Some early ideas...

Land Unit Models and (Weapons)---
-Warrior (Spear)
-Advanced Warrior (Jagged Spear)
-Biological Warrior (Spear dropped in Smallpox Blood)
-Fire Warrior (Spear with wood set on fire)

----
1.The basic warrior would be 1-1-1
2.The advanced warrior would be 1-1-1 but the opponent would take 10% more damage per hit.
3.The Biological Warrior would be 1-1-1 but if the opponent is hit 5 times then they will contract smallpox and die.
4.The Fire Warrior would be 1-1-1 and if you are in a forest, burn the forest down after x number of hits on opponent.

The fire spear seems unrealistic too. Maybe you could have a unit with a stone spearhead that does additional damage.

quote: Stone axe +3 melee Hunting spear +2 melee +1 support Primitive bow +2 support Bronze spear +4 melee +1 support Bronze sword +5 melee Bronze armour +1 armour -1 mobility Iron spear +5 melee +1 support Iron sword +6 melee Iron armour +2 armour -1 mobility Wooden shield +1 armour Bronze shield +2 armour -1 mobility Iron shield +3 armour -1 mobility Composite bow +3 support Horse armour +1 armour -1 mobility Marius's mule allows a unit to fortify -1 mobility Light Horse +6 mobility(no armour allowed) Medium Horse +5 mobility(armoured men allowed) War Horse +4 mobility(Horse armour allowed) Chariot(arse) +2 mobility Chariot(horse)+3 mobility Elephant +2 mobility -2 enemy melee(only cavalty) Long sword +7 melee Pike +5 melee X2 melee vs mounted(only inf) Lance +5 melee X2 melee vs mounted(only cav) Plate armour +4 armour -2 mobility Mace +5 melee ignores enemy armour 50% -1 mobility Longbow +5 support ignores enemy armour 60%(inf only) Crossbow +3 support ignores enemy armour 80% Stirrup +2 melee(only mounted)auto upgrade if discovered If your culture/social system is primitive, then you can only mobilise primitive men Melee/support/armour/mobility Primitive men 1/0/0/3 Ancient men 1/0/0/4 Renaissance men 1/0/0/3 Modern men 1/0/0/2 Melee:basic fighting power/close combat ability Support:when accompanied with melee units add bonus to the melee units Armour:absorb some of enemy hit including enemy support fire Mobility: this is not map(strategic) mobility this is battlefield mobility. 1~4 Bf mobility equals 1 map mobilit 4~8 Bf mobility equals 2 map mobility 8~12 Bf mobility equals 3 map mobility Battlefield mobility affects actual battle as a combined arms effect and map mobility ,as you know, reflect how many square you can move.

As you may have noticed the heavier the armour gets the more severe mobility penalty it receives thus leaving you with dilema how you going to put the emphasis for your army. mobility or heavy armour?-for Infantry

With extensive usage of heavy horse you may arm your mounted force with heavy armour without necessarily taking the mobility too much away from it thus shock troops now available in your stock.

Only after the invention of longbow & crossbow, heaviliy armoured cavalry will be properly countered.(those arms are capable of penetrating armour)

All the weapons after Stone Age will require metal resources to be produced. I'm not so sure how detailed the production mechanism should be.

1.Complicated mineral/energy resource(copper,Iron,coal,oil etc.)

While I agree that some Unit workshop can add a bit more diversification to units without too much harm (if the workshop will be properly developed, that is), I will forever be a pain in the neck remembering we are modelling a Civ (empire management) game, not a wargame. I love wargames, simply they are another genre and required to be modelled taking into account detailed armours&weapons as you write into your interesting list.

Look, also SMAC manual show as a more complex armour model (dividing from armour that can defend against energy weapons, bullet weapons or both) has been discarded into the released game.
I don't know if Firaxis did it because of balancing problem, AI unable to cope with, beta testers feedback or anything else, still it should be an alert to us .

Initially pikes, arquebuses, light cavalry, heavy cavalry and culverin style artillery.
Wheelock Musket replaces arquebus, cavalry get pistols, line tactics evolve, firelock replaces wheelock, and is replaced by flintlock, cannon get better barrels.
Bayonet replaces pike, premeasured cartridge introduced. Cannon gets more mobile.

You see, these weapons would only be additions such as modules in SMAC. Each unit could only have up to 2 modules in any one age and no, you would not go back to older units, this would only give you greater variety in units.

Shadowstrike

About the fire warrior, I guess it is a little unrealistic, so I stand corrected.

However, ancient people did know how to use germ warfare. There is evidence of seiges of cities in the BC eras when the attackers threw dead animal carcasses over the walls to infect the enemy.

Smallpox was primarily used by the American settlers in America to infect the Native Americans by giving them rugs infected with the virus. (I know, I can't believe they did it but they did.)

Youngsun

Thanks for your ideas!

