[Freeciv-Dev] (PR#4539) rules against smallpox/ICS

["Mike Jing" <miky40@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

<URL: http://rt.freeciv.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=4539 >

First of all, I think smallpox and ICS are closely related, so I often use 
those two terms interchangeably.  One can argue the finer points of 
difference, but the fact is that it's far easier to build new cities than 
improving existing ones, so one ends up with lots of small cities instead of 
bigger ones, closely packed or not.  That's why citymindist doesn't work as 
a deterence to smallpox/ICS.

But before we implement any complicated "fix", I think we should still try 
to attack the problem at the source.  Of course, there are many contributing 
factors to the problem, and they have to be identified and dealt with 
accordingly.  One small step is the renewed attempt to remove the free city 
center (PR#8890), as it removes one of the obvious advantages of ICS.  And 
with the introduction of the worker unit, it's actually quite playable. 
(Hint: it's a good idea to irrigate the city site before settling.)

Another simple change is to raise the cost of settlers, as been suggested 
before.  I am sure this won't be popular but it's an effective way to slow 
down ICS and make city development more attractive.  It would slow down the 
game in general, but IMO the tech development is too fast in a default 
smallpox game anyway.

These two changes are probably not enough to stop smallpox altogether, but 
should at least help a lot.  I would need people to playtest and see how 
well it works, and then decide if further changes are needed.

Mike Jing

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