Nukes destroy all

[RAKKIR]

I forgot to add, I think Blake's opinion about having a multi-tiered atomic weapon approach is valid. Older, less powerful fission weapons, followed by modern fusion weapons...maybe even a third teir to represent a MIRV strike....

I am hopefull that once all the BUGS are worked out of CIV IV (and it becomes viable to play it on my machine at least) that I can start getting into the mods!

[RAKKIR]

Also...should anyone care...here is something I think is a neat picture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Peacekeeper-missile-testing.jpg

Plus, wikipedia has some interesting articles on ICBMs, SLBMs, and MIRVs...

[RGBVideo]

Blake is right. Nuclear blast effects are not the end all that people think they are. A single bomb does not traditionally "wipe out" a metropolitan city. Someone above pointed out a link indicating a 20 mile destruction radius. I should point out that the link describes a 25 Megaton nuclear weapon. Quite frankly, you will not see weapons this large used. Almost all nuclear weapons are in the 500 kiloton (half a megaton) or single megaton size. The Russians prefer large weapons to ours.
Large bombs were INITIALLY sought because delivery systems (ICBMs) had not matured to the point of MIRVs (MIRVs being multiple, small, independent, self-guiding, warheads attached to a single ICBM). Therefore, you HAD to use a single large bomb. However, as soon as MIRVS became viable large bombs became inefficient and wastefull. It was far "better" (more destructive) to hit a city with four or five smaller blasts (spread out) than a single large blast.
Incidentally, a great many (though not all) modern U.S. weapons (and Russian too I am sure) are actually "dial-a-yield" where the yield of the weapon can be chosen. I do -believe- the admitted range of the weapon is 250 kilotons to 1 megaton from the same warhead. I may be wrong in this. Wikipedia lists the W88 warhead at 475KT and the W76 is 100KT

So what is the difference between a MIRV with 10 2,5MT payload and a single warhead with a 25MT payload?

Answer: MIRV destroys more ground. Why can't ICBM unit represent a MIRV BM? The point is that goverments have succesfully created ICBMs with nuclear warheads that are able to destroy entire metropolitan areas, so Firaxis has underpowered, in fact neutered, the ICBM unit with miserable efficiency and insanely high production cost. Why? My guess would be PC issues and that they're trying to phase out _any_ references to WMD's by Civ5.

Secondly, as far as the radiation effects of "nuclear clouds." Radiation effects of modern nuclear weapons on population centers is always MASSIVELY overrated...(not that I'm saying any is good). Almost all the statistics you see overinflate the radioactive 'fallout' of the weapon by quite a bit. [blah blah blah stuff which everyone should know but few do]

I agree with you. So why do we have the "nuclear fallout" terrain improvement?

And now, to really RILE UP THINGS..... who ELSE believes the United States needs to invest more in its Nuclear Deterent (notice I say DETERENT only) capabilities to the effect of designing newer missle delivery systems and ensuring our nuclear warheads are still viable (outside of the National Ignition project)? Anybody else believe we SHOULD be developing the "bunker busters" that were recently vetoed? Please note I'm not a "nasty warmonger" type, but merely a realist who advises having a HIGHLY CREDIBLE retaliatory strike capacity should, god forbid, it ever be needed.

I think you should create a thread to off-topic forum if you want to hear more opinions about this.

I believe this should be quite an easy mod. It's been one I've been meaning to make for a while. If it involves what I think it does, should only take half an hour or so.

I'd be most grateful if you could make one where nukes would work as they do in Civ2.

[Franklinnoble]

Didn't Civ2 have an option where a spy could nuke a city?

Bring that back, too.

[Nikolai]

Signed.

[RAKKIR]

VJ,

You are right. I agree completely. The ICBM in CIV IV has been neutered. The rest was just me adding a bit of trivia.

[ez42x10]

Originally posted by jakeclifford
i'd love to see that tactical nukes come back

i'm missing cruise missles

[Mr. President]

Originally posted by RAKKIR

And now, to really RILE UP THINGS..... who ELSE believes the United States needs to invest more in its Nuclear Deterent (notice I say DETERENT only) capabilities to the effect of designing newer missle delivery systems and ensuring our nuclear warheads are still viable (outside of the National Ignition project)? Anybody else believe we SHOULD be developing the "bunker busters" that were recently vetoed? Please note I'm not a "nasty warmonger" type, but merely a realist who advises having a HIGHLY CREDIBLE retaliatory strike capacity should, god forbid, it ever be needed.

OMG GO TO TEH OTF N00B!!1

Seriously, though. I think it'd be cool for a mod to add new technologies and extend the timeline so that by the time you reached the Alpha Centauri time period, you would have nuclear weapons that blasted a hole in the planet's crust. "Future Tech" is weak.

[RAKKIR]

I'd like to see modders create things like spies with backpack nukes, more powerful units including something perhaps like "anti-matter" weapons...maybe some biological weapons that might spread (that would be good), gas weapons at the very least.

I'd also like to see the ability to teraform (I notice a mod that does this) and I'd like to see the ability to add undersea cities and trackways as you could do in Call to Power. I loved undersea cities, but by the time you reached that tech in CTP the game was almost always decided already. Same with the Space Cities in Call to Power I.

But, with the expanded modability of Civ IV perhaps we can see it extended better into a "late game" type of situation with expanded technologies. I agree, "future tech" is way weak.

How about some nano-technology....computer advances, more genetic engineering stuff, anti-gravity, anti-matter, etc....

Stuff like that.

Maybe just even take some of the techs right out of Alpha Centauri and add them into the late game. Maybe even some of the alpha centauri buildings too.

That would be an easy way (think cheap for the game developers which they'd like) to make an "expansion."

[Dr. Broom]

Signed

Never played SMAC but the planet busters sound awesome and I think nukes should be like that.

[Dis]

Originally posted by RAKKIR
Also...should anyone care...here is something I think is a neat picture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Peacekeeper-missile-testing.jpg

Plus, wikipedia has some interesting articles on ICBMs, SLBMs, and MIRVs...

I used to have this one bookmark (unfortunately I lost most of my bookmarks) of this great site that included pictures of most of the russian tests as well. fascinating stuff.

this isn't it, but found on quick google search


Some of the most amazing pictures though are the U.S. tests in the pacific. I'm in awe each time I see them.

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Castle.html