So, I had this idea for something to add into the main game without harming balance. I've always had a soft spot for the poor little scout units in civ games and I was delighted to find that they were a bit more useful in Civ V, especially with the benifits of early world discovery. However, the usefulness of scouts drops off VERY quickly, especially in terms of any combat usefulness, and without a lucky ruin find, they don't upgrade to anything else, making them the only military unit stuck at one strength for the entire game. With Civ V's emphasis on making every unit count and rewarding those who manage to keep their warrior alive for an entire game, from club to mech infantry, it seemed strange that scouts still run through the world with a the same 4000 BC cloak and staff while jet fighters fly overhead.
Thus, I came up with the idea for an upgrade path for scouts, enhancing their usefulness in line with the rest of the game's progression. I'll start by giving my rough ideas for what the new units (three in total) would be like in the game, then explain the thought behind each of them. Keep in mind that, like normal military units, each new rank will require much more production, meaning that, while they will be cheaper and faster than many units, they won't produce in one turn like current mid-game scouts.
Scout -
Stays as is
Lookout -Discovered with Optics
+1 view range
+1 movement range while embarked
+1 extra view range at sea
Embarked unit embarks as a lookout galley which can't be captured by enemies as a civilian unit (can be attacked and destroyed with ranged attacks, but can't perform ranged attacks itself) Less defensive strength than a galley or trireme (meant to outrun opponents) Can not enter ocean
Has land attack strength about equal to a spearman (minus the cavalry bonus)
Rationale:
The lookout (better name pending; taking suggestions!) is an extension of what the scout was originally made for. Scout units are primarily focused in removing fog of war, discovering ruins, city-states, and barbarian camps, and locating new land to settle or fight over. It appears at the same time units are first allowed to embark, expanding the land exploration qualities of the scout to the coastal areas. The defensive nature of the ship makes it a far better choice than allowing any other embarked land unit to scout, while allowing the trireme to maintain its usefulness in combat. On land, it has the potential to clear out weaker barbarians, though not as effectively as the horseman or swordsman that come at the same time. It would also receive limited access to military experience bonuses, meaning that a spearman would still function better in combat. This would allow the lookout to address extremely small threats that it comes across (such as dispatching archers) while maintaining its primary role of scouting. As the map becomes less and less unknown, the lookout's superior view range makes it useful in military groups to spot enemies before they spot you.
Explorer -Discovered with Astronomy
All bonuses of lookout plus:
+1 land movement range
View not obstructed by forests, jungles, or hills.
Embarked unit embarks as a carrack. 1 movement range faster than a caravel. 1 more view range than caravel. Good defense, but no attack ability.
Has land strength about equal to pikeman (minus the cavalry bonus)
Rationale:
Heavily influenced by the "age of sail" era of history, explorers would fill a huge omission in Civ V's naval gameplay, namely the historical voyages of history's great land-searchers. As the game is now, the first cross-ocean vessel is the caravel. Though these were indeed the models of some of the first ships able to do such a voyage, larger flagships would make more sense for something as epic as discovering an entire new half of one's planet. Unlike the in-game caravel, these ships would most likely be filled with crew and provisions, not cannons.
Thus, the promotion from lookout to explorer would be one of much higher naval importance than land scouting. This is because, in the average non-pangea map, by the time you're ready to study astronomy, most of the land on your home continent should be revealed (at least, if you've been scouting; if not, explorers wouldn't interest you anyway). Explorers should be, as the name implies, the ones who explore the world. They should be the ones who prove that the planet is round, they should be the ones to make the first peaceful contact with unknown civilizations, and they should supply the first land units to set foot on the soil. Caravels, frigates, battleships, submarines... those should all come AFTER first contact.
The land scouting abilities of seeing through forests and hills would further improve the usefulness of an explorer in already-explored territory, such as the aforementioned military-spotting tactic. 3 land movement range would allow them to remain faster than most units, combined with the scout's natural ability to ignore terrain costs. This would allow them to make quick surveys of front lines, even though a mounted charge over flat land would still be faster. The pikeman-similar combat ability keeps their combat rating competative, yet still very low in a world of longswords and muskets. Still, they could be used as an improvised combat unit to take out an undefended trebuchet, cannon, or crossbow. They could also defend themselves after arriving on lands where barbarians have had a chance to advance unhindered.
Recon -Discovered with Electricity
All bonuses of explorer and lookout plus:
Invisible to enemy while in hill, forest, or jungle tile (with no enemy adjacent)
+1 land movement range
+1 view range
Embarked unit embarks as a patrol boat. Similar to carrack, but slightly weaker to fire from modern warships. Movement speed matches the fastest moving ship in the game.
