Max: I wont dispute about the facts you presented about reality, since I aknowledge them as well, but I think we should keep in mind that the Civilization combat system is still a very abstract one. And though you can make some conclusions about the numbers of units, distances on map, etc. no one has defined how big one tile is or how many men a unit actually is composed of. Instead of even trying to reach absolute realism, we should rather think "realism through gameplay".
Which means that the way units function in the game should resemble how their corresponding forces act in reality, even though they may not work exactly like them in the game mechanics.
To me suicide artillery doesn't give the slightest immersion of real artillery in the battle. Civ3 artillery gets much, much closer.
Civ3 style artillery would also solve the "independent artillery" dilemma you accurately presented. You could still use artillery independently (as you technically
could in real life as well) but since the arty units would be unable to fight on their own, that'd be simply stupid (as it would in reality). Leave your arty unguarded and it will be either destroyed or captured.
Clifford said:
My next idea is giving artillery weak strength, say 5, and a 100% chance of retreating. That way it causes some collateral damage before retreating.
That gave me an idea. What if artillery was given a First Strike with 100% chance of triggering (possible?) in combat, and then have the unit retreat before the "actual" combat begins? I see two problems that need to be addressed if that was to work:
1. How to code the retreat (100% withdrawal will still result in the arty fighting it out and taking damage - gamey)
2. What happens if the target unit has First Strike as well?