ICE AGE Map Start

[Dray Prescot]

How about having an ICE AGE Map at the start of the game, where the Glaciers cover a lot MORE land and the water/ocean levels are a lot LOWER. BUT when Global Warming Starts due to Industrialization CO2 emissions, it is going to be VERY BAD, i.e. a hundred meters (yards) or more, with a LOT of Land area being totally drowned, QUICKLY. Sort of like what happened at the end of the Last Ice Age, only much, MUCH FASTER. For instance, what happened in the Black Sea back then. On the other hand, a lot of Glacier covered land now becomes Nice useable land, and places like the Great Lakes of North America change completely. Also there would be a lot more land brides, often snow covered, between land masses and islands before the oceans rise. Civs would be settling isolated areas of good land separated by Ice and Tundra and fighting to get or keep them from their rival Civs.

There could be an option for the end of the Ice Age to start happening sooner, before the Industrial Co2 gas emissions started. Actually it can be argued that Methane and other Green House gas (including CO2) emissions started with the development of agriculture (rice fields in particular) by Mankind and played a role in the end of the Ice Age. There were also significant changes in world climate, perhaps at the Fall of the Western half of the Roman Empire, the 900s to 1200s, and in the 1500s and early 1600s. (Ever wonder why Iceland is called ICEland while Greenland is called GREENland? That is the way they were when the Vikings discovered them even though Iceland is farther south then Greenland. The Viking colony on Greenland was wiped out by the climate getting a lot colder, and most European colony attempts in North America (North of Cuba) in the 1500s and early 1600s failed because of cold climates). (see the book "A Cold Welcome: The Little Ice Age and Europe's Encounter with North America" by Sam White, as well as books by Jared Diamond).

Trying to adept to the end of Ice Age with much lower tech in Civ 6 would be a significant challenge, even before the start of the Industrial Age, which could cause even more Sea level rises.

These could make interesting Maps or Scenarios or Mods to try playing.

How many of you remember playing some of the Civ 2 Test of Time Maps/Scenarios, particularly the Mars one?

[Gentlest Giant]

Would play!
Would also rename my capital Altantis. No obvious reason, just think it is a good name for a good city.

[Dray Prescot]

What about a game of Civ (probably Civ 7) where you could LOSE Tech and Civics, Cities could revert to Tribal Villages or Barbarian Encampments, even most or all of a Civilization could fall back. There could be a cost associated with keeping Techs and Civics active and you could lose them, particularly when disasters strike, and trade networks get wiped out, with major changes in local and global climates, some of them caused by people over exploiting their local resources. Or by major Barbarian invasions (Attila the Hun, and the Mongols for instance). With the forms of government, i.e. Civics, regressing.

On the other hand you might be able to get tribal villages and barbarian encampments to grow into friendly cities and eventually part of your Civilization. I can remember versions of Sid's Civ where the Barbarians had Cities and could conquer Cities.

Also we might be able to get City States to join our Civilization. This could be done in Civ 6 without major changes to the program. Or maybe we could have the Cities that revolt to Free Cities become City States instead. They could make revolts to Free Cities (or City States) something that happens a LOT more often in Civ 6. Former City States and conquered Cities should be particularly prone to revolting from you, and a lot more easily than they do now.

Then of course, there are Civil Wars that can divide a Civilization, or a bunch of warlords dividing up a conquered area like what happened when Alexander the Great died. Religious Wars that divide a Civilization would a variant on Civil Wars.

[Martin]

Actually thinking the reverse might be fun.. start in ice age, as earth warms, the ice melts randomly creating new land as the ice retreats. Could also have land rising out of the water to form new landmasses.

[Abvale]

yeah test of time, civ 2 had really cool scenario-way ahead of its time,mars was the one with the robot explorers and fighting some green aliens,i also remember the dinos pangea map with huge hp dinosaurs,that takes me 20 years back lol

[BlackSmokeDMax]

If they could put this together it would make one hell of an awesome DLC!

[Dray Prescot]

You could have the DLC start in the Ice Age with a little gradual warming, which opens up new land tiles, i.e. their type of terrain changes from Ice and and Tundra to more usable terrain along with SOME slow rise in the oceans. There also might be a Glacier terrain type.

Then the Industrial Age Global Warming due to CO2 (and other Greenhouse gases such as Methane which is also produced by human farm activities) when it happens would lead to some MAJOR and QUICK (on a game scale) changes in Sea Level as well as changes in terrain on tiles.

During the early Ice Age start, habitable areas would be smaller and more isolated from each other. Separated by a lot of Ice and Tundra and Glacier terrain. On the other hand there would be a lot more land bridges between what will be separate islands and continents once the oceans rise. A lot of important resources could be blocked by GLACIER as a Terrain type, with the Glaciers gradually withdrawing, until the Industrial Global Warming speeds things up. You could even have some new Techs based on getting access to resources under the Glaciers.

So in this DLC, a certain amount of Global Warming (particularly before the Industrial Age) serves some useful/helpful purposes. The problem being when things become a lot more rapid, and to keep it from going too far.

Are many of you aware that about 5 or 6 Million years ago ( long BEFORE the current Ice Age period), the Straights of Gibralter was a land bridge? The problem/opportunity being that the rivers draining into the Mediterranean Sea bring in less water than evaporates from it. Normally this is taken care of by water flowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. But a land Bridge blocking the Straights leads to the Mediterranean Sea mostly drying up. This is another not so well known fact from Earth's geological history

[eldiabs]

Those were some of my favorites. I always started in the ice age as those really long games were a blast. Was it 12000 BC start or something like that...my memory is a bit hazy.

I also don't know why they didn't add desertification to the climate mechanics. Would be great to fight in a post climate change world where it's deserts and constant storms. Only a handful of cities left for each civ, nuking it out. Slowly regressing to barbarism.

So much potential lost...

[Dray Prescot]

I really loved those two and four map level scenarios in Civ 2 Test of Time. They were pretty interesting, both the fantasy one and the science fiction one (they were both 4 level maps). There was also a 2 level map where Alpha Centauri was the 2nd map level and Earth was the first level.

Bye, I just got my DVD/BluRay for Crimes of Grindlewald, and I am going to be busy watching and re watching it (so far I have only read the screenplay, so I know what happens, but I never saw it in the theater since I am staying home to help my mother when she needs it. She is 88 and I am 66).

So I will be offline for a while. I hope you found my suggestions interesting, and maybe they might lead to a future DLC or Mod.