Air Combat QoL suggestions

[TheFinalChiTown]

My Civ 6 games of late have focused around aerial domination. This has involved starting games in the modern era and playing through the future era. The future era is important because that is when the AI gets its AA upgrade for GDR's, giving the AI its best anti-air weapon that it can actually use effectively.

Playing these aerial-focused games has given me some ideas for improving air combat and air units, some of which are partially borrowed from previous Civ games.

AI improvements

• AI will build AA support units
  • I’ve never seen the AI build an AA support unit
  • It seems to use GDR’s and AA naval units correctly
• AI will patrol fighter units
  • Never seen the AI patrol an aircraft

Missile overhaul - bringin' it back!

• Cruise missile
  • Unlocked at lasers
  • Ranged damage (less affective vs naval units and fortifications)
    • Becomes 100% effective at Advanced Power Cells (same as GDR)
  • Takes aircraft slot in carrier, aerodrome, or city center (can’t use airfields)
  • Takes missile slot on nuclear submarine or missile silo
  • Can be purchased
• Nuclear/thermonuclear missiles
  • Unlock at Rocketry/Lasers
  • Same damage/radius as current nuclear weapons
  • Follow same slot rules as cruise missile (see above)
  • Must be moved from the city in which they are built
  • Produced as units, cannot be purchased (like spy)
  • Still require Manhattan and Operation Ivy projects, respectively
• Missile combat mechanics
  • Acts like air ranged attack
    • Cruise missiles can target support units, same as a fighter
  • Consumed on use
  • Same attack/movement/rebase range as bomber (for nuclear) and jet bomber (for cruise and thermonuclear)
  • Interception
    • If intercepted, does not attack and is consumed.
    • All missiles (including cruise) follow same interception rules as current nuclear attacks (must take > 50% dmg)
    • All AA sources can intercept any kind of missiles
      • For simplicity's sake. This differs from current rules around nuclear attack interception.
• Cruise missile balance
  • Attack strength
    • 1 can take down a Carrier armada without AA support
      • ~3 with AA suport
    • 2 can take down a Modern carrier armada without AA support
      • ~6 with AA support
  • Production/purchase cost - 325/1300 gold (half that of a jet fighter)

Related unit/improvement

• Carrier
  • Aircraft slots (2) are added together for fleets (4) and armadas (6)
  • Single carriers can be combined into fleets and armadas
  • Promotion tree
    • Right side, tier 4 promotion remain the same
    • Left side is the same as naval melee
      • Except convoy instead of supply fleet
  • Modern Carrier unit
    • Unlocks at Robotics
    • Same unit but with higher CS
• Nuclear submarine
  • 2 missile slots
  • Additive for fleets (4) and armadas (6)
• Missile silo
  • 3 missile slots

Aesthetics

• Different animations depending on origin of missile
  • City centers, aerodromes and carriers - jet/bomber missile launch (based on the AGM-86 ALCM, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-86_ALCM)
  • Missile silos and submarines - missile launch

 

[Galvatron]

Just a note: nuclear warheads aren't missiles, they're payloads. They can be mounted on cruise missiles for example, or icbms...

Also icbms might be a good addition too.