[Freeciv-Dev] Re: suggestion / idea

[Greg Wooledge <wooledge@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Daniel Burrows (Daniel_Burrows@xxxxxxxxx) wrote:

>   I think the problem really is that ships ignore city walls.  I don't *think*
> this was the case in CivII (if it was, I missed a major tactical consideration
> when I was playing it :-\ )

In Civ1, only Battleships ignored city walls; other ships had to face
triple-strength defenders.  (But in Civ1, city walls were less common,
because they had an upkeep of 2 and cost more shields to build.)

The Civ2 manual implies that ships do not ignore city walls, but it does
not actually state that.  (And I can't remember from gameplay.)

Civ2, p. 56: "A city's defense can be substantially increased by building
City Walls, an improvement that triples any defender's strength against
most attackers (although not against Howitzers or air units)."

Civ2, p. 34: "For instance, when a ship bombards a ground unit on
shore, the firepower of both units is reduced to one.  This simulates
the low accuracy of shore bombardment.  Similarly, ships defending in
port have their firepower reduced to one, because of limitations of
maneuverability."

(I don't know whether "shore" here includes cities, or just land units
standing on the beach.)

>   Coastal defenses can come significantly after Steam Engine, depending on 
> your
> research order.

Or significantly before.  And if you didn't get Metallurgy, chances
are you got something else useful, like Conscription, or at least
Gunpowder...?

(A veteran Musketeer on a 50% defense bonus tile (forest, river, etc.) is
often enough to take down an attacking Ironclad.)

> Can anyone
> verify that ships ignored city walls in CivII?

If I find time I might try Civ2 again... anyone know whether it works in
wine?  (Maybe I'll just boot Windows (*shudder*)....)

>   PS - I'm a little aggrivated right now because I just got trounced a few
> minutes ago by a "normal" AI which got Steam Engine and immediately set all 
> its
> cities to building Ironclads..

Wow, cool!  I have yet to see an AI (even a hard one) challenge me this
strongly in the mid-game.  You must have left it alone too long. :-)

(Usually, if I survive the AI's onslaught long enough to get City Walls
up in my border cities, I'm assured of victory.  And yes, I usually win
by overwhelming the AI with Ironclads, just as the AI did to you.)

-- 
Greg Wooledge                    | "Truth belongs to everybody."
wooledge@xxxxxxxxxxx             |   Red Hot Chili Peppers
http://www.kellnet.com/wooledge/ |

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