Originally posted by Neomega
1) this problem is the same with any armored vehicle, the skies must be secured, or airpower severely limited, for any style of armored vehicle to survive. That said, mechs would have much more agility to attempt to dodge missile, perhaps by quickly sliding behind a berm or rubble.
2) "chicken leg" mechs could crouch with little difficulty.
3) Like a tank, a heavy calibre machine gun mounted somehwere could provide good anti-personnel defense.
4) Artillery is much less of a problem for a mech than a tank. Tanks have trouble switching course, once again a mechs agility could become it's friend with respect to artillery.
5) Infantry is the best defender of a city. Just like tanks, mechs would be extrememly vulnerable in cities.
6 & 7) technological challenges of mechs would be
a) powersource: probably have to be a small nuclear engine. The amount of energy required to make a machine walk is much more than to make it "drive", and
b) balance: The "chicken leg" style is much more stable than the "human" style, but still, a balance mechanism would have to be in place. But overall, running over tank ditches and such should be easier for a mech, as it wouldn't be much of a problem for a person.
I for one doupt mechs of todays RPG's and anime series ever become reality but automated mechanised units probably will.
About laser bean as a weapon : I would expect it to be quite impractical for military purposes for many reasons.
Power consumption would be quite large and range limited as laser bean dissipates in the air(sp? correct word, spreads out, does not stay together). Todays missiles and other conventional weapons provide much larger range than laser can ever provide. (With the upcoming fusion power in next 10 years the power requirements MAY be solved. MAYBE.)
Laser bean can be deflected with simple mirror thus if needed, laser deflecting coating can quite easily be developed for military purposes.
Targeting and hitting with laser would be quite hard not to mention waving red laser bean around to hit something would be 'bomb here' request for the enemy. Laser cant certainly be more accurate than heat seeking guided missile, can it?
(laser may or may not be usefull weapon in space depending how well our radars and guiding systems will function in space. But that is out of the scope of Civ3)
1. You expect a 10+ ton benemoth to be agile and fast enought to dodge a guided missile when jet has hard time with it?
2. I would expect multilegged unit to be more practical in extreme rough terrain. (even then usefull mostly in rocky terrain of moon or mars).
4.) Higly doupt agility of a 10+ ton 2 legged robot/mech and mobile (moving) tank IS quite agile.
6.) Nuclear engine would, how would I say this?, be quite impractical, not to say extremely dangerous to friend and foe alike. (radiation, cost, limited resource, volatile - nuclear EXLOSION). Fusion power research may bring solution in next 10 or so years tought.
b.) again I highly doupt the agility and stability of a 2 legged benemoth in earth gravity and terrain. Multi legged 4+ would be usefull in extreme terrain conditions and maybe in less gravity (where speed may actually hurt more than do good, tanks were not designed to make jumps or fly
.)
Back to the topic
Age could not be of information as its happening right now, maybe fusion age (humanitys power shortage solved) or maybe prestellar era.
Fusion power probably replaces nuclear in near (10+ years) future - Fusion power plant : no mealtdown change, does not need plutonium
ISS - International space station - Science bonuses or related
National Space station - Required for colonisation of moon and mars (and beyond - would probably require orbital space ship consturction facility or assembly yard) and maybe mars mission (ISS most likely used in RL. Needed for game)
Human genome project - even if cloning human stays banned (It has/will be done bans or no. Ban may only hope to slow down research and reduce use) it will help humanity to find cures for and causes of many inherited disieses and maybe help curing defects/anomolies in infants/unborn children. - Hapiness or scientifice effect
First contact - we dont know when it'll happen if at all. It may be tomorrow or ten thousand years from now or never. Unsure about this.
EMP bombs - no radiation, little casualties but destroys most of non protected electircal/computer systems (planes drop, radars and ships rendered useless and so on).
Terrorists as todays barbarians - need special forces to find and eliminate training camps. Could be established with some sort of unit or with money or something, maybe (or random, or caused by discontent).
have to continue later... teacher is forcing me out of class...
Not to mention fighting alongside one 
