Combat System

[SilverbergHeir]

Does anyone know if its possible to alter Civ III so I can get a Civ:CTP I/II battle system. I hate when the AI has hundreds of troops in each city. I would like there to be a limit to the number of troops you can have in each city. My games are getting ridiculus with the AI armies. Any way this can happen? I would actually rather a full CTP style system, but I'll be happy with troop limits. Thanks for any input you can give me.

[bongo]

To my knowledge that is not possible. I guess you just have to learn how to deal with it(probably not the answer you wanted )

I'll admit that taking out those heavily defended AI cities are Hard Work.

First, cut them off from reinforcements.
Second, bring many units
Third, BRING MANY UNITS
Fourth, armies are cool, let you pick away units at your leisure without own losses.
Fifth, try to kill them outside the city.
Sixth, try to lure them out(then #5)
Seventh, artillery, artillery, artillery. You need *roughly* 2-3 per defender to make an impact(assuming same tech-level)
Eight, when you get enough artillery+attackers to take the city in one turn, do so.

[WarpStorm]

Or if it's the late game, bombers.

[Robert]

I never liked the CtP model.
It's a communistic model: everybody is equal.
What fun is it to not fully be able to defend a city so your enemy can come any day and take the city?

Let me and the AI defend our cities as good as possible.
It's cool if it's hard to take a city. It's a game. It should be hard to win

[hexagonian]

Originally posted by CyberShy
I never liked the CtP model.
It's a communistic model: everybody is equal.
What fun is it to not fully be able to defend a city so your enemy can come any day and take the city?

Let me and the AI defend our cities as good as possible.
It's cool if it's hard to take a city. It's a game. It should be hard to win

...and it should be as tedious as possible

[SilverbergHeir]

Its not that I don't want it tedious. Its just ridiculous for the AI to be able to support hundreds and hundreds of troops without any apparent consequences. They seem to do fine in science, happiness, everything, yet they can support many many more troops than me. And having to take a out a city defended by 100 troops is annoying b/c units early on can only attack once, which means you need at least a 100 yourself to take the city over in a turn before they bring reinforcements. War weariness is through the roof with 100 units missing. It just seems that the AI should have been designed to be smarter with its money/resources. I mean, they support hundreds of troops, like I said, with no bad results to my knowledge. Plus, they don't upgrade, so you're forced to take out stupid ancient units with tanks, and its really realy sad when an archer beats a tank. It still happens to me. But thanks anyway, I'll just have to deal with it or something I guess.

[bongo]

It is not absolutely neccesary to take the city in one turn, but it will be cheaper most of the time. If you got a tech advantage(and are able to lay a successful siege) you can kill the defenders over many turns.

[hexagonian]

Originally posted by SilverbergHeir
Its not that I don't want it tedious. Its just ridiculous for the AI to be able to support hundreds and hundreds of troops without any apparent consequences.

The AI gets a bonus on support on the higher levels. Its a standard type of cheat for all civ-style games. So the AI can maintain a larger army to offset the ability of the player to outthink it on a tactical level.

Originally posted by SilverbergHeir
And having to take a out a city defended by 100 troops is annoying b/c units early on can only attack once, which means you need at least a 100 yourself to take the city over in a turn before they bring reinforcements. War weariness is through the roof with 100 units missing. It just seems that the AI should have been designed to be smarter with its money/resources. I mean, they support hundreds of troops, like I said, with no bad results to my knowledge. Plus, they don't upgrade, so you're forced to take out stupid ancient units with tanks, and its really realy sad when an archer beats a tank. It still happens to me. But thanks anyway, I'll just have to deal with it or something I guess.

2 words...Stacked combat
Structure civ3 to allow a player to send multiple units at at a target with a single push of a button (or key) and I'd be playing civ3 now instead of (Modded) CTP2.

The issue that Cybershy has with CTP is that there is a cap on the number of units that can be on a tile. But even with that cap, CTP2 Modders have been able to offset much of the the shortcomings that cap entails - thus providing the player with a more realistic and less tedious form of combat over civ3's current model.

Let's hope Firaxis finally gets a clue for civ4...

[Robert]

Stacked combat would be a cool option indeed.
But it should be better executed than PtW I think.

SilverBergHeir, it sounds like you're playing on a too high lever. Just lower your level and things will be better.

[Vince278]

Originally posted by CyberShy
Stacked combat would be a cool option indeed.

I'd like to see stack combat with a tactical map where you can arrange your troops.

[Robert]

Pherhaps RTS should meet TBS in combat
So it's all TBS, but when you attack someone, a RTS map of the territory opens, and you can move your tanks around etc. Like C&C or something.

Of course there should be an easy mode, in which the combat just works as in Civ1-3. And an advanced mode that offer you all you want!

That's what I want

[vondrack]

Go play Medieval: Total War then...

Seriously - that's exactly what you describe, CyberShy.

[Vince278]

I'd prefer the tactical board to be a TBS system also. It would play something like MoM or LoM (or to use a space game example - Space Empires IV).

[spy14]

Put a Total War style system into Civ 4

The current Civ 3 system is, lets face it, the Civ 1 system with some extra buttons. Also with a Total War style system, we'll all be able to prove that a unit of spearmen cant defeat a whole unit of tanks. Although they might just be able to take one out

[Last Conformist]

The day they introduce a tactical combat board will be the day I give up on the Civ series, I strongly suspect.

And the AI stuffing to many defenders into cities is a problem? One of my chief complaints with the CivIII AI is its failure to sensibly reinforce threatened cities; if it's got ten cities with three defenders in each, and I land 20 attackers next to one of them, it of course should send troops from the other cities to reinforce it, but it never does.