Prisoners of war

Spam Shark · April 20, 2002, 12:02

I don't surf here all that often so if someone has already mentioned this please forgive me.

What about a surrender option? Instead of a unit being destroyed it could have a chance to surrender to the attacker. You could then have POW exchanges as a bargaining chip with other civs and you could eventually get units back without having tobuild new ones.

nationalist · April 20, 2002, 13:34

Sounds like a good idea. Might be too complicated for the AI though

Spiffor · April 20, 2002, 19:14

I don't feel like it... More micromanagement, and you'll have to know which unit is POW, which isn't etc...
I'd rather have a simple and direct unit trading, like the current worker trading.

Wittlich · April 20, 2002, 21:02

Actually, this was mentioned while Civ3 was still under development...but I guess this was one of many suggestions that where not incorporated into the game. It would make for interesting game play through.

HazieDaVampire · April 21, 2002, 11:27

This would be sweet! It mite cost a bit of food to keep them alive, and a POW camp building would be cool. If you sign a piece treaty they would be given back to their side, an if they lose you can either sluarter them or sell them as slaves or somthing cool like that!

Does civ3 have slaves? I don't have the game yet, its coming in a few days.

Playa del Carmen · April 21, 2002, 13:40

Quote:

Originally posted by HazieDaVampire
Does civ3 have slaves? I don't have the game yet, its coming in a few days.

I wouldn't say their are slaves, per se, but you can reguard caputured workers as slaves. You can even sell them/trade them back to their owners, or you can sell/trade your own workers to another civ. That's kind of like having slaves, though I don't do it much.

HazieDaVampire · April 21, 2002, 15:58

Yeah, this is how it should work.
The player should be able to tell his units to surrender if they stand no chance, a POW camp should be created. If the enemy doesn't have one he can chose to either kill them or his unit that captured them can 'detain' them, but this unit will no longer be able to fight because it is keeping the men detained. Once you have built a POW camp (It could be a simple city improvement) you can transport them there how you wish, These will be simple slave driven dudes who increase the production of a city. Should you win the war, these men are turned into workers and you can do as you please with them. If you lose, or make a piece treaty they will be given back to the civ, you could ask the person to pay you some money if you want, and if they agree of course. Should you put them in a city with no military units at all they will revolt, escape and take over the city. If the city is taken over by the civ that made the unit, the unit will be re-formed and back to normal. If it is taken over by another civ (not the one that made the unit) they will become slaves of that civ instead.

Spam Shark · April 22, 2002, 14:27

I like the idea of getting them back once you declare peace. A good incentive to help you or the AI out if you are fighting multiple front wars. You can then use them against your other opponents. Saves time and money against having to build more units.

I would also like to see that if you have too many locked up in one city they could forment a revolt.

So there could be negative consequences to having taken too many prisoners. Perhaps just adding to the possibility of a city flipping.

sachmo71 · April 22, 2002, 14:38

This is a really strange idea. Talk about micromanagement...

Spam Shark · April 22, 2002, 15:55

Not really more so than now. You have a listing for POW's like you have now for captured workers. When you do a prisoner exchange they show up at your border and you take them back under countrol as if they were new units. It would be nice to trade back for some veteran units rather than having to build new ones that aren't so rated.

HazieDaVampire · April 22, 2002, 16:00

I think this wold be cool! I hope they add this to a patch, it seems pritty complicated on paper but its not to much more complicted than other stuff in this game!

Spam Shark · April 22, 2002, 16:39

The other cool thing would be if you capture a city that had a prisoner of war camp you would get back all your captured units in the city.

HisMajestyBOB · April 22, 2002, 17:20

Nah, I don't think its worth the effort. Besides, once soldiers become POWs and are later released, most of them return to civilian life.

Cyclotron · April 22, 2002, 17:49

Maybe, to keep it simple, all ground units killed would generate one worker of that nationality under your control.

