[DLL] (8-NS) 4UC Assyria

[pineappledan]

This is a thread for discussing the addition of 2 more unique components to the Assyrian civilization.

Spoiler Full kit with 4UC changes :

Spoiler Description of new components and changes to existing kit, differences from base component are underlined: :

UM - Iron Chariot (replaces Horseman):

Unlocked at Military Strategy​

90 Production cost​

does not require Horses​

13 CS​

4 Movement​

"Beam Axle"​

"Hard and Fast" (+1 Combat Power if Player has more Horses or Iron than Iron Chariot Units. Bonuses can stack)​

"Shock Cavalry" (+25% CS in Open Terrain)​

UB - Lamassu Gate (replaces Walls):

available at Construction​

110 Production cost​

+1 Faith​

+4 City Defense​

+125 City HP​

+1 City Attack Range​

-5% empire size modifier​

+30% City Strike Damage​

+20% Military Supply Cap from Population​

When you construct a Unit in this City, gain Faith equal to 15% of the Unit's Production cost.​

 

[pineappledan]

Justification for 4UC additions

Iron Chariot
Assyria doesn't have a conventional UU, because the siege tower is a support unit that does not obsolete. This leaves Assyria as something of a blank slate for the addition of another UU. The iron chariot is designed to be a flexible and strong component that can help Assyria get going as a militarily. You have the option to either limit yourself to within the strategic resource cap for a strong unit, or use them as a weaker spammable unit. Both options are valid (though one obviously lends itself more to the AI than the other)

Lamassu
The Lamassu is an early wall that does 2 things for Assyria: it allows Assyria to found by investing in a strong early army, rather than focusing on infrastructure, and it gives Assyrian cities a high offensive power. They don't have as much regular CS as a wall, but their strike modifier more than compensates for that. This building can make Assyria's forward settling more of an offensive threat.

 

[azum4roll]

I wonder what if Iron Chariot requires both Iron and Horse, but has 17 CS instead? That's more AI friendly.

Aren't you normally one to complain about two Mesopotamian civs both having a unique Walls?

 

[Chinag]

Does the Lamassu gate give enough City Defense to reach the 10 defense threshold for the new Discipline rework?

 

[pineappledan]

Should be more than enough in tandem with garrisons, hills, etc.

 

[pineappledan]

Overall grade: C+
Good components overall that help Assyria with its militaristic focus, but are badly impacted by their overlaps with Babylon.

Assyria - Iron Chariot
Theme - A. Many major military innovations can be traced back to Assyria. One of them is siege tactics, as shown by the siege tower, and another is the invention of shock cavalry. With the Iron chariot, Assyria has something to portray this major contribution to military tactics.
Mechanics - A. The Iron Chariot has a mechanic for strategic resource management that gives a bonus for having the necessary SRs, but then also lets you build units in excess of that cap. This is an innovative system that is easy for both players and AI to use, more forgiving than the standard SR system. Adding chariot movement, but a large extra bonus in open terrain makes the Assyrians a massive range of power in open or rough terrain that mirror's Assyria's history of aggressive expansion in open land.
Uniqueness - B. It's a unique horseman, which is shared with the Huns, and doesn't push Assyria outside of their early component unlocks, so not terribly unique in that respect. However, Assyria doesn't really have a convetional UU without the Iron Chariot, so it shapes how early wars work with Assyria in a major way.

Assyria - Lamassu
Theme - A. The Lamassu is a major motif within Mesopotamian art and architecture, and I'm happy with its portrayal here.
Mechanics - B. It's fully DLL integrated and gives a unique mechanical advantage that allows you to rush military early without jeopardizing your chances of a religion. It's not really breaking the bank on originality, but does an adequate job.
Uniqueness - F. There is 1 other unique wall and it's another Mesopotamian civ no less: Babylon. I think the Walls of Babylon were always a lame excuse for a UB idea, but the overlap is unmistakable

 

[DoveCDog]

Aren't you normally one to complain about two Mesopotamian civs both having a unique Walls?

With 4UC there's bound to be much more overlapp

 

[Siegfroh]

Is there a reason for the name "Iron Chariot" ? From some time onwards, the tyres of the Assyrian chariots seem to have been strengthend with metal, but my first association when reading the name is always that they were somehow made completely from iron.

An alternative naming could be "Heavy Chariot" or just "Royal Chariot".

And it is a bit conter-intuitive that you don't need horses for a chariot. One could make horses a requirement without increase in combat strength, but add up to 2 combat strength, if sufficent free iron is avaiable for all existing "Iron" Chariots. Means if you have 3 of these chariots and 4 unused iron, each of them gets +1 combat strength, if you have 6 unused iron, eachof them gets +2 combat strength.

The iron chariot is designed to be a flexible and strong component that can help Assyria get going as a militarily.

Of course my proposal would hamper Assyria a bit. Perhaps a mechanism which gives a free pasture with 2 horses when the first "Iron" chariot is built, could remedy ?

 

[hokath]

Does the Lamassu gate give enough City Defense to reach the 10 defense threshold for the new Discipline rework?

I think 6 is the minimum? So yes, just.

 

[dostillevi]

If we integrate the bonus based on strategic resource availability, would it be possible to also make some user-friendly notifications when that bonus is/isn't being met? Another thought is whether the AI could be taught to reserve it's unused strategics, and whether there could be a way to keep other AI from constantly asking if you want to trade the strategics you are purposely not using.