How can I motivate someone to build airbases in an ancient scenario?

[Stefan Härtel]

We all know that if you build an airbase on a mined hill square, it produces an extra unit of food. Furthermore, I think we all know that airbases produce an extra unit of trade.

Would that be enough for someone to build an airbase in a scenario set in antiquity?

Thing is, that I found airbases would be the optimal thing to represent "post houses" in my Darius the Great scenario. But since the Persians started to build these only one to two years well into the scenario, having them in from the start would be historically inaccurate. So, I'll have to instruct the player to build these himself.

I also thought that it would be nice to have a scout unit that is an air unit, that uses these post houses (which would even be accurate). Yet again, this would be stupid because the scout would be able to cross oceans (however, if you regard the fact that scouts can use scout boats, this wouldn't be too bad... only the icon would look stupid ). So, what do you think?

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I already did it!

Yes, but I didn't use it as airbase, more as a fortress without defense bonus!

[The ANZAC]

Same, saw it in a Hundred Years War scenario where all the squares could be stacked without losing all your units. good idea.

[Stefan Härtel]

DOH! I totally fogot that! Of course... Further, I'll justthink of something and let you know-ideas, suggestions welcome!

------------------
Follow the masses!
30,000 lemmings can't be wrong!

Our survival is based on continouus changing.
-Mao Tse-Tung
God might have created us as equals, but democracy and science pretty
much screwed that whole idea..
-Onepaul


Visit my Homepage at: http://members.xoom.com/SHaertel/Index.html

[WarVoid]

For Roman era scenarios:
Perfectures: They maintained the areas around which they were built. Duh. Producing extra food and trade.

For other uses:
Minor City - Small enough not to be a city big enough to produce extra resources.

Urban or Suburban - Improvement on top of irrigation and farmland. Inner-city workings.

[DarthVeda]

You could preplace the airbases but have them invisible at first by using multiple files.

[WarVoid]

DarthVeda:
Will that work on saved games???

[Gothmog]

Be careful about placing "airbases" next to cities or each other. It seems to produce an automatic railroad between the two. That probably wouldn't be too cool in an ancient scenario.

[Stefan Härtel]

quote: Be careful about placing "airbases" next to cities or each other. It seems to produce an automatic railroad between the two. That probably wouldn't be too cool in an ancient scenario.

As a matter of fact, that would be perfect for the sense of this scenario. Dareios (that's Darius' name in Greek) constructed very good roadways, especially in Parsa and Elymais (that's where the most ones of these will be anyways). Furthermore, there are railroads in this scenario to represent the "Royal Highway", which was a street primarily constructed for the army but also for civilian travel.

------------------
Follow the masses!
30,000 lemmings can't be wrong!

Our survival is based on continouus changing.
-Mao Tse-Tung
God might have created us as equals, but democracy and science pretty
much screwed that whole idea..
-Onepaul


Visit my Homepage at: http://members.xoom.com/SHaertel/Index.html

[DarthVeda]

Well to make the airbases invisible, you would just have a different set of city.gif's for the first part of the scenario. Then prompt the user to switch them with another (through .bat files, etc.)