Naismith

The system would not be more complicated than Alpha Centauri's as you can probably see and Alpha C was NOT a complicated game.

Land Unit Models and (Weapons)---
------------------------
WARRIOR
-Warrior [Basic] (Spear)
-Advanced Warrior (Jagged Spear)
-Biological Warrior (Spear dropped in Smallpox Blood)

1.The basic warrior would be 1-1-1
2.The advanced warrior would be 1-1-1 but the opponent would take 10% more damage per hit.
3.The Biological Warrior would be 1-1-1 but if the opponent is hit 5 times then they will contract smallpox and die.

PHALANX
Phalanx (Bronze Spear and Bronze Shields): 1-2-1

Wooden Phalanx: 1-1-2 (Wooden Shields, Travels fast like a real Roman Legionaire would, 30-40 miles a day. Hey they did it!)

Archer Phalanx: 1-1-1 r1 (Uses shields to defend heads while each row fires barrages. Ranged attack of 1 square if they are on higher ground than the defender)

Engineer Phalanx: 2-2-1 (Engineers make elaborate traps for the enemy to fall in and dig better trenches than most units. Attack Advantage)

Sure it looks like but not the same as others which you might think of.

When you disband your units in CivII, you throw away men and weapons altogether. My suggestion corrects this and you can arm your men with better weapons.

Civ is not wargame and it's like a combination of running an empire,managing economy and raging a war things so we need to incorporate the military aspect of the game with others. Heavy conscription should create social and economical burden to your civ but you can still prepare total war without significantly damaging your economy by producing and stockpiling weapons.

Those weapons I showed are not that civ specific(no gladius or sarissa there)and its rather highly generalised and categorised with Ages(Stone->Bronze->Iron->etc) so makes it applicable to all civs in the world.

Furthermore CivI and CivII are already stat based as far as military units are concerned.
Att/Def/Fp/Hit

With present military stat, archers can roam around without heavy inf escort(Archer 3/2/1/1) because CivII does not differenciate melee & support concept. My suggestion encourage combined arms effect and balanced unit stack(Heavies,Skirmishers,Support and Shock troops). This also can be extended to modern warfare(Inf,Recon,Artillery and Armour) and this 4 major military branches need arms for themselves and that was what I listed above.

Right resource allocation of war production is the key for victory and we all know Hitler ruined it so lost the war and you shoud examine your social and economical situation of your empire first for where to concentrate your war effort.

quote: Initially pikes, arquebuses, light cavalry, heavy cavalry and culverin style artillery. Wheelock Musket replaces arquebus, cavalry get pistols, line tactics evolve, firelock replaces wheelock, and is replaced by flintlock, cannon get better barrels. Bayonet replaces pike, premeasured cartridge introduced. Cannon gets more mobile.

Doesn't have to be that specific

Musket(arquebus with rest)
Musket(Napoleonic one with bayonet)
Rifle(Napoleonic one/pre WWI)
Rifle(WWI)
Rifle(WWII)
Rifle(post WWII)
Rifle(Modern)

would be enough I reckon.

quote: You never go back to older weaponry

That's the point Evil capitalist so we can sell those inferior arms to less developed civs as today's USA does.

quote: You get the variety, but don't have the absurdity of unrealistic combinations.

Anything bizzare you see from my suggestion? triple convexed composite bow or flaming sword?(just kidding) Anything combined from the suggestion above will end up as one of the 4 major branches(heavies,skirmishers,support and shock troops).

When I say unit workshop please don't imagine SMAC style one because I don't like SMAC style workshop too.(Admiral knows ) Actually if there is any way to make an unit with consripts and stockpiled weapons I don't think we need a unit workshop.(Colonisation style perhaps?) Also you can restrict the number of designed models like MOO/MOOII so you don't have to hassle with too many similar unit models.

DarkCloud

I surely share your enthusiasm but things like archer phalanx are too weird to me and it is historically incorrect. Archers are archers nothing more/nothing less and the same goes to Phalanx too. Also using germs for siege warfare thing shouldn't be part of unit characteristics but kind of auto upgrade for every unit when you discover proper tech thus we don't have design a unit for that.

Anyway General suggestion section needs energetic person like you. Keep the heat pal as long as you can.

quote: Originally posted by Shadowstrike on 08-10-2000 08:43 PM I don't think early civ would know how to poision with smallpox, maybe a toxin, but not smallpox. Maybe a "poision damage" would do (i.e. unit with poision takes a small amount of damage each turn unless it is treated in a city or hut)

Actually it's quite simple; you bombard them with diseased corpses and other refuse. This was very commonly done in times of war.

quote: The fire spear seems unrealistic too. Maybe you could have a unit with a stone spearhead that does additional damage.

Well thanks for the support Gord.
How do you do that quote thing, I saw it once but forgot.

