Airports required to use planes?

Gaius Octavius

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• May 23, 2007

• #1

How can you mod the game to require an airport / airbase be built before an air unit can be based in a particular city? This would make the airport much more useful as you couldn't base any fighters or bombers in that city until you had an airstrip. It would also make an airbase terrain improvement (if that's ever implemented) strategically important.

Any thoughts?

 

ww2commander

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• May 23, 2007

• #2

I have been trying to figure out the airbase thingy but my modding time is very restricted right now.

The issue you may run into is that planes dont necessarily have to have an airport built to operate. Case in point is ww1/ww2 planes operating from fields and grassland, makeshift runways like highways and even artificial runways like the ones in the pacific war.

 

Gaius Octavius

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• May 23, 2007

• #3

I see your point but if you're dealing with B-17's or stealth bombers it is unrealistic. Even artificial runways need to be constructed.

 

Jeckel

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• May 23, 2007

• #4

If I remember right there is a TradeRoutes Mod that added airbase terrain improvements and another mod that allowed you to set a required building to be able to train units.

 

Gaius Octavius

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• May 23, 2007

• #5

Training units or deploying them? If I understand you correctly that means you could only make airplanes in a city with an airport, but then send them anywhere you like... even into a jungle.

EDIT: Trade Routes Mod link:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=163657

Jeckel is right, there are airbases implemented here. I will look at this tomorrow and try to make a separate mod for you, ww2commander.

 

Gaius Octavius

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• May 24, 2007

• #6

Okay, I've looked at the Trade Routes mod, but as I suspected the airbases implemented in it do not allow planes to operate out of them. They only let you airlift units to cities and other airbases. It's a good base, though.

 

Osymandias

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• May 25, 2007

• #7

into the line <PrereqBuilding>...</PrereqBuilding> in unitinfos.xml you could put the BUILDING_AIRPORT tag. so this unit can be build only, when the city has an airport. but then the aircraft will work normally. it will operate from every other city, with or without airports....
i've done that for my bombers and jetfighter

 

Gaius Octavius

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• May 25, 2007

• #8

But I don't want it to be able to land in a city unless it has an airport.

 

Dom Pedro II

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• May 25, 2007

• #9

Actually, a plane shouldn't be able to do any missions in a city without an airport. After all, how would it get off the ground if there were no runway to take off from? They shouldn't be able to do interception, rebase FROM that city, rebase TO that city, or even recon.

You could even make it that certain units would bypass this like a Harrier for example.

 

Gaius Octavius

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• Jul 8, 2007

• #10

Reading the new BtS specs, an idea occurred to me: since you will now only be able to base a certain number of air units in a city, and airports increase that number, it might be possible to set the default to zero -- thereby requiring airports in order to "use" planes.

The only remaining question (assuming bombing can now destroy improvments) is, what happens if the airport gets bombed? Do all air units just disappear? Or can you just not send any more in?

 

M

Mewtarthio

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• Jul 8, 2007

• #11

Gaius Octavius said:

Reading the new BtS specs, an idea occurred to me: since you will now only be able to base a certain number of air units in a city, and airports increase that number, it might be possible to set the default to zero -- thereby requiring airports in order to "use" planes.

The only remaining question (assuming bombing can now destroy improvments) is, what happens if the airport gets bombed? Do all air units just disappear? Or can you just not send any more in?

Click to expand...

Curses! Beaten to the punch! A pox on you and your tendancy to answer your own questions before anyone else can!

Re: Bombing Airports:

I think that the ability to destroy city improvements may be a WWII-only deal. If an Airport does get destroyed, I don't think they'll be mean enough to randomly disband a few units until you're back under the limit: You'll probably be unable to do anything until you've rebased the excess units, though. That being said, it would make a certain amount of sense for the extra units to be "destroyed in the hangar."