[Freeciv] Re: How to solve ICS - Resolve Smallpox

[John Wheeler <jdwheeler42@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Carlos Lorenzo Matés <clmates@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hello.
> 
> El Vie 04 Oct 2002 12:59, rf13@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> escribió:
> 
> >
> > > , and improvement required to build
> >
> > This is IMHO a bit useless. If we assume that you
> don't have to build
> > a building for settlers than these buildings
> should limit the set of
> > cities which build military units. But two facts
> are here against this:
> >  - you can produce a military unit in city and
> change the homecity
> >    afterwards
> >  - you don't use all of your cities to produce
> military units
> >
> > So you end up with 10% of your cities building
> that building and
> > producing military units.

D'Oh!  Of course!  When I need military units early in
the game, I'll build a barracks in a high-shield city
and ship them out to other cities.  On the other hand,
if I am on an island and don't need military until I'm
ready to expand (and if I have Leo's), I will
frequently build dozens of warriors in about a dozen
cities right before I'm ready to research feudalism or
gunpowder (or I start seeing enemy caravels near my
shores).  Requiring a building to build units would
hamper such mass mobilizations.  However, I'm not sure
that that is realistic; drafting large numbers of
troops in times of war has been a popular strategy
throughout history.  I think it would be reasonable if
your basic defensive units (warriors, phalanx,
pikemen, musketeers, and riflemen) didn't require any
buildings to build or support.

> > It is however a different story if you require a
> certain building to
> > support a given unit type.
> 
> Mixing civil buildings with army support is a bad
> idea IMHO.
> 
> The support building must be a military type
> building, perhaps more type of 
> barracks ....
> 
> > > Heck, even "freecitycenter" could be an option
> that could be set to
> > > 0 or 1.
> 
> What is this option?

This is a very effective but very draconian solution
to ICS.  With freecitycenter set to 0, a size 1 city
would only get 1 square to use, the square the city is
on.  The problem is, under despotism, only oasis,
fruit, wheat, spice, and game would allow the city to
grow.
 
> > > I also in theory like the Production
> > > Factor idea, but I think for that to work well,
> all
> > > values for trade, gold, science, shields, etc.,
> would
> > > probably have to be multiplied by 10, or the
> effect
> > > would have huge jumps.
> 
> why, the factor is a % factor, and with a small
> growing rate the effect 
> shouldn't cause huge jumps, by increasing these
> values, the Prod factor would 
> not make any diference between cities because all
> cities could produce 
> anything easily

When I say all values would have to be multiplied, I
mean ALL values.  So, for example, the default first
advance would require 100 light bulbs, warriors would
cost 100 shields, barracks would cost 10 gold upkeep,
etc.  Conceptually, perhaps it would be easier to
simply allow fractional gold, shields, etc.  However,
I suspect this whole production factor idea is too
subtle to make much difference for ICS.

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