Balancing the Howie

[Paradox]

Aye captains tis all in order and thank you...

Ive read through the rules file (perhaps glanced is more appropriate ) and guess i could have figured it out from the comments aptly contained within it, but having sufficiently overdosed with all the posts in the strategy/general forums of this site ive engorged recently and ( may i hasten to add with no disrespect to this esteemed site ) civfanatics...

I most certainly commend/implore any new (and old i have no doubt ) civ2 gamer who really wants to understand the how's and why's of this incredibly addictive game, to avail himself of the wealth of information/hints/tips/expertise that begs to be digested within the pages of these forums

I for one, having only been playing the game for a couple of weeks, am already able to tackle Diety level with somewhat less than trepidation...and hope to soon be comfortable enough to venture out into the real world of MP to tackle more reputable human foe...

[Straybow]

Just compare the howie to the arty. There's only one special ability flagged, so if you want to undo it replace the 1 with a 0. I would only change attack strength and HP.

original lines for comparison:
Artillery,    Rob, 0,  1.,0, 10a,1d,  2h,2f,  5,0,  0, Too, 000000000000000
Howitzer,     nil, 0,  2.,0, 12a,2d,  3h,2f,  7,0,  0, Rob, 000000001000000

Howitzer,     nil, 0,  2.,0, 10a,2d,  2h,2f,  7,0,  0, Rob, 000000001000000

[player1]

Looks still to good if you ask me.

Now, that just my opionion, but no other atrillery-type unit has same advantage as Howitzer.

And that's bypassing the walls.

With no penalities.

Only other units which can do that are air units:
And they are counterbalanced by:
-vulnerability by fighters
-SAM
-only one attack per turn for bombers

So Howitzer just gives you something for nothing (effect without countereffect).

That's what makes them unbalanced.

[Bob_Smurf42]

Well, unbalanced or not, w/o ingnore walls the howie is just a slightly beefed-up artillery.

[Straybow]

Player1, if you don't have city walls (often the case) the howie's power makes no difference anyway.

Howies can't compare to Dip/Spy powers though. And talk about no "balance," the only defense against Investigation, Sabotage, Bribe/Revolt, Poison, and Nuke is to prevent the unit from reaching your city. Having a Dip or Spy stationed in a city provides a little defense against Stealing Tech, but no other powers can be countered.

Incite Revolt cost depends only on the size of the city, distance from the capital, and form of government. IIRC having a Courthouse increases the cost. Otherwise number and type of improvements or units present has no effect.

Removing the "ignore ZOC" power at least makes 'em work for it. I let them keep their powers so the AI has a chance, and allow myself only Investigate, Sabotage, and Embassy functions.

[player1]

Originally posted by Bob_Smurf42
Well, unbalanced or not, w/o ingnore walls the howie is just a slightly beefed-up artillery.

If you keep thier HP bonus, they are 80% better then arty and with 2 movment. And are cheaper then Armor.

If you lower HP to, then it's 20% better then Arty and movmet of 2. (but with about 50% better then Armor on offense)

But what can you expect, it costs just 70 shields (cheaper then Armor). If it's cheaper then Armor why should it be more usefull then Armor? (that extra movment point means a lot for this unit)

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Give 'em (howies) move 1... that makes it harder for the human player to defend them if the city doesn't fall, and takes away the tactic of attacking and then capturing the city with the damaged unit, healing it (and using it to attack the partisans).

Really, limiting the howitzer will mainly be a handicap for the human player, as the AI doesn't use them effectively. Make the howitzer less handy for the human player to lean on, and make cruise missiles cheaper (for example) to give the AI something decent to counter with.

[Bob_Smurf42]

yeah, the AU does seem to use an awful lot of cruise missles.
And 2 moves does a lot for any ground unit in any stage of the game.

[Straybow]

I almost never use Cruise Missiles except for when I spot an AI BB, or an Armor in a hill fortress. AI doesn't seem to make AEGIS CLs very often. I've found that Jets (Stealth Fighters) are sufficient for most purposes. If you push them past the point of no return you can often take out 3-4 enemy units instead of just one, and it only costs 25% more than CM.

Dropping howie to 2 HP is enough to make them take enough damage that they can't move after attacking. Then the 2 MP only makes them capable of attacking at full strength after advancing to the target.