kenken244
Grammar Nazi
Ive always thought that naval combat was really bland- especially compared to all the stuff that happens on land. So Ive come up with several suggestions so maybe people could enjoy water maps more
Suggestion number 1: ship upgrading.
Suggestion number 2: sea promotions
Suggestion number 3: ship spells
sugestion number 4: buildings/ improvements
feel free to post any aditional suggestions or suggest a suggestion to suggest that my suggestion needs more suggestions
but please dont call me " kenken244" instead, call me " hey you" or just plain "you" would be fine. or, if you want, simply start talking without adressing me as anything
Suggestion number 1: ship upgrading.
Spoiler :
Currently the only sort of upgrade for your ship is the expanded hull promotion witch is somehow learned with experience, so a ship is out on the high seas in the middle of nowhere and suddenly it learns a bigger hull. Firstly this is illogical and secondly it is quite strange that the only improvements to a ship are having a bigger hull. So I propose this:
The shipyard will no longer provide experience for new ships. Instead, the shipyard will provide a random ship upgrade for free and allow ships in that city to buy ship upgrades with gold ( the prices will increase the more upgrades it has)
Some possible upgrades are
Improved sails: +1 movement
Cannons: requires gunpowder, iron and blasting powder tech: - 1 crew capacity, + 2 strength adds to city bombardment capabilities.
A cannon can be fired at adjacent ships to deal some damage to the ship but it gets the casted promo so it cant attack and it gets about 2 negative first strikes while the crew re loads them
It can also be upgraded to have different effects (yes the ideas are from pirates!)
Grapeshot: deals damage to the units on board and has a chance of removing the crew promotion
Chain shot: unit loses a few points of movement for a few turns
Rowboats: the ship can use the deploy rowboat ability witch will make a 0 strength medium movement and 1 cargo capacity rowboat unit that will disappear after 2 turns and is invisible during the first turn. The purpose of this is to allow a unit to disembark from a transport while the rest of the units go elsewhere without having to risk the main ship being detected or wasting movement and it can be used to transport one unit from one ship to another. Also, if the ship is sunk there is a 75% chance for each unit that a rowboat will appear and it will automatically be loaded into it instead of dieing instantly
Streamlined hull: not allowed with expanded hull, gives the ship + 20% withdrawal
Greek fire (or a more appropriate fantasy type name): the ship gains a first strike that will deal 1 -3 fire damage in addition to the normal damage ( ships should be weak to fire but water creatures shouldnt)
The shipyard will no longer provide experience for new ships. Instead, the shipyard will provide a random ship upgrade for free and allow ships in that city to buy ship upgrades with gold ( the prices will increase the more upgrades it has)
Some possible upgrades are
Improved sails: +1 movement
Cannons: requires gunpowder, iron and blasting powder tech: - 1 crew capacity, + 2 strength adds to city bombardment capabilities.
A cannon can be fired at adjacent ships to deal some damage to the ship but it gets the casted promo so it cant attack and it gets about 2 negative first strikes while the crew re loads them
It can also be upgraded to have different effects (yes the ideas are from pirates!)
Grapeshot: deals damage to the units on board and has a chance of removing the crew promotion
Chain shot: unit loses a few points of movement for a few turns
Rowboats: the ship can use the deploy rowboat ability witch will make a 0 strength medium movement and 1 cargo capacity rowboat unit that will disappear after 2 turns and is invisible during the first turn. The purpose of this is to allow a unit to disembark from a transport while the rest of the units go elsewhere without having to risk the main ship being detected or wasting movement and it can be used to transport one unit from one ship to another. Also, if the ship is sunk there is a 75% chance for each unit that a rowboat will appear and it will automatically be loaded into it instead of dieing instantly
Streamlined hull: not allowed with expanded hull, gives the ship + 20% withdrawal
Greek fire (or a more appropriate fantasy type name): the ship gains a first strike that will deal 1 -3 fire damage in addition to the normal damage ( ships should be weak to fire but water creatures shouldnt)
Suggestion number 2: sea promotions
Spoiler :
The only promotions that are related to ships are boarding, amphibious and navigation. I find that very, very bad especially considering there is an absolutely HUGE amount of promotions for land units. So I propose adding several more:
Navigator: land units only, requires amphibious and mobility 1, any ship this unit is on board gets 1 2 extra movement points and extra withdrawal rate
Current using (not the best name): needs navigation 2, add to withdrawal extra movement on coasts
Storm evasion: (might only be active if a navigator is on board) high resistance to lightning damage, immune to being pushed away by whirlwind
Looting: if the unit has boarding you gain extra gold if it takes over a ship. If the unit has amphibious you gain extra gold when amphibiously attacking a city
Ship defense: the unit will fight any boarding party instead of the boarder taking over the ship. If the defender dies the boarder can attack the ship or the remaining ship defenders on the same turn
ship sighting: land units only. the ship this unit is on cansee naval units 1-2 squares outside its visibility range
