Form the various threads on this subject:
- http://forum.illyriad.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=2418&PID=27085&title=progress-update#27085
- http://forum.illyriad.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=2775&PID=33594&title=negative-food-tax-adjustment-or-not#33594
- ...and elsewhere in fragments...
Suggestion: In the event that the current rate of food depletion would run out of food in one week* or less, the
tax slider is moved, and its range restricted automatically every day*.
* "one week" and "each day" are examples; "two days" and "every hour" would work just as well.
The result is that the Tax slider would slowly be moved move down, and if a city is overstretched, it will start to deplete the gold, and if/when the gold hits zero, the troops and diplo units disband.
This means that a player with lots of food can opt to generate gold while running down the stockpile, but they cannot exploit this to the point of having no food. Overbuilt cities that run out of food will still need some de-levelling, but this suggestion gives all players a 'soft landing', and prevents balanced cities from using the zero-food exploit.
Do the same for the basic resource sliders (wood, clay, iron, stone), and you have a fairly good incentives for not allowing res to reach below zero.
To keep the player informed of the seriousness of the situation, each auto-adjustment/restriction results in a
notification,
"To prevent your city running out of food, your bursar has ordered that taxes be lowered."
and optionally,
"He also reports that your gold reserves are depleting, and..."
or
"Buildings are being demolished to scale down the city's food requirements."
or
"Gold reserves are empty. The Consulate and Barracks cannot afford to pay their units, which have now deserted."
</ramble-thinky-too-much-post>
Edited by Albatross - 22 Nov 2011 at 17:10