I haven't been too active on the ideas front recently. This is a combination of lacking free time and managing eye strain. But I have been thinking on the existing threads and how to continue them. One nice thing to have is space to reflect on what has already been discussed. During these periods of "idle thoughts" your mind tends to fly and land in strange places.

So I was thinking "hmm what have we not talked about?" and what did I think of first? Stairs. To the best of my knowledge there has been no talk of terrain elevation and movement on the Z axis. When I realized that I started to think of what such a mechanic could add to the game, in all aspects of gameplay.

For example, Combat. Unless you are fighting a foe that can fly, elevated terrain gives you every advantage over enemies who occupy lower terrain. In missile combat elevation gives you a range bonus and limited cover against direct fire weapons. In melee combat elevation will slow down enemies assaulting your position and give you a boost in speed when charging downhill.

And what about the world, terrain? We already know that cities will be build tile by tile but imagine if those tiles occupied terrain of different heights. Imagine building a steppe city into the side of a mountain. Multiple levels of cityscape linked by a "grand stair" or a zigzagging road. Mountaintop citadels linked together by giant bridges, the possibilities are endless You could organize the inner workings of your city so that passage between tiles can only be obtained in special patterns. Colonize a titanic hill and force your enemies to fight thier way up to the top over a giant spiral shaped roadway. Every step they take would be under a hail of fire from the defenders on the higher levels. And what about sieging such cities? Tunnel up that hillside and attack from beneath. Build giant siege towers to bridge vertical gaps.

Its an idea that is certainly worth exploring.

What other idle thoughts might you people have?