Youngsun

Well, after reading your most recent model, I have to agree with Evil Capitalist, it is just too many weapons, I don't propose exactly SMAC's design workshop, I only propose we use some of its options like the Body- Warrior, Phalanx and the Modules- 2 per character.

Youngsun

Who knows what the ancients may have done, archer phalanx and all. And who here wouldn't like the advantages of an archer phalanx?

Could you please explain unit upgrades for germ warfare? The way I see it is most units would think that it was beneath themselves to heave carcasses over walls and would only commit a small contingent to do such and thus not fully receive a bonus. With a specialized unit this could be easily accomplished because they would not be so posh as to think it beneath themselves.

Would you mind put the lists for hitorical development of cannons(primitive bombard~)or armours(MkI~)? and thank you for the firearms list.

DarkCloud

I'm sorry if I offended you(certainly didn't mean it).

quote: Who knows what the ancients may have done, archer phalanx and all. And who here wouldn't like the advantages of an archer phalanx?

So are you suggesting we make an unit based on assumption and guess rather than using data collected and compiled by archeologists and historians?

Advantage? How can you think giving a bow and arrows would be an advantage to a phalangist?
To aim and shoot freely they need more space within the troop which is highly contradictory to the doctrine of Phalanx not to mention the extra weight they have to carry. I know some of later pikemen used bows along with long pike but they carried much less weight compared to that of Phalangist.

Also you know very well it's usually specialisation which brings out the full potential of each armed force not generalisation and all-round usage. Romans and Greeks knew this very well and always followed this principle.(no archer legionnaire or hoplite)

quote: Could you please explain unit upgrades for germ warfare? The way I see it is most units would think that it was beneath themselves to heave carcasses over walls and would only commit a small contingent to do such and thus not fully receive a bonus. themselves.

and that's the way it should be and this may be simulated as providing bonus to besieging army who possess the knowledge of using germ.

If you can bring a reference to historical existance of specialised germ phalanx I will happily accept your proposal.

quote: just too many weapons,

Basic tanks- 1917-1940: From MkI to Matilda. Mk I male version has guns and machine guns, female just machine guns. between world wars swivel turret appears, and side turrets disappear. Early engines go up to about 4 mph, by WW2 they can do c.20 (I think).
Heavy Tanks- 1920s-1950s: Conquorors, JS3s, etc. Heavy gun, slow movement, thick armour. Lose popularity when good, all round tanks appear.
'Blitzkrieg' tanks- 1935-1970s: Wider tracks, heavier guns than early tanks, but move considerably faster. Later ones include sloped armour, etc. examples: Tiger tanks, Shermans, T34s. Phased out in most armies by the 70s, but still in use in some areas.
MBTs (Main Battle Tanks)- 1945- : Tanks like the centurion, T55, M48 etc. faster, better armoured and better armed than WW2 tanks. Important step up in armourment for western tanks with the introduction of the L7 105mm gun. Many still in service today, forming the backbone of the majority of poorer nations' armoured divisions.
Modern tanks- 1970s- : The next generation of tanks, including M1s, Challengers, Leopard IIs. Make use of bigger guns (usually 120mm), better engines (usually capable of about 50mph), better ammunition (eg APFSDS- armour piercing fin stablisized discarding sabot) and advanced armour,, notably chobham (layers metals, ceramics and plastics designed to defeat APDS rounds).

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

YOU'VE GOT IT ALL WRONG.

1st of all...You the concept of anyone trying to put all the weapon (most of it anyway) is a unit design work shop is INSANE due to the fact that it is going to do nothing more then giving players headacres.

Besides, thats THE most unrealistic and ahistorical idea ever. Allow me to explan.

The whole problem here is that you are thinking that weapons, armour and other short of this stuff can be used to emulate real life units. DEAD WRONG. The orginalization of a army is no less, if not more, then the lenght of a sword or the size of a anti-tank gun. Besides, almost ALL armies, modern or long vanished, is a result of combined arms. Of course people didn't specialize before the concept of combined arms, but instead each men carried more then one weapon. As a result, no army in the world have only used ONE kind of weapon as the system would allow.

The archer at the battle of Agincourt for example, brought double pointed wooden stakes to build a fence-like structure to stop Cavalry, a Long Bow with 25 shots and a melee weapon of one's choice. Now do you build a unit with 3 weapons? And the fact that the reason the british archers uses the longbow and their french counter part don't is caused more by culture then technology.

Lets not get into modern day armour divisions or infantry battlions each with its own AA-Guns and Artillery support and so on. Even wellindon's squares at waterloo used some pikemen to stop a cavalry charge.

With your system a Roman legion would be exactly the same as a man at arms. Of course the way they fight is different but the equipment is about the same. How about a samerie and a crusader, both ware chain armor and uses a long sword. Yet sll of then are VERY different.

Besides, your system is no fun for me. When I want a phalanx I don't want bronze ancient spear man.

