Beginner question about unloading units

[gynn6417]

So I just started play Civ3 (my first civ game) and I've pretty much navigated through majority of the game thus far with only a few hiccups here and there seeing as I was for the most part clueless about how to play. But anyways I am a good ways into a game where I have taken over one continent entirely and the other continent is packed with 4 AI. As far as I can tell I'm the only one with any navy, let alone a sufficient one, so I figured I should attack one of the AI to get a footing in the other continent. My only problem (as silly as it seems) is I dont know how to actually put troops on this other continent.

Now I know how to load units into a boat (mostly galleons, some caravels) and I'm filling them with some musketeers and other attacking troops and a settler. But where do I unload? If I try to select an enemy city it say they can only be attacked by ground units. And when I go next to a beach shoreline looking tile, I can't actually move my ship onto the beach tile, and I can't unload from the tile right next to it.

I have to be missing something very obvious but I've been trying everything that would seem logical and am coming up empty. So any help would be appreciated so I can finally take over this stupid continent and move my difficulty up from cheiftan since so far my only challenge all game has been unloading troops,

 

[Lord Emsworth]

So I just started play Civ3 (my first civ game) and I've pretty much navigated through majority of the game thus far with only a few hiccups here and there seeing as I was for the most part clueless about how to play. But anyways I am a good ways into a game where I have taken over one continent entirely and the other continent is packed with 4 AI. As far as I can tell I'm the only one with any navy, let alone a sufficient one, so I figured I should attack one of the AI to get a footing in the other continent. My only problem (as silly as it seems) is I dont know how to actually put troops on this other continent.

Now I know how to load units into a boat (mostly galleons, some caravels) and I'm filling them with some musketeers and other attacking troops and a settler. But where do I unload? If I try to select an enemy city it say they can only be attacked by ground units. And when I go next to a beach shoreline looking tile, I can't actually move my ship onto the beach tile, and I can't unload from the tile right next to it.

You should be able to activate and then move your units from the boat to the beach, i.e. unload the units. Except of course there are units there.

 

[Theov]

when the boat is activated on a coast/sea tile, next to land, press "U" for Unload.
Or right click on the boat (when it is on sea, next to a land tile) and select the units, then move the units.

 

[vorlon_mi]

and now, the next question ... where, exactly, should you drop your troops?

Try to unload them onto a hill, for the defensive bonus. Be sure that your initial landing party has some good defenders, like musketmen/musketeers as you've said. Since bombard units (like trebuchets or cannons) cannot defend themselves, you may wish to save them for the next wave of reinforcements. Expect a heavy counterattack from the AI, esp. if it can bring knights or cavalry up the roads to your landing site. But once you've weathered the assaults, and replenished your losses, you should be able to proceed.

Bringing a settler (as you wrote) is also a good idea. These are sometimes known as "combat settlers", and by founding a city, you can get more defensive bonus to weather the counterattack.