Villas (and other fancy housing) Create A Different Kind of Population

from Elemental Forums

Steal this from Zeus/other city builders. A nicer building gives you a lot fewer of a more valuable population -- nobles, scribes whatever -- that get used to maintain more valuable buildings. Specialist pops should also be a LOCAL resource -- as in, having them in one city does not allow them to support buildings in another city! For city leveling purposes, have them count for multiples of standard pops. 

Creates a clear alternative to city spam, makes specialization more interesting and less about spamming hordes of workshops etc, and makes cities more fun to build. 

 

As an example:

City Square: 4 squares, level 3 city, enables high end housing for the city

Dormitory: 4 squares, 5 scribes, 1 food

University: 4 squares, 20 scribes, generates 40 tech research.

Arcane University: 4 squares, 20 scribes, generates 40 arcane research

Villa: 4 squares, 5 nobles, 1 food

Command Post: 4 squares, 1 noble, allows unit group creation

Training field: 4 squares, 1 noble, allows more experienced units

 

 

3,667 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I like these ideas. Nice post.

Specialist pops should also be a LOCAL resource -- as in, having them in one city does not allow them to support buildings in another city! For city leveling purposes, have them count for multiples of standard pops.  

I especially like this. I've been suggesting population as a local resource since the system was implemented, but there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for it- I'm not sure why. Only thing I disagree with is having specialists count as more people than normal people.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

If specialists produced more (not counted as more), that would be nice. As in, a building with specialists instead of regular people produced twice the benefit.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, yes, the idea is that specialist pops would staff buildings that regular pops cannot staff. And these buildings provide benefits far greater than the benefits provided by your average every day buildings like studies and such. Or they provide benefits that are unique, such as the ability to recruit trained soldiers or groups of soldiers. Regular population can still be global, but specialists should be local so that squares are a bigger constraint on players ability to maximize their returns. 

 

As an example:

The regular population can work the workshops. They come from huts etc and are global. Outputs from the workshops stay as current.

Merchants come from townhouses. You can only get five in a townhouse, and they're too lazy to go to a different town to work -- in other words, they have to be used where they are. They can staff the following:

Exchange: adds an additional caravan to the city

Market Fair: provides a percentage bonus to gildar production

Bazaar: provides a percentage bonus to materials production 

 

I still think specialists should count for extra for city leveling purposes only. It seems silly that your metropolitan entrepot would be a lower level than your plebian wasteland. On the other hand, it'd significantly cut down on the number of high level cities a player could build.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

You know, it's relatively easy (so I've been told) to create custom resources, such as specialist population. This should be relatively easy to mod into the game.

Having said that, I don't think that the AI would be able to use this effectively in a mod until we get some more access to it.

Here's hoping.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Elite soldiers! Etc.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I don't know that custom resources are exactly what I'm looking for, since I'd prefer people to be able to build elite housing without needing an elite housing mine next door. That said, if it is indeed possible to mod in, I might have a lot of fun doing that.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting LightofAbraxas, reply 4
You know, it's relatively easy (so I've been told) to create custom resources, such as specialist population. This should be relatively easy to mod into the game.

Having said that, I don't think that the AI would be able to use this effectively in a mod until we get some more access to it.

Here's hoping.
I suppose it would fall into making the proper housing buildings to "produce" a different kind of specialist instead of the default one. And then have things that cost this new type of specialist instead of the regular one (University: requires 20 regular specialists and 5 elite specialists).

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

I suppose it would fall into making the proper housing buildings to "produce" a different kind of specialist instead of the default one. And then have things that cost this new type of specialist instead of the regular one (University: requires 20 regular specialists and 5 elite specialists).

Yep, that's what I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I still think there will be an AI problem in implementing this.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting LightofAbraxas, reply 8

Yep, that's what I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I still think there will be an AI problem in implementing this.
You were clear. More of a musing to myself and sharing it with the world. ;)