Various Gameplay Mechanic Ideas

The basis for these ideas comes from a strategy based map, where income is derived from taking over more area and land and so thus ground control is important. However, it may be applicable to other map types.

Bear in mind this is all theorycrafting. However, please read and consider it carefully, and bear in mind they are only possibilities, and aren't really aimed for all people to like.

1. Research: Sciences and Technology

Basic Idea:

Researches split into sciences, which allow the production of new units, and technologies, which improves the units for those sciences. When a science is researched, a timer begins, and after that expires all other players gain that science. Each new player to research it would speed up this process.

Example:

Researching iron would allow the production of iron swordsmen. Improved iron working would make those iron swordsmen better.

Effect:

It would allow those players left behind at the start to catch up, without being rediculously left behind. As technologies would only apply to one scientific tier, getting the next science would not in itself give a big advantage, but rather one that had to be seized (by upgrading and building them) before the others catch up. This would incentivise going to the next science so as to develop the technologies for it quicker and use the units, without automatically making the earlier units obsolete.

2. Race differentiation

Basic Idea:

This particular implementation works using a model of recieved income = base income - unit upkeep (as seen in Warlords). Different races could have different upkeeps, costs and strengths relative to each other, giving different strategies as to standing armies. This would most likely need to be combined with some home advantage to stop it being unbalancing.

Example:

Elves could have units that have a higher initial cost for their strength and take longer to build, but take less upkeep, while orcs could have lower initial costs for their stronger but more upkeep and quicker to build. This would allow orcs to rebuild their forces far quicker, while the elves could have a considerably stronger standing army. In a short war with any given enemy, the elves would be at an advantage. However, long term, they would have to avoid taking as many casualties, and so would have to make use of that advantage carefully. In a longer combat, the orcs would be able to defeat them through attrition.

Effect:

More differentiation between races, and more thought and strategy required. More interesting combat.

3. Research Points from income

Basic Idea:

Research points would replace lumber as a resource. Each income turn, each player could devote a portion of their (base) income to research. The percentage they devote is added to their research points and can be used to research.

Example:

This means if their base income is 100 and they devote 20%, they lose 20 gold and gain 20 research points, while if they only have 50 base income, they lose 10 gold but still gain 20 research points.

Effects:

This removes the economies of scale in other maps, where one player with 20 income is stronger than two players with 10 income, as that one player only has to research half as much.

I'm not sure I understand point #1. Do you mean that if one player gets a research (for example, Iron Working) then ALL players, friend and foe gain the resource, or just friend, or what? Perhaps it would be simpler to make certain bases of science (some sort of... Guild Hall? Blacksmith? Different ones for different resources? Anyway, science hubs) and you can set them all on different researches (IE Iron Working, Animal Husbandry, and Longbow) or all on the same research (Animal Husbandry) (or any combination). If you set them all on different they would research at normal speed, but if you set all on the same research they would research at an increased rate. I don't know...

As for different races having different bonuses on their units, remember to balance it. Having elves being expensive and taking longer to build, but taking less income means that each one is worth more because of their heavy costs (in both time and resources), but they eat up less of your resources, in the short run this means you can raise smaller armies when you want, but in the long run it means they can have large hosts if they are allowed to build up at smaller penalty than others. Having orcs have a lower cost and build time but a high upkeep means that in the short run you can get a lot of them really fast, but it will cripple your economy more.

Dividing income into research points isnt a bad idea, but you need to look at how it favors different strategies. If you have one player who heavily invests in tech, later in the game he will have better units available to him, but a smaller host. Conversely, if you have a player who invests little in tech he would have a larger host made of weaker units. The ability to change every income means that the shorter apart the incomes are the more they favor a general lean towards tech, as you can, at the next income, invest less in income and raise a better host (meaning you probably favor a faster race such as orcs), and leaning towards income over tech means a larger host of powerful units, and switching to research quickly does less, if we assume research times.

Good ideas though, perhaps.

All players would get the science after a certain period of time. That length of time would be enough to make it very worthwhile reseaching it yourself. The purpose of having it given to all players after a while is to stop one player dropped irretrievably behind. It wouldn't suit all gametypes, and the exact specifics would have to vary from map to map. Doubt the 'common knowledge' part would work well with 3, for example.


Doing it in moderation is the key. Finding a point that leaves it balanced, while still being diverse.


In the income model I gave, you'd have to pay for unit income, and it would be logical to make sure that was paid in preference to research (so you couldn't research and end up with less than 0 gold - you'd have to have gold left over). Also, units => more territory => more gold => higher tech proportion for the same income. If you lose a lot of territory (opportunity cost wise) via teching, then you'll be able to devote a smaller proportion to tech than otherwise (though you would have less area to defend).

As for it favouring orcs, if used in conjunction with 2, elves would be able to keep around a quite powerful standing army at comparitively low cost, and then switch to focusing on tech.

Really seeing it in practise would be best.

Playing Civilisation much? :)

None of them are really similar to Civ's mechanics. The third one looks similar, but really is very different in how it pans out and how it would act in gameplay dynamics.

OH! I understand #1 now, I thought you meant that... well NM. Yours makes more sense. Yeah thats a fine idea.