Spitz

Join Date 03/2006

+10

Guarded caravans

I know the plague of level 2 spiders attacking caravans is a temporary beta thing, but if caravans are going to be attackable and strategically important, it should be easy to defend them as well.

Option 1: Caravans are automatically upgraded to have the best weapon tech you have available at the time.

Option 2: Unit(s) can be assigned to guard a particular caravan route and will travel automatically with the caravan to defend it. If caravans become part of interplayer trading, a dialogue should automatically pop up when a trade is agreed upon giving you the option to assign caravan guards.

Option 3: Armed caravans are a researchable technology. The higher you research, the better your caravans defend themselves.

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I like "Armed Caravans". You'd think guards would travel with most Caravans to protect the goods from wandering monsters and bandits.

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Option 3, by far.

option 1 isn't viable, because we don't know if there's some kind of hierarchy between the weapons : would you prefer long swords or short swords ? They both have pros and cons.

option 2 will soon get to tedious. Think "big map" ...

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Yup, got to be option 3 I guess...

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Philocthetes

Join Date 10/2003

+153

I like Option 2. In terms of game abstraction, it's neither too broad nor too narrow, and Option 3 seems a bit too impersonal for a sword and sorcery story.

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Wintersong

Join Date 07/2006

+235

I like Option 3 more than the rest. I don't like the 1 and the 2 seems interesting but at this point I'm not sure if I want to reach that level of detail. Being able to choose and depending of how things work, I'd prefer a mix of the 2 and 3: you can have the cavaran with some default protection (with which you would fight battles if the cravan is attacked) that can be improved assigning some extra troops (with whichever micro it needs for the different situations, included upgrading their equipment).

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I'd go for option 3. Although personally i don't like having caravan being attackable.

I prefer Total War style of handling trade routes. There is basically a route and an associated trade value of the route. Raiders can disrupt trade by standing on the route and needed to be removed. Once removed, trade resumes automatically. Simple, easy and no micromanagement neccessary.

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Hawawaa

Join Date 09/2006

+33

Im so for option 3 but maybe a little of option 3 and 2...

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Option 2!!! -> although really you could just have a Caravan defense slider ... and select what type of unit will be guarding ALL caravans, and the slider will determine the number of units.

Having heavily guarded caravans could have a small penalty of slower travel times, ect. Or of coures, you could protect them with cavalry units, although this would most likely be a more expensive endeavor.

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I'd vote for option 3 and perhaps option 1.

option 1 doesn't make total sense because why would the caravan be able to use the best weapon? I know few merchants that are particularly skilled at fighting. But in theory if they were skilled in fighting, or had a hired guard, they'd have access to the best equipment the merchants carry.

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I'm thinking 3, because I doubt I would enjoy setting up the guards, but 2 could be fun anywyay..

We were talking in IRC one day about building cities in such a way that the walls of the city will guard much of the length of the roads... It was pretty good conversation.

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