For a patch, it will mean the buildable ships will get it.

I like the idea but the AI does build ships already (it needs to be enclosed, and I realise that this is a limitation).
My concern is twofold:

1. The AI's assessment of when to build it: Won't it start wasting energy on boats that are limited to a pond, then? What should the attack value be, and will they get built by other races as well?

2. Retaliations: wont it look odd it a boat retaliates when the frog 'bites' it. The javelin shot is out of the question as well because its a drained one shot ability then.

Good idea but to consider it seriously for v1.5 we should do systematic tests to figure this out!
Feel free to pioneer.

Thanks fot the respomse,

As we already know cities can only produce ships with shipyards which are produced near bodies of water, any maps produced would have to ensure that cities are placed near rivers or large bodies of water. The attack value would be based on several conditions dependent on the level of the unit, for example a pirate galley would have a larger attack value than say a coastal scout ship, or a large frigate from a seafaring nation would be even higher.. I would suggest that all races would be able to build ships with slight varients for each, such as we have for racial priests at the moment. Or if not in the build structure then have these ship units within the Mod then mapmakers can create for their individual maps

As for the javelin shot then perhaps a ranged attack which is not expendable.. as for looking odd we already have frogs attacking ships and winning, if any thing i think this would add realism to the game rather than detract from it.

What i will do is put together a document to describe the various possible ship types and their abilities with a couple of screenshots from my current maps to show the potential.

Again many thanks for the comments, any more are appreciated, what im rtrying to achieve here is a game that is more rounded, as we know most invasions started with an invasion by sea, and i think it would add another dimension for the game.

Stephen

Any way of getting the AI to be more competitive by using ships sounds like a very good idea. Good luck with your research!

I wonder if your method could be applied to the pioneer unit, as well?

Many thanks..

The only problem with pioneers is that you would have to give them an attack value for the pioneers that would be high enough for the AI to consider building them, it wont build them with the thought of trying to build towns and expand its empire. The only way of doing this unfortunately is with join unit and spawn unit events..

You could give pioneers an attack value but would it seem right caravans having attack values comparative of armed troops.. I tell you what i will have a little experiment in the next couple of days and report back with the results..

Keep he comments coming guys.. we all need to start thinking "out of the box" to come up with ways of keeping this beloved game of ours fresh and well rounded.

Stephen

Everytime the lifespan of the game comes to an end, this forum comes with a new mod or something to make the game interresting again. Amazing actualy how this game is being reinfented time after time.
One weekness is indeed that AI rairly uses naval units, so if this trick of yours work then: WHOEHOE! Maybe we can get more influence on what the AI builds thanks to your discovery. Keep up the good work.

Hello,

Nice idea stephenmcginn35! I started to mod this year and I surely try to think out of the box sometimes, so I thought I'd drop in here. I also take notes of the things I test/discover so I can share with others.

grootvriend I really agree with your comments as well. This can game can be modded as to really renew the game, especially with the thinking outside the box stephenmcginn35 mentioned.

On Pioneers, they will be built AND be 'used' by the AI if you add usable abilities to them - I have done this in my not yet released Mod, according to race - Nomad pioneers with Trap, Self-Destruct on Goblin ones and so on. I have tested random maps in which AI built many, many cities, all neatly organized with almost perfect space usage, as a human player could do.

Of course AI is strange and sometimes you might fight 3-4+ pioneers in battles, but at least AI builds cities, and once those Self-Destructing goblin pioneers killed a hero I had

(from post#6)

Quote:

Hello,

Nice idea stephenmcginn35! I started to mod this year and I surely try to think out of the box sometimes, so I thought I'd drop in here. I also take notes of the things I test/discover so I can share with others.

grootvriend I really agree with your comments as well. This can game can be modded as to really renew the game, especially with the thinking outside the box stephenmcginn35 mentioned.

On Pioneers, they will be built AND be 'used' by the AI if you add usable abilities to them - I have done this in my not yet released Mod, according to race - Nomad pioneers with Trap, Self-Destruct on Goblin ones and so on. I have tested random maps in which AI built many, many cities, all neatly organized with almost perfect space usage, as a human player could do.

Wow, It's nice to hear about your mod.

I am a player who has played the pioneer-only-start vs the AI many times, and anything to provide stronger competetion from the AI in an empire-building scenario would be nice.

(from post#6)

Quote:

Of course AI is strange and sometimes you might fight 3-4+ pioneers in battles, but at least AI builds cities, and once those Self-Destructing goblin pioneers killed a hero I had

LOL!