AI Venice will never be competent until transport ships are removed.

[HHC_Glen]

What I'd suggest:

1. Let all ships carry troops.
2. Let merchant ships, you know, steer trade better.
3. Let light ships have the best blockade rating.

But most of all:

4. Create a system of naval interception at sea, so that there is a chance two enemy ships could, in fact, pass in the night. Sorties from a blockaded port would have a far higher chance to be intercepted. Chances to encounter an enemy in a deep sea area would be decreased.

Edit:

5. Also, allow "mercenary" ships you can hire. If you want to bolster your fleet with a bunch of merchant ships for a quick transport mission — do it! Make is so that the cost-to-purchase is lower, but the cost-for-maintenance is higher than a regular naval ship. (This came up when they first announced "privateering," which isn't really privateering the way it is implemented.)

Blocking ships within a port was a 'thing' though.

 

[Raphael87]

For the last 10 years Venice has rebels in Istra, while having bigger army in their capital and while having enough transport ships. Funny thing, rebels aren't moving. So, AI is just staying there, and probably will until I declare war to them, get rid of rebels for them, maybe do a musical wish as well while I'm at it...

 

[Chamboozer]

Blocking ships within a port was a 'thing' though.

Not for years at a time, especially during the earlier half of the game's time period.

 

[kakatua]

Because any nation can maintain a flow of invisible convoys to your fleet to maintain a 5 years blockade...
Just saying, convoys are just invisible Transport Ships and they are going from your country to your fleet, without any possible enemy intervention.
Tell me that you are against invisible Transport Ships again because it would impossibilitate blockade ships in port, please...

 

[Sparhafoc]

"Just" improving the AI is something people who don't know anything about coding say an awful lot.

Sure, but the people who make a game complete with AI are people who do know about coding AI.

 

[GeneralPetrov]

I think the main reason a few people are against the idea is that it's worded a bit confusing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not suggesting that transport ships should be removed entirely and troops should ping-pong teleport around, rather that transport ships should be temporary ships that you can summon for a fixed fee for a specific movement task, correct? If that's the case, that sounds like a very good and historically accurate idea.

 

[CharlieFox]

It is not bad suggestion, however if it were implemented AI should be "told" not to attempt to transport troops unless it can provide an adequate naval force to protect them. I don't want France losing its whole army to the Royal Navy on a regular basis

 

[Pellucid]

I think the main reason a few people are against the idea is that it's worded a bit confusing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not suggesting that transport ships should be removed entirely and troops should ping-pong teleport around, rather that transport ships should be temporary ships that you can summon for a fixed fee for a specific movement task, correct? If that's the case, that sounds like a very good and historically accurate idea.

Correct. Transports would technically still exist, you just wouldn't build them beforehand.

 

[NightKev]

Sure, but the people who make a game complete with AI are people who do know about coding AI.

And those people have said it's a problem that would take a significant investment of resources to fix... this would take much less, and is even more realistic as a bonus!

 

[GeneralPetrov]

Correct. Transports would technically still exist, you just wouldn't build them beforehand.

You got my vote then! Hopefully paradox will create a naval expansion for EU4 soon, and this should definitely be a part of it. Honestly I cant see any reason paradox would not implement this idea.

 

[Wagonlitz]

But even if the enemy successfully lands on your territory, if you rush your fleet back and obtain local superiority again, they are then out of supply and facing attrition. Invading England wasn't just hard because of having to evade or beat the Royal Navy, it was also the need to continue to maintain a supply line. Even if your armies are living off the land, they won't be gaining new recruits from a hostile countryside.

Does that actually happen in game though? As far as I am aware an army will reinforce even though its supply lines are cut by a blockading navy. So in that case the army won't just wither away unless the English army can beat it repeatedly.

 

[Forster]

The thing you are describing isn't represented in the current game. Atm, the costs of the fleets are miniature and mothballing eliminates any financial burden of having a fleet, also dominating the sea is plain too easy as AI just shits itself trying to manage it.

You can mothball fleets?

 

[Viperswhip]

You can mothball fleets?

It requires one of the DLC perhaps? I am not sure whether it was included in a game without it. It's button in the fleet view window.

They still count against your naval force limit though, and you still get that insanely old advice in one of the transition screens that says you can disband your transport ships in peacetime, which MAY (probably not), have been valid back when they took 70ish days to make a transport ship, but now unless you've boosted the hell out of your provinces they take much longer than that.

 

[wolfing]

Eliminate transport fleets, and add a 'transport capacity' to heavy, light and galley ships? Perhaps a heavy lets you transport 250 troops, light 100 and galley 50 or something. Then you'll need several ships per division, and only naval powers like England and Castille would be able to transport more than a few thousand at a time (perhaps add a %bonus to this to idea groups like Maritime to make them more useful).
But then we'd still have the issue of not being able to quell rebellions in islands with 6k rebels. Hmm... not so easy.

 

[Wagonlitz]

and only naval powers like England and Castille would be able to transport more than a few thousand at a time

Don't forget Denmark.

 

[Sparhafoc]

And those people have said it's a problem that would take a significant investment of resources to fix... this would take much less, and is even more realistic as a bonus!

Yes - a significant investment of resources in order to sell a DLC specifically improving the naval element of EU. I'd buy it.

How are magically appearing transports spawning at the click of a button more realistic?

 

[Pellucid]

Yes - a significant investment of resources in order to sell a DLC specifically improving the naval element of EU. I'd buy it.

How are magically appearing transports spawning at the click of a button more realistic?

Because that's how transporting troops by sea worked in real life, except replace "click of a button" with "draft of merchant ships." i.e. the ships that aren't represented by any current in-game item. i.e. the only way they could come into the game is by "spawning."

 

[PhoenixDown]

Very good idea. Civilization did something like that and it massively improved the game for me. Just click on a sea and your units turn into ships without any movement left. You could still stop the armies from invading your continent with a small fleet. One boat basically killed any unit that wasn't escorted.

 

[kakatua]

How ships magically sustained do a blockade for 10 years, 100 miles from your coast with no risk of being out of supply, because their supplies came magically without any ship doing that travel, can be more realistic than that?
How can a battle be better to you with transport ships between your Ships-of-line than without them?
Who in any sense would put transport ships in a fight without they were really transport something, except in the most desperate situations?

 

[Sparhafoc]

Because that's how transporting troops by sea worked in real life, except replace "click of a button" with "draft of merchant ships." i.e. the ships that aren't represented by any current in-game item. i.e. the only way they could come into the game is by "spawning."

That's a fair point, but we already have merchant shipping in game, and that's your trade fleets.