Civilization 4's Unit Workshop

[Kuciwalker]

I think a scout unit wouldn't really work in civ.

[Q Classic]

even better with the unit workshop. when everybody has tanks, you'd still be able to construct elite units armed with spears and shields designed to take out tanks.

[POTUS]

Why not?
In Vietnam, they had spears, dipped in feces and urine, and stuck in the ground. Someone steps on it, the have a nasty infection and can't walk. Then, they'd have to have him medevaced out, or be carried. Having the soldier medevaced forces a helicopter to land, great target. If they carry him, they'd go slower, and the VC would be able to ambush the US soldiers more.

[Jamski]

Well, like SMAC, every unit would have to be able to stick flags on.

Examples :

Basic Tactical Training : +25% attack and defence
Battlefield Mastery : +50% A and D
Mobile Warfare : Ignores terrain penalties
Armour piercing weapons : 1/2s opponents armour rating.
Defensive training : +1 attack, canceled by
Offensive training : +1 defence
Special forces : invisble
Improvisers : gives bonuses when out-teched seriously??
Scouting : Sees further
Diciplined : Retreats when reduced to one hp

Of course they could go on for ever adding more "specials" each unit could have 1, and after a certain tech, units could have 2.

Also - like SMAC has its reactor sizes = hit points, Civ 4 should have unit sizes = hit points.

Group 3 hp
Company 6 hp
Regiment 9 hp
Army 12 hp

You would need the tech for each one.

-Jam

[ThePlagueRat]

Great idea!

- more flags...

Support unit: yes/no
if yes: will not be able to attack alone, but gives great bonuses to others types. e.g arty supports infantry.

Has a ZOC: yes/no.
if yes: can counterattack or block,
if no: can ignore enemy ZOC.

In supply: yes/no.
if yes: can heal on next turn and attacks normal, if no: will not heal or it can get reduced attack efficiency.

[ThePlagueRat]

And here is the SMAC-inspired idea we came up with in other threads. I guess it belongs here:


Unique Item!
To make a Unique Unit you should have the structures to
create certain items for the unit, like a smith, and resources like iron, and a tech with the Unique Item, then you can make for instance a uniqe Roman Shield (while others would get a lesser Iron Armor) to put on your phalanx to make them a Legion, then add spears. If you want to make them more offensive just add another weapon if you got one. Then you would create your own version, making them even more Unique. Then you can save that config for later...

I like better the idea of a structure and resources to get the items (both within trade network), instead of just requiring a tech, in which you had to get in SMAC, e.g. from Synthmetal to Plasma armor you just needed techs.


Other Item ideas:

Korean Rockets: addon to inf.unit, gives an ranged bonus.

Viking Longboat hull: addon to ships, better speed and defence.

Mongol Heavy weapons: addon to cav.unit, attack bonus.

US Marines: addon inf. unit, better bonus to amphibious attack.
(then others have others marine addons, with normal bonus to amphibious attacks. )

German Volkswagen: addon to inf.unit, makes them move faster as a motorized inf.

We need more Unique Item ideas, come on...

[rendelnep]

how about...... THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE

[ThePlagueRat]

Ah! ...addon for the mac.gyver spy unit, increases sabotage chances?

[rendelnep]

maybe but it could also be used to create a mini fort in forests that has 30% of the defence of normal ones andd offers no protection against mobile warfare (not strong enough) and offers camoflage or something.. i don't know.
Probably only useful for regiments or lower

[Kuciwalker]

[ThePlagueRat]

Mini forts, eh? aha, that would be for the girl-scout unit...

[rendelnep]

look YOU wanted other ideas. You never mentioned how realistic you wanted them to be

[Zero]

I dunno if this has been said...

I dont like the idea of weapon beinf att stat and shield being defensive stat. It wasnt like that in SMAC and it would be silly seeing broze shielded warrior defeating iron sword wielding warriors in combat. (what is the shielded warrior gonna do? bash him to death? )

Rather, weapon and shield should be combined into one stat, and stat of that item should provide both att/def stat.

I'd like to have it this way...

Build a human (base unit) with varying discipline (conscript, vet, eliete etc)
have these slot of improvement

-Armament
-training/skill/ability1
-training/skill/ability2
-vehicle/animal/ship/etc

Civ3 wise
If you wanna build an infantry, you build a human with armament of infantry weapon. If you wanna build a paratrooper, you can add this equipment into skill ability.

You can ban certain skills to have armament to prevent building a pikemen that has ability to settle for example. And maybe ability such as these takes up 2 slot of skill so that you cant add both settle and paradroping etc. You can also ban vehicle, but i would like to see settler on wheels horses.. it would be interesting.

Like Plaguerat said... maybe specific has UU-esque armaments... or they can have UU-esque abilities in my scenario. For example. Mayans can build units with capture ability only.... And certain civ can have much cheaper cost on unit improvement as their special trait... etc.

[rendelnep]

Perhaps we'll see the Roman Legion - Armoured Calvary Division
(but in latin)

[yellowdaddy]

I've always thout it would be nice to modify vehicles and see how they behave differently.

to illustrate, i'll use one particular fantasy - imagining i am the Polynesian civilisation on a small collection of islands in a large ocean.

I have the disadvantage of lack of resources, but the advantage of more time to develop without encountering other civs.

My main vehicle is going to be the boat.

I might specialise in this, and use my workshop to make my boats longer and thinner so they are faster than other civs boats, but can't turn as well.

I might also use my workshop to build multi hull vessels, and even floating/mobile settlements/bases for military or economic uses.

This is the kind of thing i could imagine using a more developed version of the AC workshop for.

I think in short, AC has a lot more to offer than Civ3.

Civ4 should be the merger of the best bits of SMAC and Civ3.

I think the game would be far better with those lovely rolling maps, and without those memory-squandering 3d heads.

I think the battles in Civ4 should be completely overhauled - do away with the incessantly dissatisfying square on square action, and zoom into a simple battlemap with dots and simple monocolour units to have a real tactical struggle.

(I'm thinking of the battle computer in Deuteros, combined with the amusing North and South battle sequences).

I'm not so keen on Ethnically unique units - I think you should be able to switch them off - the problem being, what if you want to edit the names to be a Civilisation of your own choice? (either historical or made up).
The other thing is, they aren't really entirely fair even if you have to survive to get to some of them! - the USA with its fighter jets, whilst most other Civs get ephemerally useful replacements for bronze age units.
(this is connected to the old "post iron age civ in a pre-iron age world" issue).

I wonder also, if you could use your workshop at a more advance state of civilisation (where patent laws exist) to sell arms to countries (your own brand), so you have an advantage when facing weapons you've designed yourself?

And another thought, I'd quite like to be able to structure my forces as I'd like, naming Regiments, and and organising command hierarchies - so I could decide whether to give orders to a platoon, Reginment, Brigade, Corps or Army (squadron or Fleet) - it could make some conflicts easier to manage - rather than clicking on each unit at a time, instruct a whole brigade or fleet to move. In fact, a little strategic/tactical designer could be good for issuing a whole battle or war strategy to your forces?

I remeber a game called Imperium, which had loads of characters you could assign as managers: governers, generals etc.. each with their own stats - i think Civ could benefit from this, especially for when your civ gets big - i "enjoy" micromanagement and detail, but I also like to switch it off from time to time.