Ships
The suggestions in this category are mainly to reflect these points:
1) State sponsored piracy has virtually disappeared during 19th century. Any pirate attacks since have been made by criminal gangs (ie Barbarians).
2) Basic ship tree should evolve into several branches/classes: Boats (fast), Destroyers (against submarines), Cruisers (basic combat ship), Battleship (expensive, but destructive, bad against small ships and submarines).
3) Many ships have ranged attacks that inflict NO damage, since their collateral limit is 0.
4) Many ships have rather low Strength for their era, this is especially obvious by endgame
5) Abilities of some ships are inconsistent and often plain weird (towards end of game)
6) Some upgrade paths are odd (to say the least).
7) Many ships have a non-functional ranged attack ability. It doesn’t do any damage, because their iAirCombat (Strength of attack) and iAirCombatLimit (maximum damage ranged attack can inflict) are both set to ZERO. As a general rule, I’d suggest setting the first one to one half of the unit’s Strength and the second one to 50 for pre-modern ships and Destroyers, 75 for Cruisers and finally 90 for Battleships.
8) There is a problem with INVISIBLE_SUBMARINE vs INVISIBLE_STEALTH. Until that is resolved, I’d strongly suggest that INVISIBLE_STEALTH tag be NOT used for naval units (leads to illogical weird things and headaches such as Fusion Destroyer and Submarine being completely unable to see each other). Also, making a ~3000 ton ship actually invisible requires a considerable amount of handwavium.
9) All modern ships should have the ability “Ignores movement costs” submarines should also have following abilities: Can pass through impassable terrain, Can explore rival territory, Invisible to most unit (for the time being: INVISIBLE_SUBMARINE)
Pre-modern ships:
War Canoe
Has the same Strength as Canoe. The only difference is +25% bonus vs animals.
Suggestion: Consider increasing Strength of War Canoe to 3, or giving it a bonus against Canoe and Raft
Galleass
Both upgrades take ages to research.
Suggestion: Instead of Frigate and Ship of the Line, it should upgrade into Sloop and Sloop of War.
Sloop of War
Upgrade takes too long to research
Suggestion: Instead of Ironclad it should upgrade into Man of War.
Ship of the Line (Man of War)
Historically, Man of War is a term for large, heavily armed Ships of the Line (rates 1-4 in UK system). Therefore I suggest to switch the names of Man of War and Ship of the Line.
Suggestion: Switch name
Man of War (Ship of the Line)
The upgrade into Ironclad doesn’t make much sense. Destroyers aren’t a replacement for Ships of Line/Men-of War and upgrade into Ironclad removes its ability to transport troops.
Suggestions: Switch name (see above for reason), upgrades into Pre-Dreadnought
Frigate
Neither the ships before it, nor those after (except Iron Frigate) have an ability to carry anything.
Suggestion: Remove transport ability
Iron Frigate
Neither the ships before it (except Frigate), nor those after have an ability to carry anything. For some reason, it is also SLOWER than ships both before and after it.
Suggestions: Remove transport ability, increase Movement to 5
Ironclad
Nothing should upgrade into the Ironclad, since it was a new type of ship (see Ship of the Line entry above)
Suggestions: Remove transport ability (or give it to all succeeding ships)
Paddle Steamer
A little too powerful for its time.
Suggestion: Lower Strength to 22
Advanced Ironclad (Early Destroyer)
This unit sits at the perfect position in the tree, corresponding roughly to 1870s IRL, when modern ship classes came to be. As such, it should be renamed to Advanced Ironclad (at the time the concept of Destroyers didn’t even exist, and even Torpedo Boats that would eventually create a need for them were brand new). This unit thus serves as the point of origin of all modern ship (but not boat) categories.
Suggestions: Increase Movement to 6, change name, upgrades into Early Destroyer (Destroyer)
Modern ships:
These come in many classes. Starting from the smallest:
Boats - fast, cheap, good against capital ships, chance to withdraw from combat, armed with torpedos, attack submarines are an offshoot (that’s why a sub is always called a boat). Also includes frigates. No bombardment ability.
Destroyers - fast, protect other ships from submarines and boats, small chance to withdraw from combat. Bombardment about 30% weaker than contemporary artillery.
