[Freeciv-Dev] Re: wonder balance (was: Blitzkrieg patch)

[Reinier Post <rp@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Aug 01, 2000 at 03:17:13PM -0500, Tony Stuckey wrote:
> > It's a waste of resources to build units that you can't use.  In 1.10.0,
> > Magellan's made a nation invincible at sea, especially in defense.
> 
>       Bull.  Transporters have enough movement capacity that I can mount
> an assault on your coastal cities within a single turn, and you will not be
> able to react and stop it.  Also, Air assault works wonders.

On some maps, transports can indeed cross over to an enemy island in a
single turn, and in that case you're right.  You still have to survive
to develop Transports, of course, but your argument holds for arbitrary
ships.  With fogofwar it's much harder for the defender - active
patrolling of the seas is now required.

>       Or is this another "simultaneous Arcade-style movement destroys the
> original game" issue?

I think the arcade aspect (short timeout) lessens the power of Magellan's.
It becomes harder to keep a 'sea shield' intact.

>       Ironclads aren't overpowered anyway -- a Fortified Musketeers
> stands a good chance of surviving an attack by one, and is cheaper. 

True, but the typical scenario is a powerful enemy using Ironclads against
an opponent that has neither Steam Engine nor Gunpowder.  Even if
you're only a few techs away from either, this can be deadly.

>       Factories are almost never worthwhile because of the Pollution they
> generate.  A little bit of production and a LOT of trade are fundamentally
> better ways to run your empire.  It's simply the way the rules and numbers
> were designed.

Still, when city growth is made more rewarding (there have been
some good ideas for that) I expect them to be used again.

-- 
Reinier