[Martin Olveyra <molv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with you with the problem of small cities. Also, my opinion is that the
rules must evolve, in order to make the game more interesting. I'm the first
enthusiast on following that way. That is why I have developed a patch that
changes the combat rules 
(see http://arch.freeciv.org/freeciv-dev-200102/msg00377.html) and I'm
implementing the ideas I suggested in 
http://arch.freeciv.org/freeciv-dev-200102/msg00401.html
About the problems of the small cities, I'have thought some time ago on a
realistic and more interesting approach:
during human history the cause of immigration was always a
sector of people who cannot find oportunities in the place they lived. Such
unhappy, segregated mens have been the nucleus of colonization. In my opinion,
the idea of build settlers under the control of the player has not sense. The
immigration is uncontrollable by nature. So, a better idea (unless for me) is
that the settlers must be created automatically when, for example, there is some
degree of unhappiness in a city during a certain lapse of time. Also, the
construction of roads, irrigation, etc, must be in hands of another kind of
unit, for example, "workers".
It is also true that in many times during history the governments has promoted
colonization of uninhabited lands, but this actions succeded only when that
unhappy people are available. This can be emulated by paying certain amount of
gold in order to "promote" that unhappy people (only if they exist) convert to
a settler unit.