Naval Battles

[TheArsenal]

I usually have a great number of frigates. The naval component of the game is one where I clearly make the choice for (what in my opinion is) fun over efficiency. I build a huge navy as soon as I am able to crank out frigates. Particularly if my continent is well in hand. Over the span of the game, I will replace them with better units and send the frigates into a coastal city disbanding them for shields.

But when it is all said and done, I have rings of naval units spanning from my coast all the way to the cultural borders of most of the other major civs. And even though I play a large map, there is very little I can’t see and can track most AI naval movement across the globe. (And lately I’ve been going into the Editor and making the world “round” by connecting the map at North and South points, as well as the usual East and West for added fun).

Wasteful? No question, since the AI at Monarch doesn’t launch amphibious attacks that well and I am over guarding my shores. But owning the seas and being able to sink everything on it, and inflict massive bombardment damage within the first turn of wars appeals to me.

[planetfall]

Originally posted by TheArsenal
(And lately I’ve been going into the Editor and making the world “round” by connecting the map at North and South points, as well as the usual East and West for added fun).

Did C3C fix the PTW problem with vertical axis scrolling? In PTW when you turned on Yaxis scrolling and zoomed out some of the cites on tundra would disappear and some of the city labels would also disappear.

PF

[TheArsenal]

When I enabled the Y axis scroll, I didn’t notice any problems with zoom or otherwise. One of the major battlefields in my last game was for cities built on the tundra, and none of them seemed to pop out of existence when I went for the overview. City labels seem to remain as well, but in truth, I’m not looking carefully at city labels in zoom but taking a macro view of things.

Speaking of bugs/and oddities, here’s I did notice re: naval units: Clicking on a fortified ship to make it active can cause it to lose some of its field of vision. For example, an enemy vessels will sail up to one of my, say, frigates - clearly in view as long as my ship remains fortified. The moment I activate the frigate, the AI ship somehow disappears from sight.

[planetfall]

Humm,

Maybe I can try Yaxis again.

That is a weird item. I rarely use frigates and only fortify when I want to pass a units movement until I am ready to use it, so I have not see that behavior. Too bad it wasn't reversed. Your frigate disappearing from site when you freeze it.

BTW, thanks for the info that ironclads are upgradeable. I just started Emperor and have enough trouble keeping up in techs. Monarch is definitely a more pleasureable level.

PF

[Jaybe]

And lately I’ve been going into the Editor and making the world “round” by connecting the map at North and South points

That's not "round" as a globe, that's DONUT!
X-axis wrap is a globe.

Speaking of bugs/and oddities, here’s I did notice re: naval units: Clicking on a fortified ship to make it active can cause it to lose some of its field of vision

Fortified naval units get an increased field of vision (3 tiles, patrolling in place). When you reactivate them they go back to their normal 2 tile vision.

[TheArsenal]

One strange thing I just remembered re: Y axis enabled. Of the two major continents, the one I was on wrapped all the way around the world along the north south axis. The second continet was normal.

[planetfall]

With Y-axis, I noticed sometimes the land was connected via tundra and sometimes was open water. It seems like the map generator works differently with Y-axis enabled.

PF

[vmxa1]

TheArsenal spending resources on navies has to have a payoff. You have to elect to spend on research, expanding or guns (ships included). When you spend on one, you reduce the spending on the others.

So making frigates means not doing something else. This can make sense at times, but most of the time in non island games, it is not the best way to go.

If you have enough to build ships that are not being engaged, then it is time to move up a level or two.