Hello,
My thoughts on diplomacy. I got to thinking of it when Frogboy did his big speechy text on re-doing 4x economics and what not. Now instead of production time taking into simplified assumption about goods availability and trading time, it could all be spelt out.
Well a bit of that I think can be used for our envoys and how they go diplomatificate. One of my issues with diplomacy systems is, calling another leader is instant as if on a video phone. Partly understandable on GC but not so much in the more traditional 4x games. Similarly, dialogue between the two is essentially a balancing act of how much weight on your demands you can have before it outweighs what you are offering. In addition, it is just weird in the olden times, and even in fantasy for two rulers to constantly travel to each other to have simple diplomatic agreements. So...
We send envoys. They don't have to be personalised too much. When you want to work out some deal with another faction. You will send your envoy. You won't send him with a single job that is selected from a menu (like EU). Instead, you allow to give him some parameters with which to work in, to achieve our diplomatic objective.
Say, for example, I want Faction A to stop fighting with Faction B, a friend of mine. I will bring up my envoy screen or whatever. I will designate his destination and then I will set his 'goal' at the meeting. Which is to get A to stop fighting. I will then give him parameters in which to help him convince him. I can allow him to use gold but go no higher than 1000. To offer trade agreements or not. Hell, we can even use our magic to 'bless' the envoy with greater negotiating abilities, to help make it easier. And that is where it excites me. Our envoys will have an ability ranking. Maybe it can be determined from our over-all level of culture/literature. Or each envoy can be unique and special. But rather than the player having to play the balancing act they send an envoy with parameters to negotiate for us. Essentially, it will be doing the same thing that we used to do. Working out a balanced deal, but that's something for the computer to do for us.
Also, to spin back on when I mentioned re-worked economics. Factions are generally at different distances to us. So envoys won't be sent or return instantly. An envoy to a neighbouring kingdom may only be one turn's work but for another it could be three.
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The Fantasy UN. Problem with UN sort of things are they are all just voting systems. SMAC had to some degree allowed you to talk but that was merely to persuade leaders to change their votes. That was a step in the right direction, atleast.
Firstly, we can consider them like a council meeting of the elders. Wizards. A Wizard's council. Secondly, they can't be in limbo when they do this, or talking to each other on a video phone. Given we want the map to have some meaning. Let's have an actual place on the map where these epic council meetings take place. Thirdly, they need to be more than voting resolutions. These are the most powerful beings in the land, almost like demigods. I think this is where a good deal of long term negotiating can take place.
I haven't thought yet, what the council can talk about but I have ideas of some wizards seeking to maintain a balance of power. Obviously the evil ones will be seeking to increase their power but since these wizards are use mana, we can have some interesting thing that they are all bonded in the greater scheme of things.