The ideas in this collection range from the simple to the profound, from the obvious to the ingenious. The list includes ideas we embraced and explored, ideas we weren't sure about, and ideas we quickly discarded. Taken together, I hope they form a deep well of possibilities that future game developers can return to again and again.

Here, then, is a chronological list of new features, options, and improvements. Each idea is followed by a link to its original appearance in our discussion. Ideas already covered on the Piece Definitions page are not included.

1. Allow the marking of specified enemy locations when pieces are discovered. paul1989-02-27
2. New reports: damage reports, pieces recently destroyed, pieces currently available, pieces by continent or area. paul1989-02-27
3. Startup options: land/sea ratio, board size, etc. paul1989-02-27
4. Cylinder or torus worlds. john1989-03-08
5. Allow more than two players. john1989-03-08
6. Detailed control of enemy strategy (e.g. air emphasis vs. naval emphasis). john1989-03-08
7. Path tracking. john1989-03-08
8. Names for ships, commanders, continents, and oceans. john1989-03-08
9. Editable, auto-generated journal with text record of battles and animated maps. john1989-03-08
10. Land barriers like swamps and mountains. john1989-07-09
11. One city designated as a capital city; players win by capturing opponent's capital. john1989-08-25
12. Advance/automated production schedules. john1989-08-25
13. Hold down special key to temporarily display recent enemy sightings. john1989-08-25
14. Automatic hunting for subs, etc. (First reference to a scripting language). john1989-08-25
15. Extensible/wildcard playing pieces. paul1989-09-15
16. Access to order-of-movement list. Journal: Approved Feature List
17. Complex (polygon) patrol routes. Journal: Approved Feature List
18. Cities whose neutral/enemy status is unknown. Journal: Approved Feature List
19. Multi-grid cities. john1990-06-16
20. Require refueling for some pieces. Journal: Other Ideas
21. Use hexagons instead of squares for grid. Journal: Other Ideas
22. Weather: clouds to decrease visibility, etc. Journal: Trash Can
23. Smokescreens and Flak. Journal: Trash Can
24. Nighttime missions; divide play into multiple time-of-day parts. Journal: Trash Can
25. General purpose paths for patrols, escorts, city destinations, etc. john1993-10-26
26. Have users enter high-level goals; program responds with editable project schedules. john1993-10-26
27. "Daydream Mode" for sketching out high-level goals. john1993-11-09
28. Distinguish between land and air actions (e.g. hovering vs. landing); provide separate display grids. john1993-11-09
29. Three-way games with no neutral cities; all cities assigned from outset to shorten game. john1994-01-30
30. Map revealed or map dark option. john1994-01-30
31. Random or orderly city selection. john1994-01-30
32. Library of canned maps (RISK, historical, mythological, user-defined, etc.). john1994-01-30
33. Naigation via world map pallette. john1994-01-30
34. Light up all squares within range of a selected piece. john1994-02-09
35. "General's Console" to display status information. paul1994-02-15
36. Play sound effects during drag rather than afterwards. paul1994-02-15
37. Use attachment to automate attacks. john1994-02-16
38. Occupying neutral cities without capturing them. paul1994-02-21
39. Treat refueling as a special kind of attack. paul1994-02-15
40. Enemy cities go through two state transitions to become friendly cities. paul1994-02-23
41. Mountainous atolls that require engineers to inhabit. john1994-03-10
42. Players given a rank with promotions (from Empire Deluxe). paul1994-07-07
43. Production map with each city showing piece produced; rollovers for more info (from Empire Deluxe). paul1994-07-07
44. Aircraft consume a minimum of 5 units per day. john1994-07-08
45. Name themes tied to the player's piece design. john1994-07-08
46. Relative Patrol paths can be tied to moving pieces. john1994-07-08
47. "Explore", "Escort Ship", and "Go Home" commands (from Empire Deluxe). Implemented using editable scripting language. john1994-07-08
48. Production times reduced for repeated pieces (from Empire Deluxe). john1994-07-08
49. Simultaneous interaction instead of turn-taking. paul1994-07-13
50. Automatically generated radio messages that could be intercepted by opponent; option for "radio silence". john1994-10-15
51. Interface plots theoretical position of enemy using intelligence. john1994-10-15
52. Two opposing teams of players. john1994-10-15
53. More flexible repair times. john1995-07-17
54. Oblong grids: show air pieces on top and surface pieces on bottom. john1996-06-19
55. Enforced automation to reduce game time. john1996-06-19
56. Rules of engagement. john1996-06-19
57. Complex automation pathways. john1996-06-19
58. Three phases of play: manual, automated, and adjustments. john1996-06-19
59. Rewards for capturing continents. john1996-06-19
60. Roads, bridges, and tunnels form automatically. john1996-07-18
61. Conquered land turns green and lush, while the enemy's land turns Mordor-brown and pitted with craters. john1996-12-05
62. Political maps with differently-colored countries. john1997-03-18b
63. Narrow or wide rivers: some ships could travel up narrow rivers, others (battleships, carriers) could only navigate wide rivers. john1997-03-28
64. Allow two different players to play solitaire games using the same world. john1997-04-04