[C3C] Creating Effective Attack Helicopters?

[SayHayKid]

What solutions have people come up with to simulate attack helicopters like an Apache? I saw in RAR they are land units with lots of moves and ATAR. Any other techniques?

 

[Predator145]

What solutions have people come up with to simulate attack helicopters like an Apache? I saw in RAR they are land units with lots of moves and ATAR. Any other techniques?

I save the land ATR stuff for air mobile infantry (using utility helicopters). These act like modern age conquistadors but more on the defensive side as even organic helicopter fire support doesn't change the fact that they're light infantry once on the ground.

But for the attack helicopters my approach is this: I make them air units with lethal land an sea bombard, blitz and 2 movement points as well as the short range of 5-6. I give them very low defense value and lower bombard value but 3 ROF. This means they have unmatched "loiter time". In order to match the firepower of fixed wing aviation, they'd need to bomb a target twice. But they have the potential to inflict up to 6 HP damage or lethally bombard 2 units in a turn or rebase and bombard, making them quite responsive CAS tools.

In my mod all industrial age land units and beyond have at least a token air def value of 1. The toughest attack helicopter has a defense value of 4. This is very low as my 3rd gen fighters have the attack of 24 and 4th gen 30. Helicopters have to expose themselves to ground fire twice as much as other aircrafts to make the most of their bombard value. They're also given stealth because flying super low makes them hard for fighters and SAM battery radars to detect them. Their biggest threat is thus ground fire from units and esp dedicated AA. Flak and Mobile SAMs will eat them alive.

As for graphics I use the rocket attack animation or the gun one for Run. For attack I use the air to air missile as attack1 and the gun for attack2. For victory I use "RocketSalvo".

With Flintlock's patch, you now also have the option of giving them "stealth bombard" or we should say "selective bombard". They can now select a unit out of a stack to bombard (within their stealth targeting list). This makes them much stronger in bombarding units in cities as stealth bombard does not target improvements and population, making you 3 times more likely to hit.

 

[Ozymandias]

Some interesting thoughts on this were published by Taube, some time ago, over at Civforum.de (Google Page Translator or some such works well enough, if you don’t know German.)

 

[Predator145]

Too bad the AI can't use a mixed attacking and bombarding land unit. If you make helis land and give them artillery AI strat tks to flintlock's patch they can bombard well now. But they can't attack. And their mobility is wasted being tied to escorts.

What I'm not sure about is what happens when you give a land unit operational range, no bombard range and only the bombing mission. With the Air Bombard AI strt the AI should be able to use it properly. But from faint memory I remember the game being stuck in a loop if that unit is not given bombard range. And if you give it bombard range as a land unit, it will bombard and not bomb even if you click the bombing mission, meaning it can't be shot down by anti air. Helicopters are not artillery.

 

[Vuldacon]

Test Helicopters after giving them Attack and Bombard as a Land Unit.
If as a Human player you can use both, the AI can also use the same settings but only if the Helicopters are Pre-placed in a Scenario.

The reason for this is the AI is programed to select Attack or Bombard type unit when they build them (This is the same for all Units) but if the mixed settings are applied and the Helicopters are Pre-placed, those settings are already there and the AI can use them, same as a Human Player.

The down side is that there will be a limited number of Helicopters or any other Units you apply mixed settings for in a Scenario.