About the AIR SUPERIORITY role . . . .

[Exile]

. . . . is it true that if I give ground units or naval units that role that they'll act differently?

Will naval units NOT throw themselves in suicide armadas against fortified cities?

How do ground units act?

I sure would like to know this.

[techumseh]

My experience is that an air superiority ground unit will use considerably more discretion in choosing which units to attack than one with the attack or naval superiority mode. If you think about how fighter units operate in Civ2, they tend not to attack ground units which would defeat them. Ground units seem to follow the same rule.

[Palaiologos]

Are you planning to use them as interceptors of airlifts?

I have been trying the same thing, but admitedly after much playtesting i couldn't detect any notable difference in their behaviour.

I mean just because those air superiority quinquiremes didn't attack a city in numbers, doesn't mean they won't do so another tme.
One of them did attack an infantry unit though.

But can't really tell.

I too would surely like to know this.

[Boco]

Maybe it's a one time oddity, but I noticed that a role 3 land unit marched off to a more distant objective rather than throw itself against the nearest city.

[Panda]

Another old-timer bumped (I'll get it in the neck if this goes on...)

Okay, Agricola did note that role 3 units do exert an effect on interception of enemy airlifts, even without the "can attack air units" flag set (which only controls whether they are scrambled or not.

Techs observation about greater discretion however may be more determined by the attack value of the air unit and the defence value of the defender. It has been noted by both Nemo in the Second Front and Kobayashi in his Dominion Wars that AI unit behaviour is modified by both the costs of the units concerned and the defence offered, and this applies at least to missiles and I imagine would also apply to other roles.

Luckily I'm playing a heavily modded game in the modern age and can tinker to check.

Certainly our collective stock of knowledge is nowhere near complete.

[POTUS]

You can say that for sure.

[Palaiologos]

Only units with the air superiority role can intercept airlifts. They don't have to be air units, even land and sea units can intercept. And true the "can attack aircraft in flight" flag is irrelevant.

Be sure to note though that the pop up text warning of a possible interception will ALWAYS show the unit in the fighter slot.

After furious playtesting months ago i too came up with the conclusion that air superiority land and sea units are indeed more wise in choosing their targets. So its a good idea of having the air superiority flag for "hero" units. Although air superiority land units tend to attack cities the same tendency doesn't appear in sea units.

[josefstalin]

Originally posted by Palaiologos
Be sure to note though that the pop up text warning of a possible interception will ALWAYS show the unit in the in sea units.

Never the Stealth Fighter slot?

[POTUS]

So, would an Air Superiority Ship not attack cities? Hmm... that could help me.

[josefstalin]

the 'submarine advantages/disadvantages' flag is not enough?

[POTUS]

But I need the ships to attack units on the coast, but in the harbors, they could easily be destroyed.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Palaiologos
After furious playtesting months ago i too came up with the conclusion that air superiority land and sea units are indeed more wise in choosing their targets.

I'm not so sure. I've modded my SP games so that missiles can attack air units, with the 'air superiority' role. The result is that the AI still uses the cruise missile (in the standard CM slot) almost exclusively on ships, but on occasion it will attack aircraft, but only over water.

And once I gave nuclear units the 'air superiority' role (don't recall why). I later saw an enemy nuke hovering near one of my bombers that was in flight.