Unit Abilities

[Seeker]

This thread is for describing unit abilities that would be interesting, and how they would work.

1. A TRUE submerge ability for subs and nuclear subs. If a unit fails it's 'detection chance' it should not be able to find the sub at all or know where it is, it should move onto that space as if it were empty.

2. Different types of Nuke:

Tac nuke, a missile with 98 attack can destroy all units in one stack.

A-Bomb: works like Civ 3 nuke

Hydrogen Strategic bomb: works more like SMAC planet-buster; all non-aligned nations declare permanent war + mega pollution.

3. Terrain based abilities: eg: archers +1 defence in forest, elephant bonus in jungle.

4. Treat X as Roads: instead of treat all terrain as roads, only certain types eg alpine units treats only mountains and glacier as roads, ranger treat jungle and forest as roads, etc.

5. Perma flight: Like Civ 2 helicopter except perpetual, good for satellite units.

6. Transport Helicopter/ Cargo Plane: can carry trade units, 2 paratroops.

7. Just like in Civ 3, the ability to give some units limited engineering abilities, like infantry that can build fortresses. 'Combat Engineer' abilities.

8. Minefield units, sea and land, work like subs.

9. Bad idea: Possibly give units more complex stats like apanzer general: air defence/offence, close att/def, Hard att/defence, etc. nah.

10. Sentry/patrol ability: Set units like these on auto-patrol of an area, if they encounter an enemy they automatically attack. Good for destroyers, can be switched off.

11. Abilties: Spread dissent, increases unhappiness for a while. Infiltrate: gain access to the enemies city menu for one city for one turn...maybe to powerful just make it abile to see enemies city for a turn??

[POTUS]

I assume also terrain-based disadvantages.

[Inverse Icarus]

i agree on subs and will expand.

submarines should have a "submerge" option that puts them at a far lower depth than a sub without it on, which would make them invisible to other ships (except those with detection capabilities). units should be able to move onto the tile in question as if it was empty.

but i think there should also be a way to tell them to fire while they're submerged like that, shouldn't there be? like, hiding under water until you see that transport moving in?

there should also be a disadvantage to being submerged, so that people just don't stay in it. and should there be a limited amount of time to remain submerged continously?

[Kuciwalker]

1. A TRUE submerge ability for subs and nuclear subs. If a unit fails it's 'detection chance' it should not be able to find the sub at all or know where it is, it should move onto that space as if it were empty.

No. WAY too MM, and it's just stupid. Does the President say "oh, and btw, tell the subs to go underwater before attacking the enemy ships". This adds a fundamentally meaningless layer of "strategy" to the game.

2. Different types of Nuke:
Tac nuke, a missile with 98 attack can destroy all units in one stack.
A-Bomb: works like Civ 3 nuke
Hydrogen Strategic bomb: works more like SMAC planet-buster; all non-aligned nations declare permanent war + mega pollution.

First, don't make the nuke flag be the attack value!. Just leave it as a normal unit flag like in C3. Second, no planet-busters and no auto-declaration of war. An H-Bomb is not going to turn nine tiles into ocean.

3. Terrain based abilities: eg: archers +1 defence in forest, elephant bonus in jungle.

As an option in the editor.

4. Treat X as Roads: instead of treat all terrain as roads, only certain types eg alpine units treats only mountains and glacier as roads, ranger treat jungle and forest as roads, etc.

Again, as an option in the editor.

5. Perma flight: Like Civ 2 helicopter except perpetual, good for satellite units.

No satellite units, please. At most abstract them like in SMAC.

6. Transport Helicopter/ Cargo Plane: can carry trade units, 2 paratroops.

Maybe as an NPC freighter like in GalCiv. Otherwise, too MM.

7. Just like in Civ 3, the ability to give some units limited engineering abilities, like infantry that can build fortresses. 'Combat Engineer' abilities.

but make the AI use them!

8. Minefield units, sea and land, work like subs.

Maybe not as units.... but an interesting idea (and one many people have tried to implement, mostly failing) that should at least be in the editor.

9. Bad idea: Possibly give units more complex stats like apanzer general: air defence/offence, close att/def, Hard att/defence, etc. nah.

You're right, bad idea

10. Sentry/patrol ability: Set units like these on auto-patrol of an area, if they encounter an enemy they automatically attack. Good for destroyers, can be switched off.

11. Abilties: Spread dissent, increases unhappiness for a while. Infiltrate: gain access to the enemies city menu for one city for one turn...maybe to powerful just make it abile to see enemies city for a turn??

A lot of this should be abstracted like in C3.

[Shogun Gunner]

since one turn = one year, are we saying that subs should be able to remain submerged several years? Perhaps that's too much detail.

However, I do believe detection isn't quite handled right. If a sub is not detected, you should sail right over him, like he's not there.

As it works now, you are navigating your ship through water when you get the call from the bridge:

First Officer: "Captain, we are at full power and cannot go due north. Look all the way to the horizon in the north...nothing there, but we can't move there. We can move east, west and south, but not north. What's going on?"

Captain: "Fire all guns due north"

[Kuciwalker]

Simple to implement - let the sub and the other ship able to be on the same tile. Use the same code as for allowing your units to occupy the same tile as your allies (a very good feature in SMAC).

[Shogun Gunner]

yes, i see no reason why that couldn't be "made so"

[DarkCloud]

6. Transport Helicopter/ Cargo Plane: can carry trade units, 2 paratroops.

This is a must-have in civ III!

I would also suggest on perhaps a 'nuclear submarine' unit, that, when sunk, has a % probablity of triggering an accidental nuclear explosion that might destroy the neighboring ships.

[Seeker]

(bumping) to see if anyone has thought of any new unit ABILITIES. (not units themselves)

[asleepathewheel]

I think minefields might be better if they were put down by workers rather than another unit. Iguess workers could find them as well, but the one move/turn would hurt that effort.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

I like the options in the editor ideas of skywalker.

[asleepathewheel]

enslavement


At most I think that there should only be a couple of units with special abilities, like in C3C. limited enslave, limited hidden nationality, etc.

KISS

I agree with the thoughts that it should mainly be reserved for the editor and modding efforts.

[DarkCloud]

I really don't like the enslavement option. I just don't think that it's really strategic enough to warrant a unit. It just seems sort of abstract...

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
I really don't like the enslavement option. I just don't think that it's really strategic enough to warrant a unit. It just seems sort of abstract...

oh but its great fun playing as the Mayans or English. My Men o' War in my last English game captured/enslaved 30 other ships,

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

Actually, I thougth the enslavement option was a cool idea.

I wish there was away to simply have it enslave what it captured with ships. So you could more accurately simulate the Spanish Main with a chance of commandeering Galleons and Frigates and not having them all shrunk into Privateers.