The invisible bridge of Gibralter

[Good Ship Chuckle]

I didn't know there was such a thing, but it seems that there is.

I discovered on the Roma Surrectum map that units can walk from Iberia to North Africa with out even getting their feet wet. As funny as it is, I don't think units could realistically or historically move from North Africa to Iberia with out some naval transportation. Perhaps a more informed person could tell me why the RS map allows units to walk on water. Maybe the RS team just has a dry (or in this case wet) sense of humor.

[Squid]

The landbridges are placed to simulate the ease with which militaries could move between certain location that were very close to each other but over seas. It didn't require a navy in order to move troops acroos gibralter, so why would we make it require a navy in RS? Also it helps with encouraging historic expansion, as carthage will head towards spain with the landbridge far more often and with far more vigour then without the landbridge. I also believe there's one at the helenspont.

[Good Ship Chuckle]

I agree with landbridges having the purpose of facilitating more historical expansion, but could troops really move across the water with out the aid of naval transport?

The strait is 13 km at its narrowest point, with depths ranging from 340 to 920 meters. I simply can't see how a section of water this substantial could be crossed with out the aid of naval transport, unless you narrowly define "navy" as being those ships which are used for maritime warfare. :teacher7:

Looking at this satellite photo, I would hope you don't suppose they walked across.

Do you have historical evidence/sources of such feats being accomplished with out naval transport?

[Squid]

Not without naval transport, but certainly without a navy, and unfortunately only that later can be represented in RTW.

[Good Ship Chuckle]

True.
But then again isn't that the point of a mod? To make changes from the original. I'm sure making "shore transports" wouldn't be too hard, esp. for a mod team with the caliber of RS. What do you think?

[Squid]

A couple of things, as good as we are we're limited by what the engine allows, also it eats up a unit slot in EDU and those are a precious commodity, and not one to waste when we can simulate the effect another way.

[cherryfunk]

Land bridges are common in many mods -- they aid the AI in particular, since it has trouble expanding across oceans. Landbridge in Gibraltar = a more expansionist Carthage.

Whenever asking yourself why a mod has implemented a specific change, it's important to consider its impact on the AI as much as its impact on a human player. The RTW AI is notoriously simple-minded, so we do things to 'nudge it' along the path we want it to take to provide the greatest possible challenge to the player....

[Good Ship Chuckle]

Ahhh, yes. No matter the subject, it somehow always refers back to the RTW's poor AI engine. lol

What made me ask the question in the first place was one game when the Iberians stormed out of Iberia and walked plowed nothern Africa when I was the Ptolemaics. I knew that this storm wouldn't have been so stark, had a land bridge not been in place.