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GunboatsExpanded

The ascension of Admiral Grepson to the command of the remainder of the Empire's fleet of gunboats has led to a complete overhaul of both its fleet and its staff. The main faults described were the lack of Service Ceiling across the whole fleet, the lack of variation and stopping power of mounted weaponary, the relative defencelessness of the Landships, and the relatively poor levels of armour and upwards-pointing firepower on the defensive Buildings. The new fleet emphasies modularity, firepower and survivability, while improving speed and service ceiling. The new Buildings emphasise survivability, consistent firepower, and the minimisation of blind spots. The new Landships emphasise survivability and greater upwards-pointing firepower. It is hoped that Admiral Grepson's modernisation will produce a fleet of relatively small, compact gunboats which are versatile enough to handle a range of threats, have the survivability and firepower to take on larger and heavier enemies, and have the performance in both speed and service ceiling that enemies are no longer able to take significant advantage of their defects in this area.

This mod replaces the stock "gunboats" fleet with an improved one which consists of 56 Airships across 9 Tiers, 13 Landships across 3 Tiers, and 34 Buildings across 6 Tiers; uses 4 Special Bonuses, and is updated for 1.2, Heroes & Villains, and the 2025 Defence Budget update. The techs have been re-ordered to give a fast start in terms of economy and research, while building a Fleet Academy early for the crew bonuses. They should also prioritise certain key strategic resources as well. Since the only allowed charge was a gear (which gives no bonuses), the fleet now has no required charge.

Airships:
Gunboat - The standard compact gunboat, starting with Rifle and Cannon and upgrading to Gatling Gun and Heavy Cannon.
Torpedo - A Gunboat adapted to taking down large and well-defended enemy buildings using Aerial Torpedoes.
Flamer - A Gunboat adapted to rapidly taking out lighter enemy ships and buildings at close range, using the Acid Spitter until Flamethrowers are researched, and then upgrading to the Giant Flamethrower.
Light Gunboat - A more lightly-armed version of the Gunboat at a more modest price, for the higher tiers where the high construction cost of ships can be an issue.
Interceptor - A Gunboat set up purely for speed, allowing defensive coverage of a larger area or exploitation of a slower enemy force.
Bomber - A Gunboat designed specifically for dropping Granades and later Bombs on enemies from above.
Boarder - A Gunboat with most of the weapons removed and replaced with boarding troops. Uses Clockwork Janissaries before Marines are researched, before later upgrading to Grenadiers.
Suspendium - A Gunboat armed with a Suspendium Ray, upgrading to a Suspendium Disruptor at higher tiers.
Tender - A larger Gunboat, carrying a number of Aerial Hussars rather than being heavily armed itself. At higher tiers, Gatling Skyboats are added, then the Hussars are upgraded to Clockwork Hussars, and finally the Gatling Skyboats are upgraded to Torpedo Bombers.

Landships:
Heavy Tank - A cannon-armed tank, using legs at higher tiers.
Flame Tank - A flamethrower-armed Tank.
Acid Tank - A Tank Aremd with Acid Spitters
Rocket Tank - A tank armed with Rockets, upgraded to Torpedoes at higher level.
Missile Tank - A Tank aremd with a pair of Guided Missiles.

Buildings:
Watchtower - A cannon and rifle-armed defensive building priced to defend a Town and providing a rounded defense.
Rocket Tower - A Watchtower with the addition of Rockets.
Light Hussar Tower - A Watchtower with the addition of a single Aerial Hussar.
Hussar Tower - A Watchtower focusing on Aerial Hussars and Gatling Skyboats.
SAM Site - A Guided-Missile-armed Watchtower.
Blockhouse - A larger version of the Watchtower, priced at half a City's Defence Budget.
Fortress - A large defensive building priced to use most of a City's Defence Budget.