I found a use for artillery!

[Jason Fox]

Originally posted by jimmytrick
I think Jason is pulling our leg. I am supposed to believe that over 40 tanks were reduced to one hit poin each. Nah

It really happened. It was even pre-1.17f so I had to move them one at a time and still have the blisters to prove it.

I routinely do it on a smaller level. With railroads it's easy and, since they are typically heading towards a city, I can usually fire from there, leaving arty protected should I not get them all.

Capapults/cannons are one of the few units I always upgrade ASAP (even keeping and upgrading whatever I capture) unless I really can't afford it (then I save them and upgrade later), that's why I typically have so many later in the game. It's as close to a slam dunk as this game affords (not to say I haven't lost a healthy tank to a 1 HP tank at times, but not enough to discourage the strategy.)

 

[Special_O]

Originally posted by eyrei


Did you actually read the rest of the thread?

No, but thanks for asking, llama.

 

[eyrei]

Originally posted by Special_O



No, but thanks for asking, llama.

Llama?

 

[Special_O]

Originally posted by eyrei


Llama?

Yes... llama.

Anyway, I just read it and I didn't see anything that would have made post invalid... so why did you ask?

And whether I read the threads or not is hardly your concern.

 

[eyrei]

Originally posted by Special_O


Yes... llama.

Anyway, I just read it and I didn't see anything that would have made post invalid... so why did you ask?

And whether I read the threads or not is hardly your concern.

I asked because there were several uses for artillery posted in the thread that should seem very useful to most players who do not regularly beat the game on deity.

And, I am a camel, not a llama!:crazyeyes

 

[Willem]

Originally posted by Zachriel

I'm not normally a conquer the world type, but I usually use 20-30 artillery in my regional wars. Sixty for a global war would not be out of the question. Also, in a couple of turns those artillery can easily reduce a large stack of attacking tanks to negligible hit points.

Jimmytrick, you may be missing out on a lot of fun with artillery. Give it a try. But it does take some finesse to use them properly.

Now if only they would come up with a stack bombard command, maybe something like Shift-B. I think more people would use them if it wasn't such a pain to make them fire one at a time, and invariably miss at least half of their shots. I find them useful, but something of a nuisance to use.

 

[Selous]

i beleive stalin called artillery the "god of war" ....... dont know about the other quote though .... but that is different from gods corp ... the men he loves!! and the men that do the real work in a war!!

and i dont use much arty either ... but the tactic of having some arty in your costal towns would be a good one ... i really dont see the use of having 60 arty peices, i would rather have tanks instead and blitzkreig the baddies before they can reinforce there citys with draft and rush production ... with the aim being to wipe him out ... sure u are going to lose a lot more tanks .... but then u should also have many more to continue your attack on the other citys
i can see that arty would be MUCH more benificial in a long war so u dont lose as many/any units .... but i dont like my wars lasting for long if i can help it

and could u imagine losing that city with your arty in it?? .... that would be a mamoth loss of catilismic proportions!! ... keep the enemy with material for there Victoria Cross for millenium to come!!!!

 

[God]

Wondering:
Catapults, bombers, battleships almost always miss their bombardment, but do the artilery/radar artillery hit alit more often?
I usually use catapults for defense because they are far better at hitting attacking units.

BTW, i prefer the way civ3 has artilleries over civ2's version. Its more realistic and i like the concept of being able to damage without taking damage.

 

[Hobbes]

Originally posted by royfurr


I don't know if that is true or "urban legend", but if he did, he was stealing from Napoleon. The original comment was, I believe, that "God is on the side with the biggest battalions" (of infantry).

...

Actually he was stealing from Voltaire. The quotation "It is said that God is always on the side of the heaviest battalions" (A letter to M. le Riche, 02/06/1770, source Familiar Quotations. )

The Stalin quote I seem to recall from a biography special on the History Channel, so it may be undocumented/inaccurate.

But the idea is true, he who has the most artilerty wins.

 

[royfurr]

Thanks for the update, Hobbes. I wasn't 100 % sure on the Nappy quote, but it sounds like you've got the documentatin on Voltaire's statemen, and it matches close enough to be the source of what I had heard. Good job.

And yes, at least in RL, and usually in Civ3 ... a bunch of rounds of heavy artillery will most definitely ruin someones day.


Regarding the dabate about 1.17 and the change in defense for buildings:
1) It IS nice that we can capture a city with some reamaining improvements. The AI can now do that to us, too, BTW.

2) IF (and that is a BIG IF right now), effectiveness against troops in cities is not effected, then overall this is a good change. However ... does anyone REALLY know how this works? In a bombardment, are troops attacked with their own "die roll"/defence strength/odds, then the improvements AND THEN the Pop get attacked (ie ALL 3 always had a chance of being hit) (or maybe a different order of being attacked) OR ... does one or the other get shot at first, and then, ONLY if the first is NOT hit, the second then third is attacked? I've NEVER seen BOTH troops AND buildings AND Pop be hit (or even 2) on the same arty bombardment. Is it possible that an imporved defense for one type of target effects the defense of the other types? Now in RL of course all because you hit the troops, the building or Pop don't get spared. These are area effect weapons. Thats why they are so devestating, both to troops and to infrastructure ... simulatenously.

Catapults are poor enough, weakening them hurts. And its totally wrong to have them lose effectiveness against BIG STATIONARY TARGETS LIKE BUILDINGS yet NOT lose effectiveness agains small, mobile and adaptable defenders like troops in the field, esp. in woods! Historically cats were of far more common used in seiges then in open combat, regardless of the opening scene in Gladitor.



(Still, the tech trading changes made in 1.17 look very much like a killjoy and fun loser for the game, for me at least.)