It seems to me some posters here use the word in a rather unconventional way.

quote: 'Phalanx' is a Greek word, meaning 'battle array', nothing more! Phalanx: 'in military science, tactical formation consisting of a block of heavily armed infantry standing shoulder to shoulder in files several ranks deep. Fully developed by the ancient Greeks, it survived in modified form into the gunpowder era and is viewed today as the beginning of European military development. The ancient Sumerian army fielded a standard six-man-deep phalanx; the first line went into battle carrying large, rectangular shields, and the troops bore heavy pikes and battle axes. During the 7th century BC the Greek city-states adopted a phalanx eight men deep. The Greek hoplite, the heavy-armed infantryman who manned the phalanx, was equipped with a round shield, a heavy corselet of leather and metal, greaves (shin armour), an 8-foot pike for thrusting, and a 2-foot double-edged sword. Since the phalanx held in solid ranks and was divided only into the centre and wings, there was generally little need for an officer corps; the whole line advanced in step to the sound of the flute. Such a formation encouraged cohesion among advancing troops and presented a frightening spectacle to the enemy, but it was difficult to maneuver and, if penetrated by enemy formations, became little more than a mob. For a millennium after the fall of Rome, massed infantry was swept from the field by heavy cavalry, but in the 15th century, Swiss burghers and peasants, fighting for their freedom in Alpine valleys where cavalry had little room to maneuver, brought about a return of the phalanx. This consisted of one-fifth missile weapons (chiefly the crossbow), one-fifth spears, and three-fifths halberds (eight-foot shafts with the blade of an ax, the point of a spear, and a hook for pulling a rider out of the saddle). Discarding all armour except for the helmet and cuirass, the Swiss were able to march 30 miles a day and attack with a celerity and discipline that were disconcerting to their adversaries.' (source: Britannica.com, article 'phalanx')

It is generally assumed that hoplite armament (shield, or hoplon; torso armor, at first a "bell" cuirass and later a metal-reinforced corslet; helmet; greaves; short iron sword; and a six-foot thrusting spear) and phalanx tactics are logically inseparable. This is not the case. They were discrete phenomena- simultaneous, perhaps, but seperate.

For one thing, the heavy panoply of the hoplite was not necessary for spear-based, close-formation tactics. The consistent success of both the later version of the Macedonin grand phalanx and the Swiss pike formations, neither of which used much body armor, proved this. Moreover, there is a tendency to label hoplite equipment as something new and revolutionary when in fact it was a close approximation of the accoutrements of the Iliad.'
(source: R.L. O'Connell:'Of Arms and Men',1989)

quote: Originally posted by SWPIGWANG The Second on 08-13-2000 09:29 AM Even wellindon's squares at waterloo used some pikemen to stop a cavalry charge.

No.

Thus we would merely have units such as the aforementioned

-Warrior [Basic] (Spear)
-Advanced Warrior (Jagged Spear)
-Biological Warrior (Spear dropped in Smallpox Blood)

Phalanx (Bronze Spear and Bronze Shields): 1-2-1

Wooden Phalanx: 1-1-2 (Wooden Shields, Travels fast like a real Roman Legionaire would, 30-40 miles a day. Hey they did it!)

Engineer Phalanx: 2-2-1 (Engineers make elaborate traps for the enemy to fall in and dig better trenches than most units. Attack Advantage)

There would 'hopefully' be three variations of each unit, should you so choose to use them.

And, to cut down on clutter in your city's build screen how about this:
You click on a design, say 'Phalanx', the design then opens up a box such as the ones which appear when you highlight over the 'profile' button at the top of this post.

From there you can choose your type of Phalanx.

*Prehistoric*
Stone axe +3 melee
Hunting spear +2 melee +1 support
Primitive bow +2 support

*Ancient*
Bronze spear +4 melee +1 support
Bronze sword +5 melee
Bronze armour +1 armour -1 mobility
Iron spear +5 melee +1 support
Iron sword +6 melee
Iron armour +2 armour -1 mobility
Wooden shield +1 armour
Bronze shield +2 armour -1 mobility
Iron shield +3 armour -1 mobility
Composite bow +3 support
Horse armour +1 armour -1 mobility
Marius's mule allows a unit to fortify -1 mobility

Transport(Anceint to early Modern)
Light Horse +6 mobility(no armour allowed)
Medium Horse +5 mobility(armoured men allowed)
War Horse +4 mobility(Horse armour allowed)
Chariot(arse) +2 mobility
Chariot(horse)+3 mobility
Elephant +2 mobility -2 enemy melee(only cavalry)

*Midieval & Early Rennaissance*
Long sword +7 melee
Pike +5 melee X2 melee vs mounted(only inf)
Lance +5 melee X2 melee vs mounted(only cav)
Plate armour +4 armour -2 mobility
Mace +5 melee ignores enemy armour 50% -1 mobility
Longbow +5 support ignores enemy armour 60%(inf only)
Crossbow +3 support ignores enemy armour 80%
Stirrup +2 melee(only mounted)auto upgrade if discovered

