Heh. 

Believe it or not, that's exactly how the sovereign concept started.

Originally you would ONLY get the Wizard and you had to win though the Wizard. Doing so unlocked 2 more Sovereigns.  And winning with those sovereigns unlocked additional sovereigns.  

On the team, I was the only one who wanted that however. 

Please do not do that.....

Unlocks are a terrible idea. 

@Alstein and Heavenfall:

Please substantiate your opinions, it helps the discussion.

I thought Henri was suggesting that each victory with a particular sov would then unlock a new power for that sov.  Maybe I read his initial post incorrectly.

I'm not a fan of what Frogboy was suggesting.

Actually no, the unlocking isn't about cooler/bigger/better. It's about different. It's about replayability. If you've played FTL then would you understand that the unlocked ships drastically alter the game - but they don't make it easier.

Same as reasons listed above.

Example of how wretched this system is: I've seen people in the original SF4 pay other people to unlock characters for them because it was so boring.

If the game were like this I personally wouldn't play it.  I got into Fallen Enchantress because I could pick which race I wanted to use and design my own.

It wouldn't stop me, because I know a day 1 mod would get rid of it. 

I consider unlocks to be bad game design in just about every situation.  It's part of the reason I won't play most CCG's.

I don't want grinding in my games.  If I want grinding I'll play an MMO or some AAA crap.   One of the things I like about this genre is that it isn't grindy.

I would not want to be forced to play with the same sovereign (even one that I liked) until I won.

If the system was not too complex and certain classes were easier to play than others (not more powerful, just easier to start with), you could have optional unlocks like in the indie game There Is Only Power which Frogboy has played recently.  If you want to, you can complete objectives to unlock the other classes (and this is kinda fun for certain people or in certain types of moods, and I did enjoy the unlocks in There Is Only Power) or you click the "Unlock All" option and that is that.  So it's probably not worth making an elaborate unlock system, but if you find something simple that works, you could satisfy both those who like unlocks and those that don't.

I do like a meta game idea.   The concept of dropping 20-40 hrs into a map and then just starting over eventually causes me to stop.    I'm a glutton, so it does take a few hundred (couple thousand from WoM on) hours.

Back in the old day with marriage/dynasties - would have been cool to keep track of a dynasty/family name/progress.

Now could be tied to a specific race - when you 'start' or 'reset' the game you keep track by race and/or sovereign in terms of score, time, kills/spells/quests/etc.  Whether the SK was defeated, etc.   IMO, that should be basic.

Maybe then tie it into rewards for replay - better starting gear (up to you if you use it), improved starting city stats, improved stats, etc, etc.    So you could play the game normal/standard at will but there was also a reward for playing it many times.  

Ideally, don't tie it to winning.  Possibly some other mechanic, (related to map size, time, shards, players, etc)  since many times the game will slog and I'll restart because I like early/mid rather than late game.  Haven't played SK a ton yet, so might be different.

Random roguelike - dungeonmans - has a nice mechanic.   The ability to start stronger on each successive playthrough - so yes, you need to go through the early game every time but its incrementally easier each time.   Or not, up to you whether you use the benefits.   Not a new idea, but done in a relatively sleek fashion.

Major gripes about the 4x system:

Each game is significant in terms of time/fun/thought - but once the map is over its gone.   In some games there is a scoreboard at least, but its very minimal.  Some of these huge maps takes 10's of hours (can be longer) and there should seemingly be some residual affect.   I haven't played it in forever, but seem to recall dominions had a nice recap ability or something.

The end game can become a slog.  Unit micro, city micro, gathering your forces, etc, etc.   Especially at the higher difficulties.  Streamlined methods are nice:

That FE spell that pulled all your armies to one area.  The ability to cripple/kill a civ by killing their sov.  Spell of winning, etc.    It was the quest victory for a long time, you'd find it and when you got bored you'd kill off the big guy and win.    Get your temporary score screen and then move on to the next map.