Use of outposts.

[The Lodian]

I originally thought that the use of outposts would prevent barbs from appearing in the area that they can see. After building about twenty of them and leaving them unprotected in a former rival's lands, I quickly found that was not the case. A single barb used rails to destroy about 12 of them at once.

Bah! Live and learn.

Have you seen that Tom Cruise movie "The Last Samauri"???
I can just image that single barb of resilient Samauri or Native Americans despiratly holding on to thier way of live by using modern implaments. A barb rebellion! Just an idea that popped in my head upon reading your post. I have never witnessed such a barbourous action before in my gaming, lol...

 

[Lord tim]

outposts??? are we talking Conquests or just civ3??? because i have Civilization 3 and i have never seen or heard of an outpost.

 

[Oni]

Basically, outposts are one of those extra features in Civ3 that are rarely used....
Outposts are really useless to tell you the truth and nothing can change my opinion about them..
Oh and IMHO forts are also pretty much useless

Really? You don't use forts?

I have found them useful in a few situations. The kewlest was in a game where early on I built a few cities at big distances from my capital. Anyone that was too close I started a war with just so they would back off for the mean time (not build cities close to mine).
Then I built a circle of cites around my capital (well really a semi-cirlce as my capital was on the coast). My goal was to have a wall of culture so now foriegners could get through. I did it by hurry building culture buildings like Librarys and such. Or I would just build another city close by. Eventually I accomplished this. Course they tried to sneak through and settle in the massive chunk of land I isolated from all the other civs... But I always noticed

At this point I started filling in the land with more cities at places where good resources popped up... At the same time I created a wall... But not just any wall. A wall that would be able to withstand a great war (I was preparing for all to declare war on me evetually... They were a bit mad I wouldn't let them use the open land ).
This wall was made by building roads through mountains and good deffencive terrain in front of my frontal cities. Then after the roads would be built i built forts. Then I put a couple of deffencive units in the fort.
Well it worked pretty good till the Modern age. I saw war comming and it did. Some of my wars started early Middle Ages but just didn't end... And eventually the others joined in towards the end of the Midle Ages. This continued till modern times (off and on for some civs). I tried making Allies but it was no use.

But it was still kewl.


But I guess a more simple use of forts is this. Decide an enemy. Make a passage agreement. Build some forts by their cities you wish to take. Send your troops to the forts. Wait for the agreement to end. Attack

Without the forts your troops can get hit hard by forces you didn't expect and that bonus comes in handy then... Sometimes one guy can hold the whole army off and even get promoted (or even give you a leader)... Versus them all dieing.

But thats just what I think

 

[Oni]

outposts??? are we talking Conquests or just civ3??? because i have Civilization 3 and i have never seen or heard of an outpost.

They were added in PTW.

Oh and I agree... they aren't that useful... Maybe if you REALLY don't want to explore beyaond a mountain range (best effect if on a mountain.. logically)... But really a waste of a good worker.

 

[Perfection]

I once found this single tile mountain island, I put an outpost there because, well, because I wanted to so there!

 

[anarres]

I've played quite a bit of civ in my time and have found a use for them twice.

On both occasions they were used quite late in the game (workers aplenty), and also were on mountain ranges to see in to an opponents lands, where units had very limited visibility range and wouldn't be able to see anything.

 

[dmanakho]

Really? You don't use forts?

I have found them useful in a few situations. The kewlest was in a game where early on I built a few cities at big distances from my capital. Anyone that was too close I started a war with just so they would back off for the mean time (not build cities close to mine).
Then I built a circle of cites around my capital (well really a semi-cirlce as my capital was on the coast). My goal was to have a wall of culture so now foriegners could get through. I did it by hurry building culture buildings like Librarys and such. Or I would just build another city close by. Eventually I accomplished this. Course they tried to sneak through and settle in the massive chunk of land I isolated from all the other civs... But I always noticed ....


But it was still kewl.

But thats just what I think

It might be a fun to do all this build up, but trust me you are just wasting time

 

[Lord tim]

It might be a fun to do all this build up, but trust me you are just wasting time

no i agree with ONI. forts are a great help. in the campaign im playing right now i had set up forts all through the mountains. then the romans came prancing up to the mountains and saw before them a line of forts , all guarded by pikemen and knights.

lol i was just sitting gleefully in my chair daring them to attack...but to my dismay they turned around and left to look for another way through.

forts are great because i think they give a 50% defence bonus right?

dmanakho-"It might be a fun to do all this build up"
i have to admit it is quite fun

 

[dmanakho]

no i agree with ONI. forts are a great help

I am not trying to offend you, honestly.
But Wait till you start playing on Monarch-Emperor levels...
You will forget all about building forts

 

[Mr. Do]

The thing I hate about forts is that they can takr so long to build- several times I've built a fort only to find that the borders have shifted in the last hundred years and I've just built a fort in enemy territory! It's also crap when you build a fort and then the borders shift afterwards and the AI tells you to get out of its territory... forts should resist cultural borders!

 

[geishapunk]

The thing I hate about forts is that they can takr so long to build- several times I've built a fort only to find that the borders have shifted in the last hundred years and I've just built a fort in enemy territory! It's also crap when you build a fort and then the borders shift afterwards and the AI tells you to get out of its territory... forts should resist cultural borders!

I understand the point you are making, but making forts resisting cultural borders would be IMO too powerfull. Having a bunch of workers prevents borders from beeing shifting would be too easy!

 

[Lonkut]

can you build outpost in civ 3? (not talking about conquest) if yes, how?

 

[Lord tim]

can you build outpost in civ 3? (not talking about conquest) if yes, how?

no you can not build outposts in regular Civ 3. but you can build forts

i find those useful.

 

[crimson238]

I use forts here and there. Generally, I set them up on defensive terrain or land bridges within my borders. Right before I go to war, or right after it's declared on me, I shift around some units to the forts in order to slow up any enemy incursions.
As far as outposts go, I've never really used them. I have sometimes used Radar Towers, but generally I like to keep workers around for quick rebuilds or destoryed terrain or polution clean-up.
I also always ring my largest border city with forts, if given the chance. The AI will spend a lot of time (as long as they havn't got bombers), trying to take the forts down. ofcourse, the downside being when they are taken, it's harder for you to take them back.

 

[Mr. Do]

I understand the point you are making, but making forts resisting cultural borders would be IMO too powerfull. Having a bunch of workers prevents borders from beeing shifting would be too easy!

Yes, you are probably right- but at least when a square is contested by two civs whose cultural borders stretch that far, having a fort in that square should give the defender a considerable boost. But it's not really something I'd expect to have ever been considered, since the AI almost never builds forts itself, and never guards its borders. I really liked the way in Civ 2 how the AI would dot forts around its territory...