Outposts

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         Here's a half-baked idea that might satisfy those (including me) who have pondered the idea of 
         Outposts. I write this with the caveat that I have not crunched the numbers to make sure it is balanced, but I believe it can be 
         fine-tuned...
        
        
         

        
        
         Outposts are a lower class of city, with these limitations:
        
        
         
          Buildings can only reach level 10;
          There are only 12 free building plots.
          You only get 50% of resource plots that are available to a city, for a given tile;
          No sovereign claims;
          No defensive wall;
          You cannot use Exodus to move an outpost.
         
        
        
         And these benefits/differences:
        
        
         
          Many different players may put an Outpost on a tile (just like armies, respecting the same diplomacy stances), but only one outpost per player is allowed on a tile. Further, players do not see, share, nor control anything belonging to other players who occupy the same tile;
          Unlike cities, there are no hard limits on the number of Outposts a player has, but to place a soft limit on the number, Outposts use the city Settlers build queue (see below).
         
        
        
         

        
        
         Settling
        
        
         

        
        
         Settlers will be able to embark on two types of mission:
        
        
         
          Settle Town (as we currently have), and
          a new option, Settle Outpost.
         
         The number of settlers required will increase with the number of (Towns + Outposts), so it will eventually become infeasible
          to have too many Outposts. It also becomes more difficult to settle new towns if you have Outposts, and vice versa.
        
        
         

        
        
         Note that we might need other limits, to present economic, as well as time interval limitations on the creation of Outposts.
        
        
         

        
        
         Conversion of Outposts into Towns?
        
        
         

        
        
         Yes, but only with the following:
        
        
         
          You need to be the only player with an Outpost on the tile,
          You need to send a 'Settle Town' mission to the square, so the existing Outpost is effectively just a placeholder until the town settlers arrive. The Outpost's units are preserved, and outpost buildings are converted into buildings for the city, to an upper limit of Level 8 (two levels below the outpost limit).
         
        
        
         

        
        
         What use is an Outpost?
        
        
         

        
        
         Same as a city, but much less capable. You could create small armies, diplomatic missions, gathering activities, trade valuable items, and manufacture advanced resources — all within the limits afforded by the level cap on buildings.
        
        
         

        
        
         Defence
        
        
         

        
        
         That would be difficult. There are no defensive walls, and if many players stack their armies 
         on a tile 
         (home-grown at the outpost, or reinforced from a town), they are vulnerable to a single large attack. Think how difficult it is to defend tournament squares.
        
        
         

        
        
         Would you regard someone wiping your outpost to be a serious war-provoking act, or would you regard outpost battles to be 
         low-stakes, isolated, and 
         acceptable?
        
        
         

        
        
         So, is it worth it?
        
        
         

        
        
         With the limitations on existing game mechanics, this allow more varied interactions, while remaining balanced and making better use of the other game assets. I would find it Interesting™. Would you?