Settlers and workers as categories[]
I have a plan to better categorize units by in-game role (offensive, defensive, trade, &c.) and I'm in a bit of a puzzle for worker units: from Civ4 on, Settlers are used solely for expansion, whereas in the early games and their spin-offs, they perform double duty for terrain improvement. Since both '[Settler units (Civ2)]' and '[Worker units (Civ2)]' would be redundant, I thought I'd ask for input on which feels more logical; I'm personally leaning toward Workers, as the role involves more discrete actions, and so implies greater versatility.
- — Solidarnosc 22:10, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
- Why not use Category:Civilian units, which is the standard terminology for more recent games? There's no need to reinvent the wheel when we already have a category (and an overview page) that's fully applicable to the role these units play. -Mythril Wyrm (talk) 23:41, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
- I suppose it's a question of how precise categories are supposed to be: 'civilian' implies 'non-combat', but workers aren't necessarily civilian (see Crusader (Civ3), which can build Fortresses). It would also improve cross-referencing in category trees, since users can navigate quickly between units by function, rather than having to comb through generalized catch-alls.
- — Solidarnosc 23:13, 2 May 2023 (UTC)
- I suppose it's a question of how precise categories are supposed to be: 'civilian' implies 'non-combat', but workers aren't necessarily civilian (see Crusader (Civ3), which can build Fortresses). It would also improve cross-referencing in category trees, since users can navigate quickly between units by function, rather than having to comb through generalized catch-alls.
- Being able to build tile improvements has nothing to do with a unit's classification. Legions can build Forts in Civ5 and Civ6, but they're classified as military units in both games because they're able to participate in combat. By that same logic, the Crusader in Civ3 is classified not as a civilian or "worker" unit, but as a military unit that's able to perform some noncombat tasks. I see no reason to break the categorization system down even further and categorize units based on their in-game role with terms that are never used in-game. (To the best of my knowledge, none of the Civilization games differentiate between "offensive units" and "defensive units" or ever refer to military units as such, regardless of what their statistics indicate.) -Mythril Wyrm (talk) 23:59, 2 May 2023 (UTC)