Another possibility is a 5 level ship combat promotion line each requiring the previous promotion and the combat promotion of the same level ( so ship combat 2 will take ship combat 1 and combat 2) and also some other promotions could be required for higher levels that the ship gains a extra strength point depending on how many more ship combat promotions it has than its opponent:
1 more promo: 1 extra strength point
2 more promo: 3 extra (1 + 2)
3 more promos: 6 more strength points (1 + 2 +3)
And so on
Ships that have a level requirement should be added since it takes a more experienced crew to man the better ships that it takes for smaller and less powerful ships
Navigator: land units only, requires amphibious and mobility 1, any ship this unit is on board gets 1 2 extra movement points and extra withdrawal rate
Current using (not the best name): needs navigation 2, add to withdrawal extra movement on coasts
Storm evasion: (might only be active if a navigator is on board) high resistance to lightning damage, immune to being pushed away by whirlwind
Looting: if the unit has boarding you gain extra gold if it takes over a ship. If the unit has amphibious you gain extra gold when amphibiously attacking a city
Ship defense: the unit will fight any boarding party instead of the boarder taking over the ship. If the defender dies the boarder can attack the ship or the remaining ship defenders on the same turn
ship sighting: land units only. the ship this unit is on cansee naval units 1-2 squares outside its visibility range
Another possibility is a 5 level ship combat promotion line each requiring the previous promotion and the combat promotion of the same level ( so ship combat 2 will take ship combat 1 and combat 2) and also some other promotions could be required for higher levels that the ship gains a extra strength point depending on how many more ship combat promotions it has than its opponent:
1 more promo: 1 extra strength point
2 more promo: 3 extra (1 + 2)
3 more promos: 6 more strength points (1 + 2 +3)
And so on
Ships that have a level requirement should be added since it takes a more experienced crew to man the better ships that it takes for smaller and less powerful ships
Suggestion number 3: ship spells
Spoiler :
Currently there are very few sea specific spells witch currently arent used very much. Also the only ship that can cast spells without having to invest in a mage is the arcane barge witch can only cast fireball so having a mage on board has more benefits than the reduced risk. So I propose giving the arcane barge a special set of sea spells requiring different mana but only one level for each
Some possible spells could be:
Doldrums: air mana required. Creates a area around the ship that has incredibly high movement costs for all units. Units with the fair winds promotion should have less of this effect (give it double movement in doldrums) and the area will gradually shrink into nothingness.
Whirlpool: requires water mana. Creates a whirlpool on the space the barge is on. In one the ship must move off the space the turn it casts this spell or the ship will be effected by the whirlpool. After one turn the whirlpool becomes invisible to everyone and if a ship - no matter who owns it enters that space, it is immediately destroyed and the whirlpool disappears. Only one whirlpool for every arcane barge the civ owns (similar to skeletons and guardian vines) the player will be alerted when one of their whirlpools destroys a unit.
Coral reef: requires nature mana creates a coral reef space on the space that is invisible to everyone but the person who casted the spell. When a rival ship enters a adjacent square there is a relatively small chance that it will detect the reef. When a unit enters the square it takes 10% damage and loses a extra movement point. this can spread much like a forest and if every space anround a coral reef tile is filled with coral reefs then it turns into a special coral reef tile that is discovered very often and can be seen from a few tiles away with a somewhat lower discovery rate
Boiling seas: requires fire mana. Every ship in a area around the barge including friendly ones are set to 1 movement point, lose several points of strength and take 20% damage every turn. This effect should last for a certain amount of turns depending on the Armageddon counter but should last no more than 5 turns. If a mage with spring is on board it can cast spring every turn to spare its ship from this effect for one turn but only that turn and if it does the ship becomes immobile and unable to attack
Cursed seas: requires entropy mana. Can only be cast where hell has spread ( it still spreads even if the terrain doesnt change) the square the ship is on becomes impassible and all units on the barges space are moved to a adjacent square. All units immediately stop moving and take high unholy damage when they enter a space adjacent to the space ( so it damages the ship and units on board) can be removed by casting sanctify next to it. The cursed seas has a low chance to spread to adjacent squares ( like a forest).
Giant wave: requires earth mana. Pretty much like a wakened version of ring of flames combined with a stronger version of whirlwind. So it deals light cold damage to all adjacent units and pushes all units 1 square away ( earthquakes cause tsunamis)
Some possible spells could be:
Doldrums: air mana required. Creates a area around the ship that has incredibly high movement costs for all units. Units with the fair winds promotion should have less of this effect (give it double movement in doldrums) and the area will gradually shrink into nothingness.
