Has any CIV3 player ever found helicopters valuable??

[Tanilo2]

OK, maybe I asked this a year ago or so, but I just have to ask again. Has any of you players ever faced a game situation where a helicopter was the best unit to build?

 

[Tomoyo]

Yes. In one game I was gonna launch in three turns and building one would allow me to look at something I don't see very often...

 

[Tanilo2]

Actually, I was going to add "except in a situation where the game is virtually over and you just want to see that helicopter unit on the screen", but I thought it was unnecessary. =)

 

[Harbringer]

Ya, in my Vietnam mod.

 

[Elponitnatsnoc]

no, i dont even know what the heck they do.

 

[catchsomezzz]

I'm probably in the 1% minority whom actually uses helicopters in my civ games. If my game does get into the modern age, I do build a few helicopters to allow me the flexibility to transport some troops quickly behind enemy lines, should certain situations calls for them.

But I can't say I've ever considered it to be the "best unit to build"...

Helicopters are just specialized units that expand my tactical options. At this point in the game, I don't consider the few gpts to maintain a small fleet of helicopters to be a problem.

 

[Scuffer]

As far as I am concerned, it is the turns spent researching them and building them more than the upkeep. But then I've never experimented with them. Dropping some tough units behind lines could prove very useful, especially for pillaging resouces. Maybe next time.

 

[Turner]

I've modified the helicopter to carry mechanical units as well. This makes them a bit more useful. However, I don't normally research Advanced Flight, prefering to pick it up from the AI via trade. So I don't always build them.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

Point is, the C3C Helis with their capacity of 3 and the TOWs as foot units are useful. Period.

They're of limited use on pangea maps, but everywhere else it is simply nice to rebase a Worker (for an Airfield) and two nice defenders to a city your Marines just captured. Or to drop off some TOWs on enemies Oil.

That said, they best compare to Radar Artillery - a nice unit, but the only games I ever saw them were 20k goals. In any other case, the game is over long before they can be built (which is true for Modern Armors as well, if you aks me), or you only focus on your SS parts (if fighing a war, you will only try to get a resource or defend your borders).

 

[troytheface]

Used to use them all the time when i played single player- with America- i would beeline for Advanced flight- they have two useful features-
1. Rebase troops at newly conquered cities so ur wheeled units can move on.
2. Over mountain range assaults with paratroopers.

I like them because they are a niche unit and i want to see something new-
and because they are the only air transport u get.

 

[mikehunt]

I've never bothered with a civ3 helicopter
I used them in civ2 from time to time
I have used some of the "helicopters" in RAR, but those are really just land units that have helicopter icons and treat all land as road

 

[Tman65]

They're of limited use on pangea maps, but everywhere else it is simply nice to rebase a Worker (for an Airfield) and two nice defenders to a city your Marines just captured. Or to drop off some TOWs on enemies Oil.

A couple of questions from someone that hasn't used 'copters before:

1. Could you use this to leapfrog your foot units to keep up with tanks? 1st turn air drop worker and defensive units, 2nd turn worker builds airfield and rebase helicopters, 3rd turn load up and repeat?

2. Can you airlift artillery now...I believe you couldn't in vanilla.

 

[Rambuchan]

I'm still waiting for that 'opportunity' to use them sensibly. The other options outstretch the abilities of helis. If you've got an army of workers railroading up and through the enemy territory, with a stack of artillery, then you don't need to be airdropping.

 

[Tman65]

If you could drop artillery, then you wouldn't have to waste 2-3 turns between attacks getting them into place...just a thought.

Spelling edit.

 

[Turner]

Nope, default rules still have it as foot unit only, or non-mechanized. I forget what the editor tag is. If you want it to do mechanized, you have to edit it.

 

[Mordack]

I posed this same question in a recent thread

I personally have not found any use for this unit - although there were some who responded that they frequently build them

I believe that the weakness of this unit was an attempt by the designers to overcompensate for the overwhelming superiority of helicopters in Civ2

 

[Own]

drop 3 tow infantries on a mountain, and the ai will sacrifice 10 units to kill them, plus, if that enemy is railroadless, all their forces will turn back to kill the extremely threatening tow's .

 

[Hatework]

I'm probably in the 1% minority whom actually uses helicopters in my civ games. If my game does get into the modern age, I do build a few helicopters to allow me the flexibility to transport some troops quickly behind enemy lines, should certain situations calls for them.

But I can't say I've ever considered it to be the "best unit to build"...

Helicopters are just specialized units that expand my tactical options. At this point in the game, I don't consider the few gpts to maintain a small fleet of helicopters to be a problem.

I dont think i could have worded it better. I do wish to add that they should be able to rebase on carriers, or add helicarriers, in Civ4.

For some reason i cant get them to rebase on carriers even after editing.

 

[Turner]

I'm pretty sure that's because it's a transport unit. You can't load a transport unit onto another transport unit. Try removing the transport flag and see if you can rebase the helo's then.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

It's a bit more tricky. You cannot load a Air Transport (even with capacity 0) on a ship with the "Carrier" ability. That of course is essentially the same as you said, Turner.

But, you can load a land unit that can transport other units on naval transports - but not on other land transports.
Of course, there is no 'Land Transport' AI strategy - but technically, Armies are land transports.

Btw, that Air Transport flag is frequently used by modders to prevent the (unrealistic) rebasing of Bombers to Carriers.