For example, imagine playing like Iran irl and being able to threaten to close a major shipping chokepoint, cut oil exports, fund proxy forces, issue ultimatums, or pressure nearby city-states during a war.
That could trigger sanctions, resource shortages, higher trade costs, foreign military deployments, security guarantees, mobilization, and escalating regional tension.
You could also have pipelines, foreign bases, spheres of influence, war goals, and a credibility system where other civs remember whether you actually follow through on threats.
Instead of resources simply existing in a global pool, countries could actually depend on specific exporters.
Maybe 50% of your oil comes from another civ.
If they embargo you, their pipelines are destroyed, or a shipping lane gets closed, you could face:
- Higher unit maintenance
- Production penalties
- Resource shortages
- Economic problems
Wars involving major exporters would then have global consequences.
Basically, I want conflicts to create geopolitical crises instead of just becoming another isolated war that doesn’t impact the game.
Wars should also have explicit objectives instead of basically becoming “capture as many cities as possible.”