[NFP] Idea: making forts work somewhat like Vampire castles

[Daigotsu Max]

I don't know what the general consensus, but I find forts (and their cousins, pa's and roman forts) useless and dreadfully boring. However, NFP gave us a similar yet much stronger variation, the vampire castle, which gives the capital the yields of all tiles around it.

So what would you say if forts could do something similar? I was thinking maybe half the total yield of tiles around them, to make it less overpowered. They would also have to be limited in number, like vampire castles are, but I feel it would make them more relevant.

 

[iammaxhailme]

Forts and their unique flavors are definitely fairly useless. Partly becuase you need military engineers to build them, and encampments aren't even really that useful either. I always thought they should do something like this:

Fort:
- Built by a builder but uses 3 charges, or a military engineer for 1 charge (something similar should be done with mountain tunnels, airstrips and missile silos)
- Same defensive bonus as usual.
- If in your territory, gives mounted units on them full line of sight of their range (i.e. can shoot over hills etc)
- If in your territory, units heal an extra 10 hp/turn unless the fort is surrounded
- Trade routes cannot be pillaged within 3 tiles of a fort occupied by the trade route's owner
- Gives 1 housing and 1 amenity if in your borders

Roman Fort (in addition to regular fort bonuses):
- Gives Era Score like other unique improvements (the Pa does already, why not the RF?)
- If the fort is within your borders, gives 1 engineer point/turn and an extra +1 housing, and the Bath can be "aimed" at the Fort instead of the city center if desired
- Upon discovering conservation, tile gets +1 culture for every era since it was made (continues all game). Eventually gives tourism after flight.

Pa (in addition to regular fort bonuses):
- Must be built on a hill, but can also be made on mountains by a Toa (makes the tile passable, but it doens't warp you like tunnels)
- Gives +1 food to any adjacent farms or plantations if the Pa is in your borders
- Upon discovering conservation, tile gets +1 faith for every era since it was made (continues all game). Eventually gives tourism after flight.

I don't think they should "suck" yields off tiles like Vampire castles. That's characteristic of the vampire's ability, after all.

 

[kaspergm]

I'd rather that the fort grants you control of territory around it, so it lets you acquire territory without building an actual city. Would be useful for grabbing some luxury or strategic resources in unclaimed land.

 

[Lily_Lancer]

We already have Alcazar and Great Walls.

 

[Datgingah]

if they're not trying to upend the way forts work entirely, could easily just give them +2 gold/turn, and then +1 production later on with some of the later techs. Loyalty too if thats doable.

 

[ehecatzin]

I've always found it such an odd design decision to have encampments function like forts/castles, if anything It's just a mustering ground. I would love it if they took a hard long look at forts and redeisgned forts with a proper upgrade path and let encampments be their own thing. Because really, forts are beyond useless except maybe for Poland.

Encampments:
-loose their own city fire
-now adds to city defense and attack

Forts
Make them start like they are now but provide extra field of vision (you could even change them to start as watchtowers).and make them so that they have to be upgraded into forts, now FORTS get their own HP but they can't attack, that way you can actually garrison ranged units in them, they can on medieval be upgraded to CASTLES that have extra HP, can fire back and claim surrounding territory, you could even make it so that castles generate loyalty on the city. Finally you can upgrade them into CITADELS that do all of the above stronger and provide healing per turn.

You could tie the amount of fortifications you can build to encampments, still, maybe building encampment districts and its building could rise the cap.

I just wish forts, castles and citadels were in the game, honestly the encampment hardly feels like a fortification.

 

[civfan_999]

I like the idea of forts having HP, but not the ability to shoot, so that they are essentially defensive buildings to protect your range units in strategic defensive positions. I have never built a single one, but if they functioned in this way, I might use them.

 

[writtendown]

I was just about to write a suggestion about this, glad to see someone already started the thread.

i would like to suggest this arrangement.

First i would degrade the encampment district into an improvement, which would also replace forts/castles and their corresponding uniques.

And then i would add a Fort/Castle district that could only be build next to a city-center. It would prereq. walls in the city. And it would give the city second bombard attack (from the castle district ofcourse) and would increase the overall city defenses.

It is not a major change, and could probably be easily modded, but it would make much more sense imo, then what is available currently.

 

[Naokaukodem]

IMO, if Forts are so useless, that's because the enemy will concentrate its forces on it, and take them. Ta, your fort is now occupied ! This is way too double-edgy. If our forts were getting pillaged if they are taken, that would get much much more interesting.

EDIT : oh, and make them possible on any tile, even forests and jungles, and make the bonuses stack.

 

[Lazy sweeper]

In A WWII scenario, there would be the need of various kind of forts, with underground tunnels... it's a staple of warfare.
The fact that are useless, is because the mechanics surrounding it all are somewhat wrongs.
Only way to know is to try and make a proper Normandy scenario.
Crusaders had forts everywhere to control trade routes.
Romans had forts all along the Danube, there could be no wall there.
There were also small cities/settlemnts, so actually barracks districts are much the same, but...
the core of the Roman empire was pretty far away in some instances.
They could build forts inside enemy territory. This is not possible in game.