[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Bombers/Fighters no longer obsolete (PR#1628)

[Gregory Berkolaiko <Gregory.Berkolaiko@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 29 Jun 2002, Per I Mathisen wrote:

> On Sat, 29 Jun 2002, Raahul Kumar wrote:
> 
> > In real life Stealth Bombers are an overly expensive unit that only make 
> > sense
> > if they are armed with nukes. I don't want to model that in the game. As is,
> > Stealth Bombers are pretty weak. They have to hit harder than the unit they
> > replace.
> 
> Well, as I said, they are a first strike weapon meant to take out enemy
> radar and C&C so that other aircraft can follow up with the heavy payload.
> 
> If we wanted to accurately model such precision bombing, we'd give them
> the ability to sabotage, just like spies. Take out their SAMs with a
> stealth bomber, whack them silly with normal bombers. Take out their
> Coastals, whack them with battleships. Etc. Hmmm... maybe that isn't such
> a bad idea...

I sincerely hope that we do not want to model such bombing precisely.  
Freeciv is a strategy, not close combat or any such micromanagement 
tactics game.

When civII authors named the planes "stealth", they probably meant 
"modern" or "advanced" more than B-2 or F-117A or any other simultaneous 
solution of Navier-Stokes and wave scattering equations.

So they were made to fly further (longer range), hit harder (higher 
attack) and be more elusive (higher attack and defense).  And if we 
increase the attack power to 20, it will be enough to ignore any SAM 
bonuses that the land target may posses --- thus rendering SAM 
ineffective, quod erad efficio.

> > Maybe a pop cost of 1 for normal units? So that an UAV doesn't
> > cost you any pop.
> 
> There is no need to do something that stupid. Just reduce its shield cost
> to show that once you remove the pilot and all associated gear, a fighter
> becomes a lot cheaper to build and maintain. And then you can build a lot
> more of them.

This is a clever idea.

G.