Wishlist.
That the game utilizes an organic satellite community growth method. So that way, as your city grows, it naturally gets supported by larger and larger communities that do not live directly in your community center but support it.
You know like the real world. But that hasn't ever been replicated at all in fantasy games, because of the unusual suspension of disbelief that there is gigantic vast distances between cities. (Wrong.. cities grow as more people come to them, but then support communities develop to feed that community and then house those new communities. Pretty much as has been through the last 6,000 years of human history.)
And I'm quoting myself here.
Now.. my idea in this case. With some basic general ideas, to make kingdom level play a LOT more fun.
When you found a village, because that's what we do at step 1. We then grow that village into a small town. And from there, we grow it into a large sized town, then to a city, and finally a metropolis.
One thing you can do... to make city leveling more organic, and bear a semblance of reality, even if it is fantastic reality, but reality. Is to after choosing the bonus you get for your town going up a level.
More people should come into your kingdom. And they do that by building a village nearby. A village that you don't build anything in. It just has a static baseline, houses, etcetera. But now is part of your kingdom. (And also helps project your kingdom borders organically as well.) The distance away should be something like 4 squares give or whatever feels right in testing.
Without a lot of fluff here.. this is what I'm talking about.. all bullet point like.
Each time your city levels, you get to build upon your community and thus the kingdom.
- Level 1, baseline. This is the starting point. For your self built cities.
- Level 2 Village becomes a Small town (Level 2).
- Benefit: You gain 1 new level 1 village to place within 4 squares of your village.
- Level 3 Small town grows into a Large town (Level 3),
- Benefit: You gain 2 new villages to place within 4 squares of your town.
- Level 4 Large town grows into a City (Level 4),
- Benefit: One of your villages becomes a small town. And you also get to place a new level 1 village within 4 squares of either your city, or that level 2 small town.
- Level 5 City grows into a Metropolis (Level 5).
- Benefit, Another one of your villages grows into a small town. And you can place a new level 1 village within 4 squares of your city, or a new town that was made.
Those numbers are purely arbitrary. But they give the idea that not only as your city grows, people come to live under your Kingdom/Empire banner, for protection and out of some loyalty. Those new villages and small towns, can be mechanically designed to act as bonuses to the baseline, offering more people coming from your villages when building troops, and what not. You can station troops in them, and will have a reason to defend them as well. They could contribute gold, or food, or research ... whatever seems like it will make the gameplay deeper, with more going on.
And then there is the other side of it.. you still go off and build new cities yourself as normal with Pioneers. And they eventually attract people, and when it's all said and done. It will feel much more fantastic, yet realistic. People will feel like these things matter. Hell those villages, could even have little name tags, or simply be nameless. They could help extend the borders, but also like the ideas of forts, allow troops to be stationed in safe areas. And we'll also have reasons to want to build troops to defend our kingdom against the wild monsters out there.
And they could also act as natural caravan points for road construction. And the 10 square minimum for city construction would still stand, based upon the actual growing city.. the one's that can grow into Stage 4 or 5's. Yet still have villages that maybe grow closer together over time. With a sense of real roads. As once a new community is placed after your city levels up, it builds a road to this new village. Thus a new spiral of roads are built as well.
And another bonus to them is that they create the illusion of larger growth but without requiring more micromanagement. The key to them is placement. Once that is done, they act as part of your city, but you don't build anything in them. So that way, your creating a sense of depth, without the extra complication.
This also has the other added benefit of avoiding the need to spam cities. Because you'll have a larger area, and the five or so real cities you build will really span a good chunk of the map. But also feel.. real. Fantastic, but real. Without the fatigue of dealing with late stage city development, that many people despair.
It's a sleight of hand on one side. But then it also presents strategic possibilities. Including a realistic source of gold and some foods from those villages. Flowing to the city so that way they could be captured. Denying the primary city the benefit of that village.
I think that makes the case. And from testing, the recent phases of the beta, and seeing the current fluidity of the city situation, still being radically altered. I think this could present a new and organic feel. And Not something seen in any other game, so it'll be a new experience, that may set the trend, for 4X build style games.
But that's just my major Wishlist idea.