Has land strength about equal to a rifleman
Rationale:
The final unit in the scout chain would be the recon, a lightly armed team of spotters on a modern battlefield. They would arrive at roughly the same time as infantry, which, of course, they'd be considerably weaker than.
At this point in the game, the idea of scouting has shifted once again. More than likely, you have discovered every inch of the map worth discovering, and the seas are ready to be replaced with high-tech battleships and carriers. Land and civ discovery is no longer an issue, but keeping tabs on your enemy very much is. Thus the recon's role becomes purely one of watching movement. With the highest land view range in the game, a well placed recon would allow you to see a lot more of the enemy than just the front lines. This could be used in all kinds of settings, from checking an area for anti-air guns before a bombing, right up to spotting that spaceship part enroute to your enemy's capital.
The other powerful unique ability that would be introduced (and I'm actually not sure if this should or should not be included, or if its even possible, especially with AI limitations) is the ability to hide in hills and trees in enemy territory, much like a submarine, but on land. This represents the fact that they're units not intended for direct combat, and introduces a concept of infiltration. Combined with the recon's ability to see long distances, the unit could slip into a forest deep in enemy territory and just... wait. All the while, you would be able to see what your enemy was up to, and even jump out for a well-timed (though possibily suicidal) flank attack.
And finally, the explorer's carrack would be upgraded to the recon's patrol boat, a light, fast, modern ship. Like all other scout vessels, it would not be able to attack, but could not be taken like an embarked civilian. However, with MUCH more advanced weaponry on the seas, a tiny ship like that would be toast if targetted by, say, the massive guns of a battleship. The primary use of this unit on the sea would be speed. As fast as any other naval unit in the game, its speed would reflect its "first in, first out" nature, making it an ideal ship to send out to start a cross-ocean invasion, locating a good insertion point or discovering a dangerous shore from afar. With infiltration tactics, the recon's speed would help them get into position faster, or use the sea to flank an enemy from a direction that would normally take too long to get to.
By the end-game, a recon's combat abilities would be nearly non-existant, though they still would be able to defend themselves much better than the current scout unit. Well-fortified and sticking to rough terrain, they could survive attacks from units that discovered them with enough time to run away, but direct aggressive combat would be a painful failure.
---
And so, that's my idea! The data portion of things is something I could probably handle, but I'd worry about the need for any art or animation, and of course, I'd need plenty of people to test it for balance.
I'd love to know what people think. If I can get the idea down solidly enough, I may just have to start studying and find a way to get these into the game! All ideas can be tweaked for balance, realism, or game engine constraints. For example, I'm VERY unsure of the balance of the recon's invisibility. That's the only one that seems like a big "game-changer". The idea here is most definitely to support Civ V gameplay, not to make a new, different game.
Thanks for your interest!
Thus, I came up with the idea for an upgrade path for scouts, enhancing their usefulness in line with the rest of the game's progression. I'll start by giving my rough ideas for what the new units (three in total) would be like in the game, then explain the thought behind each of them. Keep in mind that, like normal military units, each new rank will require much more production, meaning that, while they will be cheaper and faster than many units, they won't produce in one turn like current mid-game scouts.
Scout -
Stays as is
Lookout -Discovered with Optics
+1 view range
+1 movement range while embarked
+1 extra view range at sea
Embarked unit embarks as a lookout galley which can't be captured by enemies as a civilian unit (can be attacked and destroyed with ranged attacks, but can't perform ranged attacks itself) Less defensive strength than a galley or trireme (meant to outrun opponents) Can not enter ocean
Has land attack strength about equal to a spearman (minus the cavalry bonus)
Rationale:
The lookout (better name pending; taking suggestions!) is an extension of what the scout was originally made for. Scout units are primarily focused in removing fog of war, discovering ruins, city-states, and barbarian camps, and locating new land to settle or fight over. It appears at the same time units are first allowed to embark, expanding the land exploration qualities of the scout to the coastal areas. The defensive nature of the ship makes it a far better choice than allowing any other embarked land unit to scout, while allowing the trireme to maintain its usefulness in combat. On land, it has the potential to clear out weaker barbarians, though not as effectively as the horseman or swordsman that come at the same time. It would also receive limited access to military experience bonuses, meaning that a spearman would still function better in combat. This would allow the lookout to address extremely small threats that it comes across (such as dispatching archers) while maintaining its primary role of scouting. As the map becomes less and less unknown, the lookout's superior view range makes it useful in military groups to spot enemies before they spot you.
Explorer -Discovered with Astronomy
All bonuses of lookout plus:
+1 land movement range
View not obstructed by forests, jungles, or hills.
Embarked unit embarks as a carrack. 1 movement range faster than a caravel. 1 more view range than caravel. Good defense, but no attack ability.
