Idea for Civ VI: Portaging

[Newbstep]

One thing I think is missing in Civ V is the ability to portage the boats. Make it take longer to move them on land and make them vulnerable to ground troops at the same time, I just can't tell you how many times in the game this would have been very useful yet more challenging.

Maybe make the portage time longer for larger boats, and quicker for smaller boats. With little defense while crossing the ground, leading to a larger defensive strategy for the ground troops to protect.

Just an idea I guess.

 

[rschissler]

What are you talking about? There are no boats to portage.

The best and most challenging thing would be to get rid of embarkation, and go back to the Civ IV way of building transports.

 

[Browd]

Moderator Action: Moved to Ideas & Suggestions.

 

[Jewman]

This would work great with a canal system as well. Canals would be tile improvements and have huge tactical value

 

[Newbstep]

What are you talking about? There are no boats to portage.

The best and most challenging thing would be to get rid of embarkation, and go back to the Civ IV way of building transports.

Um, yeah there are. Quite a few actually. I'm talking about being able to move boats across land (portaging), like in the real world. And yes I agree I like the transport system better as well.

 

[Boris Gudenuf]

Um, yeah there are. Quite a few actually. I'm talking about being able to move boats across land (portaging), like in the real world. And yes I agree I like the transport system better as well.

Give that the minimum turn time is 1 year, that gives plenty of time for the unit to build or acquire boats and transport itself. What is missing, is the specialized construction and design required for Amphibious Assault boats, so after a certain period (about when Great War Infantry come along) you would have to build Assault craft or take a major hit to combat power when trying to attack from the sea.

Also, there were some 'transports' that had a considerable combat power for their time: the Viking longboat and Medieval European Cog come to mind. The former basically was a transport that could sail up rivers, beach anywhere, and provide a platform for its crew, all armed to the teeth, to fight from. Vikings/Danes using Longboats should have a melee attack factor when embarked and be able to sail up rivers and attack without penalty from the 'transports'. The cog, by contrast, was equipped with 'castles' at either end for missile troops, so even though it was basically a freighter, when carrying troops they get both a melee and a 'pre-melee' ranged factor (basically, troops in a Cog get an Impi-like combat ability) and, like the longboat, they can attack at sea.

There are probably other examples, but you get the idea - we need more variety on the seas to get the 'full flavor' of the variations in transport and combat craft.