In RL mines are an obstacle designed to deny access to the enemy, or
change its travel route. Like any obstacle, such as barbed wire etc it
is only useful long term if covered by fire. If its not covered by
fire, the enemy, once they discover it can easy cut(or sweep) a path
through it. The obstacle may cause damage to the first ship, and then
cause a dely in shipping until a minesweeper is brought in, but once
this is done, the obstacle will be cleared. This is also true in
Empire.
In order to make a minefield effective it should be covered by fire, eg
from a fort, hat, or deep in enemy territory by submarines etc. Any
shipping / minesweepers in the area become easy targets and the
integrity of the minefield is protected and its effectiveness thus
greatly enhanced.
The question of whether you should be able to nav through your own
minefields is one of how you view the "scale" of things. In RL if you
leave a gap in your minefield so you can safely transit then the enemy
will also be able to find it eventually. This is realistic, however
the proposal to give you the ability to nav safely through your own
minefield but not allowing the enemy to do so is not realistic. The
current setup allows to you designate sectors which are mined and
sectors which are not, effectively allowing you to leave a path open
for your own and allied ships. I personally dont see any need to
change this.
I do however see the need for an effective minesweeper which can do its
job effectively without blowing up and crawling around at snails pace.
If people want to scatter mines about and not protect them property,
yes they will create a bit of damage and annoyance for a while, but
then minesweepers should be able to clear them without the current
penalties.
- Jamie.
>> Stay informed about: forget the minesweepers, what about nav'ing your own minef.. 
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