Fix Airships: the Poll

[azzaman333]

They are perfectly fine as is. Most games I don't even get Physics before Infantry.

 

[Desert-Fox]

Perhaps add a chance(25% or 15%) that they blow up themseves when attacking rival units. That would be good counter enough.

 

[Diamondeye]

Fix for airship: Delete it from the game.
Seriously, I hate that unit >_< it ruins everything until and often after fighters... And the AI can't figure out not to build zillions of 'em and throw them into sure death by my planes... I once had a fighter rise from lvl 2 to 5 on one turn on interception mission. You could see the thing on his powergraph, ffs!

 

[azzaman333]

Perhaps add a chance(25% or 15%) that they blow up themseves when attacking rival units. That would be good counter enough.

Only against Riflemen and Infantry, on the assumption they spammed so many bullets in the air that one or two pierced the balloon making it crash and burn.

 

[jimbob27]

Only against Riflemen and Infantry, on the assumption they spammed so many bullets in the air that one or two pierced the balloon making it crash and burn.

I think it'd be reasonable for it to get the chance against any unit. Weather was always the airships greatest enemy, maybe start it off at 2-5% and then increase it if it's facing rifles or infantry.

 

[azzaman333]

They should have a distinct counter like every other unit IMO. Not be countered by everything. As it is, they have no counter until Fighters when they go completely obsolete, so it's a little messed up.

 

[ChickenSalad]

The airship should be like a gunship but be able to move across any terrain. In reality, an airship wouldn't need to go straight from airport to airport like a plane. Those things were even used for expeditions to the poles.

So I'd say make em a 3-square-per-turn-fly-anywhere-gunship with the added option of bombarding city defences.
Additionally, create a biplane that comes with flight, that can do the usual plane mission but that's rather weak - say 2 or 3 strength - but has intercept 10% and +75% to +100% strength against airships.
Also give the machine gun's a 10% intercept chance against planes, maybe even a strength bonus against airships.

That way we'd have MG, biplanes and airships together (as they were in actual history). The biplanes would be useful as air-to-air tools mainly. MG's would function as early AA's. And airships would be able to take their role as naval (and other) scouts, weak city bombers and crappy frontline bombers.

 

[qwert]

I would move them to steam power and make them to require coal or oil. This way it would be posible to counter them by taking any coalsource the enemy has.

 

[Tantor]

Move the Airship to combustion and make it a Catalina Flying Boat - ASW and recon plane. Upgrades to Orion or AWACS.
We need an airborne ASW/Recon unit.

 

[Dida]

In my own mod, I made the airship a scout unit. I gave it the ability to reveal all terrains between the city where it took off and the spot where it is supposed to scout. It is now a very useful and non-annoying unit.

 

[kristopherb]

I my last game my opponent protected his macemen and longbowmen with airships. It's just plain stupid.

Other way round for me
I wiped them out using airships
Due to only using them against macemen longbows so i can't realy say i'm neutral.

 

[Dominico]

sack them off they are horrible. Or make it so only one can be built in the entire game. Once the first one has been built they are unbuildable. Then make the blow up after 1 year and destroy the civ that built it in a hydrogen death for being so annoying

 

[Compertz]

I like Dida's idea - make it a scout but will the AI know what to do with it if it is a scout? (This gives me a reason to learn to mod - tweak the game so its truly balanced.)

But if Firaxis was to fix this then I like Chickensalad's idea. I think a biplane counter unit would add a bit of fun in that phase of the game.

 

[Party]

You know, why can't there just be a simple flack gun unit that comes in with artillery that is effective against airships and a little against fighters and bombers? Not too powerful, just enough to add a little balance. They had one in Civ III conquests. Just stick one in and have it upgrade to SAM.
What do you think, I think it's the best possible solution.