Has land strength about equal to pikeman (minus the cavalry bonus)
Rationale:
Heavily influenced by the "age of sail" era of history, explorers would fill a huge omission in Civ V's naval gameplay, namely the historical voyages of history's great land-searchers. As the game is now, the first cross-ocean vessel is the caravel. Though these were indeed the models of some of the first ships able to do such a voyage, larger flagships would make more sense for something as epic as discovering an entire new half of one's planet. Unlike the in-game caravel, these ships would most likely be filled with crew and provisions, not cannons.
Thus, the promotion from lookout to explorer would be one of much higher naval importance than land scouting. This is because, in the average non-pangea map, by the time you're ready to study astronomy, most of the land on your home continent should be revealed (at least, if you've been scouting; if not, explorers wouldn't interest you anyway). Explorers should be, as the name implies, the ones who explore the world. They should be the ones who prove that the planet is round, they should be the ones to make the first peaceful contact with unknown civilizations, and they should supply the first land units to set foot on the soil. Caravels, frigates, battleships, submarines... those should all come AFTER first contact.
The land scouting abilities of seeing through forests and hills would further improve the usefulness of an explorer in already-explored territory, such as the aforementioned military-spotting tactic. 3 land movement range would allow them to remain faster than most units, combined with the scout's natural ability to ignore terrain costs. This would allow them to make quick surveys of front lines, even though a mounted charge over flat land would still be faster. The pikeman-similar combat ability keeps their combat rating competative, yet still very low in a world of longswords and muskets. Still, they could be used as an improvised combat unit to take out an undefended trebuchet, cannon, or crossbow. They could also defend themselves after arriving on lands where barbarians have had a chance to advance unhindered.
Recon -Discovered with Electricity
All bonuses of explorer and lookout plus:
Invisible to enemy while in hill, forest, or jungle tile (with no enemy adjacent)
+1 land movement range
+1 view range
Embarked unit embarks as a patrol boat. Similar to carrack, but slightly weaker to fire from modern warships. Movement speed matches the fastest moving ship in the game.
Has land strength about equal to a rifleman
Rationale:
The final unit in the scout chain would be the recon, a lightly armed team of spotters on a modern battlefield. They would arrive at roughly the same time as infantry, which, of course, they'd be considerably weaker than.
At this point in the game, the idea of scouting has shifted once again. More than likely, you have discovered every inch of the map worth discovering, and the seas are ready to be replaced with high-tech battleships and carriers. Land and civ discovery is no longer an issue, but keeping tabs on your enemy very much is. Thus the recon's role becomes purely one of watching movement. With the highest land view range in the game, a well placed recon would allow you to see a lot more of the enemy than just the front lines. This could be used in all kinds of settings, from checking an area for anti-air guns before a bombing, right up to spotting that spaceship part enroute to your enemy's capital.
The other powerful unique ability that would be introduced (and I'm actually not sure if this should or should not be included, or if its even possible, especially with AI limitations) is the ability to hide in hills and trees in enemy territory, much like a submarine, but on land. This represents the fact that they're units not intended for direct combat, and introduces a concept of infiltration. Combined with the recon's ability to see long distances, the unit could slip into a forest deep in enemy territory and just... wait. All the while, you would be able to see what your enemy was up to, and even jump out for a well-timed (though possibily suicidal) flank attack.
And finally, the explorer's carrack would be upgraded to the recon's patrol boat, a light, fast, modern ship. Like all other scout vessels, it would not be able to attack, but could not be taken like an embarked civilian. However, with MUCH more advanced weaponry on the seas, a tiny ship like that would be toast if targetted by, say, the massive guns of a battleship. The primary use of this unit on the sea would be speed. As fast as any other naval unit in the game, its speed would reflect its "first in, first out" nature, making it an ideal ship to send out to start a cross-ocean invasion, locating a good insertion point or discovering a dangerous shore from afar. With infiltration tactics, the recon's speed would help them get into position faster, or use the sea to flank an enemy from a direction that would normally take too long to get to.
By the end-game, a recon's combat abilities would be nearly non-existant, though they still would be able to defend themselves much better than the current scout unit. Well-fortified and sticking to rough terrain, they could survive attacks from units that discovered them with enough time to run away, but direct aggressive combat would be a painful failure.
---
And so, that's my idea! The data portion of things is something I could probably handle, but I'd worry about the need for any art or animation, and of course, I'd need plenty of people to test it for balance.
I'd love to know what people think. If I can get the idea down solidly enough, I may just have to start studying and find a way to get these into the game! All ideas can be tweaked for balance, realism, or game engine constraints. For example, I'm VERY unsure of the balance of the recon's invisibility. That's the only one that seems like a big "game-changer". The idea here is most definitely to support Civ V gameplay, not to make a new, different game.
Thanks for your interest!
