Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
Air units too powerful
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Alpha Centauri Forums
The Game
Air units too powerful
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| Author | Topic: Air units too powerful |
| Bingmann |
posted 05-03-99 11:16 AM ET  
It seems to me that air units are too powerful. Some people say that choppers are especially bad, but I wouldn't know since my games are over before they arrive. Needlejets allow me to sweep the world in a conquest victory about 30-40 turns after getting Doctrine: Air Power. My suggestion is that air units should attack infantry units as artillery. They can still eat vehicles for lunch. This seems more realistic and prevents air power from being a steamroller. (Unfortunately, normal formers and supply crawlers look like vehicles even though they use the "infantry" chassis. This could get confusing.) Any thoughts? |
| HMFIC |
posted 05-03-99 11:21 AM ET
What level do you play at? What world size? Give yourself some difficulty and see how powerful your needle jets are. Try a world size of 200x200 which will make your needlejets not worth a crap. |
| LoD |
posted 05-03-99 11:41 AM ET
Hmmm... air units not able to exterminate infantry... Napalm anyone? Actually, your needlejets would get defeated by a good armored AAA garrison behind perimeter defense - on dificulties higher than Talent/Librarian of course... LoD |
| Jimmy |
posted 05-03-99 12:23 PM ET
If your enemy has not built AAA units or SAM units, of course you will steam roll over them. If the enemy has built the right units, air power is not too strong. |
| licha |
posted 05-03-99 01:12 PM ET
Question for anyone: Do Perimeter Defense and Tach Field help against air and sea units? I'm wondering because I remember in Civ2 where City Walls only help against land units (you had to build other things for sea/air defense). |
| Thue |
posted 05-03-99 01:19 PM ET
I also win 40 years after getting air power - on the highest difficulty and huge map. --------------- |
| Xerxes314 |
posted 05-03-99 03:26 PM ET
Remember that the only reason you can steamroll over the opposition is because they don't have Air Power. Isn't it nice being the University? Try playing a low-tech faction where somebody else gets Air Power first and you'll get more of a challenge. |
| trippin daily |
posted 05-03-99 03:48 PM ET
Yeah, I agree with Xerxes. Try playing Miriam on thinker or on transcend with a builder strategy. That is fun. If you like getting mauled that is.  You really learn how to play the diplomat and turn other factions against each other. Air power is that big of an advantage... Well I messed with the alpha.txt a good bit... so I don't make an all out attempt to air power and chaos gun. That fixed that problem for me. It also made the game a hell of a lot more challenging. Like now i feel like im playing on transcend when im paying on thinker (except that there are no probe teams from hell). Air power isn't bad if you tweak the alpha.txt a little bit. But as it is in the game without mods to other facets of the game. Air power first can and generally does when the game for me.Trippin Daily |
| Glak |
posted 05-03-99 04:26 PM ET
I haven't gotten to air power in a multiplayer game yet, if anyone has what was it like? Maybe someone gets air power, shares it with an ally or two and they just clean up? Hmm.. doesn't sound fun. |
| megaloB |
posted 05-04-99 12:54 AM ET
in my opinion, air power and stuff is too weak. if only the hyper gravitron units went airborne and were loaded with conventinal missles. the best bet is to by sea with transports and stuff and move in from the coast. Locusts of chiron are better than every air power unit combined. Fear planet. |
| Bingmann |
posted 05-04-99 09:15 AM ET
I play Transcend on standard size map. (I can't bring myself to play on a larger map - too much stuff to manage as it is.) One game I was playing the Hive and got needlejets first (and nobody else ever got them). The University and Gaians made some AAA plasma garrison, but that only made them about even with my missle needlejets, and they didn't have much time to make too many since I blitzed them so fast - maybe one, sometimes two, per base. The only real difficulty was having rovers keep up with the air assault to occupy the empty enemy bases. In my current game, I'm playing Morgan, and the Hive got air power first (coincidence?). They made four bombers (and no more), and then I got air power. They had half of Planet, now they have only a handful of bases. They did make some aerospace complexes which then made ECM silksteel garrisons an even match for my chaos bombers, but again, it takes time for them to make new stuff, so they only had a chance to make a few aerospace complexes before my blitz overran them. For some reason they haven't made AAA garrisons or interceptors. Strong armor + AAA ability + Aerospace Complex makes it tough for an air assault. However, an air rush at the first opportunity usually means that the enemy won't have more than a few aerospace complexes and maybe two AAA garrison units per base at most. Sensors can help with defense, too, but I always bomb them first. The mobility of needlejets means the defender won't know which bases will be targeted at any given time, so the defender can't concentrate its forces. Another thing I do is if I see a base is about done making an aerospace complex, I bomb it, and it changes production to a garrison unit. Of course, interceptors are the best defense against air power. The AI should be cranking these out when faced with a air aggressor. In short, if another player has Doctrine: Air Power, you need to also have it or you are crippled militarily. Probably, once everyone has air power and has had time to build new units and make adjustments, then air power isn't such a big deal. However, my games never get to that point since an early air rush is unstoppable. |
| Greyhawk |
posted 05-04-99 05:27 PM ET
Air units too powerful? Nah. AAA and Aerospace Complexex (+100 vs air) will put a stop to that. SAM choppers are good as a defence but their range is limited, I like to have a ratio of about 1 to 4 of SAM units vs Penetrator units, have a few SAM units in front line bases and any enemy attacks get intercepted by the SAM units before they can get to your base. Always have AAA garrisons, especially in front line bases. I've never tried early Air Assaults though as I almost always play on a huge map |
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