[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Idea/suggestion: Different city radii

[Jason Short <jdorje@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Alan Schmitt wrote:
> * Raimar Falke (hawk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Mar 26, 2002 at 10:51:28PM +0100, Adolf J. Winterer wrote:
> >
> > > There should be three or four sizes for cities.
> > > The smallest (villages, of sizes 1 to 4) could
> > > have only 5 squares. The numbers and shapes are
> > > just for illustration.
> > >     X
> > >   X X X
> > >     X
> Civ 3 does it this way (I'm talking about culture, the actual max radius
> is the minimum between the usual civ radius and culture):
>  X X X
>  X C X
>  X X X
Yes, in a manner of speaking.

> > > Medium size cities (small towns, of sizes 4 to 10)
> > > could have 12 squares.
> > >     X X
> > >   X X X X
> > >   X X X X
> > >     X X
> Again for civ 3 (we now get the usual civ thing)
>
>    X X X
>  X X X X X
>  X X C X X
>  X X X X X
>    X X X
Again yes, more or less.

The difference between this and the previous pictures is that this one 
has an appropriate length in both directions, so the city can sit at the 
very center of the area.
> > This doesn't look ok.
> >
> >
> > > Larger cities (let's call them cities, of sizes
> > > 11 to 18) could have 21 squares.
> > >    X X X
> > >  X X X X X
> > >  X X X X X
> > >  X X X X X
> > >    X X X
> I don't really remember, but I think civ 3 does:
>
>    X X X X X
>  X X X X X X X
>  X X X X X X X
>  X X X C X X X
>  X X X X X X X
>  X X X X X X X
>    X X X X X
No, that's not the shape (though it's close).  But I think you're 
glossing over the point.
In Civ3, cities always cover the same area - the same one FreeCiv uses, 
drawing #2 from up above, a circle of radius 2.5.  But there is the 
additional restriction that only area within your borders is workable, 
and the distance to the borders depends on culture.  I have not checked 
explicitly, but I'm pretty sure the border sizes are all circles too - 
of radius 1.5, 2.5, and probably increasing a single unit thereafter.
Things are a little bit more complicated than this, because tiles just 
outside of two different cities' borders are sometimes included in the 
collective nation's territory.
> > > The largest cities (metropolis, of size 19 and
> > > above) could have 40 squares.
> > >    X X X X
> > >    X X X X
> > >  X X X X X X
> > >  X X X X X X
> > >  X X X X X X
> > >  X X X X X X
> > >    X X X X
> > >    X X X X
> > This is also not ok.
> >
> >
> > > The city dialog certainly needs adjustments
> > > to reflect these changes.
> > AFAIK there was a consensus that such a feature would be nice and
> > accepted.
>
> This would indeed be great.
I agree it would be nice to have support for such things.  But I don't 
think you'll ever come up with a balanced ruleset that uses them.
I do think you're going about it the wrong way: you should think not in 
terms of the specific shape that the city area takes, but instead make 
the shape a circle and just use the radius.  The same concept could 
apply to units' vision areas, which are also circles.
jason