Whirlpool: requires water mana. Creates a whirlpool on the space the barge is on. In one the ship must move off the space the turn it casts this spell or the ship will be effected by the whirlpool. After one turn the whirlpool becomes invisible to everyone and if a ship - no matter who owns it enters that space, it is immediately destroyed and the whirlpool disappears. Only one whirlpool for every arcane barge the civ owns (similar to skeletons and guardian vines) the player will be alerted when one of their whirlpools destroys a unit.
Coral reef: requires nature mana creates a coral reef space on the space that is invisible to everyone but the person who casted the spell. When a rival ship enters a adjacent square there is a relatively small chance that it will detect the reef. When a unit enters the square it takes 10% damage and loses a extra movement point. this can spread much like a forest and if every space anround a coral reef tile is filled with coral reefs then it turns into a special coral reef tile that is discovered very often and can be seen from a few tiles away with a somewhat lower discovery rate
Boiling seas: requires fire mana. Every ship in a area around the barge including friendly ones are set to 1 movement point, lose several points of strength and take 20% damage every turn. This effect should last for a certain amount of turns depending on the Armageddon counter but should last no more than 5 turns. If a mage with spring is on board it can cast spring every turn to spare its ship from this effect for one turn but only that turn and if it does the ship becomes immobile and unable to attack
Cursed seas: requires entropy mana. Can only be cast where hell has spread ( it still spreads even if the terrain doesnt change) the square the ship is on becomes impassible and all units on the barges space are moved to a adjacent square. All units immediately stop moving and take high unholy damage when they enter a space adjacent to the space ( so it damages the ship and units on board) can be removed by casting sanctify next to it. The cursed seas has a low chance to spread to adjacent squares ( like a forest).
Giant wave: requires earth mana. Pretty much like a wakened version of ring of flames combined with a stronger version of whirlwind. So it deals light cold damage to all adjacent units and pushes all units 1 square away ( earthquakes cause tsunamis)
sugestion number 4: buildings/ improvements
Spoiler :
currently there is only one civ specific ship improvement and only one ship related building. so i would like to sugest some additions:
naval acadamies: the first version of this building would be built by a city with a harbor and would provide every naval unit built in its city 1 extra experience. then, a level 2 ship could come in and sacrifice itself to upgrade the academy to the next level. this should go up to about level 6 or 7. the amount of increase each upgrade gives should increase gradually. the next 2 upgradees would be built by great commanders and would be national wonders. the 10th version of it would have to be built for a large amount of production and would be a world wonder. these academies coudl be tied to certan techs and maybe could give certan naval promotions to units built in the city instead of increasing experience at certan levels.
another possible building would be a shipwright. this would require 2-3 lumbermills in your nation for each shipwright you build, 1 lumbermill being worked by the city and a shipyard. this building would make ships built much faster and make ship upgrades cheaper in the city. it also might be required for a certan ship or certan upgrades
pirate coves should be more usefull. so i sugest that there be a option for cities when it builds a ship that instead of the ship being produced in the city it is instead produced in a priate cove ( or if it is impossible to program just the nearest one) for a slightly increased cost. also units that areonboard ships in a priate cove should be able to be " shipped" to a city or other pirate cove for a fee preportional to the distance traveled
another improvement coudl be built by a special, expensive workboat and must be built adjacent to a city. the space this improvement is on produces one more commerce and hammer but no food. when the city works that tile it gets a small boost to ship production and trade route income
naval acadamies: the first version of this building would be built by a city with a harbor and would provide every naval unit built in its city 1 extra experience. then, a level 2 ship could come in and sacrifice itself to upgrade the academy to the next level. this should go up to about level 6 or 7. the amount of increase each upgrade gives should increase gradually. the next 2 upgradees would be built by great commanders and would be national wonders. the 10th version of it would have to be built for a large amount of production and would be a world wonder. these academies coudl be tied to certan techs and maybe could give certan naval promotions to units built in the city instead of increasing experience at certan levels.
another possible building would be a shipwright. this would require 2-3 lumbermills in your nation for each shipwright you build, 1 lumbermill being worked by the city and a shipyard. this building would make ships built much faster and make ship upgrades cheaper in the city. it also might be required for a certan ship or certan upgrades
pirate coves should be more usefull. so i sugest that there be a option for cities when it builds a ship that instead of the ship being produced in the city it is instead produced in a priate cove ( or if it is impossible to program just the nearest one) for a slightly increased cost. also units that areonboard ships in a priate cove should be able to be " shipped" to a city or other pirate cove for a fee preportional to the distance traveled
another improvement coudl be built by a special, expensive workboat and must be built adjacent to a city. the space this improvement is on produces one more commerce and hammer but no food. when the city works that tile it gets a small boost to ship production and trade route income
feel free to post any aditional suggestions or suggest a suggestion to suggest that my suggestion needs more suggestions

but please dont call me " kenken244" instead, call me " hey you" or just plain "you" would be fine. or, if you want, simply start talking without adressing me as anything