Making forts more useful

[Gamewizard]

As for Forts, my biggest pet peeve with them is how melee units use them: if I choose to have them attack a unit and they kill it, they leave the fort and probably die.

Thus, I would like to see melee units landing a killing blow return to the fort immediately.

I think this would devalue mounted units even more. If you want to attack and retreat, mounted already fills that role.

 

[adsin15]

Simple Fort improvements:

1) retain the 50% defensive Bonus, add upkeep cost of 1 GPT (+1 when Flight is discovered)
2) forts constructed on resources INSIDE YOUR TERRITORY will connect them to your trade routes
3) forts connected to at least 1 tile of ocean/lake will be able to house 1 boat unit. Forts now have incredibly important strategic value
4) forts will be able to house 2 air/missile units. Also adds to strategic value.
5) forts should provide a 1 tile ranged attack equal to the DEFENSIVE strength of any unit stationed inside it. This will eliminated the ******** situation of having to leave your fort to destroy a weakened enemy unit outside it. It will also make forts useful against naval units.
6) all these should be true of Citadels as well, except of course Citadels are much more powerful.
7) constructing a fort should automatically construct a road on that tile as well. It's annoying having to build a fort them build a road on the same tile. Just a personal preference.
8) forts may be attacked by melee naval units

 

[UWHabs]

Simple Fort improvements:

1) retain the 50% defensive Bonus, add upkeep cost of 1 GPT (+1 when Flight is discovered)
2) forts constructed on resources INSIDE YOUR TERRITORY will connect them to your trade routes
3) forts connected to at least 1 tile of ocean/lake will be able to house 1 boat unit. Forts now have incredibly important strategic value
4) forts will be able to house 2 air/missile units. Also adds to strategic value.
5) forts should provide a 1 tile ranged attack equal to the DEFENSIVE strength of any unit stationed inside it. This will eliminated the ******** situation of having to leave your fort to destroy a weakened enemy unit outside it. It will also make forts useful against naval units.
6) all these should be true of Citadels as well, except of course Citadels are much more powerful.
7) constructing a fort should automatically construct a road on that tile as well. It's annoying having to build a fort them build a road on the same tile. Just a personal preference.
8) forts may be attacked by melee naval units

I was about to post in this thread, but this is about exactly what I would suggest. Add in forts giving a small bonus to healing, too, since it seems odd that a unit wouldn't heal better in a fort than in a cattle pasture.

For late game, however, I'd say it might make sense to not have them house airplanes. I'd add back in the old "airfield" if you want to house a plane in the open. I don't necessarily want my planes at the front lines, but I'd rather not always house them in cities.

 

[gunslinger6792]

seeing as i've only had two times where i built forts and they worked i like this idea. making forts a viable tactic would very intersting. perhaps in modern eras tanks or airplanes can have bonus against forts to reflect how in mor recent times forts have largely become oppsolete. the real question is though will the AI ever be able to use them effectivily.

 

[Kurtbob]

For those of you interested, about a year ago many members discussed using forts to create outposts that could culture bomb anywhere (this is only one of many ideas found in the thread).

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=442049

Give it a read. Perhaps some new ideas can come from it.

 

[Moriboe]

I don't like the idea of forts giving a ranged attack to non-ranged units. Historically forts were mostly used as safe bases of operation. Enemies could usually choose to ignore and bypass them, if they were not interested in the thing it was there to protect (e.g. a harbor). With a ranged attack they would stop units in their tracks (due to zone of control) and blast them with near impunity. Like cities.

My suggestion: make them increase healing (as others mentioned) and increase the unit's defense by an absolute amount instead of a percentage, making it viable to garison ranged units inside (without the immediate need to move them out if the enemy is next tile).

 

[Gucumatz]

Maybe have a limit then - on distance of forts from one another. A Fort can only have a "one tile range attack - Forts must be built 2-3 tiles apart from one another. So while they become tactical strongpoints they won't be everywhere (which wouldn't be too realistic either)