Outposts and Airfields?

[Pacioli]

Do you ever use workers to build Outposts or Airfields? Using a worker to build an outpost seems wasteful to me. Building an airfield could have some benefits but I've never built one. What do you think?

 

[Aabraxan]

I rarely build outposts, but I build airfields pretty frequently. I usually go for conquest and domination victories and airfields are great. Each airfield can send only 1 unit per turn, but it can receive as many as you need. So I build a bunch of airfields on my home continent, then send a settler and a worker with my invasion force. Then: (1) Invade. (2) Found city. (3) Build airfield. (4) Begin airlifting units into invasion zone.

 

[Spoonwood]

Neither.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

I suppose there are those rare circumstances that an Outpost would be useful, but who keeps it in mind to take advantage of it. I never do.

I've gotten the transport relay down to an art and it is still a bit labor intensive to move any great number of units, I definitly need to try out Aabraxan's airlift concept. I usually have an excess of slaves anyway.

 

[ThinkTank]

I'm with Aabraxan on the airfields.

I frequently build outposts, just for the hell of it, mostly on pointy cape like coastal locations, mostly because I feel they belong there. They're thoroughly useless, but on these spots they somehow just look right to me.

 

[morm]

I will occasionally build an airfield on the fringe of my territory to give me an extra few spaces of bomber range, especially if it means being able to target a major city where I otherwise wouldn't be able to.

I like the idea of building an airfield instead of buying an airport in the city I capture. Good call.

 

[timerover51]

I use a strategy similar to Aabraxan, but normally build both an airport in a city and an airfield next to it to send the maximum number of units per turn to the airfield in the invaded territory.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

I use a strategy similar to Aabraxan, but normally build both an airport in a city and an airfield next to it to send the maximum number of units per turn to the airfield in the invaded territory.

How does building the airport "increase the number of units per turn?" My impression was an airfield could receive any number of airlifted units.

 

[The Professor]

Okay, I had one game where I built outposts. I was going for a conquest victory, and at the stage where I had to raze cities to avoid winning by domination. So, I was getting a lot of slaves that I didn't really need. So, to avoid barbarian camps popping up in unoccupied territory, I used the slaves to build outposts. Mostly because I could.

 

[Theov]

Get an enemy city and airport units to it, then make a few outposts, so you make a 'lane' to said enemy city. Get units and artillery in the outposts and watch the weak enemy units kamikaze at the city like lemmings. (which is a myth BTW that they commit mass suicide)

 

[TheOverseer714]

You mean fortresses?

 

[timerover51]

How does building the airport "increase the number of units per turn?" My impression was an airfield could receive any number of airlifted units.

It increases the number of units that I can send in a turn, since I like to get Wonders that auto-produce units.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

Originally Posted by Fiddlin Nero
How does building the airport "increase the number of units per turn?" My impression was an airfield could receive any number of airlifted units.

It increases the number of units that I can send in a turn, since I like to get Wonders that auto-produce units.

Well that explained nothing!

 

[Aabraxan]

Fiddlin Nero, you're correct that an airfield can receive any number of units in a turn. What
i think timerover51 is saying that building an airfield next to a city with an airport increases the number of units he can send per turn. He can then 1 unit per turn from the airfield & 1 from the airport.


Edit: I think. Haven't built airports in a while.

 

[timerover51]

Originally Posted by Fiddlin Nero
How does building the airport "increase the number of units per turn?" My impression was an airfield could receive any number of airlifted units.

Well that explained nothing!

An airport or airfield can only send one unit per turn, but they can receive as many units as you send them. I have buildings that auto-produce units, so I can have a city producing two unit per turn. To get them sent out, I use both an airport in the city and an airfield next to the city connected to it by a railroad. As I also tend to stockpile units in my capital early in the game, I normally have plenty of units there later in the game to send out as well. Therefore, I need all of the sending airports and airfields I can get to hit the opposition. As I normally play large to huge+ water maps, I need the airlift to get units into combat faster than naval transport.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

Okay, that makes sense, from the sending end. I would probably build two airfields instead of an airport & airfield if I had the workers to spare. As a pollution producer I don't care for airports; the air unit healing and veteran builds don't tip the scales for me either. I found it interesting that Stealth Bombers don't have an experience value attached to them.

 

[Theov]

You mean fortresses?

huh?
What's an outpost?

 

[Daeron]

This is from my latest game. I had workers to spare, a more than one continent to deal with and tundra I wasn't using. The advantage is that you don't have to commit your forces to specific continents too early.

 

[Arexander]

Theov: An Outpost is a building made by(from ) a worker that eliminates for of war 1 tile around the center tile where the outpost is on open land, two tiles on a hill and 3 tiles on mountains. I guess you meant either fortresses, which give you 50% defencive bonus for units on it, barricades, which are an upgrade of fortresses and add 50% more bonus (Conquests only) or Radar Towers (also made "from" workers) which give you 25% defencive bonus for units inside it's radius (a square of 5x5 tiles).