Cruisers - main combat vessels, armed with many guns, good against aircraft. Bombardment on par with same era artillery.
Battleships - amazing firepower, but weak against subs, boats and planes, slow. Bombardment about 50% more powerful than contemporary artillery.
Carriers - carry planes, they are also pretty fast. Well armed (later WW2 era carriers were armed as heavily as cruisers), but vulnerable to planes. No bombardment ability (they probably could, but all those guns were intended for defense, so let’s stick with that).
Submarines come in two types
Attack Submarines - for killing capital ships and other subs, chance to withdraw from combat
Missile Submarines - stealthy missile carriers, small chance to withdraw from combat
Transports and merchants are self-explanatory.
Note that many units are heavily reworked. Names in parentheses point to graphics used.
Torpedo Boat
Bane of Ironclads and Pre-Dreadnoughts in late 19th century
Stats: Movement 7, Strength 30, +100% vs Pre-Dreadnought, +50% vs Wooden ships, Iron Frigate, Dreadnought and Ironclad, 20% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Assault Ship
Assault Ship
WW2 era torpedo boats, VERY fast for its time
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 40, +100% vs Pre-Dreadnought, Wooden ships, Iron Frigate, Dreadnought and Ironclad, +50% vs Advanced Ironclad and Battlecruiser, 25% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Patrol Boat
Patrol Boat (Coast Guard Cutter)
Effectively a cheap light destroyer
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 60, +50% vs Wooden and Steam ships, 25% Withdrawal chance, 30% chance to intercept Aircraft, can spot Submarines, upgrades into Patrol Frigate
Patrol Frigate (Missile Cruiser)
Fast, light, modern, multi role vessel, can carry a missile for extra oomph
Stats: Movement 11, Strength 80, +50% vs Wooden and Steam ships, carries 1 missile, 25% Withdrawal chance, 50% chance to intercept Aircraft, can spot Submarines, upgrades into Stealth Frigate
Stealth Frigate (Modern Frigate)
Cheap alternative to futuristic destroyers. LCS can be considered an example.
Stats: Movement 12, Strength 100, +50% vs Wooden, Steam and Diesel ships, carries 2 missiles, 30% Withdrawal chance, 80% chance to intercept Aircraft, can spot Submarines, upgrades into Fusion Destroyer and Underwater Plane
Early Destroyer (Destroyer)
There are currently TWO ships called Destroyer. This is the first (steam) one.
Suggestions: Change name
Stats: Strength 50, Movement 8, can see Submarines, Defends first against Nautilus and Early Submarine, 20% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-14% / Turn), upgrades into Destroyer
Destroyer
WW 2 era Destroyer (the Diesel Ship type Destroyer).
Stats: Strength 80, Movement 9, can see Submarines, Defends first against Nautilus, Early Submarine and Submarine, 25% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-16% / Turn), upgrades into Stealth Destroyer.
Stealth Destroyer
IRL, these would correspond to the DD-X destroyers.
Stats: Strength 120, Movement 11, Can see Submarines, Defends first against Nautilus, Early Submarine, Submarine, Attack Submarine, Concrete Submarine, Nuclear Submarine and Stealth Submarine, 80% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-18% / Turn), upgrades into Fusion Destroyer.
Fusion Destroyer
Futuristic destroyers from Empire Earth 2.
Stats: Movement 13, Strength 160, Can see Submarines, Defends first against Nautilus, Early Submarine, Submarine, Attack Submarine, Concrete Submarine, Underwater Plane, Nuclear Submarine, Stealth Submarine and Fusion Submarine, 90% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-20% / Turn)
Battlecruiser
Firepower similar to that of a Dreadnought in a faster, but less armored package.
Stats: Movement 7, Strength 90, -10% in coastal waters, -30% vs Submarines, 25% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-18% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 60% to 1 unit), upgrades into Cruiser.
Cruiser (Heavy Cruiser)
Bane of smaller vessels, also of use against planes.
Stats: Movement 8, Strength 110, -10% in coastal waters, -30% vs Submarines, 50% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-20% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 60% to 2 units), upgrades into AEGIS Cruiser.
AEGIS Cruiser
Excellent against planes. Mostly a defensive unit though.
