I too, am against the US being in as a complete civ. Pretty much for the same reason as you. I'm not real keen on your ideas, but they are pretty good. I just can't see those kind of units being a "tribe". They're too civilized, IMO. Maybe instead of being a tribe, they could be something like a vassal, or I don't know. Tribe just doesn't sound right, even though that's what the game would call them. But yah...

I really didn't know what else to call them.

I mean, like you said,"that's what the game calls them."

They really couldn't be considered tribes if they go by the first option, but I just wrote "tribes" to make it understandable that it would have similar basics with the tribes system.

Perhaps they could appear at certain maps, only at chances, and they would help just like the current tribes do.

OR to make them unique, they could be the only ones who can actually attack all the empires, and can't be eliminated, and can only be stopped if a civ. claims them.
BUT, if the civ. looses their outpost, then the rebels will start with their attacks until another empire puts an outpost on them.

Of course, who ever has control of them, can control their troops.

[This message has been edited by Novoa20 (edited 03-01-2006 @ 00:03 AM).]

I fully agree on the issue of US being a ful blown civ, an I like the idea of US "tribes"(lets call them that for the sake of simplicity, for now) on certain maps. If you gave them appropriate buildings(ie. not teepees and huts) and called Trading Posts built on them something else(embassayes?) and gave them a different look I think it could work.

Technically, if they are added as "tribes" or "vassals" or "embassies," I don't think anybody would be dissappointed.

1. The US would be added, along with other troops, and so people from other nations will be "encouraged" to buy the game.

2. The US wouldn't be a civilization, and if the X-pack will include only 3 civs., then Japan or China could have a bigger chance of appearing(Also Poland).

I know this idea has sort of died off a while ago but it is at least a decent alternative to having such small nations in the game against world powers.

Maybe there could be some sort of "revolutionary" mode where all the minor nations would just be an upgraded offshoot of one of the original civs. The idea, at least my iteration, goes like this: the game is basic deathmatch, however, in a certain age (depending on the offspring's actual revolution) a player could pay for a revolution tech. After this, the player loses access to their shipments but instead receive a highly raised population limit (there were generally more revolutionaries in a colonialist revolution), some new techs/units, and something else.

Some possible offspring that were considered were (especially if they extend the timeline to just before WWI):
Ottoman Empire -> Greece, Egypt, & Serbia.
Great Britain -> the U.S. & Boers.
France -> Haiti & French Revolution.
Spain -> Mexico, Peru, Colombia, & Argentina.
Holland -> Belgium.
Portugal -> Brazil.
Russia -> Bolshevik or 1905 revolutions
Germany -> 1848 revolution.

Also it could depend on what kind, or put better, where the XPack's colinization is going to take place. If it isn't in North America, then those troops could definitely be mercs. Embassies, that was the word I was looking for earlier. That could do the trick.

Or maybe...depending on how you play the game, which strat and stuff you use, you get a shipment of troops/supplies/whatever from one of those civs that aren't actual civs in the game. And it would all focus on what strat you were using. But then again....I don't know where I'm going with this.

What I see out of these whole stuff, is that there are so very many ways to add the US and other cool rebels, that basically the ideas could go on and on.

ES could easily come up with such units.