Something about early growth

[wieder]

Some thoughts: Limiting the number of cities. Maybe multiple waste and corruption based on distance, yes. Could be reverted to lt40 levels with a building. But the trick would be fully restoring corruption/waste to lt40 levels for all players once someone gets some tech people usually get around T40. This could be how limiting too fast early growth might work. The building would be optional for those who want to try reserving spots like 20 tiles away from the capital

Maybe not exactly like this but maybe some corruption would help making it better?

[Corbeau]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. If I got it right:

Corruptio-by-distance (CBD) is, say, x4 the normal.
Then, with a, say, "Early Courthoouse" it's back to x1.

But once a "T40 tech" is discovered, all players get x1 corruption?

It might work, but it all depends how much you want "Early Courthouse" to cost. Make it too cheap and it's trivial. Too expensive and nobody will build it.

Also, why all players? Why not research your own tech to decrease your own corruption? It makes much more sense.

[wieder]

The early courthouse might cost something like a settler. It would effectively double the costs of the settlers and it could be gone when the court house tech is found. like how barracks I is solf when gunpowder is found.

All players because this would not only benefit those who are good at playing the game. A good player may get the tech fast but the downside is that everyone else would also get the boost. Now you could do this by building 3-4 settlers, getting the tech and then immediately building the cities. Everyone else would only then build the settlers and this player would have a small advantage over the others. There is a similar tech wit rails. Rails will remove the despotism penalty from everyone.

The good players know how to expand fast and early compared to the others. Might make the game more interesting if they still could do that but it would be slightly harder.

[Corbeau]

It is very unrealistic, but I understand the justification game-wise. It is realistic to have USA and Rwanda in real world, but in the game, players who end up as Rwanda usually quit.

About technicalities, how would you handle notifying everybody that now more expansion is possible? Maybe make it a Wonder instead of a tech, but make it really cheap? Like 10 shields or something?

[wieder]

Marco Polo is one wonder that gives something to everyone. While also not perfect, it's kind of justified by making the world a smaller place via distant nations meeting with each other.

Making only getting a tech enabling this effect might be a good idea since it would almost force the good players to make the choice. Force in a sense of really needing to get the tech or some other tech you can get only after getting it. With a wonder it's more easy to decide when to do it. Could be even a new tech. There might be room between bronze and iron working. Assuming that some sociological real world improvement would fit there. I'm not 100% sure what it was but I think some kind of social structures had to evolve before it came possible to create the command structures and stuff for legions/swordsmen.

Then again might also be a good to figure out some other way of doing something like that, yes.