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 120, -10% in coastal waters, -30% vs Submarines, 80% chance to intercept Aircraft, can see Submarines, can bombard city defenses (-20% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 75% to 2 units), upgrades into Missile Cruiser.
Missile Cruiser (Littoral Combat Ship)
Littoral Combat Ship is a type of Frigate (and this unit doesn’t really look like either of the two LCS hulls anyway). It does make a lovely missile cruiser though.
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 140, carries 8 missiles, -10% in coastal waters, -30% vs Submarines, 90% chance to intercept Aircraft, can see Submarines, can bombard city defenses (-20% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 75% to 2 units), upgrades into Fusion Cruiser.
Fusion Cruiser
Futuristic seaborne missile battery.
Stats: Movement 12, Strength 200, carries 8 missiles, -10% in coastal waters, -30% vs Submarines, 95% chance to intercept Aircraft, can see Submarines, can bombard city defenses (-25% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 75% to 3 units)
Pre-Dreadnought
Heavy ironclads of late 19th century
Stats: Movement 5, Strength 60, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, can bombard city defenses (-16% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 60% to 1 unit), upgrades into Battlecruiser and Dreadnought
Dreadnought
WW1 era battleships
Stats: Movement 6, Strength 100, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, 25% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-20% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 60% to 3 units), upgrades into Battleship
Battleship
WW2 era battleships (Iowa, Bismarck, King George V,...)
Stats: Movement 7, Strength 110, range 2, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, 35% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-25% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 70% to 5 units), upgrades into Missile Battleship
Missile Battleship (Battleship, the second)
Cold War battleship such as modernised Iowa class. Soviet Kirov class is about halfway between this and Missile Cruiser.
Stats: Movement 9, Strength 150, range 2, carries 4 Missiles, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, 60% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-30% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 80% to 8 units), upgrades into Fusion Battleship
Fusion Battleship
Futuristic dreadnought, bristling with railguns
Stats: Movement 11, Strength 220, Range 3, carries 4 Missiles, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, 70% chance to intercept Aircraft, can bombard city defenses (-35% / Turn), causes collateral damage (max 90% to 10 units)
Seaplane Tender (Cruiser)
A predecessor to the Aircraft Carrier. Cruiser model chose because of seaplane service station at the aft.
Stats: Movement 8, Strength 80, -10% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, carries 2 Seaplanes, upgrades into Early Carrier
Early Carrier
Early WW2 carriers.
Stats: Movement 8, Strength 80, cannot attack, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, carries 3 Airplanes, upgrades into Aircraft Carrier
Aircraft Carrier
Late WW2 carriers (such as Midway class).
Stats: Movement 8, Strength 100, cannot attack, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, carries 5 Airplanes, upgrades into Nuclear Carrier
Nuclear Carrier
Modern supercarrier.
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 120, cannot attack, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, carries 8 Airplanes, upgrades into Fusion Carrier
Fusion Carrier
Futuristic carrier.
Stats: Movement 12, Strength 150, cannot attack, -25% in coastal waters, -50% vs Submarines, carries 10 Airplanes
Nautilus
Nautilus in Jules Verne’s books attacked by ramming its target. This would be very effective against wooden ships, less so against Ironclad ships (in the novel it does pierce inch thick iron plate of an armored frigate) and downright suicidal against massive all-steel ships of late 19th and 20th century (HMS Dreadnought had belt 4-11 inches thick AND made of good steel).
Stats: Movement 5, Strength 30, Targets transport ships first, +100% vs Wood Ships, +50% vs Iron Frigate and Ironclad, -50% vs Diesel Ships and Nuclear Ships, -50% defense, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 25% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Early Submarine
Early Submarine (Submarine)
Early submarines were torpedo boats capable of submerging only for a few hours.
Stats: Movement 6, Strength 45, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, +50% vs Wood Ships, -25% defense, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 25% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Submarine
Note: “Carriers and transport ships” means all of them. Unfortunately, they are not members of a single group (like Submarines, or Nuclear Ships). For clarity’s sake, they are:
Transport ships: Galley, Cog, Fluyt, Galleon, East Indiaman, Paddle Steamer, Transport, Landing Ship Tank, Fusion Transport
Carriers: Seaplane Tender, Early Carrier, Aircraft Carrier, Modern Carrier, Fusion Carrier
Submarine (UBoat)
Proper submarines were developed in Germany at the end of WW2 (type XXI and on), but similar developments have been soon achieved elsewhere.
