Add a sea explorer unit please

[BroOfTheSun]

Most of my games end with half the map still unexplored, because this game is missing an explorer-type unit for the sea. Explorers get 2 movement while embarked. Early leveled ships only have 3 movement points, and that just isn't enough for exploring. Where's my caravel for beyond earth? Anybody else missing this?

 

[Monado]

This, or a tech that just reveals the entire map (like the Satellites tech in V). I dont see any reason it couldn't come fairly early as well. Give explorers a little while to figure out where your next city or two will go, find some nearby pods and ruins but after that, just let me reveal the map. Exploring in BE is nowhere near as exciting as in any other game of civ.

Really, at the point, I already know where every enemy capital is, and possibly the entire coastline of the map. Plus I'm already sending out satellites that can clear/add miasma, give extra energy on tiles, or even change the weather and make new resources appear.

 

[chazzycat]

observatory quest gives +2 movement to naval, that helps.

 

[forty2j]

I love how we get a free orbital unit within the first 50 turns or so, but we haven't mastered "satellites" and so we can't reveal the map, ever.

 

[bhavv]

Even funnier how we can travel all the way to another planet to colonise, yet our land and sea units can only move 2-3 tiles per turn.

 

[GAGA Extrem]

I love how we get a free orbital unit within the first 50 turns or so, but we haven't mastered "satellites" and so we can't reveal the map, ever.

Could be a nice addition to the orbital techs in the lower left - maybe then I'd actually research them at some point.

 

[civictor]

Even funnier how we can travel all the way to another planet to colonise, yet our land and sea units can only move 2-3 tiles per turn.

Even funnier that we traveled light years to get there, but cannot remember how to make an airplane without researching it.

 

[bhavv]

Even funnier that our airplanes cant do anything other than defend cities or be moved via carriers.

I mean cmon, they have the drone flying alien, why cant we at least build helicopters or something?

Oh right, because there will be a massive air and naval combat overhaul in an expansion.

 

[forty2j]

Even funnier that we traveled light years to get there, but cannot remember how to make an airplane without researching it.

There's an xkcd for that actually. Different atmosphere = different properties for air travel.

 

[GeoModder]

One could as well claim the same for sea travel: different properties for buoyancy, hull degration, and the like.

Besides, its hardly fair to compare a starship engine with a ship propeller for movement rate.

 

[Lord Tirian]

Even funnier that we traveled light years to get there, but cannot remember how to make an airplane without researching it.

I think part of it is that what we see is always about military units. Embarkations (and hence naval exploration) is available with a single tech you can research at the start - but takes a bit to build a warship.

It's possible that they have drones and light planes but nothing that's actually capable of acting as military-grade fighter/bomber (and are hence not things we can build, it's kind of abstract away into general sight range or ranged attacks and so on).

 

[AriochIV]

There is an early sea exploration unit. It's called the Gunboat.

 

[BroOfTheSun]

Gunboat only has 3 movement, which sucks for exploring. So gunboat can be used for navy, and having 3 movement points is fine. But I want something for exploring, which would have more than 3 movement points. It takes an entire game for a gunboat to reveal a map. And most of the time, you run into a sea dragon and die anyways.

I can understand research for things civs already know like flight or satellites. I just think of it as applying the technologies the civ knows to a new environment. Things that work on Earth, won't work exactly the same on a new planet, and there may need to be some research on the most optimal way of building a plane or boat. I'm ok with that.

But did the civs forget how to explore? At least give explorers 3-4 movement while embarked. It's all they can do is reveal the map for you.

Also, that Observatory quest for +2 naval movement is really nice. One of the few that I truly like getting.

 

[joncnunn]

Moderator Action: Moved to Ideas & Suggestions

 

[Polycrates]

Even funnier that we traveled light years to get there, but cannot remember how to make an airplane without researching it.

I have often been asked: if we have traveled between the stars, why can we not launch the simplest of orbital probes? These fools fail to understand the difficulty of finding the appropriate materials on this Planet, of developing adequate power supplies, and creating the infrastructure necessary to support such an effort. In short, we have struggled under the limitations of a colonial society on a virgin planet. Until now.

But yes, a fast, +1 sight melee naval unit would be quite welcome, I think. Upgrades could allow specialisation for scouting or pure combat.