Your Civ VI Wish List.

[Unorthodox]

So in my vision of the game, you could make creative trades, such as mixtures of gold, resources,  gold per turn, and techs, as long as you had enough credibility and likability. If you exploited such deals by backstabbing somebody- well, there goes your credibility. You may have trouble getting anybody to cooperate or trade with you the rest of the game in a Civ V we hate you because you're human kind of way. They may not even talk unless you have something they need.

So long as we keep the III system where I can be a complete ass to Civ A and Civ B has no clue because they've never met/I wipe them out before they could meet. 

And let's add unit trading into the list.  Honest to goodness unit trading.  For gold, GPT, resources, whatever.  But a well fleshed out system for a change.  I did a LOT of workarounds to make it work in III and IV, be nice to have it actually work.  Let me be a global arms supplier if I want. 

For that matter, some realistic motivation and reward for helping out smaller nations would be nice.  Give me a reason to save Civ X instead of dogpiling to grab as much land as I can.  Traditionally the vassal state system just weakened your supposed vassal/ally so much as to make it worthless without 100% hands on support from you, and often more annoying than beneficial. 

[Rusty Edge]

That reminds me of a proposal I once made in the CFC ideas and suggestions subforum, and we developed pretty well.

It was about being able to establish diplomatic relations with the Barbs by means of a spy. The Barbs in IV were a vast entity, like a backward civ. They could see much of the map.

Anyway, the proposal was to be able to initiate proxy wars, hire mercenaries,  and trade on a black market  for horses or something denied to you. The downside is that they usually wanted military techs, which they would potentially broker to other civs which had or would  establish diplomatic relations with them. Of course the black market is overpriced, but sometimes it's the only game in town. It doesn't trade food. Like spying or piracy, it's bad diplomacy when you get caught.

In the modern era the barbarians transform into international defense contractors a la Haliburton/Blackwell.

[Rusty Edge]

or that matter, some realistic motivation and reward for helping out smaller nations would be nice.  Give me a reason to save Civ X instead of dogpiling to grab as much land as I can.  Traditionally the vassal state system just weakened your supposed vassal/ally so much as to make it worthless without 100% hands on support from you, and often more annoying than beneficial.

How about for the rest of the era or game- open borders, willingness to talk and trade, and they will abstain , rather than vote against you. That would be gratitude.

[Buster's Uncle]

I was always disappointed in II when barbarians would conquer a city - I would let it live, hoping they'd do something.   Never.

How hard would it have been to code that they became a faction when they took a city alive?

[Rusty Edge]

It was modded that in time Barbs became minor civs. That is, civs without diplomacy because they lacked the tech.

[Buster's Uncle]

Right there; that's all I asked for.  Hopefully, they'd do something like at least pump out all the units they could and make a nuisance of themselves.  -But I was actually curious about diplomacy, and why not posit that barbarians who lasted a generation without getting frustrated and burning it down became civilized?  That's what happened constantly IRL...

[vonbach]

Make it like Civ 2. That was probably the best game out of them. You could play in fantasy or the future. Someone even made a Master of Orion type mod for it.
You could have maps with three different layers on it.

[Unorthodox]

Anyway, the proposal was to be able to initiate proxy wars, hire mercenaries,  and trade on a black market  for horses or something denied to you. The downside is that they usually wanted military techs, which they would potentially broker to other civs which had or would  establish diplomatic relations with them. Of course the black market is overpriced, but sometimes it's the only game in town. It doesn't trade food. Like spying or piracy, it's bad diplomacy when you get caught.

Don't suppose you ever crossed one of my Merc/Pirate teams?

[Buster's Uncle]

I never get tired of saying I luvs me some 2.  I may break down and install on my current machine and play me a month or two of Alpha Centauri landing victories when I go into my next useless phase...

[Rusty Edge]

Anyway, the proposal was to be able to initiate proxy wars, hire mercenaries,  and trade on a black market  for horses or something denied to you. The downside is that they usually wanted military techs, which they would potentially broker to other civs which had or would  establish diplomatic relations with them. Of course the black market is overpriced, but sometimes it's the only game in town. It doesn't trade food. Like spying or piracy, it's bad diplomacy when you get caught.

Don't suppose you ever crossed one of my Merc/Pirate teams? 
 

No. Not that I know of.

[Unorthodox]

http://apolyton.net/showthread.php/140419-A-Mercenary-Team-anyone

Team Merc version 3, I think. 

[Unorthodox]

Sample contract from that game:

Contract #0009
"War like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit." -General Smedley Butler

Type: Reparations
Team: Sarantium
Details:
Team Sarantium attacked and killed a neutral Mercenary Chariot.

Team Mercenary shall remain at War with Team Sarantium untill reimburssed for the amount of 50.

Results:

- Team Sarantium offers explaination for their actions and makes suggestion to improve Mercenary Policies. Offered one time discount on reimbursement as credit for advice. Balance: 25 gold.

- Sarantium denies offer. Balance: 50

- Team Sarantium obtains Masonry from the Horde, cancelling Contract #0004. Cost 142. Balance: 192

- Team Sarantium invades Mercenary lands, balance for Hammer differential on Contract # 0006 added to reparations. Cost 8. Balance: 200

- Team Sarantium pillages Mercenary Gems. Cost 60 Balance 260

- 2 Mercenary Horse Archers in Pre-emptive strike on invading Sarantium Forces. Cost 200 Balance: 460

- 2 Mercenary Horse Archers, 4 Mercenary Axes died in Battle of Anhinga. Cost 480 Balance 940

- Sarantium Cottage donates 4 gold towards Reparations. Balance 934

- Citizens of the Sarantium town of Anhinga have donated 10 gold to the reparations. Balance: 924

- Citizens of the Sarantium town of Port Tiberium have donated 90 gold to the reparations. Balance: 834

- 2 Sarantium Workers have volunteered their lives in Service of Team Mercenary as reparations. Credit 240 Balance: 594

- Hostilities paused to give Sarantium chance to make good payment.

[vonbach]

Multiple leaders per civ would be nice. Mke sure they speak thier native languages like in Civ V. Wonder movies would be nice as well.
Honestly so long as it has a decent AI a reasonable amount of civs
I'm good. Make it like Civ V with a better AI.

[Rusty Edge]

http://apolyton.net/showthread.php/140419-A-Mercenary-Team-anyone

Team Merc version 3, I think.

I started reading that last night, I liked the idea. After all, If you are to have Carthage, you should also have mercenaries. Rome Total War did. I could envision my fail gold windfall being sent to Team Merc so that they could explain to Ramses what I thought of him beating me to the Colossus or Great Lighthouse.  In fact, that sounds like the best strategy to actually get it!

This other log was entertaining, especially the parts about the Sarantium donations.

[Rusty Edge]

Okay, finished the thread.

Well, the obvious question was- "How did the concept work in practice?"