Right now, one of my problems with the civ3 worker capturing system is that there is no reason to actually want your units back... it's easier to go to war with a wimp, raze a few cities, and steal his workers than trade with an enemy for him to give you some of yours back. Perhaps enemy captured workers should only work at 75% rate, so that building your own workers would be a good investment and so you actually have some reason to give another player back his workers... because they're of less use to you as they are to him.

Tuberski · April 22, 2002, 18:23

Quote:

Originally posted by cyclotron7
Maybe, to keep it simple, all ground units killed would generate one worker of that nationality under your control.

Right now, one of my problems with the civ3 worker capturing system is that there is no reason to actually want your units back... it's easier to go to war with a wimp, raze a few cities, and steal his workers than trade with an enemy for him to give you some of yours back. Perhaps enemy captured workers should only work at 75% rate, so that building your own workers would be a good investment and so you actually have some reason to give another player back his workers... because they're of less use to you as they are to him.

Enemy captured workers only work at 50% of your workers now. Why RAISE it to 75%?

Cyclotron · April 22, 2002, 18:30

Whoa... thanks, Tuberski, I hereby stand corrected. D'oh!

By the way: Does the 50% stay the same even when you've eliminated the workers' home civilization?

romelus · April 22, 2002, 22:07

foreign worker penalty is forever.

however industrial civs have 2x faster workers, even slave workers!

Tuberski · April 22, 2002, 22:18

Quote:

Originally posted by romelus
foreign worker penalty is forever.

however industrial civs have 2x faster workers, even slave workers!

They still aren't as fast as your will be. Don't know why.

Thrawn05 · April 22, 2002, 23:16

This is how I would do it. When a unit is almost dead, it has the option to become a POW (concript units are more likly, since they are drafted units that didn't really get the hardcore marine training).

Once a POW, that civ that captured them would be able to trade them back the civ that the unit game from ONLY during the Peace Treaty deal, not before or after.

Exchange is a 1 to 1 ratio for the AI. If you can't get that unit back, the unit will be forever lost, unless another war started. No other way of compensation can be used to get the unit back (which mean no gold, techs, or rescources).

To the Civ that holds the POW, that unit will not be on the map. Instead, you'll be able to see it in the POW box on the bottom on the military advisor's screen.

There are several options you could do to those POWs before the war ends.

1: Intaragate: Retreaves military unit information from them as if you planted a spy to that civ. Only works once, and POW unit is removed from game. That civ will get pissed though.

2: Worker: Depending on the number of shield units, you can turn that unit into workers. They act like other POW workers. However, you would be able to trade them latter to that other civ just like any other worker.

3: Execute: You really don't like that civ? Well, kill them.

These are just some thoughts about the subject.

HazieDaVampire · April 23, 2002, 12:39

i still prefer my way, put them in a camp (City improvement) to increase production (Sheilds or what ever), would be even better if you could make them do trips out of the citys to work the land.
(I know your American prisons do that some times)

Thrawn05 · April 23, 2002, 16:44

Quote:

Originally posted by HazieDaVampire
i still prefer my way, put them in a camp (City improvement) to increase production (Sheilds or what ever), would be even better if you could make them do trips out of the citys to work the land.
(I know your American prisons do that some times)

Not anymore. Some hardcore liberals decided that it unethical to put prisoners to work out in the feild. Well, the only thing they can do outside is pick up trash with a stick.

HazieDaVampire · April 24, 2002, 11:44

lol, You could still do it on Civ3. I feel like passing a law to ban liberals in my civ when civ3 comes

- God damn thing was SUPPOSED to come this morning, i suppose it'll come tomorrow morning!

Willem · April 24, 2002, 11:53

Quote:

Originally posted by HisMajestyBOB
Nah, I don't think its worth the effort. Besides, once soldiers become POWs and are later released, most of them return to civilian life.

Good point. Which means that the simplest approach would be to have all captured units change to workers.