quote: Originally posted by vgriph on 04-17-2001 09:26 AM I think that you should be able to dig down fiber optic cables after the development of Internet and the laser. They should increase the trade based on the number of cities connected.

Good idea! Furthermore, it will increase the likely hood that spies are able to steal your technology.

quote: Originally posted by Zardos on 04-17-2001 09:50 AM Good idea! Furthermore, it will increase the likely hood that spies are able to steal your technology.

Why not add a Hacker unit specialized to spy on Cities connected to the net. Plant computer virus should be an attack. Thre virus takes the trade production down to 50% for x turns.

When you get hit by a virus (your Civ, not your computer!) maybe a message would come up saying "Wanna See some cool Picutres... click on attachment" which is then automatically clicked by the copmputer for you, and then you get the message saying 'City X has been hit by a computer virus, blah blah blah....'.

There could be a whole stock of these Virus messages too.

It's eye candy I know, but it work out allright...

Somputer Viruses shoudl spread down trade routes too...

quote: Originally posted by SerapisIV on 04-17-2001 10:19 PM That sounds like some of the CTP units. I never played it, but I heard it was big into non-conventional units and it pretty much sucked, at least how they were implemented by Activision. Maybe someone who played that game could comment on it or similar units.

No, there were no hackers, but there were many units that were regarded as non-combatative military units. For instance, there was the spy (almost the same as Civ), slaver (one of the more used units), infector (cool idea -- bad implementation), eco-terrorist (too powerful) and perhaps a half dozen more, whose names I forget.

The infector was a cool idea but poor implementation, as noted above. If I remember correctly, when the infector, infected a city that city became unhappy (5 discontent citizens, I believe) for a certain number of turns. The cool idea was that any city that city was trading with also had a chance to be infected, including the civilization that spawned the infector. In my opinion, an infector should cause population loss with the same idea of the virus spreading to other cities, but that is for another discussion.

Overall, I found myself using a few of the special units, but by no means most of them. Most of them were too limiting with what they could do. But I still like the idea of non-confrontational warfare (I guess its the passive-aggressive side of me ).

quote: Originally posted by SerapisIV on 04-17-2001 02:00 PM Prior to fiber-optics and internet, I'd like to see a trans-oceanic telegraph (a Wonder?). People can proclaim the internet as being the end all be all of communications, but the fact is that no other bit of technology has ever shortened so dramatically communication time (other then maybe peace). [This message has been edited by SerapisIV (edited April 17, 2001).]

A very good point! Not sure about fitting it in Wonder (for game effects, late appearance, etc.), but surely a great achievement.

I don't think the idea of having to dig cable's is realistic. And It would mean a lot of extra micromanagement.
all in all the internet isn't such a big deal. We take them for granted now, but the telegraph and telephone in their time of introduction in the society had as much an impact as the internet has now. But does that mean we should start digging telegraph/-phone cable's too ?!.

They announced that the game will end in a very near future, around 2020AC.
In game terms, it will leave a very short time where to discover, build and deploy any special unit like "hackers" or to wage "datawars".

Back to transoceanic telegraph, I surely don't think we must lay down any communication or power grid, a la SimCity.
I support the concept that before Internet that was one of the greatest advance in global communication, hence it should have a place somewhere in the game, at least an entry in tech tree and Civilopedia.

I'm planning to put some interesting Data war elements into my computer game (which is a science fiction civilisation style thing but more)
its good having spy Satellelites and sophisticated anti hacking improvements and allows smaller countries to fare better against big ones (they just knock out all the big advanced wired countries naval communications with a virus in their satellites)

Admiral Pete
of Camelot

quote: Originally posted by Admiral PJ on 04-22-2001 03:26 PM its good having spy Satellelites and sophisticated anti hacking improvements and allows smaller countries to fare better against big ones (they just knock out all the big advanced wired countries naval communications with a virus in their satellites) Admiral Pete of Camelot

Do you really think that small country can balance their power against major Civ thanks by a bunch of techno data warriors? Aren't you reading too much of good Cyberpunk Fictions?

They can have small tactical success, maybe sometimes as a large success as the Japanese attack to Pearl Harbor in WWII, but in Civ III strategical scale it shouldn't be so relevant, IMHO.

Let Datawarriors for futuristic scenario, hoping that Civ III engine will be able to manage these kind of advanced mod.

quote: Originally posted by SerapisIV on 04-25-2001 12:10 AM I think it would be a wonder (or one of those CTP feats or something like that). It would boost trade or science as information exchange becomes more rapid.

I don't think i'd ever build such a wonder. Though in real history it took about a century before cables became obsolete because of wireless communication, in the game that will take just too short a span of time to be of any interest for me winning the game. Let an other civ build it, and then I "just" take over the city in which it is build.

quote: Originally posted by vgriph on 04-17-2001 09:26 AM I think that you should be able to dig down fiber optic cables after the development of Internet and the laser. They should increase the trade based on the number of cities connected.

Well I'm pretty sure they're implementing nice technologies like that one... but I think they'll make it "data transfer technologies" rather than give it such an explicit name