Add "build wall" to function Settlers

Kingpin

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Can Anyone Figure Out How To Do This?...

I'd like to see settlers have the ability to build defensive walls in the same way they would build roads or fortresses. The historical precedent for this idea would be the Romans building Hadrian's Wall and the Anonine Wall to keep out the Scottish. Also, the Great Wall of China.

The reason I'd like to see this feature is that it would work in the same way that it did in ancient times: it would help defend borders against rival nations or barbarians.

Fortresses would be integrated along the wall to station troops. Military Units can move along the wall like a road (the walls were wide enough that troops could travel along the top of the wall).

Cannot build a road through the wall, must build it through a fortress. Units would take one turn to move on to and another turn to destroy walls, making it easier to defend than open terraine. Can be destroyed by bombardment. Would remove the need for the Great Wall of China wonder (which really makes no sense as is, being located in a single city, anyway). It would also increase the usefulness of bombardment weapons.

What do you think about this idea?

Is it even possible to create in Civ III?
 
It probably wouldn't be possible to build great walls on terrain tiles, like what you're talking about. However, wouldn't a chain of connected forts essentially be the same thing? The only difference is that you would need to garrison each fort to keep your enemies out.
 
It's not exactly the same as you describe but you could simulute a "wall" buy building somthing that acts like a river but gives a bigger defence bonus and must be bombarded to pass through.
 
Unfortunately it isn't possible to add new worker functions to the game...you have to work with what the game comes with. Another way to get a wall would be to make a new immobile unit that can paradrop into place. You'd need unit graphics that looked like a wall.
 
Well it IS possible just harder than other things. They might add more worker functions in a year or two when all the bug and easy ideas have been worked out.
 
Kingpin, we think alike. There is an easy way to do this, which is to allow the ability to "copy" a worker job (or add, depending on how you look at it).

You could copy the fortress function and adjust the defense value accordingly.


This wouldn't get to your "impassable" concept, but that could be ammended so that a "wall" requires 3 movement points to cross (you can get over it if no one is defeding it).


Also a line of walls would act as a road for your troops. So you could have a string of forts connected by walls, with the wall being the quickest means of travelling between them.
 
Originally posted by ahenobarb
This wouldn't get to your "impassable" concept, but that could be ammended so that a "wall" requires 3 movement points to cross (you can get over it if no one is defeding it).

ahenobarb, I didn't mean to give the idea that the wall was to be impassable. What you are describing is exactly what I had in mind.

If you read any history about the Romans invading the British Isles and expanding northward, you'll see what you've described: Legions manned the fortresses spaced along the entire length of the wall, which they patrolled by walking along the top. The walls made it difficult for the "barbarians" to get by, but not impossible. At one point, the Romans had to abandon the Anonine wall, because they could not provide enough troops to defend it properly, and fall back to Hadrian's wall.

Right now, I am linking a series of forts together and connecting them with roads/rails, but it just doesn't quite do the trick.

Thanks for all the feedback so far! If someone could manage to implement these ideas, it would add another dimention to defensive strategy that has never before been seen in any of the Civ games! (How's that for a challenge...)
 
I hope something similar is implemented as well, I think it would add alot.

Also, I have been trumpeting the idea of adding the "seige" concept to the game (I don't think it can be done in Civ III, but perhaps for Civ IV). I want to recreate the massive mobilization of resources that went into events like Alcibiades seige of Syracuse and the use of walls, Ceaser's seige at Brundisium, and Demeterius' seige at Rhodes.

I think these will give a richer deminision to the ancient and mideval periods. Rather than warrior striding up to a walled city hacking away an making his way in. I put my suggestions in the "editor wish list" post.
 
You can in effect lay siege to a city by simply occupying/pillaging all of the city's production tiles. If they can't get food, the population will gradually die off. I guess this wouldn't really affect the units defending the city, but as the city population decreases, the defending units lose some of their defensive bonuses. This combined with bombarding units would essentially be the same thing as a siege.
 
Ed O'War: You are right, that is the equivalent in the game now.
Also, as I'm sure you've figured out there are so many tiles around a city to be plundered, that it's easier to just attack the city itself and hope for the best.

I would like it if you had to or could build earthworks around the city and those being beseiged could take counter measures to prevent the investment of the city.

The way it works now is essentially that the attacks march up to the walls and try to barge in or the defenders leave the city gates and fight in the open, which rarely happened. The wall idea would allow a city to keep a way to the sea open, and thus a supply of food as well.
 
Good idea, ahenobarb. I had never thought of using these "theoretical" walls to connect a city to a vital resource.

I hope someone (more brilliant than I am) can figure out how to do this.
 
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