Earth at the Crossroads – ideas for v.2.0
Simple important changes
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Worth considering
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Retirement age. Now you can raise (or lower) retirement age. The higher it is, the more people in
workforce (and less retired) – GDP growth is ramped up, but social contentment goes down and fertility
decreases.
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“Organic farming” option (checkbox) – yields lowered by 20%, but on the other hand soil/persistent
pollution reduced by 40%.
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“Money creation” option (list box), change possible after 25 years.:
o fractional reserve banking (money created mostly by commercial banks) – GDP growth +1%/y , GDP
contraction leads to financial crisis;
o traditional banking (money created by the government) – GDP contraction up to 2%/y tolerable.
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Information technologies research branch. Another independent branch of research. Progress enhances
GDP growth and research rate (related coefficient must be adjusted, lowering default rates). Key
breakthroughs include Internet and AI.
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Introduction of AI (artificial intelligence). You can apply AI for enhancing economy growth, security,
medicine, pollution controls, soils productivity (also by weather forecasting), extraction of fossil fuels,
security of nuclear power plants, balancing of renewable, control of extraction of methane hydrates etc.
There will be some financial cost of investment and some risk – the more powerful AI the player creates,
the higher risk that it will take over and decide this world would be better without humans.
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Wonders. Possibility to build/invest in special “wonder projects”, giving special bonuses. One is already
implemented: “construction of space fleet in Nemesis scenario”.
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Manage all regions. Play the world, but managing every region individually, just like in Fate of the world
game. Such a game will take a lot of time (8 regions to command simultaneously), but may be quite
interesting.
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Tasks/Missions (for example: until year yyyy build wonder/develop technology/rise welfare/...)
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Energy trade – currently only coal, oil and gas are tradable. It’s important for non-fossil fuel world.
Nuclear/renewable energy (as well as biofuels) should also be traded.
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Methane hydrates extraction. Additional gas reserves corresponding to 2x conventional fossil fuels
reserves. Available from level 16 oil technology. Decision whether to extract is left to the player: price will
be attractive, but there will be some risk of eruption (for now: probability of eruption for 1 mtoe 0,01%)
and methane emissions. For higher technology level the extraction will be safer – though GHG emissions
will take place anyway.
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Complete breakdown of ecosystem services (random level at loss of 40-70%). The warning will come at 120% before. In case of breaching the limit, ecosystems will collapse, food production will greatly fall and
pollution will greatly increase (it’s a kind of almost ‘game over’ situation - details will have to be worked
out).
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Automatic funding of water infrastructure. Infrastructure protecting from droughts and floods degrades.
There should be option (checkbox) of automatic providing of funding for the maintenance.
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Scrapping of unnecessary infrastructure. Now the infrastructure lasts for 50 years. Option to scrap any
number of installation will be available (in a way it’s implemented for nuclear).
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Game Over events (in a single player mode). Complete breakdown of ecosystem services may be one of
them. Artificial virus plague may be another one. Maybe some other suggestions?
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Model/data parameters defining. All the key parameters should be edited (preferably via some edit
screen/tool) and its set saved under a distinct name. You don’t agree with the model? Think that
technology will provide cheap nuclear power or 10-fold increase of yields? Think the fossil fuels reserves
are overstated? Model your own world.
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Possibility to block research in all technology patches. Currently available for bio- and nuclear research
should be a standard option.
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Improved descriptions (of actions, technologies etc.)
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Load/save; continue in multiplayer mode
Other (debatable) ideas
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Improvements to demographic model. In case of the world data on births/deaths should be regional
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Society/competence/education quality. Why is it so hard to develop infrastructure in Africa? Why even
infrastructure (rail lines, hospitals, schools,...) build by others lack proper maintenance and crumble.
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Various dedicated reports
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Possibility to give funds to any other region (only in ‘regional’ mode)
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Possibility to give funds to computer players for dedicated purposes (only in ‘regional’ mode). Would you
like China or Russia to invest in CCS or reduce production of toxic chemicals? You can help them do this by
investing 20-50% of the needed money.
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Military & Wars (only in ‘regional’ mode). You can research military technologies (standard tree, but some
technologies will have prerequisites in other trees). You can mobilize troops for one time cost and some
maintenance cost (if decision to implement this feature will be undertaken I’ll create a model). The army
may then be dispatched to secure the resources in other regions (required envisioned advantage 5:1). In
case of sufficient military advantage the player will have access to the resources of another region
(+transport cost). Conquered region/player will be able to build up his forces or ask other regions to help
him get rid of the aggressor (such “independence guarantees” will also have cost).
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Espionage (only in ‘regional’ mode): technology stealing, inducing unrest, infrastructure sabotages, plague
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Possibility to create an artificial virus (only in ‘regional’ mode) engineered to decimate the population of
another regions(s). The efficiency of the attack will depend on technology levels of adversaries, security of
defender, government system of defender, medical protection of defender. This will be a insidious way to
reduce pressure on the environment and resources. Depopulated regions will become an easy prey. The
victim will probably not know, who was responsible. The victim player may blame anyone and will have the
possibility to retaliate (with conventional military, nuclear or biological strike) on anyone. There’s some
possibility of plague spreading to other regions.
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Nuclear strike (only in ‘regional’ mode). Similar to artificial virus, but the attacker is well known. Retaliation
will be obvious.
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Technology loss due to critical collapse (nuclear war, plague, hunger, drastic population collapse). Should it
take place only when playing the world or also in ‘regional’ mode?
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Technology progress/leader should be highlighted and compared to other players just like economy
progress (only in ‘regional’ mode)
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Euthanasia. Option (available under dictatorship) to kill all elderly people in order to reduce economic
burden and food requirements. Results: serious societal discontentment lasting a few turns (though in
diminishing scale)
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Women education. Option (none, basic education, avg. education, higher education – requires funding,
social cost depends on GDP/cap.). Education of women decreases fertility and increases GDP. Education
level traced as a function of age.
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Events: Unexpected discovery of a new technology (or even alien artefacts?), supervolcano eruption,
coronal mass ejection, ...
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Game modes: all optional features (events, espionage, wars, ...) may be turned on or off.
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Perks: the player can select bonuses, i.e.:
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Golden Kid: more income
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Iron Fist: higher stability
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Egg Head: cheaper research
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Master Farmer: higher yields
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...
Introduction of other resources (with trade)? Trade of industrial products? ..?