This may be the one and only thread I post in during the beta, but if it helps then I've done my job as a tester.
There is a long winded explanation below which if read through should enable everyone to grasp what I am getting at. For those who prefer the short summary, here it is:
The construction of buildings should be accelerated based on what resources it needs. If it uses a resource that buildings currently under construction don't use then it's construction should also begin.
Long winded explanation:
There has been a lot of work done on the handling of the economy and resourced in Elemental, which I am very happy for. There has, however, been little to no innovation regarding construction queues for cities. Currently buildings are constructed one at a time, which is exactly the same way they are constructed in all other turn-based strategy games. This is both unrealistic and quite boring for the player. In reality, buildings are constructed simultaneously with different start and finish times and build speeds. My proposed alteration to the construction queue will take a more realistic approach to construction, be simple enough for beginning players to just ignore and still get benefits, have enough depth to enable advanced players to maximize the benefits possible, while managing to not accelerating construction to the point where it is unbalanced.
The way this works is that if a building requires a resource that is not used in currently constructed buildings, then construction can start on the building for the percentage of the building that consists of that resource. Take the following example:
Building A: needs 4 wood, 8 turns
Building B: needs 1 wood, 3 metal, 4 turns
Building A is currently under construction and has 6 turns left. Building B has just been put on the build queue. Building A consists entirely of wood, but only 25% of building B is wood. Under my system, this means that Building B can also begin construction.
Fast forward three turns and Building B has one turn left (75% complete) and Building A has 3 turns left. It could be said that Building B has now used 75% of its allocated resources in construction. It only has the (25% of) wood left to use. However Building A is still using wood so Building B cannot finish construction until building A is finished.
In three turns Building A will be finished and building B can finish its construction the next turn. Overall this method saved three turns of construction.
This method works under the idea that the percentage of build time used to build with a particular material is the same as the percentage of the building that consists of this material. This method can be applied to all buildings in any sized build queue, with buildings higher in the build queue having absolute priority. In theory, you could have a dozen buildings under construction at the same time in the one city, providing that each one used a different resource.
Another assumption this method makes is that all construction is done in the most efficient order possible. For example:
Building C: needs 4 wood, 4 rock, 4 turns
Building D: needs 1 wood, 3 rock, 4 turns
Both buildings have just been added to the build queue with building C on top. Building C begins construction. Building D doesn't begin construction because there are no resources available.
2 turns later, Building C is 50% complete. It is assumed that this means that all rock has been used up and only wood remains for construction (because this is the most efficient method). Building D can now begin construction using rock.
Two turns later Building C is finished, meaning that Building D is free to continue construction unhindered. Two turns later both buildings are finished. This time, two turns were saved during construction.
Notice that the actual quantity of the resourced used by buildings is not relevant, only the ratio of resources and build times.
Predicted Effects on Gameplay:
Obviously this will result in faster city growth. Players will be encouraged to have more than one building in the build queue to take advantage of this benefit. This will result in a faster spending of resources which in turn will require better economic management. It will also encourage players to plan ahead what they want out of their cities.
The biggest advantage of this method is that it would greatly speed up the start of the game, where you have lots to spend (particularly gold) and not much apart from your city to spend it on.
Benefits For Beginners:
The best thing about this method is that you don't even have to know it exists to take advantage of it. Beginning players can construct buildings like in any turn based RTS and choose not to worry about this method. Odds are they will still receive benefits from it.
Benefits for Advanced Players:
Players who know the "tech tree" of Elemental well can use this method to create the city they want in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
Notes:
Some alteration to the existing game may need to happen to balance out the effects of this method. Some buildings may need the ratio of resourced required to be altered slightly (unlikely) or their construction times uncreased (more likely).
With some resources, particularly gold, a 1:1 ratio between the percentage build time and percentage material would not be an accurate assumption. In the case of gold, a better assumption would be 10:1 eg: A building that needs 20 gold and 2 metal will have 50% build time for gold and 50% for metal.
It is possible that this method could be used for unit construction as well. In this case, perhaps a "training" themed building may need to be build before this method is used or unit construction.
Some resources should not be taken into account in this process, like population required etc.
Some buildings, like the one that speeds up construction (warehouse?), may become overpowered of useless. In the case of the warehouse, perhaps lower its affects?
Questions? Comments? Issues? Suggestions?
