Guidance on bombardment

[planetfall]

Originally posted by Mad Bomber
but you need approx. 54 units to prevent a chance of a flip for a size 10 city with 3 resistors....you are better off just replacing the city.

Huh??

Recheck the city flip formulas. I think I recall more important than number of units was the number of tiles under AI culture influence.

I don't need 54 units to stop a flip. If a city is really surrounded, it might only extend it's new influence 9 tiles, 8 in each direction. the other 12 tiles, future expanded size are still under the influence of AI culture. These are the real trouble makers. Then you just keep about 5 ancient units in bad city to pacify resisters and keep about 7-20 good units in adjacent tiles.

I used to bombard a lot, but now try to restrict bombardment. I would love a Dumb Bombardment option. Current "smart bombardment" destroys improvements but keeps people alive. I want dumb bombardment, keep improvements but get rid of potential resisters.

== PF

[Theseus]

Originally posted by sabrewolf
also, radar stations and outposts should be destroyable with shelling

They are. The order of bombardment damage outside of towns / cities is:
1. Units
2. RR
3. Roads (with irr / mine if any)
4. Outpost / fort / radar tower

[planetfall]

Originally posted by Theseus

4. Outpost / fort / radar tower

Not so sure about that.

fort-- yes
outpost-- unknown
radar tower--no?

Every time I try to bombard a radar tower I got the red, not allowed symbol. It always took a foot unit to get rid of towers

But then again, my memory may be faulty. I have regressed to civ3 instead of PTW and can't be 100% certain of actions.

Anyone played this month that can give us a definite yes or no?

-- PF

[MoonWolf]

Not sure if I've tried with artys, but I'm sure I've destroyed outposts and radars with planes. I have lethal bombardment for my planes though, but I don't think it should make any difference against these structures.

[bongo]

Played PTW yesterday but it is my first game and I havn't seen any outposts yet. I don't think I will build an outpost myself just to see if I can bombard it.

BTW, noticed that when you destroy a city there will be ruins now. I know it's only eye-candy but it's still kinda cool

War of Art, I dont care that much about foreign citizens, often they are worth more to me dead or as workers than as citizens. They are likely to be very corrupt or to flip back any time. Of course it all depends on the situation. If they will be productive and unlikely to flip back I try to keep them alive.

[Theseus]

Definitive yes.

[planetfall]

Moonwolf,

Thanks for the correction.

== PF

[steven8r]

Useful Bombarding Strategy that I've employed with great success:

(assuming you have the units & lots of arty)
surround your opponent's city--all 20 tiles--with your units. This keeps him from gaining any production from those tiles. Next, bombard until you see no defender w/ more than 1 hp. Then use your 20 units to take and hold the city. If you have enough arty--30+--you can do this in 1 or 2 turns. Then rush the cultural and happiness bldgs. In just a few turns you will have a city that will be happy and becoming productive.

If you kill some citizens and/or destroy some improvements don't fret too much. Even if you took the city intact, it would be many many turns before it becomes productive. What, with all the resistors and all.

Useful tips:
--Cities w/ 1 pop DO NOT FLIP!!!!!, and all the new citezenry will be your citizens.
--When you take a city you have to build culture bldgs anyway.

[Tattila the Hun]

Anyone noticed, that a naval unit might have better defence than the couple of land units in the city? I've lost few units, thinking "Ha! only ships! I'll sink'em!" and then run into infantry.

[sabrewolf]

cool

but the AI knows your defence and in MP you won't usually get to battleship/infantry.

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
Anyone noticed, that a naval unit might have better defence than the couple of land units in the city? I've lost few units, thinking "Ha! only ships! I'll sink'em!" and then run into infantry.

No this will never happen. Land units will always defend against attacks. and naval ships are destroyed when captured. Since the best defender is always shown the ship will never be shown as a defender unless there are no land forces in the city. (unless you have a ship activated at the time)

[Centauri18]

If a city is being invaded and you have ships within the city radius, you ought to at least have the option of moving them out. Sure, they might take some damage from enemy fire - especially if artillery or tanks or mech. infantry are involved - but enough to allow them to get away. That way you would be encouraged to use naval bombardment at one poijnt or another. Or at least blockades. I hardly ever see any naval battles in my games.

[Tattila the Hun]

No, I've had cities lookin empty, only a destroyer or similar, (usually after few nukes), then rushing to grab it, only to encounter infantry. I've been playing with the patch succestion, can't remember whether destroyers have better defence in that or something...

[Mad Bomber]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
No, I've had cities lookin empty, only a destroyer or similar, (usually after few nukes), then rushing to grab it, only to encounter infantry. I've been playing with the patch succestion, can't remember whether destroyers have better defence in that or something...

That has never happened to be and my destroyers have a better defense than Infantry, so I don't know how this is happening to you. Hmm, check and make sure that you do not have infantry or Guerillas flagged as invisible.

Also if your look was on a previous turn it's possible they have re-inforced the city or used the draft.

It also may be a bug, send an e-mail or PM to the Firaxians after ruling out all logical reasons.

[Catt]

Originally posted by Tattila the Hun
No, I've had cities lookin empty, only a destroyer or similar, (usually after few nukes), then rushing to grab it, only to encounter infantry. I've been playing with the patch succestion, can't remember whether destroyers have better defence in that or something...

I had something similar happen recently -- the city defender was visibly a cavalry (after having destroyed a modern armor or two first), but my next attack somehow produced another modern armor as defender. It happened three or four times in a row. I figured out that the "surprise" defenders were units loaded on a transport located in the city -- they didn't show up as units defending the city until attacked, but they also didn't just sit in the transport, to be sunk when I took the city. I don;t remember this happening under vanilla civ 3 (my incident was PTW 1.14f).

I would venture a guess that underneath your destroyer was a transport and inside the transport were infantry. When you attacked the city, an infantry popped out of the transport to defend.

Catt