Naval Tactics (CTP2)

is an advance in Call to Power II.
== Gameplay ==
Naval combat undergoes a renaissance with the discovery of modern Naval Tactics. The is the culmination of advances that allowed ships to safely carry and utilize multiple s in battle.
== Great Library entry ==
Ships were originally conceived as floating fortresses, and conventional military practice involved placing guns as high on the fore and aft castles as possible to maintain height advantage over enemies. As cannon grew heavier over the years, placing them high rendered ships dangerously unstable. Bringing cannon down from castles to mid decks and later to lower decks was a revolutionary idea. The purpose of cannons changed from an anti-personnel weapon used to aid in boarding to one that crippled ships. By aiming cannon at the masts and rigging, attackers could render a ship "dead in the water" and capture it with ease.
Naval tactics underwent another shift with the development of the line ahead formation for ships. A fleet of ships, all of similar strength, sailed in the wake of the ships ahead of them, forming a "ribbon of death" miles long but scarcely 300 yards wide. This enabled each ship to have a clear shot at the enemy as no friendly ships ever risked sailing in front of their powerful broadside-mounted guns. The term ship of the line originated in the 1700s to describe the only suitable ships "to lie in the line of battle."
As the use of line ahead tactics increased, shipbuilders began rolling out ships with greater capacity. First-rate ships of the line carried as many as 136 cannon on three separate gun decks. These huge ships were less common, however, than third-raters, 175-footers with two full gun decks of as much as 74 cannon. These faster and more maneuverable ships dominated the seas until the late 19th century development of the battleship.
== See also ==
* Naval Tactics in other games