Defense bonus from cities

[Optimizer]

I hope that cities should provide some defensive bonus, even without city walls. It is impossible to conquer a big city without suffering much greater casualties than the defender (if the attacker's technology is not supreme).

[ancient]

sure all the time unwalled citys survive massive attacks just merely because of the buildings themselves and the people inside of it supporting the nation. Like in St. Petersburg or Leningrad durimg World War 2 it survived alot of heavy shelling. And didnt have walls. The people built temporary ditches to protect the soldiers.

[Diablo, Bro. of Mephisto]

I think that defense, as in city walls, should be upgraded over time, in ancient times, dirt implacements, in medievel times, wooden pallasades, in modern times, concrete walls.

Each level would have a curtain defense HP (Hit Points), the first (dirt implacements) would have a defense of say...1-3. The medium would have say 3-5, and the modern defenses would have 5-10.

THis would tie in perfectly with the new idea of bombardment, each time a bombardment unit successfully hits the defenses, then the defenses' HP would be lowered one number (3 > 2), and so making the defenses weaker.

There would be two ways a cities defenses would (could) be built:

1. that if a city that builds a defensive unit (phalanx), but does not yet have city defenses, and when that unit is placed in GUARD mode, then, that unit automatically builds temporary defenses. These defenses would have no more then a defense of 4, depending on the era that unit was, and what type of unit. Once that unit is either killed, or leaves his GUARD mode, then the defenses come down. Each unit that is fortified after the first unit, adds 1 HP onto the original (e.g. First unit > city defenses' HP 3, Second unit > HP 4, etc.).

2. THe city defenses be built as an improvement.

[Optimizer]

You shouldn't have to build it!

My point is that defenses for great cities should not have to be built. A modern city is easily defended as it is. When the Russian army tried to capture Grozny, the rebels just blocked the streets, and the city was instantly a big fortress.