Now that I've spent numerous hours playing this great game, and experienced even more situations the game offers, I think I'd like to take the time to try and plug in a few ideas here and there.
1) Transports - Is there anyway to get your huge, expensive transport vessels to not disappear on you after an invasion. I've been avoiding invading planets due to the disappearance of transport vessels ever since I played GalCiv 1. Now that you can design your own ships, I was wondering if there was anyway to make it so a transport vessel doesn't disappear after an invasion. I want to make a super-carrier vessel but have been disinterested in taking the time to because I hate it when transports vanish.
2) Realistic Warfare/Population - Though I like the idea of exterminating an entire planet full of aliens and then settling down with your own race afterwards, I tend to find this a turn-off now. I was wondering how hard it would be to try and mod the game so that only a specific population takes part in combat. For example, maybe splitting the population into military and civilian categories, or young and old (this could also add more subcategories like willpower, fighting abilities and capabilities, since military personnel will have more experience and know-how in war than a civilian, or a child vs. and adult, etc...) I know this is a large change to the actual design, but I would find it much more involved, and would plan my battles so that this feature could better advantage my outcomes, and possible the enemies' as well.
This brings me to another point. Realistic sliders. I don't like loading up half-a-billion troops to have any hopes for a planetary invasion being successful. I especially hate it when the majority of my population is in combat transports. This takes away the realistic military feel of the game for me when I have transports that basically contain an enormous amount of my population suiting up for battle. I seriously doubt that my entire population is in the ripe age for fighting wars, realistically.
3) Race Population Uniques - I would like to implement a system where each race has specific preferences, and abilities. For example, the Yor's strength is that they have no morale. Though I know the Yor do have self-awareness of an advanced AI, since they are a robotic race, I however figured they have more adaptability than natural races would. For example, the Yor have no need for morale. This could give them the advantage of colonizing ANY world regardless of class. This could also give the advantage of having their entire population be considered military personnel (like the game already does for EVERY RACE). The Altarians could have the supernatural powers, as their race description says so they could perhaps have a bonus in planetary invasions due to their supernatural powers. And so on, and so forth for each race has some kind of advantage along with weaknesses. For example, the Yor's weakness could be a lack of individuality, so in turn, they're VERY predictable. This weakness could be exploited when it comes to planning for war/battle. The Yor could also be prey to EMPs (something the game does not implement other than ship warfare) and therefore, the Yor could be leading researchers and developers in counter-EMP technology due to their dire weakness to EMPs. The Altarians' weakness could be a counter-point to their supernatural powers (like how Superman got his powers from the Sun but was helpless around kryptonite). The Altarians could be helpless around some kind of counter-energy/energy-using source like strong magnetic waves and such (whereareas when it comes to Humans, magnetic sources are said to make us feel better). I would love to see this design implemented over any other.
4) More/Less Political Control - What I find lacking is the interface of politics. For example, in an Imperial system (the one you first start off with), you as a leader have total control over domestic and foreign policies. But as you advance through the stages of government, I would like to see less focus on a central element, and more on individuality. Granted, the leader of any government makes the pivotal decisions, but perhaps those decisions need more approval. For example, if you're part of a government other than the Imperial one, you need senate-approval to declare war, and change governments. I want this feature expanded to more domestic issues like raising and lowering taxes and government spending. This brings me to another feature I would like to see, and that is war-powers. For example, in times of war, except for say, the Federation government, in all other governments, the central leader has war-powers and can overrule senate decisions and such in keeping with galactic security interests. And perhaps each race will have at least one unique type of government system with its own branch of rules and customs.
5) Red Tape - I would like to see the implementation of a constitution like establishment at the beginning of the game to largely decide your race's course of path in the larger picture throughout the game. For example, if you establish a government based on the principles of a constitution, like that of the United States, you can only modify that government to the principles of that constitution. If you try to otherwise overrule said constitution, then there's the high likelyhood of your own race rebelling against you in a large fashion. I would also like to see the implementation of laws and like to see more involvement in ethics.
6) Espionage Micromanagement - I've always wanted to order an assassination of a political leader in my 4X games. Perhaps not to the point of taking out the main leader like N-1, for example, but maybe strategic generals and diplomatic persons. Perhaps in an effort to turn the tide in an economic stand-off, or military manuever, or even to prevent a research tech from being achieved. However, let's say you implement a system of caution and limitation so that this feature won't be abused.
Anyways, I know I'm asking for a lot, but I would really think a realism mod, or patch/expansion would bring this game to a higher level, and more praise from reviewers and fans alike. I would try and mod these features and designs in myself, but I'm not that advanced of a modder.
Well, criticize or support, and feel free to add your own ideas or modify mine. I really hope this gets to someone in GalCiv's gaming department or a really good modder with game-design knowhow.
