Actual effects of Bunkers

CEO Aaron · April 29, 2003, 20:33

Do they actually provide a defensive bonus, or are they only good for protecting units in the field from artillery bombardment? In my present games, I almost never indulge in the construction of bunkers, but if they can help me hold a chokepoint against a determined assault, I might start.

Qualicide · April 29, 2003, 20:46

They add 50% to any unit in it. I think they don't have a pasifism penalty either.

Ogie Oglethorpe · April 29, 2003, 22:35

In addition to the above, units destoyed in a bunker will not cause collateral damage to other stacked units.

Frankychan · April 29, 2003, 23:43

eh, I don't bother making bunkers. I usually make other units that intercept invading forces beforehand. I'd rather have my units in the city, where its safe.

CEO Aaron · April 30, 2003, 02:58

I'll agree that the tactical situations in which a bunker is useful are pretty limited, but I've had a few, for example, when taking on a much larger, similarly teched AI faction. Being unable to sustain momentum in conquering them wholesale (and unable to afford to build enough military to blow them up in one go), I'll often gobble up enough bases to reach a defensible choke point, then let them break themselves on my defenses. A well placed bunker will give me more flexibility in where I can place my choke point, and until the advent of Tachyon Fields, a bunker on rocky terrain is as good as any base with perimeter defenses.

Alinestra Covelia · April 30, 2003, 03:46

If your enemy develops nerve gas and air power, you might find bunkers useful for storing your units away from your bases.

The same can't be said of airbases, though.

Lefty Scaevola · April 30, 2003, 11:05

Bunkers may be good at choke points. and vacant bunker out a few tile from the city on the only road stop the point unit cold with a "bunker captured" message.

Clear Skies · April 30, 2003, 12:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
Bunkers may be good at choke points. and vacant bunker out a few tile from the city on the only road stop the point unit cold with a "bunker captured" message.

....which is SO damn annoying....

Lazerus · April 30, 2003, 12:10

Quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
Bunkers may be good at choke points. and vacant bunker out a few tile from the city on the only road stop the point unit cold with a "bunker captured" message.

It's so annoying when that happens

Clear Skies · April 30, 2003, 12:14

Touche

gwillybj · May 2, 2003, 00:19

check-point, road block, speed bump

Maniac · May 2, 2003, 07:28

Isn't there any way at all to avoid that bunker capture?

If not, building bunkers around all your bases is perhaps the best defence available in the game.

Lazerus · May 2, 2003, 12:31

well not really you can just fly over them as usual then your 3 or 4 rovers following up on the empty cities only need to take 1 bunker and you're into enemy territory.

Maniac · May 2, 2003, 16:19

I'm not sure I understand you. If you place five bunkers in a row on your only magtube towards the base, won't you have to waste five rovers before reaching the base?

CEO Aaron · May 2, 2003, 16:44

Perhaps, but there's nothing there that won't stop a chop n' drop, or an amphibious landing. There's no point in investing more energy on a fixed fortification than the cost your enemies would pay to circumvent it, otherwise you're just hemorraging money for no good gain.

gwillybj · May 2, 2003, 20:15

Quote:

Maniac asked:
Isn't there any way at all to avoid that bunker capture?

Artillery can smash an empty bunker.

Quote:

Maniac also asked:
I'm not sure I understand you. If you place five bunkers in a row on your only magtube towards the base, won't you have to waste five rovers before reaching the base?

The unit that captures the bunker is not lost, it is just stopped in the bunker, losing any remaining MPs. It can move normally next turn. In a way, what you wrote is true: That unit is "lost" to you for any other task, but only for that one turn. And yes, if there are five bunkers in line, you need five separate units to take them if you want to do it all in one turn.

Any of your units entering the space after the capturing unit continue unimpeded, including on the same turn it was captured. If you know you will capture a bunker, send an infantry unit in first so your rovers can roll on through after.

Also, the bunker is now yours, even if all your units exit the space, leaving the bunker intact but empty. It remains yours until an enemy unit physically enters the space to recapture it.

