The one thing I would really like to see in the next patch... (Not the typical rant)

Juggler_Bob · July 11, 2002, 00:57

Something that (with my lack of programming knowledge) I think would be really simple to add:

A note pad function. I know this can (and is often) done on paper, but it would be so much easier if I could make notes in the actual context of the map screen. I would love to be able to "tag" a unit, city, or area of terrain with a connection to a notepad.exe (or similar) file that I could jot down my intentions.

Wouldn't it be great if you could mark a spot that you had previously explored as the optimal site for your new city?
Imagine "tagging" a unit (or group of units) with intstructions for when they reached their "goto" destination...
While the "build queue" function is useful, it is limited by the production abilities of your current tech level.... What if you could state your long term intentions for a city's deveolpement unrestricted by your current technological advancement?
What if you have noticed increased enemy/barbarian activity along your outermost (northern, western, southern, eastern) frontier, a problem that should be addressed as soon as possible....
What if you are attempting to pursue a general strategy (social/economic/political/religious/diplomatic) for your civilization that you wish to continue to pursue, uninterrupted by mundane interruptions that plague all of us from time to time...

My point is this:

While some of us play Civilization III in marathon sessions in which the intention behind every move, every build selection, every enemy/barb sighting is clearly remembered and acted upon, I believe that a majority of us play our games over several days/weeks/months....
Every time we reload, we have to re-ascertain our intentions towards almost every unit, the prodution choices of every city, and the dispostion of every terrain square previously explored, but not yet under our direct control...

I think it would be great if I could leave myself some notes, some ideas towards my intentions when I last left the Realms of Civ III.

How hard could it be to incorporate some kind of function where we could add notes to units, cities, various general terrain locations, as well as a "universal" game log file????

Just my $.02,

-Bob

The Pioneer · July 11, 2002, 03:07

Very i nteresting indeed

albiedamned · July 11, 2002, 06:42

This is actually an excellent idea. I doubt you will see it in a patch however, since this would be entirely new functionality. Patches are generally only to tweak or fix existing functionality. I know exactly what you're talking about, though. Sometimes I come back to the game the next day, and I forget what I was thinking with some units or cities from the day before.

This is probably off-topic for strategy. Is there a Civ 4 suggestions forum yet?!

Solver · July 11, 2002, 07:27

While it's a very strong idea, you state "every time we reload". Many players here consider reloading to be a form of cheating, myself included. If I made a stupid thing, OK. I don't want to reload, not only it's a cheat, it's a cheat that only the human can do.

Of course, the best Civ 3 players clearly know what are they building - every unit, every decision is well motivated. And I have the damn goal of becoming a very good Civ 3 player!

albiedamned · July 11, 2002, 07:43

I took "every time we reload" to mean coming back the next day and loading the game up again, not to mean a form of cheating. It's not cheating to sleep instead of playing all night, is it?!

The Pioneer · July 11, 2002, 07:53

No it's not cheating if you go and sleep. This is probably not the right forum to discuss this but I do not believe that reloading is necessarily cheating. Especially with this flipping thing, I'll be darned to let my cities flip. Not without a warning, I wouldn't mind if I had a warning the turn before it happened in order to take measures if possible. I do not see the point of hundreds of production shields going pooof without a fight. So call me a cheater but I will reload. In any case as the flipping functions now there should be a possibility to switch it off before you start the game. If Firaxis tweaks it some, maybe then it should stay as permanent game feature. Oh, and believe me when I say that I agree with the concept of cultural flipping it makes the game more interesting and of course more challenging but I can't stand to lose all these boys without me doing anything about it what would my people say

.

DrFell · July 11, 2002, 08:13

Quote:

Originally posted by Juggler_Bob

Wouldn't it be great if you could mark a spot that you had previously explored as the optimal site for your new city?
What if you have noticed increased enemy/barbarian activity along your outermost (northern, western, southern, eastern) frontier, a problem that should be addressed as soon as possible....

Map coordinates might help this a lot. I never understood why they had a coordinates system in civ2 but not in civ3. It was very convenient if you wanted to pick out a particular point on the map. Now you have to describe it by the area, and getting the exact square may be impossible to describe (eg 'build a city on the northern island hill six squares north-east of the mountain' vs '21,34,2'). I know which system I prefer!

jshelr · July 11, 2002, 13:30

From the representative of the Alzheimer's age group, this idea is a definite must-have. In fact, I was happier when I didn't know I wanted it. Good thing it will be easy to forget. Anyway, right on!

Juggler_Bob · July 13, 2002, 00:43

Of course, I didn't mean to imply a cheat function...

I doubt if anyone would forget ***why*** they chose to reload 30 seconds ago... Damned barbarians!!!

I envision a more overall game functionality...

How many times have you, during early game exploration, said to yourself, "This would make a great city site, and if I built one city *right* here, I could build another *right there*, and the third right between those two *just so*, and I would completely maximize this particular patch of terrain..." Later, by the time your Settlers arrive at the region, you vaguely remember that you had it all worked out, but in your (*now*) drunken haze, you plop the first Settler down smack in the middle of everything, and only later realize that you've just turned an excellent 2-4 city opportunity into a OCW (One-City-Waste)....

Or, later in the game, upon reloading after a day or two, have you ever wondered, "What were my plans for this city?" or. "why is that group of workers moving over there?" or, on an even larger level, "Who was it that was building *which???* Wonder that I desperately wanted" or, "why am I at war with X?" or, "why am I still at peace with Y?" or, "Should I really trade techs with Z?"

Again, with my limited programming experience, I don't see this as a particularly challenging coding problem, assuming you have access to the source code. Obviously, such a modification would have limited use in a MP game, but in the regular game, I think it would be an invaluable aid to strategy (my own, at least...)

I have no illusions that the Firaxis team will ever even consider this as a potential addition to the next patch, especially with their new (*and welcome*) emphasis on the MP game...

It doesn't hurt to dream, though, and perhaps someone else might be inspired to hack together a kludge along these lines... I remember several (*un-official*) modifications that were available for CIV II...

Again, just my $.02...

Bob

Coracle · July 13, 2002, 20:10

Quote:

While the "build queue" function is useful, it is limited by the production abilities of your current tech level.... What if you could state your long term intentions for a city's deveolpement unrestricted by your current technological advancement?

I thought of that many times. Changes in tech status make the queue function another Civ 3 bust.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Firaxis to do the WORK of fixing this. Not if PTW sells.