Apolyton CS: Civilization III: The List v1: Movement

MOVEMENT
-Summarized by Thread Master: don Don-
dewvr@mindspring.com

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INTRODUCTION

In a game where turns are a minimum of 1 year and typically 10+ years long, how do we rationalize such pathetically low movement rates? Caravans typically traveled the 3000+ miles from Damascus through the Hindu Kush to Xian in 8-11 months, including weather delays in the mountains. Travel on the Mongol post road from Sarai to Korakoram (c. 3000 mi, flat terrain) took less than 4 months, and message relays took half that.

The best means is to expand the types of strategic movement generalization. There are already several strategic generalizations in Civilization II movement rules. Free railroad movement is a strategic generalization. When an opponent expels a diplomat or insists that military unit(s) be removed from their territory, these units instantly return to your capital/nearest city. If you donate a military unit to an ally it moves instantly to the ally's city. Airlifting and Paradrop features are perhaps the best examples.

How to increase movement, remain playable, and not dilute the value of RR, Airlift, etc.? This composite of my original suggestions, modified for various constructive criticisms (thanks, everybody especially Theben) may prove useful. Further comments and suggestions by many participants are included. There are some who strenuously object to any change in movement rates. They're probably the ones who don't like the "double movement" option in MGE. For their sake, perhaps new movement rules should be an option. On the other hand, if most of the strategic movement generalizations here are implemented, their apprehensions may be eased by the great flexibility of movement options. Most of these suggestion are far more than just changing the movement rates in the rules.txt file. Some (especially the old die-hard paper map/cardboard unit wargamers) would love a game with a purely strategic feel to it.

This was originally presented as a more-or-less coherent proposal (and was e-mailed to BR as such long ago), however the inclusion of many (possibly conflicting) ideas from independent sources makes this more of a grab-bag.

1. LAND UNIT MOVEMENT    TOP

GENERAL COMMENTS: Fix the Civilopedia so it really works with modified rules.txt files! As is, anything but minor changes make the help and Civilopedia functions so inaccurately as to be useless. Some have suggested multiple road types evolving throughout the game. At least one player has suggested that RR travel should only be allowed between cities (no hopping on or off outside the city).

1.1) First, increase un-mounted movement rates to 3 and mounted unit rates to 5 (chariot & elephant 4). Motor movement rates to 6 (freight, armor, modern infantry) and 8 (advanced armor, mechanized infantry). From extensive play testing, this can make defense difficult but no further imbalance against the AI is created.

1.2) As an adjunct to this, some form of form of staged movement, simultaneous execution of movement orders, or both may be necessary for smooth gameplay. Suggestions ran up to one stage per movement point, but four stages ought to be sufficient. If some form of mobilization is implemented, then the hassle of staged movement could be bypassed for civilizations not currently engaged in large-scale warfare, and perhaps some expense saved.

1.3) Make road building and RR building independent tasks. (In crossing the American West and the Russian East, RR came long before roads.) Movement on roads would no longer cost 1/3 movement point per tile, rather terrain/3 movement point per tile.

1.4) Make military units capable of road building (but not RR) and construction of fortresses at ½ the rate of Settler units.

1.5) After a civilization builds one Superhighway city improvement, that civilization may improve roads to Highways, reducing cost to 1/4 point in all terrain or perhaps terrain/6 per tile. Upgrading takes a Settler [1 + terrain movement cost] turns and costs 1 money unit. Highways increase trade by one above road (and above Superhighway improvement) trade benefits, even for tiles that would not get road trade benefit.

1.6) Movement on railroads would cost terrain/12 per tile. Unlike roads, railroads would be constructed one link at a time, from one tile to another rather than connecting to any and all surrounding tiles at once. Construction of a railroad link takes [½ turn x terrain movement cost] by Settler and costs 1 money unit. In tiles without roads, one or more rail link(s) confers the 1 unit trade benefit if applicable for roads.

