Huh. Okay, fair enough. It's your mod, after all.
I guess we have different opinions of cultural affinities; I definitely do see these types of features as being intrinsic to individual cultures, because it is impossible to simply embark upon, or "take", the vast intricate web of factors that is responsible for such features, as if it were nothing more than an area of learning to be studied.
In fact, the same thing can be applied to the existing technologies in SE4. Things like crystallurgy, organic technology, etc....if viewed simply literally, as the physical ability to work with crystals etc., then there is no reason that these technologies should not be available to everyone. The game clearly views it as something more than this, as something intimately associated with the culture's history and character, something that is impossible for others to reproduce. If it consisted solely of crystal refining abilities, then anyone should be able to master them.
In other words, if the [fill in organic empire] have Organic Tech simply because their grandfathers decided to study organic tech, then there's no reason that any other Empire couldn't do the same thing. But it isn't like this. There must be something more going on there. Similarly, if the Persian expansion and poetry/government were merely something that their grandfathers decided to do, then you're right, anyone should be able to do that too...but it was much, much more than this. Those elements were inextricably bound up with the fabric of their very Empire, just as religion was with the Romans, sacrifice was with the Toltecs and Aztecs, orderliness and caste were with the Indus civs, etc.
Sorry, I don't mean to be argumentative. As I said, it's your mod. Methinks my degree in anthropology is causing me to be more stubborn about this area than I am usually. (Then again, I am a stubborn person in general.)
[ August 19, 2002, 20:20: Message edited by: Singollo ]
Re: Ancient Wars, SEIV style
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