[Freeciv-Dev] Migration

["Brandon J. Van Every" <vanevery@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Migration - a proposed major rule change for Freeciv
by Brandon Van Every, 12-16-2003


MOTIVATION
----------

"Migration" is a proposal for a major rule change to Freeciv.  It would
be a significant deparure from the Sid Meier / Bryan Reynolds approach
to the Civ genre.  It is designed to combat the Smallpox / ICS problem,
and also to be an interesting game mechanic in its own right.  It should
be evaluated in those terms - assuming Freeciv developers are willing to
make a big leap out of "the typical" way Civ is played.

The core idea is that not all cities are equally desireable to live in.
A lot of people really don't enjoy living in far-flung farming hamlets -
as rational a proposition to the military planner as that may be.  They
like the jobs and amenities that big urban centers have to offer.
Consequently, when a much better quality of life than their current
circumstances is available, they pick up their stuff and move.

Migrants will even move to the cities of foreign countries, if
technology, governmental policy, and the military situation permit it.
Consequently, those civilizations that build big, attractive cities have
an advantage.  The Smallpoxers will have their barbarian rabble
populations sucked right out of them!


DEFINITION OF A MIGRANT
-----------------------

A "Migrant" is defined as a unit of 10,000 people.  A Migrant is
equivalent in population size to a Settler.  However, a Migrant has no
ability to create a city.  It can only split off from cities and join
the population of other cities.

Each "food box" in a city represents 1000 people.  A newly Settled size
1 city, for instance, needs 20 food boxes or 20,000 people to become a
size 2 city.  When conditions in a city are less favorable than some
other nearby, more attractive city, 10 food boxes are removed from the
city and a Migrant is created.  The Migrant then begins to head for the
more attractive city.  Migrants are never under the control of the
player, they are moved automatically by a Migrant AI.  Upon reaching the
more attractive city, the Migrant becomes 10 food boxes in that city.


OTHER CORE RULE CHANGES
-----------------------

Some other basic rule changes needed to make this work:

--> Settlers can no longer be used to increase a city's size by 1.  If a
Settler is added to a city, it only increases the city's food boxes by
10 units.  That is because a Settler is only 10,000 people.  The current
Civ / Freeciv system is absurd, where a cheap Settler becomes worth an
arbitrary number of foodboxes if a player is sufficiently bureaucratic
and micromanagerial with his unit production.

--> Ergo, the creation of a Settler also merely reduces a city's food
boxes by 10.  The work is in coughing up the shields, not the people.
Founding cities will be rather easy.  Making them grow will be tougher.

--> Population booms due to Celebrations in Republics and Democracies
will no longer happen.  All cities must grow normally.  Instead,
Republics and Democracies get a Quality Of Life bonus for all their
cities.  Also they have the usual financial advantages, which can be
good for sprouting up attractive city facilities in a hurry.  Removing
Celebrations doesn't actually change Republican / Democratic strategy
all that much.  Instead of happy citizens automagically appearing,
Migrants simply gravitate towards these better cities.  And there's
nothing stopping a Monarch from doing the same thing, just building more
Cathederals to make up for the fact that his empire enjoys no Quality Of
Life bonus.


MIGRANT RULES
-------------

Migrants do not require any kind of support.  Migrants have the
nationality of the city they came from.  Migrants are subject to zone of
control rules, but do not exert a zone of control themselves.  Usual
movement rules apply for moving in the same hex as a Migrant.  If you're
the owning civilization or an ally, you can.  If you are at peace, in a
cease-fire, or at war, you cannot.  Thus, foreign Migrants do take up
physical space and can get in the way of things you want to do.

Migrants can be *killed*, even by the owning civilization.  If done
within sight of one of your owning cities, it will cause unrest in that
city.  If done within sight of a foreign city, or under a shared vision
arrangement, it may be regarded as an Atrocity.  This would depend on
several governmental and diplomatic factors.  Even if a foreign
government frequently commits such Atrocities itself, it may want to use
the atrocities *you* commit as propaganda.

Migrants can be *ordered to return home*.  Migrants generally don't want
to go home, so when ordered to return home, several factors will be
considered.  One is whether the situation that caused them to leave has
improved or not - would they still be better off living somewhere else?
Another is inherent Resentment that they've been so ordered.  "'Cuz
civilization should be free!"  :-)  Another is Fear of the military unit
ordering them to return home.  Another is whether they're on home soil,
international waters, uncharted wilderness, or foreign soil.  And, who's
giving the orders?  The ruthless Despot of their home country, or some
nice foreign Democrats?  Depending on these factors, a unit may meekly
return to their home city, go to another city of the same nationality,
attempt to sneak away to a foreign city, or outright ignore the order.


REFUGEES
--------

Migrants that are attacked and survive become *Refugees*.  Refugees do
not exert a zone of control, but nobody can enter the hex they're in
except other Refugees.  Thus they get in the way of *everybody*.  City
tiles that have Refugees on them do not produce resources!  Too many
bodies in the way, desperate and trying to live off the land.  Refugees
can be created when a city is attacked and the defenders lose.  Instead
of just arbitrary population decrease by 1, some foodboxes are lost
(i.e. killed) and some Refugees are sprouted.  It is a completely
legitimate military tactic to clog an enemy with one's own refugees, or
the refugees of the country you're attacking.  This actually happened
regularly in Grozny, Bosnia, Afghanistan, etc.

Refugees can be granted *asylum*.  If the Refugees accept asylum, then
the granting player can now move through them freely, and the Refugees
move towards the player's cities for settlement.  However, the Refugees
may not want asylum from that player!  Like, between Hitler and Stalin,
who are you gonna choose?  Probably you try to flee West and surrender
to the Western democracies!


IMPLEMENTATION
--------------

Many more specifics could be hashed out, but this is basically The
Vision.  The first question is whether Freeciv developers even want
this.  After that, we can worry about what it would take to implement
it.  And if for either reason it proves untenable, you can someday look
at how it works in Ocean Mars, my own 4X TBS game project.  *I* like it,
and I have the power to implement it in a "clean slate" manner in my own
project!  I especially like the moral dialogue of "what do you do with
these damn Migrants and Refugees?"  Kill 'em?  Send 'em home?  Fold them
into your own population?  The negative consequences of the latter may
be beyond the scope of Freeciv, but won't be beyond the purview of Ocean
Mars.

Comments welcome.


Cheers,
Brandon Van Every
www.indiegamedesign.com