posted June 03, 1999 15:35                

1. Cruise missiles are too powerful against naval units. Either CMs, specifically, or all units, shouldn't be able to eliminate a stack. I don't mind 2 CMs taking out my battleship, that's the risk of war. I don't like 4 CMs (240, shields, or 144 for the AI at deity) taking out my 2 heavily loaded transports, and two battleships (perhaps 1200 shields or more.) Once cruise missiles come into the game, you can't use your navy against the AI, until you have cranked out a ton of AEGIS'. It's not just unrealistic, it's bad for gameplay.

2. Bombers are a waste of shields, once the AI has flight, cuz he magically has a fighter in just about every city right then. Bombers should either be cheaper, or should have the ability to attack and return. As it is, you just build two or so for special duty, like taking out that pesky MI in a hill fortress. But then, why not build a CM, for less than 1/2 the cost? The bomber is only THEORETICALLY reusable.

3. Helicopters should, too, altho they'd have to lose some power, or they'd be too powerful.

4. Fighters and bombers should have something like 30 mps, as long as they're moving from city to city. As a practical matter, they're needed at the front, where you likely have small or wrecked cities. The cities that can properly build them are so far away it might take 4 turns to do anything with them. It's better to build a howie, and send it by rail.

posted June 03, 1999 16:15                

He costs 40 shields, and costs like a settler (in food and shields). He goes anywhere outside the city radius, but within X squares (15 on med. world?). Once he's at the colony site, you order him to exploit, and whatever that square produces, goes to the city. Then he improves the land--builds a road, irrigates or mines, etc. The enhanced yield (arrows and food or shields) is transferred to the city. He ends by building a fortress, and then performs his final function--he Converts, into the appropriate military unit--phalanx, or pikeman, or musketeer. Or maybe you just convert it into a Garrison, with 2d, 2a, costing one shield and one food (never two, or else he's not to useful in republic). The unit becomes obsolete at industrialization or communism. Or, maybe at this time, it becomes a minor tribe. It CANNOT found a city. It cannot exploit a square in a city radius, even if that square isn't being used at the time.

This adds to the strategic options. When you have those cities that are all food, or all shields, you have the option to exploit fully what it is, or build a Colonist to make it a more well rounded city. You probably shouldn't allow more than one Colonist for a city until it reaches size 9.