A Navigation Tech Tree

from Elemental Forums

I don't believe that ports should be buildable only in higher level cities. Small towns in real life have ports too, actually cities are built and grow around ports not the other way around.

By building an outpost next to a beach a town should manage to benefit from a tech tree specialized in that area.

A port shouldn't only allow to build one kind of boat, but different ones with different speeds and armaments. Ports also should allow to have a food growt based on fish (a fishing boat fleet should be a tech to develop, small fishing boats should appear around a port with such tech.

Also a fish market could improve the income in cities that specialize in a culture based around the port.

Low level cities could allow the production of small boats good for exploration

A slightly larger city should allow to get a faster boat, that allow to carry one unit (useful to build outposts across the sea after having explored with the level one boat).

A third level city should allow to produce ships large enough to carry an army and even larger cities could produce warships and faster carriers.

I believe a tech tree could be studied to specialize cities around that kind of culture.

Maybe a higher level tech could allow to uncover parts of the world map...

Notice that the AI should learn how to use boats efficiently to cross the sea and attack enemies. That is the only way we will ever see islands in this game.

Other ideas welcome

5,306 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Or since nobdy cares about this thread maybe navigation seems useless? ...Let's se why can it be so...

2 reasons:

a ) There are no islands because the AI is unable to use ships

b ) Let's see... what is the name of that overwhelmingly game breaking feature that makes all other forms of movement useless...? T... Tel... Telep...? I forgot.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

b )  Seek professional help.

 

I'd be curious how naval combat would work. It's unlikely that the ground combat rules would do a very good job there.

Catapults, ballistae, even rams. Fire as a two-edged sword.
Magic. Water and Air could be especially useful there. Well, and Fire. As usual. =P
A limited number of troops could fire bows from deck, the rest would have to wait for... the boarding.

Did I mention.... ARRRRR!

Ah, and on that tangent... there should be naval "caravans", too. And of course, they would be pirateable.

We'd also need storms (any wind rules to begin with...) and sea monsters. Otherwise the ocean is just... deep space. Safe and boooooring.

"Naval stuff" offers a massive amount of research possibilities. Different riggings and sails, plenty of hull designs, weapons, tactics, trading, sailing techniques... oh my.

Plenty of material for an entire ship designer.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

That's right! It would truly be interesting.

In Age of Wonders they solved naval combat by just having ships shooting ballista shots at each other, with the occasional intervention of flying and swimming creatures attacking in melee. In that game missile units present on the ship do not shoot at each other, only the ship ballista does.

personally when two ships get in contact in Elemental I would do something like Heroes of Might and magic, where the battle begins with the two shipd already attached and units moving pretty much like on a regular battlefield.

 

Off looking for professional help, now...

 

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

The "passengers are just cargo" is the most common system used because it's obviously the most simple way. MoM did it that way, too.

The "tactical boarding battle" has been in Ultima 3 (1983) already. Not a new idea. =P

I'm wondering what the engine can do. If it can spawn a tactical battle from the strategic map, can it spawn a tactical battle (boarding) from a tactical sea battle?