Idea for the future: Home ground

Optimizer · January 10, 2003, 19:33

Another idea that would be simpler to implement, and add a lot of flavor to the game.

Some units - let's say veteran foot units - should gain a "home ground" terrain if they spend long time in that terrain within your borders. They could get movement, vision, combat and healing bonuses in that terrain.

This way, you could have special mountain, jungle and desert units if you have somewhere to train them. You could even have troops trained for city combat.

bobbo008 · January 10, 2003, 19:48

not bad, in a way, i could see how that would be justified. Troops do get to know terrain and stuff like that...

alva · January 10, 2003, 22:19

That's how I would like to see FOG be executed. The longer a units sits in a tile, the more it knows about it's surroundings.(maybe even get a defesive bonus on that tile(after X turns), on top of fortification.

Cyclotron · January 10, 2003, 22:28

Well, units already get healing bonuses and transportation bonuses in home or unclaimed territory... and vision is already assured in your cultural borders.

bobbo008 · January 10, 2003, 22:34

maybe it's like how the Mongol horseman/knight can travel mountains just fine. they know the terrain and can travel it easier, without roads/railroads

Jaybe · January 10, 2003, 23:27

I agree with cyclotron that this has already been implemented, and in an elegant* way.

*Not involving a lot of detail, no problem for either the AI or the player to keep track of, and also handles other aspects as well. That is: elegant.

alva · January 11, 2003, 00:16

True,

I merely ment it as a 'personal view/hope/wish/opinion' kind of thing.
Where if two armies met in the field you wouldn't be able to know the excact details of all units involved. Rather that would become more clear as turns pass.

I surely don't disagree with Civ3 design on keeping things 'simple' so that the AI can handle it.

bobbo008 · January 11, 2003, 00:29

"Rather that would become more clear as turns pass."

unfortunately only works, it seems, when in cities

Optimizer · January 11, 2003, 08:14

I want the home ground skill to be terrain-specific, not just generally favouring the defender.

If there is a lot of desert between you and your enemy, you could put out some of your troops in the desert inside our borders to give them special desert training. If you have no desert, bad for you.

bongo · January 13, 2003, 10:55

Agreed. There are some types of terrain that are so hostile that troops not trained or equipped for them will face serious trouble. Deserts, tundra and jungles should all have negative effect on your non-specialist troops, like removing one health-point each turn you spent in such terrain.

Master Zen · January 13, 2003, 14:10

I think Civ3 should differentiate between mobile and infanatry units. Mobile units should be at a disadvantage when attacking, say, forests, mountains or cities. Infantry units should get a bonus since in real life it's the grunts to slog through the towns, not the tanks. This could also reduce the amount of bombardment necesary to subjugate a city which I think is waaaay too much.

Cyclotron · January 13, 2003, 19:40

raguil, a good way to do a lot of that is to flag vehicles as "wheeled" in the editor. I believe that with this flag they are unable to cross mountains or jungles without a road (chariots, for example, and catapults, have the wheeled flag).

TacticalGrace · January 14, 2003, 06:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Optimizer
Some units - let's say veteran foot units - should gain a "home ground" terrain if they spend long time in that terrain within your borders. They could get movement, vision, combat and healing bonuses in that terrain.

This way, you could have special mountain, jungle and desert units if you have somewhere to train them. You could even have troops trained for city combat.

Question: how long does a unit have to stay in a particular type of terrain in order for it to get the required training?

Would 10 years suffice? That'll be one turn then (in the earlier stages of the game)

bongo · January 14, 2003, 08:04

The way unit promotion works today is a good example of how it could be done. Units built in cities with a lot of tundra(maybe 25%) in it radius can be flagged with 'polar', and units that wins combat on tundra can also be promoted to 'polar'. Same goes for other types of hostile terrain.

Patroklos · January 15, 2003, 16:02

I would say that every unit (where it is relevant) should have four types; desert, mountain, winter and general. You would pay gold in a city to change the orientation of a unit (paying for the training, it woud be like an upgrade) thus you could change your desert troopers to winter troopers when you invade a cold nation, then change them back when the enemy is no more.

bongo · January 15, 2003, 17:11

I would add 'jungle' as an ability, and maybe remove mountain.

So when you're about to teach the evil inuits a lesson or two you just send all your sun-tanned desert troops to a city with a ski-resort. Pay a bucketload of cash and wait one turn to see them turn into pale, fierce, pierced, tattooed, fear-nothing snowboarders...oops I meant to say winter-warriors.

Optimizer · January 17, 2003, 12:02

Quote:

Originally posted by TacticalGrace
Question: how long does a unit have to stay in a particular type of terrain in order for it to get the required training?

Would 10 years suffice? That'll be one turn then (in the earlier stages of the game)

Good question. One year would seem a bit little for soldiers to learn how to find food and shelter, move and fight in a certain kind of terrain.

The skills I think of are the ones that decided conflicts like the Russo-Finnish winter war, the Vietnam war and the battle of Little Bighorn.

Optimizer · January 18, 2003, 12:54

Mods, could you please move this thread to the Civ General/Future forum?

Thank you.

spartak · January 18, 2003, 13:25

Good idea.

Manya · January 18, 2003, 14:40

Perhaps a creation of each unit in different terrain type or by the city's terrain type where it's built it has different defense and attack bonuses on that terrain type