*Renaissance to Modern*
After the discovery of gunpowder new stat(firepower) will be added to all units which use firearms(many thanks to Evil capitalist)

Infantry primary
Arquebus +1 firepower
Musket +2 firepower
Later musket(Napoleonic) +3 firepower +4 melee
Early rifle(Napoleonic) +5 firepower +4 melee
Breech loader rifles(Colonial) +6 firepower +4 melee
Magazine rifle(WWI) +7 firepower +4 melee
Semi Automatic rifle(WWII) +10 firepower +4 melee
Advanced rifle(Modern) +15 firepower +3 melee

Armour
Basic tank(or Inf-tank) +8 armour +6 firepower +1 mobility(1.ignores trench effect 2.Ancient enemy melee/support negated ->applied to all armour)
Heavy Tank +10 armour +6 firepower(X2 vs hard target) +2 mobility
'Blitzkrieg' tank(WWII) +12 armour +7 firepower(X2 vs hard target) +5 mobility can "blitz"->applied to all armours after this
MBT(post WWII) +16 armour +12 firepower(X2 vs hard target) +7 mobility
MBT(next generation) +30 armour +16 firepower(X2 vs hard target)
+8 mobility(finally it equals 3 map mobility)

Note: All armours developed during and after WWII can blitz which means your unit can get through enemy unit without necessarily destroying it. Blitzed and enveloped enemy unit will suffer from penalty of reduced firepower,etc.

Siege support
Captapult/trebuchet +1 siege support can break city wall
Medieval bombard +2 siege support can break city wall
Mortar/Howitzer(Napoleonic) +3 siege support ignore city wall(applied to all artillery after these)
Mortar/Siege gun/Railgun(World war) +4 siege support

Field firepower support
Cannon(Napoleonic) +1 Firepower support
Breechloading cannon +2 FP support
Field Howitzer(world war) +3 FP support
SPA/Mobile rocket launcher(WWII) +3 FP support +5 mobility
SPA/MLRS(Modern) +4 FP support +6 mobility

Misc. support
Flak gun +4 firepower X3 vs Air target X2 hard target
SAM +16 firepower air target only
AT gun +2 firepower X4 hard target
ATGM +16 firepower hard target only

Transport(Modern)
Truck(motorised) +6 mobility
Half tracked(mechanised) +7 mobility +2 armour +1 FP support
Tracked(APC) +6 mobility +4 armour +1 FP support
Tracked(IFV) +7 mobility +8 armour +2 FP support

Note:Field guns can be horse-drawn by combining horses and guns. Other type of transport can be used for that function such as trucks.

When Infantry and Armours move at similar pace(1~4 mobility=1 map mobility)there is no need for APC but as armour speed get faster and faster Infantry need APC to catch up with the advancing armours.

100 m. = 10 shields
1000 m. = 100 shields
...

So you mean you would like to see variations. Such as

Phalanx- Choose:

Phalanx (Bronze Spear and Bronze Shields): 1-2-1

Wooden Phalanx: 1-1-2 (Wooden Shields, Travels fast like a real Roman Legionaire would, 30-40 miles a day. Hey they did it!)

Engineer Phalanx: 2-2-1 (Engineers make elaborate traps for the enemy to fall in and dig better trenches than most units. Attack Advantage)

Captapult/trebuchet +1 siege support can break city wall
Medieval bombard +1 FP support can break city wall
Breechloading/leather cannon & Mortar/Howitzer(Napoleonic) +2 FP support +2 mobility ignore city wall(applied to all artillery after these)
Mortar/Field Howitzer(Modern) +3 FP support +3 mobility
SPA/mobile Rocket launcher +4 FP suppport +5 mobility

Misc. support weaponry(AT & AA)

Flak gun/AA gun/Vulcan/SAM +2 FP support X3 vs Air target
AT rifle/AT gun/ATGM +2 FP support X3 vs hard target

Note: Maxim/Gatling gun,Rail gun, SPAA,Mobile SAM,RPG,AGL,Mobile ATGM were excluded.

Siege support

Captapult/trebuchet +1 siege support can break city wall
Medieval bombard +2 siege support can break city wall
Mortar/Howitzer(Napoleonic) +3 siege support ignore city wall(applied to all artillery after these)
Mortar/Siege gun/Railgun(World war) +4 siege support

Field firepower support

Cannon(Napoleonic) +1 Firepower support
Breechloading cannon +2 FP support
Field Howitzer(world war) +3 FP support
SPA/Mobile rocket launcher(WWII) +3 FP support +5 mobility
SPA/MLRS(Modern) +4 FP support +6 mobility

Misc. support

Flak gun +4 firepower X3 vs Air target X2 hard target
SAM +16 firepower air target only
AT gun +2 firepower X4 hard target
ATGM +16 firepower hard target only

Note:Field guns can be horse-drawn by combining horses and guns. Other type of transport can be used for that function such as trucks.

