[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#7029) Rfc: Fleshing out/extending the tech tree

["raven@xxxxxxxxx" <raven@xxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=7029 >

> Please add to this ticket with ideas of plausible modern/near-future
> techs,
> units, improvements and wonders that could be included into Freeciv's
> rulesets.

I'm not much on wonders, I prefer the idea of National Improvements
("Small Wonders" in Civ3), but here's a few ideas I've had for some of
those that could be added on late in the modern era.  (Some of these might
make things a little crazy and not be good for game balance, but I'm just
brainstorming here)

GPS - Global Possitioning System.

This could have various effects, for instance, Missile units could be
given a misrible failiure rate until you build GPS.  :-)

Spy Satalite Network.

Available a decent amount of time after the Apolo Program, and would give
you a full active view of the whole planet.  Or perhaps a more balanced
version of this would only show an active view of a particular part of the
world (your choice), of a size desided on by how much funding (gold
upkeep/year) you put into it.  It could perhaps give you some limited view
-into- cities, but would have limitations such as not seeing units on
forest squares, or something like that.

Units:

Deep ocian mining vessile.  Ocian tiles could have various specials
farther out from the coast, and to exploit them you would need a "Mining
Ship" which would sail out to that tile, and "mine" it - as long as the
unit stayed there and mined, it's home city would gain production (if it's
oil), or gold (if it's... I dunno, a deep sea gold mine or something), or
food if it's fish.

Automated units.  Military units with no personel.  Expensive, but don't
make citizens unhappy in a Republic or Democracy.  Perhaps you would need
to have developed Computers and Advanced Cryptography, and built some
variety of satalite communications network, before you could build these. 
:-)


Okay, I've got to go do some real world studying now, but first let me
briefly slip some crazy (and undeveloped) ideas into people's heads for
pondering.

Chemical and Biological weapons.

Orbital units (and no, I have no idea how to implement this well,
graphically.)

I'm sure we could have a field day with Nanotechnology and Biochemistry.

Mining of moons and astroid belts. ('nother graphical interface nightmare,
especially for multiplayer games.)

Colonizing other planets as part of the game rather than the end of the
game?  I've always thought this would be great, but I'm not sure how to
implement it well.  First we'd need rulesets that made things balanced
enough for the games to even last that long, and then we'd need some way
by which the first person to get interstellar space flight wouldn't just
mine the whole astroid belt, build solar collectors over half of the moon,
and suddenly have 10x the resources as anyone else.

Rant rant rant rant rant... Okay, I'm done for now.

(PS - what we really need is a GIR unit!  Booyah!)

--Zack