I feel the philosophy of the old games like Caesar III, Pharaoh, Zeus: Master of Olympus, Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, and Children of the Nile, fits very well. You have your city, and the land surrounding it, your basic map on which you play. Every resource you can use, and all the space your city can expand upon, is this map. However, with a click of a button, one jumps to the “world map”, or “region map”, or whichever works best. On this map, you see other cities and sites and possibilities. Some are accessible only by sea, some only by land. Some are powerful rivals, others humble villages. Some are friendly, some hostile. Some will gladly trade with you, other rather invade you.
It all offers immense opportunities for your city, since there is always so much more out there. You may lack a certain resource, but thanks to a trade agreement with a friendly city, you can import a ware, say, weapons. Or, rather, import the metal itself instead, build workshops to turn it into weapons yourself, and then export your surplus. Or turn the metal to something else, maybe tools? Don’t we need a new port to trade with them? All of this behoves you to expand your city, build more houses and farms, open up more trade to import what you lack, or export what you have… but what if a enemy threatens you? Or your trade friends? Your allies? Maybe your ally request your support? Maybe the colony you founded needs help? Endless opportunities!
I have such fond memories of hours upon hours spent building up some Grecian city from nothingness, becoming a trade hub, turning my city to a glittering capital, and sending out emissaries and armies to make all of Greece unite under my banner^^ That is exactly what was lacking in Banished. It is a marvellous game, until you have hundreds of granaries full, huge supplies of steel tools and woollen clothing, and every seed and animal around your city. There just… wasn’t more. No impressive monument, no glorious edifices, no joy of seeing merchants from all over the world crowding your trade districts, no triumphant sons of the city returning from the successful rescue of an allied city… I truly hope that Ancient Cities will contain such a dynamic between the city and the world map, with all those possibilities…