Mines and Minefields

[Jabie]

I got to thinking. The FfH scenario in BtS has hunters in it that can lay traps. Can similar code be used to create minefields and minesweepers?

Minefields ought to be relatively easy to add. A Worker unit could build it as a terrain improvement - possibly using the barbed wire terrain from the Espana 1936 mod. The Munitions resource ought to required to build this improvement, in the same way that the railroad requires Coal.

Once built, the minefield could use the depot unit generation code to generate a Mine Unit with 0 movement, Hidden Nationality, 10 Str and random promotions such as "Anti-Personnel" +100% combat vs land units or "Anti-tank" + 150% vs tank units. Ideally these units should have 0 maintenance cost, possibly accomplished by reverting them to Barbarian control.

Because minefields are a terrain improvement, they can also be added to the map script at the start of the game, making exploration a little more dangerous.

 

[Refar]

The idea of mines sounds interesting, but i dont like the suggested mechanic of mine-units. I think it is possible to make terrain (improvements/features ?) damage units passing through it - Final Frontier uses this afaik.

 

[davidlallen]

Minefields as an invisible terrain bonus is an excellent idea. I have already figured out how to have an event happen once when you move onto an improvement (move a worker onto a horse resource! So I don't think any new unit type should be needed.

The mapscript could certainly place them, adding another danger to exploration. It might accidentally keep down the animal/barb population! I don't have any concept of "borders" for the wiped out civ, but I would expect minefields to be found along borders. Maybe, halfway between ruin sites.

A minesweeper promotion for any unit would be easy. The first level makes you immune, the second level gives you an action button to remove them. Maybe workers could have this type of action button, but it isn't clear how to do that -- to use an action button you have to move into the plot first, which seems fatal. Maybe the mine has a 75% chance to kill each unit moving into it; then you just need to bring four workers

One interesting problem is, how to teach the AI to use this type of improvement defensively. I would mine roads first, but also it could be used along a barb wasteland border instead of (or in addition to) fogbusters.

 

[Refar]

Maybe for the startests minefields could be just remnants of the past war, without the ability to make new ones.