I will use the terms rough seas and calm seas- rough seas are the north seas etc. of the world, calm seas are like the mediteranean or tropical islands. A calm seas unit may only operate safely in calm water, otherwise it runs a risk of damage, which is very high if it leaves the coast. A rough seas unit doesn't worry about that.
I may also use some jargon, so here it is
AA- anti aircraft
ASW- Anti submarine warfare

Early vessels:

Outrigger: Used by the polynesians to colonise loads of islands. Calm seas, must stay by coast, always a risk of loss.

Early merchant vessel: The boats you get sailing the mediteranean before the first proper navies develop. Calm seas.

Tririeme: A coverall term I'll use to cover all the multiple oar ships (they go to quinrieme). Developed by the greeks and Tyre to beat the small vessels (like the merchant ships) that threatened them. Powered by slaves or criminals, and good in most weathers. They relied apon ramming and boarding for their damage, and carried marines for the purpose. Calm seas.
Special ability: Greek fire. Increases Greek fire was a napalm like substance that was sprayed onto ships. This was vital in Byzantium's naval defense. The secret of its composition was jealously guarded and now lost. Increases firepower.

Longboat: The shallow bottomed vessels that carried raiders to foreign shores. I can't think of any engagement involving these, but they need to be included. Equipped with sails and oars the Viking longboat is a purpose built landing craft. These sailed to Newfoundland, the Black sea and the Levant. They could travel up rivers, and few places near the coast were safe from them. Rough seas.

Galley: This was the vessel that appeared from the dark ages. Like a tririeme, but with more emphasis on the oars. Galleys formed the centre of the power of Venice and Genoa. Galleys saw battle as late as the Napoleonic war, and were only got rid of when steam allowed vessels to sail without wind. Although crewed by free men in Venice, they later became floating prisons with appauling conditions. Calm seas.

Cog: While merchant vessels in the mediteranean were light and fast, trade in the North sea required strong ships with wide beams and deep drafts. The cog provided that and because of their large cargo space soon replaced their mediteranean equivalents. They also required piers, leading to harbours being built. Rough seas, coastal.

Junk: The chinese merchant vessel was well designed and better than most western ships for centuries The sails were well configured for maneuvrability. Rough seas. Coastal

Dhow: The arab trade vessel. The sils were efficient, but the ship could not be turned without taking down the sail, requiring large crews or a straight course. Calm seas.

Battleship: This term is used for all large ships in the middle ages, but I don't know any other name so I'll use this. The very biggest vessels in medieval navies were called battleships, and were a symbol of a king's power. They usually had 'castles' at the front and back- forecastles and aftercastles. These would be packed with archers or occasionally a cannon. These ships would carry troops to a foreign shore, but would also provide an escort for smaller ships. Rough seas. Coastal.

Age of Discovery vessels. (all assumed to be rough seas and, unless stated otherwise, capable of sailing away from the coast)

Caravel: A trading vessel with improved sails over the longboat. This ship can sail in difficult situations. Caravels were used to explore by Henry the Navigator, Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama and Ferdinand Magellan.

Carrack: A development of the caravel with three or four masts. Used square sails like the caravel and usually had a high fore- and aftercastles where artillery was mounted. Carracks were most famously used by the English to defeat the Spanish armada, being faster and more maneuverable. The carrack later developed into the frigate.

Galleon. Developed in 1570 by Sir John Hawkins by removing the forecastle from a carrack to improve handling. The name galleon was given to it by the Spanish, and it was used in the armada. The Galleon developed into the ship of the line.

Fluyte: Developed by the Dutch with a rounder hull to accommadate more cargo. This ship formed the backbone of trading fleets until the indiaman came along. The fluyte halped the dutch to secure the spice trade and become one of the greatest trading powers in world history.

Sloop: A small ship with about 20 guns. Sloops would be good pirateand anti pirate vessels if they are to be included in the game.

Frigate: Ships which had less guns than a ship of the line, but were more maneuvrable. Frigates were used for patrols and exploration, and were the fast ships in any squadron. Also like any other warship the frigate would be used in landings, and British frigates did well when they raided the French coast towards the end of the Napoleonic war.

Ship of the line: Varying from between around 70 guns to around 130 these were the backbone of fleets from their development (gradual but around 1680s if I had to commit myself to a date) to the 1860s. With the guns on three or more decks the ship of the line was usually employed in squadrons, although sometimes they operated on their own. To give an idea of the numbers in service the royal navy could boast over 150 dat the time of Nelson's death (the USN has only 110 submarines today, their most numerous vessel). The ship had several masts and vast sails (don't ask me for the names). Later they were equipped with steam engines and paddles, but retained the sails. It was only with the realisation of the strength of the ironclad that the SOL fell out of favour.
Special abilities: Heated cannon shot: Invented in the 1840s by a Frenchman the heated shot could cause a wooden ship to catch fire rapidly. Increased damage to wooden ships. Steam engine: Increased speed

Indiaman: This merchantman replaced the fluyte and became the dominant trader during the commercial revoltion. The size varied, but the ship serviced the east india companes well. Many a fortune was made when the indiaman someone had invested in arrived in port (hence "when my ship comes in")

Industrial age ships.

