Zone of Control Question

[TLF]

I'm playing Blue.

1st figure.

I put that Phalanx at that choke point thinking he would block the passage.
He has been there for quite a few turns.
There is a Diplomat on the same square.

I moved the Diplomat back and...Hey, where did that city come from?

Fig 2.

So it seems that the Zone of control of my Units isn't the same as for the AI units.

I have since read that the AI units can't move from one of my unit's ZOC into another of my Unit's ZOC.

So, if the Diplomat had always been standing where it is in fig 2, or just one square behind the Phalanx would that have blocked the passage of the AI?

 

[IamRonin]

2 issues here.

1) I believe Settlers are allowed to move into ZOC. So they can sneak past your Phalanx

2) You would need to physically block its passing by covering the two open paths to the 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock of the Phalanx, preferably with military units.

Using the diplomat is fine but they can easily be sent packing by any Indian military unit.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

It could also have happened that the settler was on a ship, and sneaked around to the west of the diplomat/phalanx to build a city. Of course, I don't know if the Sioux have that tech yet...

When you have units forted, enemy units that can ignore the Zone of Control are able to sneak past. But if you have at least one of them set to Sentry/Sleep, they will activate and start blinking if an AI unit tries sneaking past. Had one of your units been set this way, you would have known about Bear Paw (or at least the attempt to build that city).

 

[KnightTemp]

Was the Dip on 'S' when it was with the Phalanx? If so, surely, it would have been 'wakened' by the passing of a settler or dip?

 

[TLF]

Thanks for the replies.

No, the diplomat wasn't on 's'.

I just re-checked the save-game and for some reason the Diplomat was also fortified. I can't imagine why I would have done that.

What about that " the enemy can't move from one zone of control into another unit's zone of control"?

If I had a 2nd unit standing behind the Phalanx would that block the AI units?
I did'nt know that Settlers could ignore ZOC.

It's good to know about sentry units being awakened.

 

[EdwardTking]

The AI settler could have moved past your Zone of
Control if accompanied by a diplomat.

 

[ElephantU]

I can find no reference to Settlers being free of ZOC restrictions, although the AI has been known to "cheat" on some other rules. Sneaking past a fortified unit is not hard, though, with a spare Dip or Caravan. Fortified units don't seem to "peek over the walls", as evidenced by the differences in terrain between the Phalanx and Cedar Creek. Landing by ship is another possible explanation (from both LB or CC).

 

[KnightTemp]

I think EdwardTKing is right - and I've read this tip somewhere in the tips and strategies. The settler on its own is restricted by the ZOC, but a diplomat going past first can 'lead' a settler with it.
I've just done some experiments with this - the settler couldn't get past a phalanx on its own, but if it was following a diplomat, it could.

 

[Magic_gorter]

I think EdwardTKing is right - and I've read this tip somewhere in the tips and strategies. The settler on its own is restricted by the ZOC, but a diplomat going past first can 'lead' a settler with it.
I've just done some experiments with this - the settler couldn't get past a phalanx on its own, but if it was following a diplomat, it could.

IIRC all military units with attacking points and settlers can't pass a ZOC. But with a diplomat, spy, caravan or freight you can get past the ZOC.

 

[ElephantU]

The trick is to move the Dip/Caravan/Explorer first, into the empty ZOC-limited tile, then leave them there while you move the Settler (or other unit) in. If the other unit has more than one movement point, you can then select and move the Dip/Van/Exp to a second tile and then move the other again. If you have a bunch of them helping to move an army past a chain of forts it is like the water flowing under the glacier that greases it's way along.

 

[Peaster]

I wonder if the AI is smart enough to use diplomats or caravans this way. I can't remember seeing it happen. A boat seems a more likely explanation. Also, is it possible the settler was already in the area before the chokepoint was blocked ?

 

[Duke of Marlbrough]

The city is already at size 2 and has a unit in it so I'd say it had already been built there for some time. Depending on the difficulty level it could have been anywhere between 5-10 turns ago at the least.

Units only update their views when they activated, not when they are fortified or sentried. It looks as if you had both units fortified there for awhile and missed out on seeing the settler making the nearby improvements near Cedar Creek and gave the Settler that was already past your choke point time to build a city.

If the diplomat was satying with the Phalanx to keep it from being bribed it may have been best if it was either sentried so that it wakes up with nearby movement or active and scouting out a square and then back each turn to get any advanced notice of units approaching.