1.7) Additional suggestions to make road-building somewhat closer to historical progression: paved roads such as the Persian Royal Road didn't come until 5th century BC, and quality of roads varies too much to be represented by a single tile improvement type.

1.7a) An initial primitive trail (does not reduce movement cost or create trade) necessary to extend city radius from 1 square to the standard 2 squares, and necessary for mounted units to cross mountains.
1.7b) Basic Roads (terrain/2 movement cost, plus standard trade bonus) available as a civilization advance (prerequisite Masonry) necessary for wheeled units to cross mountains.
1.7c) Paved Roads (altered from the existing road improvement as suggested in §1c above) as an advance available after Basic Roads and Construction.

1.8) Initial trailblazing, or upgrading from one road type to the next, would require only ½ as long as currently implemented.

2. NAVAL UNIT MOVEMENT    TOP

GENERAL COMMENTS: Some means of river navigation for some naval units would be welcome. Many people have made suggestions for canal-building. River engineering would make short stretches of river navigable so that inland cities can become ports. Building a canal across an isthmus to connect two bodies of water should be difficult and expensive; nearly impossible for hills and prohibited for mountains and glaciers.

2.1) For naval units doubling movement works well, but I recommend cutting unit holds and costs. More than tripling movement for powered naval units doesn't mess things up too much, but I cut unit holds to a minimum (Frigate 0; Trireme, Caravel, Galleon 1; Transport 2) and reduce costs more (Tri 10; Car, Gal 20; Frig, Trans 30).

2.2) A more sophisticated approach is to implement a global sea multiplier like the road multiplier for ground units. Multiplier would be cut in half for coastal travel due to tides, currents, rocks/sandbars etc, except in friendly city radius where local pilots can guide friendly ships. The multiplier could change with improved technology.

2.3) An alternate suggestion is for naval units to have a range limitation, in turns, unique for each vessel type, or to have naval units slowly accumulate damage (similar to helicopter units in Civilization II). Repair should be impossible in the open seas, and for modern (steel-hulled) ships impossible except in port.

2.4) Travel by sea should be dangerous: any naval unit ending its turn at sea should have some probability of sinking. Alternately, travel through each tile could incur some probability of suffering damage from storms or coastal dangers. Probability of sinking/taking damage would diminish as sea travel advances are discovered and for each more advanced ship type.

2.5) A Lighthouse city improvement would diminish movement penalty or chances of suffering damage or loss in coastal squares in that city's radius (note that the city proper would need not to be located on the coast). Radio would further diminish probability of damage or loss by Lighthouse improvement.

2.6) There ought to be a Naval Base tile improvement, requiring 2 turns for construction (by Settler). After Steam Engine each Naval Base would require 1 money unit support cost per turn, and new base construction would also incur a cost of 1 money unit.

3. AIR UNIT MOVEMENT    TOP

GENERAL COMMENTS: The extreme mobility of air units requires radically different movement rules from land or sea units. Many people do not like the tactical-style fighter and hanging-in-mid-air bomber implementation. Many people have called for air transport units similar to ships.

3.1) Air units are stationed at airbases, cities, or carriers. Air units can move tile-by-tile from one station to another using a global air multiplier similar to (but much larger than) the road multiplier for ground units (perhaps 8-12, may increase over time). Moving air units pass over ground/sea units, cities, and bases w/o attacking or landing. To make an air unit "land" on (move its station to) a carrier, city or airbase under it the player "A"ctivates the unit and a pop-up lets player choose to land or to continue moving the unit.

3.2) Aircraft have an attack range and would spend just one movement point to attack any valid target in range without moving through intervening tiles. For an air unit the default action is attack, but "A"ctivating the unit raises a pop-up with options to move or attack. The mouse cursor changes (similar to the paradrop cursor) to allow target selection for the active unit, but attacking unit icon remains where stationed. Range is initially short (1-2 tiles), increasing over time. Paradrop range should be the same as bomber range.