Clipper ship: Fast and efficient the clipper first appeared in the early 19th century and lasted until the improved efficiency of steamboats made them no longer competitive

Early steamship: The most famous example of this is the SS Great Britain, but there are many others. These ships gradually came into prominance as the steam engine improved. Driven first by paddlewheels, then by screws, the steamship was well suited to routes in civilized areas.

Early Ironclad: The idea of a ship coated with iron was put forward in the 1850s by an Englishman. The admiralty did not want to start an arms race that would leave most of their ships out of date, so the idea was not taken up. However some were built by the USA, notably the monitor and the merrimac. When these two ships tried to destroy one another in the civil war taking hours to cause damage the battle was reported world wide. The winner, the monitor, then sank on it's way to be repaired. Coastal.

Early submarine: Although the first submarine was built in the 17th century the first time they were built in peacetime was in the mid 19th century. Extremely unsafe and prone to sinking, these vessels did not catch on until the turn of the 20th century. coastal, when out of port is very likely to get damaged.

Later Ironclad: After the victory of the Monitor all navies started to build ironclads. A few ironclads had been made before- notably the French La Gloire and the British Warrior. The royal navy at first cladded some ships of the line with iron. However soon they were purpose building the ships. These ironclads still used sails to save coal, but this gradually disappeared with the rise in coaling stations and the application of rotatable turrets.
Special abilities: Rotatable turrets: Although this resulted in a decrease in total firepower, the guns could be turned to face any direction, increasing their effect. This resulted in the removal of rigging and other problematic parts, although that had little effect on performance.

Cruiser: This ship was an improvement on the newer ironclads, and was the first sort of vessel to look like a modern warship. First classified by the British in 1887, but dating back about 20 years more. Fast and with medium armament, the first ones were built with sails and steam, such as HMS Shah in 1868, and made of iron (later steel). They soon became better protected with armoured decks and shields for machinary and magazines. These protected cruisers were replaced with armoured cruisers, which were used for raiding merchants and scouting. After WW1 the cruiser became the dominant vessel, with large guns and a considerable AA ability. The cruiser finally went into decline in the missile age- being much more expensive than frigates and destroyers, but not much more powerful.
Special abilities: see modern abilities(below)

Battleship: the term was coined by the royal Navy for a ship of over 74 guns. However it would come to mean one of the largest ships afloat. In 1871 the British launched HMS Devastation- with no sails and four guns in two turrets. The size of guns rapidly increased to above 12", the displacement grew and the engines became faster. However early battleships were not so good at hitting their targets, and were vulnerable to mines.
However in 1906 HMS Dreadnought was launched making all other battleships obselete and starting an arms race to build massive dreadnoughts. The rangefining was improved, the speed greater, the guns more powerful and the armour as thick as any other ship of the time. However they were still vulnerable to submarines, and that is how most of them were lost. Their vulnerability to aerial attack was discovered but ignored in the 1920s. The ships became more costly and less practical. Aircraft carriers proved more deadly in WW2 and Britain scrapped her last battleship, the King George V, in the 1950s. America recently recommissioned four Ohio class battleships (I think), which made appearances in the Lebnanon and the Iraqi war.
Special abilities: see below

Battlecruiser: A ship that was meant to provide the speed of the cruiser and the power of the battleship. The first one was laid down in 1906, capable of 25 knots and with 8 12" guns. The battlecruiser could sink a battleship, but had little armour, making it rely on its speed for protection. The ships' vulnerability was proven at the battle of Jutland, where German battlecruisers, with thicker armour, lasted considerably longer in the fray. Of the three the Royal navy retained two were sunk in 1941, one to japanese planes and another to the German battleship Bismark.

Submarines: The fully submersable sub appeared in the 1880s. This, when equipped with torpedos, was a deadly menace to shipping. In 1895 a new version appeared with a combined steam and electric power system. The power of submarines was demonsrated in WW1, when they became a major instrument of blockade. The most famous use of submarines were the German U boats. These brought Britain close to defeat with their attacks on British and American convoys.
The first nuclear submarine was built in 1955 was the start of the uclear submarines. The submarines of today fall into two catagories- standard and missile. Standard submarines are intended to blockade and attack shipping. Missile submarines carry nuclear weapons, such as the Polaris and Trident systems. Special abilities: Engine choice: Steam+electic/ Diesel+electric/ hydrogen peroxide fuel*/ nuclear reactor. Air rebreather: A far more efficient way to reuse air in an enclosed environment. Stealthy: Minimises heat, sonar and electronic emisions, making the sub much harder to detect.

