Usless Improvements?

[bongo]

The best defence is (as always) a good attack.

The only time I really had a use for a coastal fortress was because the AI had a large navy which it used to bombard one of my captured cities(the city had an excellent strategic position, think gibraltar) so I had to constantly rebuild the coastal fortress and other important improvements. The attacks didn't stop until my own fleet showed up and destroyed the AI ships and escorted an invasion force to the port where the AI healed his wounded ships.

Lesson learned: Coastal fortresses can be useful but only in rare cases.

They are cheap insurance though. They are cheap to build and cost nothing to maintain. Stops you from getting a heartattack when an ironclad destroys a cathedral or some other expensive improvement

[Jaybe]

Coastal Fortresses are often the first to be destroyed when being bombarded by naval forces. Makes sense, actually (especially would if they were a real threat to the naval units ).

SAM sites: It has been awhile, but if you are on the receiving end of an AI's bomber fleet, they eventually WILL start bombing your cities. Key word: "eventually".

[Master Zen]

SAM sites are pretty useless but I build them anyway in the cities most likely to get bombed. Helps to get SDI too...

Civil defense is a waste, so are coastal batteries, I have never seen them do anything useful.

Best defense against air attack is a good fighter defense. Even better is to just kick their butt before they start bombing you, the AI has a nasty habit of bombing resource squares but you can do the same.

I also have a mod in which fighters are given defense strenghts of 6, this allows for offensive fighter sweeps into enemy territory.

[Catt]

My experience is the same as Jaybe's with respect to AI bombers -- they will bomb cities occasionally, but have a much greater lust for tile improvements. One of these days I'm going to set up a scenario where the AI will be "forced" to bomb a city with a SAM, just so I can see/hear the animation of a SAM actually shooting something down (although I think SAMs were "broken" early on, and now they seem to cause traget shifting (i.e., AI avoids them), I have seen several posts by folks saying they've gotten the little pop-up saying "Our SAM shoot down an enemy bomber!").

I find civil defense worthwhile if I share a land border and am playing in a "defensive" or peaceful posture towards a UN, Cultural or Spaceship win -- an exrta 50% defensive bonus for those few cities on the border is worth the few shekels' upkeep per turn, IMHO.

Catt

[Arrian]

I cannot recall the AI EVER bombing one of my cities. Only terrain.

-Arrian

[vmxa1]

Catt, if you want to hear it (I don't recall what is sounded like), send your bombers to a city with it.
I do not recall if the AI ever omb my city with a SAM or even without. I know it mostly hits my tiles or units outside the city. I just never really noticed.

[RGBVideo]

SAM's are both useless and expensive to upkeep

[Brizey]

I would rather have some fighter jets than can move around and bomb ships than a SAM.