You don't know what NPCs can do when exploring lairs under the FOW

Nothing wrong with RPG elements in a game like this.  I think you're in the majority on this, not the minority.

Balance isn't as important in a SP game as a MP game, though the fact elemental has MP means that balance has to at least be moddable.

Very nice - this is the sort of detail I was expecting for the game to take from fantasy galciv to feeling a bit different. Seems you're playing about with some really nice thoughts and ideas here.

Why not

while( uLoopcount < 50) and break instead of bSuccess ?

So we should build cities near/in forests in order to have monsters spawn in forests far from our cities...

so who wrote comment "//BradSucksAsProgrammer = true;"? Did he get fired?

If the neutral monsters will attack each other in the retail game, this suggestion should get implemented as well.

Also, we should be able to create specific groups -like the suggested carnivores- for the monsters [& various modifiers/tags/etc. as well of course, like group X hates group Y etc.] via editing .xml files.

I know there will be a lot of variety, but how about dividing certain things into basic brackets?

1. Wild Animals

2. Dire Animals

3. Lesser Lair

4. Heavy Lair

With Lairs spawning/housing fantasy creatures, and animals being able to spawn without a Lair.

I-II

Basically, normal Wild Animals will be able to spawn anywhere (in their terrain) with a higher chance on squares farther away from cities. They can spawn within LOS as well.

Dire Animals can't spawn within LOS, and can only spawn X tiles away from the nearest city. Dire Animals don't start spawning after X turns (or after each player gets 1 city built), and their spawn rate depends on map size and how many Dire Animals are currently on the Map. (less Dire animals increases spawn rate, too many slows the rate to a crawl or halt)

III-IV

Lesser Lairs can spawn anywhere (including within a Line of Sight). Tiles near cities and Tiles near other Lairs have a smaller chance of spawning a Lesser Lair. The farther the Tile is from a City or Lair, the greater the chance a Lair will spawn. Lairs will start to spawn after X turns, adding to the Lairs already on the map.

Heavy Lairs can only spawn outside of LOS, after X turns, and X tiles away from any starting location. Spawn chance is Inversely related to how close a city is. The Larger the Size of the City, the smaller the spawn chance by an exponential factor**. (scaled to map-size). The spawn chances of a Heavy Lair depend on the level of the highest leveled Sovereign controlled unit in the game. // Alternatively could be determined by how many Heavy Lairs already exist (more lairs equal less chance) or by how many Cities exist (more cities equal MORE chance).

Depending on Map-Size, there can only be X Wild Animals, X Dire Animals, X Lesser Lairs, and X Heavy Lairs at any given time.

Each Lair can only support X fantasy creatures (that spawn from that Lair).

If instead going for a Soft Cap, after the limit is reached, Spawn Chance is divided by 10 for each additional spawn beyond the full population cap. AKA 1st extra has a 10% (of original) chance, the 2nd extra has a 1% chance, the third extra has a 0.1% chance ... etc.

** A Heavy Lair will most likely spawn far into the wilderness, where spawn chances are very high. A Heavy Lair DOES still have a chance to spawn nearby a city. This chance is 16 times greater to spawn near a size 1 city than a size 5 city. Meaning, that if the chance to spawn near a size 1 city was 00.16% ... then the chance to spawn near a Size 5 city would be 00.01%.

I think that this has been suggested already, but either way...I really like this idea!...more gameplay features = better diversity = win!

Although I also agree with the premise, a caveat has to be applied. If the roaming monsters get this kinda of power, it should not be included under MP play. I could imagine playing Online only to have to fight off monster bands while your neighbor watches with glee while building up his army to finish of the remnants of both sides.

In SP though, if these groups were to be allowed to form, some level of control on how fast it happens would need be in place, or we could face a world of fighting just Monster Hordes vs the opposing Factions, or worse, Both! LOL!

And for a set group that is fine. For everyone who does not have a set group and will play with "strangers" that kind of imbalance, even if an Option, will not be tolerable or tolerated for very long.

 Some great ideas! Epic Wins!

A living world. Creature evolution. Organic growth. Always a different world, naturally.