Destroyer: The first destroyers were unarmoured torpedo boats, but later they started to be fitted depth charges and given light armour as well. They soon became escort vessels, capable of dealing with submarines and aircraft. In the 1950s they came to be equiped with rockets and radar, and gradually they became the main surface vessel of most fleets.
Special options: see below.

Frigate: The name of this class is the same as the Napoleonic ship. The ship was developed in an ASW capacity during WW2 to protect convoys. The ship has risen to become the largest class of ship in most navies (excluding the carrier). Originally equiped with small deck guns and depth charges, they now have anti-ship missiles like the exocet and seawolf.
Special abilities: See below

Carrier: The first purpose built aircraft carrier was HMS Ark Royal (the third of seven IIRC). This launched its aircraft from the water, and was soon outdated by the full carrier, with take off and landing possible on deck. Development happened between the wars, mainly thanks to arms limitation treaties limiting battleships, and the new designs culminated in the fleets that took part in Pearl Harbour and the battle of Midway. The armoured flight deck was introduced by the British at this time (giving the Kamikazes who crashed into these decks a shock). After the war The British introduced the steam ctapult, allowing the carrier to finally become a floating airfield, capable of launching the air armadas of today. One of the newer developments of carriers has been the VTOL carrier, which is cheaper than a fleet carrier, but can still provide a base for large air attacks, as proved in the Falklands. There are also new carriers, called amphibious ships, that carry only helicopters and marines.
Special abilities: Engines: as other 20th century ships. Armoured deck: makes the ship a lot less vulnerable. AA countermeasures: makes the ship less vulnerable to aerial and missile attacks. Steam catapult: allows all fighters/fighter bombers to use carrier.

Trimarin: This is a new development, just ending trial stages, which uses a revolutionary three hull design to increase speed and decrease fuel consumption.
Special abilities: See below

Stealth boat: This is under development by at least the USN and RN. The idea is to have a ship invisable to radar, and which can thereby regain the element of surprise in naval warfare.
Special Abilites: God knows.

Special abilities for 20th century ships:

Engines: Steam turbine engine. Gas/oil turbine. Nuclear reactor.

ASW abilities: Torpedos, sonar etc.: spot and attack submarines in adjacent squares. (made more effective with Sonar)

ASW helicopter: Many ships today are equipped with helicopters, which can carry torpedoes to a detected submarine without giving away the position of the ship. Combat *2 vs Submarines.

Spotter plane: Popular in WW2 ships, these were used to keep track of the battle and report of shot accuracy before radars and computers. See 2 squares. +1 firepower

Electronic aids: Does all the processing of data and collects it all in one room. See 2 squares, +1 firepower (cheaper than plane)

Fibre-optic link: Allows ships to maximise communication. further +1 firepower.

Missile launch facilities: Allows a ship to launch cruise missiles.

AA countermeasures: AA missiles and chainguns give a ship almost total protection from aerial and missile attack.

Liner: Between 1870 and 1900 the time it took to cross the Atlantic halved. Speed and size increased dramatically. Liners and huge steamships were the foundations on which the modern world was built. These ships service global empires and worldwide trading systems.

Container ship: In the 1960s containerisation revolutionised the merchant fleets of the world. Whereas before the ships had been of a single cargo, the idea that containers on a huge ship could be sold to anyone meant massive vessels with enormous cargoes. This spelt the end for many docks, which were too shallow to hold the ships. London docks, the busiest in the world in 1900, was completly shut down by 1980.

Missiles:
My knowledge of these is not that good. However her's a list of the types and any important changes to them.

Early missiles: V1s, V2s. Cause little damage due to the poor guidance systems.

ICBMs (intercontinental balistic missiles): Designed to deliver a nuclear warhead halfway across the globe. Revolutionised by the introduction of solid fuel, meaning they could be left ready to launch, without needing to be filled up first.

IRBMs (Intermediate range balistic missiles): The backbone of most nuclear deterants. These are the things on the back of trucks that get paraded around. Meant for in theatre war- but often have a range of several thousand miles.

SLBMs: (Submarine launched balistic missiles)Submarine launched weapons, meant to strike anywhere, with less cost than an ICBM. USA, USSR and Britain have these.

Cruise missiles: Designed to deliver low level nuclear strikes, the cruise missile came to be the best method of damaging a target without collateral damage or putting friendly lives at risk. They were greatly improved by GPS networks and other precision surveying.

special ability for ICBMs and SLBMs: multiple warhead system: To economise on their nuclear forces some powers use multiple warhead missiles.

Also thank you for the missile list.

Is there any other list we need?

quote: started with a P

Isn't it called "Privateer"?

Anyone knows Chinese name for "Junk". There must be a name for it. Junk sounds like a rubbish to me.