Artillery

[Gunther_01]

No it's not gunpowder and exploding shell artillery, before you think it.

Artillery is the collective term for all weapons that deliver an ordanance over a distance.
Now with that information lets continue.

I know that alot of people want to see castles and walls in-game, and with them seige weapons and artillery.
But who says that we need walls to have artilery?
Artillery was used widely in normal pitched battles in roman times, medieaval, and dark ages.
So why not have catapults, trebuchets and ballistas (probably the most practicle) in-game?
It would not be that hard. They are simply weapons that you have to push around. There is a decreased chance to hit (and i mean really decreased) because of the time it takes for the projectile to reach the target, but if you score a hit there a onehitter.

[Appleide]

Or maybe they could be fired upon a neigboring location, and everyone there in the open have a 50% chance of receiving a 5% wound.

[cantrpotatoe]

which reminds me, there shouild also be a badage of come sort... something that could be made of leather or hemp... one time use and you get 2-3% health back from eating regularly everyday.

so if you got attacked by animals and had no healing food this would help out alot...

[The Industriallist]

Well, for the original idea, there aren't supposed to be any one-hit, or even two-hit, weapons. I don't think size and inconvenience would change that.

As for the 'splash effect', I wouldn't be opposed on principle (especially if it took some sort of ammo and several people to operate. But there is no way you could get that kind of range out of an elasticity and/or leverage-based weapon (all medieval weapons). You'd need pretty advanced guns...at least WWI. Remember, most roads are days of walking long...

Of course, that's an IRL issue...

[Antichrist_Online]

Actually Ballistae can get some very long ranges, but lose power over that range. Just having a fixed point artillery that could be built in towns would be better, enabling them to attack theives and armys without anyone travelling. Maybe a project using stone called loading weapon. I'd be for that kind of accurate artillery (Ie no splash damage, 50% chance of a hit, same damage as a sabre.)

[The Industriallist]

I'm sure no ballista shot over 20 miles. And I'm sure no two towns are closer together than that.

How would you see a target for this weapon? At the moment your attack range with every weapon is the same as your sight range, so this would just be a sabre you can't move...

The splash weapon you could just aim down a road.

[Appleide]

maybe just do it on the road or town, and you select up to 10 targets on the same spot, or at the same place, like on the same road, same town square, and each have a 50% chance of losing 5% strength, then, random one of them have a 5% of receiving a 40% wound.

eg in RL, catapults fires, hits a guy, kills him, then the stone breaks, and hurts people around the dead guy.

[Antichrist_Online]

For ranging the weapon how about telescopes, they could use glass and steal and enable you to see further down the road. Perhaps the weapon could only fire if they are 1 day or less away from the town. That would still be out of ballista range but not another point defence weapon.
The damage system appleide surgested I think is good. It makes the usage of the weapon fair.

[Gunther_01]

eg in RL, catapults fires, hits a guy, kills him, then the stone breaks, and hurts people around the dead guy.

Not with a catapult, man.
Catapults would have no chance of fragmenting. They don't have the velocity to gain enough centripetal acceleration to fragment with that kind of force. They would break, yes, but not dangetously.
Instead they roll. Catapult shot rolls through enemy formations, killing whole files of soldiers. So the "splash damage" still aplies.

Sorry about that man but i can't help myself sometimes. You were right but for the wrong reasons.

[kronos]

correct, now lets say we had a 155mm howitzer maybe then we will get fragmentation

[AoM]

I'm not for artillary being used from one area over. But once brought to town, I think it should be used to attack buildings. Buildings should be given a strength value dependant upon what they're made up of and the size of their complex. The should be repairable. There should be different types of siege equipment, with varying costs and damage:

log rams
battering rams
ballistae
catapults
trebuchets

perhaps a torch should be introduced (requires stick plus oil, and requires a firepit) This could be used to do damage to certain buildings (wooden ones).

The more complicated and devastating a siege weapon, the more people must be using it. ("Helping" the person who started the "Siege" project)

Damage would continue, hour by hour, day by day, until the besiegers are forced to abandon their project or until the building eventually collapses.

~AoM

[The Sociologist]

I'm not for artillary being used from one area over. But once brought to town, I think it should be used to attack buildings.

And eventually destroy them too? Great idea! One way for towns at last to get rid of names they don't like. One can think of other uses...

Your 5-day siege project has concluded. You destroyed one envelope.

[Gunther_01]

Buildings should be given a strength value dependant upon what they're made up of and the size of their complex.

Before anyone progams anything, larger buidlings are easier to bring down. This was realised during the close of the middle ages and up to world war one when the stone fortification became obselete.
After a building or fortification reaches a certain size, and you puch a sizable hole in it, it collpases undser it's own weight.
So buildings in-game like halls, and light houses would take less, and small things like mud-huts would take less. But buildings like your average stone one would take more.

[The Industriallist]

Unless, of course, we suppose that larger buildings also have heavier construction...

[AoM]

Yes, but certain buildings, such as fortresses, were designed to withstand artillery. So perhaps, new buildings can be added to the list: Fortresses, bunkers, etc... these are the same size and hold the same amount as their Hall, Stone Building counterparts, but would have much better defensive strengths once artillery is introduced.

~AoM