Bunkers are worthwhile as part of a properly prepared multiple Land/Air/Sea defense, along with SAM and AAA units, Aerospace Complexes, and Orbital Defense Pods. Put one in a Forest with a Sensor and assign a Crawler there. Dot your shore line with them.

Maniac · May 3, 2003, 14:18

Quote:

Also, the bunker is now yours, even if all your units exit the space, leaving the bunker intact but empty. It remains yours until an enemy unit physically enters the space to recapture it.

Oh I didn't know that yet. Yet another thing learned.

I always assumed you had to capture all bunkers in enemy territory, and had to recapture them once you left them for a turn.

Patashu · May 3, 2003, 18:26

*will have to try sprinkling empty bunkers along mag tubes, bases and coasts as defense sometime*

Flubber · May 3, 2003, 20:22

I have never used bunkers before but they seem to have some interesting uses

Ned · May 9, 2003, 01:08

Quote:

Originally posted by Maniac

Oh I didn't know that yet. Yet another thing learned.

I always assumed you had to capture all bunkers in enemy territory, and had to recapture them once you left them for a turn.

Actually, maniac, in my game if you leave a bunker unoccupied for a turn, you have to recapture it. So I think you are right.

Ned · May 9, 2003, 01:08

Bunkers are absolutely horrible if you have a fungal bloom in one.

Ned · May 9, 2003, 01:09

Finally, I have used bunkers offensively to take a position and hold it right next to an enemy base.

gwillybj · May 10, 2003, 00:09

Here's another place to stick a bunker:
If you've gone green and can build in fungus, put a bunker in there and garrison some mindworm boils in it. Nasty.

Ned · May 10, 2003, 12:00

Quote:

Originally posted by gwillybj
Here's another place to stick a bunker:
If you've gone green and can build in fungus, put a bunker in there and garrison some mindworm boils in it. Nasty.

The major problem with worms, etc., is that they are extremely vulnerable to artillery. You may want to put some artillery in that bunker as well.

Adalbertus · May 12, 2003, 18:19

Just be careful with empty bunkers in defense. Later in the game, I love to do the following thing to the AI:
Stack a lot of 1-1-1DropTrained (or 1-1-2DropTrained) units, together with some DropProbes and a DropColony pod. Playing with 0 Morale and with Command Centres and Bioenhancement Centres in the building bases, the 1-1-1 units should be elite. Then drop them in an empty bunker near AI territory. AI loves to build lots of empty bunkers. The turn you drop them, upgrade your 1-1-1 to something more nasty, a few ECM and AAA units among them, the rest with best weaponry. Usually, the AI doesn't dare to attack you (and a careless human player realizes the threat one turn too late and will have serious losses ...). The turn after, build a city in a convenient place and/or take an enemy city.

(orbital insertion: more

)

vitamin j · May 13, 2003, 12:28

I don't think anyone mentioned that a probe team can move freely through a bunker - so as long as you have probes along, your units will never have to stop for a bunker if you don't want. Just move a probe in first, then move your other units through. Air units work just as well.

Lefty Scaevola · May 13, 2003, 14:58

Also fly an air unit over the bunker and tell it to wait, then mover your ground units through it before moving the air unit off.

Lefty Scaevola · May 13, 2003, 14:58

Bunker are a good place to keep beer cold.

gwillybj · May 25, 2003, 01:54

Here's a neat terraforming combination for the base square, if you have the time and desire to build them all:
Sensor + Bunker + Forest.
It will enhance the base's combat defense. The "Blink" Special Ability bypasses only Perimeter Defense and Tachyon Field, not Sensor and Bunker.

Rubin · May 25, 2003, 10:11

gwillybj, I can't seem to figure out what the bunker does to help my base defense...

The bunker is displayed, alright ... but when attacked I see no change in the stats

hmm, maybe I'm doing it all wrong...

Btw, didn't check the forest enhancement, since I play with a 1-1-0 forest production edit in my alpha.txt, which is the best thing that happened to my SMAC/X in the past years