Getting the little things off one's chest Part 2

[Cannon]

I can see where you're coming from cannon, in that you've explained the logic behind implementing the feature Precision Strike.

However...

This might have sounded cool and useful in the production stage but in the practical reality of the game there are certain factors which have already accumulated prior to the discovery of Stealth which render these 'benefits' little more than abstract tokens.

Firstly, it is unlikely that one's air-force will consist of just one Stealth Bomber. It's a possibility, but too highly remote to start creating specific buttons just for this scenario. It is more probable that one already has a horde of regular Bombers and at least a handful of Stealth Bombers. So, unless one is playing a kind of role-play where one is simply weakening the opposition without any intention of invasion, it is unlikely that any of these military installations will be of any great issue (not to mention already destroyed by regular mass-bombing).

Secondly, by the arrival of Stealth one will already have vast quantities of Modern Armour, naval bombard Units, Radar Artillery and Armies of at least Tanks, probably Modern Armour. These Units wont have a problem with anything the game has to offer, even Mechanised Infantry Fortified behind Civil Defence in a Metropolis.

To which, thirdly, comes the crunch. The primary target in any city one is invading is the military Units. If one is planning to keep the city rather than raze it then it's preferable that no buildings get destroyed. Second priority will be reducing the Citizen population prior to take-over in order to reduce the number of Resistors.

To which the conclusion must be that it seems a bit of a pointless let-down to get to Stealth and find that the 'special feature' of a Stealth over a regular Bomber is simply the ability to have a chance to remove Civil Defence when the whole point of a 'Precision Strike' would imply that one is able to choose a target (any target) and get either a direct hit on the selected target or a 'rare' Failed Bombing Run.

What I'd expect from this button would be a drop-down list of targets for the location chosen.

But yes, I do see that in it's current state of just bombing city improvements there might well be a rare instance where someone has managed to find a very specific and isolated instance where this feature might be considered 'worth opting for'.

Thanks for the reply Buttercup. I can understand that "Precision Strike" as it currently is, is just a minute detail in a game that is most likely already won. And yes, the ideal implementation would involve a drop-down menu to select the target. I think it does add a little flavour to the game but usually not necessary when you have 20 artillary parked outside the same target. I just got a little rush when I see "Civil Defense Destroyed" it is kind of fun.

 

[OblivionsCall]

I dunno, I kinda like to use the bombardment and bombing to reduce the number of helpful buildings or what have you in enemy cities if it's clear that i can't take the civ over just yet.
I feel this definitely diminishes their power.

But what really rubs me raw is trying to automate the workers, they never do what they SHOULD do...always irrigating bonus grasslands and such...I usually have to micromanage over 20-25 of the suckers for the first half of the game and then finally say 'automate no altering', then let them figure out what i've missed.

 

[scratchthepitch]

They had Stealth Bombers doing Precision Strikes in World War Two?

Well, kind of. The DeHavilland Mosquito was used in that role. But in a different way from modern stealth aircraft. They used speed for surprise and flew low to avoid radar detection. They were capable of taking out a single building in a city. For an example of which, you can do a web search on Operation Jericho.

Precision bombing looked like a great addition to the game, till I read up on what it did and realized it was another great idea botched in the implementation by Firaxis programing. Strange they didn't make it like the stealth attack for land and sea units, where you could choose a particular target from a list. Not very useful in a regular game. I've never used precision bombing, but I guess it could be used to damage a strong AI's infrastructure in situations where you couldn't yet invade, but wanted to weaken them and keep them having to repair and rebuild to prevent them acting on their threats. I've done that before, but with naval bombardment and regular bombers. In mods, it could be more useful, like in a WW2 mod using it on the Mosquito aircraft to allow them something of their abilities in those pinpoint attacks.

Does the AI use precision bombing? Given their track record, it seems unlikely.

 

[Ataxerxes]

I dunno, I kinda like to use the bombardment and bombing to reduce the number of helpful buildings or what have you in enemy cities if it's clear that i can't take the civ over just yet.
I feel this definitely diminishes their power.

But what really rubs me raw is trying to automate the workers, they never do what they SHOULD do...always irrigating bonus grasslands and such...I usually have to micromanage over 20-25 of the suckers for the first half of the game and then finally say 'automate no altering', then let them figure out what i've missed.

Worker automation is very bad in this game. Try grouping some workers together to reduce the tedium.

I agree with an earlier poster that bombers work best outside cities. For attacking a city I prefer cannons or artillery. I'm usually trying to take or raze the city so I don't care much about the buildings. I just want to weaken the defenders.

 

[OblivionsCall]

Originally Posted by Buttercup
They had Stealth Bombers doing Precision Strikes in World War Two?

Yeah I had a bit of a laugh in the game I was playing last night because me and every other civ was in the modern age with nuclear weapons and stealth bombers and the like, and the year? 1770. Talk about wrong lol

ICBM's in the 1700's...HA