Stats: Movement 8, Strength 60, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, +25% vs Wood Ships, -25% defense, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 35% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Attack Submarine
Attack Submarine
Cold War era submarines (Victor, etc.) designed for hunting vessels and covert operations.
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 80, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, -25% defense, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 40% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Stealth Submarine and Underwater Plane
Concrete Submarine (New Unit)
http://orbitalvector.com/Aquatic/Concrete Submarine/CONCRETE SUBMARINES.htm
(sadly, the original article in Popular Mechanics is no longer available)
This is a radical new design that was considered by the USSR in 1980s. As such, it should probably be a Spacepunk unit.
Stats: Movement 12, Strength 100, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, -25% defense, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 45% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Underwater Plane
Underwater Plane (New Unit)
http://www.electromagnetism.demon.co.uk/11124.htm
http://ergrassa.deviantart.com/art/TFTD-Barracuda-68624863
http://ergrassa.deviantart.com/art/TFTD-Manta-68732561
Basically an airplane that flies underwater. Not quite as fast as its airborne brethren, but very fast indeed.
Stats: Movement 14, Strength 150, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, carries 1 Spy/Explorer/Great Person/..., 50% Withdrawal chance
Nuclear Submarine
Large stealthy mobile missile bases of the Cold War.
Stats: Movement 9, Strength 75, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, carries 4 missiles, -25% defense, 35% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Stealth Submarine
Stealth Submarine
Advanced hunter-killer subs such as Seawolf class. They also have an ability to carry several dozen cruise missiles.
Stats: Movement 11, Strength 100, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, carries 4 missiles, Flank attack against transport ships, -25% defense, 40% Withdrawal chance, upgrades into Fusion Submarine
Fusion Submarine
Futuristic missile submarines
Stats: Movement 12, Strength 120, Can see Submarines, Targets carriers and transport ships first, Flank attack against carriers and transport ships, carries 6 missiles, -25% defense, 45% Withdrawal chance
Stiletto Boat
IRL, these are unarmed, short ranged speedboats used to ferry troops from transport ships to shore. The unit also lacks its own graphics.
Suggestion: Remove unit
Fusion Transport
Its stats are very different from other transport ships. I’d change them to these:
Stats: Movement 10, Strength 60, Carries 6 units, Can only defend
Cargo Ship (Qship)
IRL, Qships were VERY unsuccessful and their use was quickly abandoned. Since there aren’t that many merchant vessels, I’d use this model to add a new one.
Stats: Movement 5, Strength 16, Can conduct a trade mission, Can only defend, Cannot capture enemy cities or units, Can explore rival territory, Requires Steel AND Coal, Requires Industrialism
Merchant Vessel (Liberty Merchant)
Liberty ships were a very successful design and would make a great culture unit, but IMHO a generic unit should have a more generic name. Also, with the introduction of the Cargo Ship, this one can be moved up the tech tree a bit.
Suggestion: Increase Movement to 6, Increase Strength to 24, change Requires Iron into Requires Steel
Container Ship (Cargo Ship Merchant)
Name changed since the “Cargo Ship” is available sooner. Container ships are a more modern thing anyway. Also moved up the tech tree a bit.
Suggestion: Increase Strength to 30, change Requires Iron into Requires Steel, change Requires Coast Guard AND Submarine Warfare into Requires Consumerism AND Tourism
Patrol Hovercraft (Hovercraft)
These were used successfully during the Vietnam War.
Suggestions: Add Vertical flight to requirements, remove transport ability
Transport Hovercraft (Modern Hovercraft)
Modern military hovercraft are primarily used to transport troops from ships to beaches. No hovercraft will EVER be able to safely cross oceans. This is an inherent design flaw.
Suggestion: Remove ability to cross oceans
Advanced Hovercraft
Suggestion: Remove ability to cross oceans
I also agree with ls612 that the style doesn't match. However I may be able to merge the silhouette with the shield.
