warning system

one of the main problems i have while playing is not noticing large incoming force. i'm constantly at war so there is always a red message to upper left telling me about so and so forces in my area. 95 percent of the time it is a repeat message about a lone ship somewhere around my shores. but i always get screwed because i stop reading the message for the 50th time in a row and a real force lands right next to my weakest city. this is usually my biggest downfall in a game over and over again.

i don't know if anyone else has this problem but i have a suggestion solution. have a more significant warning system when someone lands right next to a city or has a force more than 3 w/ in range of a city. a louder sound or a warning centered in the middle of screen.

 

I couldnt agree more, large military invasions are too easily overlooked in this game, and if you think land invasions are a pain to spot, naval invasions are far, far worse. It involves scouring the world map with destroyers or similar and can become very boring.

Whole fleets are somehow able to move without anyone spotting them and they can hit and run without you being able to defend or retaliate, transports can offload their personnell and armour in a blink of an eye which is just plain stupid.

And when you do spot a fleet you have to take out the destroyers and battleships before you can get anywhere near transports - which is also pretty stupid, you should be able to target anything you like.

I do like this game immensly but I feel its more of a war game than anything else, as I am *always* preparing for war and investing in significant military spending just to stop the AI invading me.

I suppose it put me in the builders camp rather than the warmongerer camp

 

ugg yea i had an island city once, it often said that an enemy ship is near it but it says that all the time and they dont do anything so ignored it, then a nice lil transport comes and takes it

 

The Sonar Net can take care of naval invasions pretty easily; just have a small fleet to back it up.

But yeah, the "Enemy is approaching" thing is annoying...I'd say if there's a stack of 5 or more units coming within the fat cross of a city, then a much more powerful warning should occur; preferably a sound (marching/trumpets) and the centering of the screen onto the threatened city. If multiple cities face assault, then Units should be activated in those cities, forcing you to check it out before ending your turn.

 

There's probably a VERY good reason behind this, but...

#1: whats wrong with selecting quick moves, and "Show hostile moves?" and unchecking "Show friendly moves". That will tell you if a big attack is coming (but not where it is, sadly)

#2: Whats wrong with sentrying everyone? It does the same as fortify, and is much more useful. I do it as I am used to C-evo, in which S means "Stand-ground", or, in civ terms, fortify. However, in Civ, I love Sentry, and wish I could use it more... the only annoying thing is when an attack force is outside the gates and refuses to come in, in which I just go ALT-click and SPACEBAR.

 

thanks for the suggestion. i have never even bothered changing my set up from when i started way back when. i have always had show friendly moves and show hostile moves unchecked. it makes the game go by a lot faster but i would always miss the ai's tactic of sending men by boat to my weakest city's in back of my territory. i still can't understand why ai would take troops on offense when i'm about to sack his capital. from now on when i'm in war i will always check show enemy moves. should end most of my frustration. thxs.

off topic: i also for the life of me can't figure out why ai likes to build nowhere cities on the edge of my island or continent. he will squeeze some city on the only piece of non-cultural ice i have left. it must be costing him a ton in maintence and do him no good. then i have to either culture bump him or declare war because i like of having my own island.

 

What do you mean "not where it is"? It shows you EXACTLY WHERE IT IS, it shows you WHAT HAPPENS, WHEN IT HAPPENS. U make no sense.

 

It's not the fault of the designers if a person ignores the threat messages...it takes about all of three seconds to scroll across the map to examine said threat.

Sea invasions are a bit trickier. One need not scour the seas to detect an invasion; a small force of fogbusting ships a distance off of your coastline should give you a turn or two's notice, and another good thing is to simply leave more than a token soldier or two in your coastal cities. Maybe with Flight or Radio they could extend the visual range offshore, that could be helpful. But usually, naval invasions are hard enough as it is to succesfully execute...