16th August 2004, 6:42 PM
You have brought up a very good point, and the reason I think they just scrapped sea battles altogether in SC.
Sea's niche is the poor man's air units if you ask me, and sublteness. I've come up with exactly 3 scenarios where sea does better. Air, overall, is better, but that's why it's more expensive.
Anyway, here goes.
First scenario, in an ocean map, a large section can't be crossed, and therefor can't be SEEN, by land units. So, sea units can easily sneak around and do as they wish until opposing sea units, or later air units, show up.
Second, in a fast battle, one where the aerial stuff just ain't gonna happen, but the mid range power is the deciding factor, there's still navel forces.
Final scenario, defendability. In WC2 anyway, defending against landfall was always a hard prospect, namely due to the inability of land units to really mix it up. Both flying units and other land units can be swarmed into and broken up. Sea units must have opposing sea units or air units battle them, land units needing to stay back. (I will add something, aerial units can do a similar thing using mountains).
Anyway, these things all are for the quicker battles, and from what I've played, those are far more common than the ones where both sides make it to the top of the tech tree and there are griffin and dragon wars.
Stilll, we should at least try it out.
Sea's niche is the poor man's air units if you ask me, and sublteness. I've come up with exactly 3 scenarios where sea does better. Air, overall, is better, but that's why it's more expensive.
Anyway, here goes.
First scenario, in an ocean map, a large section can't be crossed, and therefor can't be SEEN, by land units. So, sea units can easily sneak around and do as they wish until opposing sea units, or later air units, show up.
Second, in a fast battle, one where the aerial stuff just ain't gonna happen, but the mid range power is the deciding factor, there's still navel forces.
Final scenario, defendability. In WC2 anyway, defending against landfall was always a hard prospect, namely due to the inability of land units to really mix it up. Both flying units and other land units can be swarmed into and broken up. Sea units must have opposing sea units or air units battle them, land units needing to stay back. (I will add something, aerial units can do a similar thing using mountains).
Anyway, these things all are for the quicker battles, and from what I've played, those are far more common than the ones where both sides make it to the top of the tech tree and there are griffin and dragon wars.
Stilll, we should at least try it out.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)