?? Creatures level over time + combat.  A creature of appropriate level, having meet a series of requirements, rolls for hero mini-boss status (those who can lead). Have mini-bosses attract bands that either roam or settle depending on their nature (+ game triggers and RNG rolls). At various triggers, a mini-boss led band establishes itself as a Minor Faction. Colony reaches a specific size, then auto-builds a building, which auto-builds units every N turns. Mature colonies have a variety of buildings, producing different unit types at varying speeds. Colony grows as units amass to then disperse in banded waves of havoc causing fun. At a proscribed colony size, the mini-boss seeks out a secondary site to colonize.  Perhaps less intelligent creatures can spawn a per-species version of pioneers.??

?? Allow creatures of like class to breed.  RNG rolls for stat and ability combos.  Allow for variety, resulting with some rare uber-spawns (up to mini-boss status).  Allow mini-bosses to breed with other creature classes (within classification limits?).  Allow for the evolution of hybrid species (Griffins, Chimera, Spider-crocs, toothy frogs, and more). Give mini-bosses variable and RNG affected objectives: find a mate, form roving clans, form colony, destroy budding civilizations, seek to unify clans, and so on.  The breeding of mini-bosses might result in the ultra-rare Big-Boss.  The big-boss possesses a few ultra-uber stats and unique abilities.  Under special conditions a Big-boss can establish a creatures version of city. A serious of events, fulfilled requirements, and RNG rolls can bring rise to a limited monster civilization (rare, but with increasing odds and triggers over time).

?? Some Big-bosses from certain species, can engage in diplomacy with other monster clans; as well as with applicable Kingdom and Empire leaders.  Small monster bands can form clans, which can join with other clans to create a greater inter-species alliance.  Players can attempt to ally with, or otherwise manipulate creature bands/clans/alliances to their benefit.  Kingdom and Empire to have their own potentially friendly creature sets.  Player (human and AI) can expend resources to covertly assist a monster group in the harassing of an opponent.  Or can attempt to openly ally with it. Constructive relations between Player and certain creature classes, might trigger aggressively hostile relations with opposing creature classes (natural enemies).  Player/creature relations to affect diplomacy modifiers between players. Player decisions to affect existing creature relations (torch a forest after chucking a fireball at an enemy, and risk having your Treant allies turn against you).  

Countdown to Monster Armageddon.

?? Like sand through an hourglass, the passing of turns is a countdown to monster Armageddon.  Creature activity and intensity increase exponentially over time. Building up to a powerful creature end-game.  Ignore creature expansion at your own peril!  Or, act to quicken monster meltdown towards your own risky aims.  Left alone to its evolutionary device, the more breeding creatures there exist, the more likely the spawning of rare uber-beings there will be.  While over time, and impacted by global events; various creature triggers can be increased, as the odds against uber rolls decrease (bigger bosses, more of them, and spawned quicker).  A countdown towards monster armegeddon has begun!  Player actions can impact events towards keeping the monster armageddon at bay; or they can conspire to see it quickened. [See the brilliant Armageddon Counter in the Civ4:FfH2 mod].

Due to a series of RNG rolls, some games will develop to be creature intense sooner than others.  In some games, numerous roving creature bands may thwart aims towards conquest.. as armies are ambushed by great bands of berserker beasts.  While in other games, a Sovereign is pestered by the constant spawning of weak though numerous, little green meanies.  And from time to time there may emerge insanely powerful beings which might require an alliance to defeat.  While some rare games will see the rise of powerful creature alliances which will break player preconceptions as to how the game is played. On a per game basis, the level of creature danger becomes dynamic.  You never know quite what you will face, or how exactly it will evolve.  But as player, you will have opportunity to read your world, and make decisions which have impact on an eventual creature population explosion... and everything that goes along with that (including increased odds for uber-being spawns, an increase in creature related triggers, a more rapid rate of creature leveling, + ).

We* demand wildlands! If we have a living world, large lands without player nations (maybe a few minor nations tho) yet many adventure locations, resources, and monsters! Maybe we could add wildlands in the select rival nations screen. As for instance:

Ruin wildland, with undead, ruins and other fitting things.

Swamp wildland, with swampish things

Desert wildland, with a few but powerful set of monsters

*I

Minor nations consisting of "fantasy races" could also be a cool addition. Like WhiteElk above me said, if a sufficiently advanced monster arises, he would create a minor nation. And if he does it in a wildland, there would probably be room to grow.