Foxd1e Foxd1e

[Gameplay/Balance] Buildings Should Cost Something

▼

[Gameplay/Balance] Buildings Should Cost Something

from Elemental Forums

It is too easy and frivelous to build every kind of building in every kind of city. Your only restriction is Town/Conclave/Fortress-only buildings, and the turn cost. Which is trivial with the amount of production you can pump out if built on the right spot. I think buildings should cost Gold and/or Metal(Blacksmith/Foundry etc ?) and/or Crystal(Magic Buildings?). And maybe Gold for upkeep. Or maybe make trees useful and introduce Wood. Because right now it's really bland building stuff. You don't have to balance anything to virtually pump them all out. I can't believe there is no Wood resource with all the trees. I can't believe how little Metal is actually needed. I have almost 1000 right now. I can't even dump it on other factions because they have stockpiles ontop of stockpiles. My suggestion? Make buildings cost something besides turns to build. You did this with units, and that's great, they cost metal and crystal sometimes depending on the armor/weapon/magical items used. This would add more strategy to city-building, instead of just building everything, starting with the one that costs the fewest turns. Then once you add some cost, maybe you can buff a few buildings to be really helpful. Anyways just my two cents, take it or leave it.

73,135 views 29 replies
Reply #26 from Elemental Forums Top

i don't think that's a valid point. cities are supposed to produce resources, not consume them. if you introduce maintenace to buildings (like civ 5 does it), you also need a lot more ways to create income. as it is now, your money comes from towns (mostly) and to a lesser extent from things like gold mines, propaganda enchants and trade/economic treaties. there's not a whole lot of money sources floating around and the primary function of money is to limit the number of troops, serve as stored/instant production potential and a means to equip hero characters with researched items. that's fine. if you introduce building maintenance, you also need a more elaborate economic system with different sources of income, otherwise you just break the game. 

Reply #27 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 23

Derek Paxton has commented on this in an earlier thread back in FE. He was very clear that cities should be considered resource PRODUCERS. The trade-off for creating something is measured the production necessary to build it. In LH you also have indirect tradeoffs from focusing a town on something like growing.

Of course there is no single answer and it depends on personal taste and what everybody likes more. I suppose that for people who like "realistic" games more like myself, not having buildings maintenance is something that could be improved. But what I want to point is that there are many games out there like Civ4 that have building maintenance and the maintenance does not make the game more complicated, unfun, or more difficult for the AI, on the contrary, it just adds an additional dimensión that makes the game deeper.

Curtains - Customize Windows with additional styles
Reply #28 from Elemental Forums Top

Civ4 doesn't have building maintenance... One of the reasons it's the best game of the series, imho.

Reply #29 from Elemental Forums Top

the building system  per se is good, we just need some adjustments to the whole city spam tactic.