3.3) Movement of air units between cities or airfields can be conducted by air transfer (similar to airlifting of ground units) at a cost of one movement point. Transfers are limited to N/turn in and N/turn out where N=size/4 for unimproved cities, N=size for cities w/airports. N=2 minimum for cities and airbases; round fractions up.

3.4) Ground unit airlift to and from any city or airbase after the first Airport improvement is built (for that civilization); limited to one unit in and out per turn. Airport allows size/4 units in and size/4 units out per turn; round fractions up.

3.5) If an air unit runs out of movement points it is "stranded" and takes damage equal to 50% of remaining hits. If stranded on a road, RR, or fortress within a friendly city radius no further damage is taken; otherwise the unit suffers damage equal to 50% of remaining hits on the next turn. The stranded unit must move to the nearest friendly base or city on that player's next turn at the cost of 1 movement point per tile. The player may construct a road, railroad, fortress, airbase or city on the tile before the end of the subsequent turn to avoid additional damage (the latter two also avoid cost of movement points).

3.6) Airbases should take a Settler 2 turns to build and cost 1 money unit to build and 1 money unit/turn to maintain. Rules might allow for "superbases" by building an airbase in a tile already containing an airbase. Superbases would allow N=4 air transfers under rule 3c, and require double the maintenance cost.

4. SUPPLY    TOP

GENERAL COMMENTS: Supply has no effect on unit support costs, only on effectiveness of that support reaching the unit. Supply is a generalization of whether that unit has instantaneous access to supplies (the resources modeled as well as unmodeled) and communications, and whether the unit has freedom to move unhindered. Supply rules are a nod of recognition that the supply line of a fighting unit is far more vulnerable than the unit itself. Some people want supply to modeled by supply units on land and sea, which would obviously require greater micro-management. There are also cries for pooling of unit support requirements among cities linked by roads, for support requirements to include food (for large groups of units), and for modern armies to require oil. But that is not really a movement and supply matter.

4.1) Supply would extend some limited distance from the nearest friendly city not in rebellion. Supply radius would start at 1; increasing 1 with wheel or horse and again with auto. Supply cannot be traced through unfriendly units' Zone of Control (including Fighters). Any unit in supply moving to a tile in supply gets movement costs cut in half. Any unit not touching a tile in supply takes damage each turn depending on distance from nearest tile in supply. Display grid could be toggled to show supply status instead of city radii.

4.2) A diplomatic option would allow units far from home to query another civilization to sell supply access to the unit. Again supply has no effect on support cost but would eliminate losses. Supply access cost would be graduated: free for allies, 1 money unit for friendly civilizations, 2 for neutral, 3 for icy, etc. If no trade routes exist between the two civilizations cost would go up.

4.3) Supply line extension eliminates out-of-supply losses but does not confer movement benefits. An occupied fortress or airbase tile connected by road or RR to an adjacent in-supply tile extends the supply line such that friendly units adjacent to it do not suffer out-of-supply damage. An occupied fortress or airbase connected by road or RR to an adjacent occupied fortress or airbase that extends supply line as above also extends the supply line as above.

4.4) Any unit crossing geological obstacles (mountains, deserts, glaciers, and jungles), or remaining in a tile of this type without moving, move and take damage as an out of supply unit. If a fortress or airbase is built in a tile of this type, and it meets the requirements for supply line extension in §4c above, units in the fortress/airbase will not take damage as out of supply, but do not extend supply to units in adjacent tiles.

4.5) "Alpine" units would be redefended to allow such units to operate in mountains, deserts, glaciers, and jungles without suffering supply penalties described in §4d.

4.6) Units in the ZOC of a hostile unit may not repair unless in a fortress (or airbase, for air units). Modern vehicular units should be more sensitive to supply restrictions than infantry or other non-vehicular units. Units out of supply would incur defense penalties and either severe attack penalties or would be prohibited from attacking.

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