Some questions were raised in the previous round of NWO. Dave was nice enough to compile a list of these questions and post answers to them. I have recreated that here, with a few additional notes of my own.
Wings
To be perfectly honest, not a lot. Expect 90-95% of the units on the board to be armies, fleets or nukes. However, it does serve a purpose. Wings are useful in navigating terrain that includes both water and land. It is especially useful in navigating around (or through) impassable regions. For example, if you plant a wing in the middle of the Himalayas and your enemy doesn’t have a wing, you are now able to support all your surrounding units or even airlift them right over the Himalayas without any chance of having that support/airlift get cut. Historically, good players have used wings to very quickly attack their enemies because of this ability.
Update: With the new “Hidden Units” rules, wings become more valuable for their ability to chase down and eliminate terrorist and pirate units. No other traditional units have this capability.
Nukes
This is correct. While this was a rule test in a previous round, this restriction has been removed.
Build a nuke over two seasons means that unit ‘exists’ as a nuke-in-production. A passed build adds a banked credit to your total but does not count as a unit on the board.
If you lose an SC in the second year of production and have to disband, the nuke-in-production can still be placed, assuming you disband another unit. However, if you passed the build, there is no unit to place. Therefore, without an available build, you cannot build the nuke.
There is a value in either choice. Building a nuke guarantees its placement, while passing a build gives you more flexibility with the banked credit.
Nukes cannot get captured. They can, in theory, be dislodged. They have a defensive power of 0, so any unit attacking them would force them to dislodge.
In practice around 90-95% of nukes are fired immediately upon being built. The remainder are fired in the second season. This is not a rule, this is just the general practice of using nukes. Remember: if you built a nuke, firing it means you have one less unit on the board and, hopefully, that means you have another build in the upcoming year. Therefore, you can get a cycle going of building and firing nukes every year, if you have the capacity that is.
Nuked SCs are wiped off the map. Nuked voting SCs lose their SC value but retain their voting status.
5. Are nuke trades unconditional or can they be conditional?
Nuke trades are unconditional. For example, if Nation A writes:
“Send nuke tech to Nation B in exchange for 1 credit.”
and Nation B writes:
“Accept nuke tech from Nation A.”
The exchange succeeds whether or not Nation B actually sends the credit.
6. Can nukes be launched in build phases?
No. They can only be launched during spring or fall diplomacy (ie move) phases.
7. Do sea zones become impassable when nuked?
Any territory that is nuked cannot be entered during that season. So, if you nuked MNA in the spring, no units could enter until the fall.
8. Can you nuke the north pole?
Yes. You can also use this when counting territories for the purpose of range. For instance, if Canada has gained nuke technology with a range of 3, and builds a nuke in WIN, he could nuke ZAP by going through the north pole (NUN – NP – ZAP).
9. Do nukes destroy IEDs in territories they hit?
Yes.
Hidden Units
Yes and no. Pirates and Terrorists do not count as units against your total. These are independent units controlled by certain nations. For example, if a pirate-controlling nation has 3 SC’s, it may have 3 armies/fleets/wings and the pirate fleet. The restriction here is that they may never have more than 1 pirate fleet at any given time.
CTU’s do count against your total, but you may build as many as you want up to your total SC count.
2. If I’m a controlling nation, can my terrorist/pirate units destroy my own units?
Yes. Pirate units who attack fleets or cities owned by its controlling nation attack as normal. Likewise, terrorist IED’s and bombs are effective against the controlling nation’s units and cities.
3. Can the ability to build pirates/terrorists be shared like nuke tech?
No. Only the originally selected nations can build and control these units.
4. Do I have to wait until Winter 2012 (ie the first time pirates/terrorists become available) to build CTU’s?
No. You can build CTU’s starting in the Winter 2011. No nations begin play with a CTU, but they are available to build during any winter phase just like any other unit.
5. A CTU that enters a space where a terrorist or pirate unit is using a special attack detects and destroys the unit. Does this mean that if it holds in a territory where a terrorist or pirate unit uses its attack it will not capture it?
No. If a CTU holds, and a terrorist/pirate enters its space and attempts to perform a special attack will be detected and stopped by the CTU unit.
6. A CTU may destroy a pirate or terrorist unit that has had its location confirmed by a wing. Does this mean that a terrorist or pirate unit that has ever been detected by a wing will die the second it runs into the same space as a moving CTU, or does it mean that if the pirate or terrorist was detected on the last phase it dies if it runs into the moving CTU, or does it mean that it dies if it was detected by a wing being in the same space as a moving CTU?
If a wing uncovers a terrorist/pirate in the same turn that a CTU owned by the same nation enters the space where the terrorist/pirate is located, it may capture that unit. If no CTU enters the space, and the terrorist/pirate then vacates the area becoming hidden once again, then it must be found again in order to be captured.
7. Are pirates subject to the territorial restrictions of fleets and terrorists subject to the territorial restrictions of armies?
Yes. Pirates move like fleets, and terrorists move like armies. The only difference is that pirates cannot convoy any units, and terrorists cannot be convoyed by any other units. They also cannot be supported to hold or move. They are completely independent. In addition, pirates who enter the North Pole in the fall must retreat back to where they came from in the winter just like a fleet.
8. Can a wing be supported in its efforts to destroy terrorist or pirate units? (In order to overcome an attempt to bounce it out of the space to which it must follow its target).
Yes, I will allow this, but only by another wing unit. The wing supporting the move will not itself move, but will attempt to support the moving wing if it moves into a territory it is adjacent to.
9. Can terrorists set off their own IEDs?
No. Terrorist units are immune to all IEDs, even those planted by other terrorists.
10. Can pirates/terrorists be used to support other units?
No. Hidden Units act independently. These units, including CTU’s cannot support other units to move or hold, and cannot be supported by other units. This restriction also includes support for or from other Hidden Units.