How much is that unit in the window?

[toofergo]

Like others, I've created a unit designed as a general purpose amphib assault ship based on the USS Tarawa class. So far, what I've got is:

Assault Ship,nil,2,4.,0,6a,3d,
3h,1f, ??? ,3,3,Roc,000000000010001

I'm reasonably happy with the play balance
of the thing, but I'm unsure of what's a
reasonable cost. Anyone willing to offer an opinion and the process by which you price things?

Thanks in advance!

[Hendrik the Great]

How industrialised are the civs that are supposed to use it?
How easy is it supposed to be building new units?
What is the time the scn plays in?
Was it easy or difficult building and mantaining the machine?
How expensive was it in real life and who could afford it and how many of them?
Do you want many of them in the game or not?

Ask yourself those questions and you probaly find a solution.

But it realy depends on the situation...
One time you make it cheap, the other expensive. You should also pay attention to game balance. If you make it to expensive and the ai is building a lot of it, it might never get finished building them.


I wonder...Has anyone ever writen a design tip about this? Might be very useful!

Hendrik the Great

[toofergo]

>How industrialised are the civs that are >supposed to use it?
This is a modern-era "island hopping" setup.
Three client states are vying for control of a large archipelago. The superpowers are (literally) on the sidelines and will frequently pay their clients foreign aid and/or allow them to steal non-nuclear tech.

>How easy is it supposed to be building new
>units?
About at the standard game level. I'm
leaving most modern units as is. (If I
allow a fundamentalist government, fanatics
will get lots weaker.)

> What is the time the scn plays in?
240 turns or 60 years, 1951-2010.

>Was it easy or difficult building and >maintaining the machine?
Fairly easy to build, since most of the tech
is hand-me-down. Like any modern warship,
expensive to maintain, but with a fairly long service life.

>How expensive was it in real life and who >could afford it and how many of them?
The U.S. has about 30 ships in this general
category and sells its older units to allies.
The USS Austin, for example, took about 15 months to build in 1963, cost around 250 million, and is expected to remain in active service 'til 2003.

>Do you want many of them in the game or not?
Like anyone who designs a "really kewl new
unit (tm)", I'd like to see them used. But
due to the low defense, it's a high risk item. The general idea is to blast out
a beachhead and deploy sufficient ground
power to hold it.

>Ask yourself those questions and you >probably find a solution.
The closest I get is "more expensive than
a destroyer, less than an AEGIS." I don't
know how to value the transport or air
defense capabilities, or to devalue the
slow speed. That's why I asked for help.

[Hendrik the Great]

Give it a cost of 70 or 80 shields.
It will be slitly more expensive than a marine or destroyer but will not be as expensive as an AEGIS-Cruiser.

Wether you make it cost 70 or 80 realy depends on the scenario and your own judgement.

Hendrik the Great

[DarthVeda]

Usually when I make a scenario, I will add its Domain, Movement, attack, defense, and firepower, multiply it all by the HP number and divide the whole thing by 4.