FreeOrion

Hi,
i have been thinking about how to give depth and stategical options to ground combat without adding any useless micromanagement:


I) Battle of Attrition vs strategical battle

The superior party holds the decision to fight a battle of attrition or a strategical battle:
- Battle of attrition: The Units are decimated proportional to the quotient of their battle values (example: 10 Bulrathi fight against 50 Psilon troops, the bulrathi have a bv of 40, the psilons 20 => the psilons lose 2 troopers for every bulrathi, ending the battle with 30 : 0 troops remaining)
battles of attrition are fought out within one turn.
- Strategical battle: the army tries to get more and more strategical advantages over the enemy, until he is in such a bad position that he can safely be eliminated without doing much harm (all this is done abstract, without the player doing something after the initial decision for strategical battle). (See WW II for a real life example). The inferior army is eliminated, with much lower casualities for the winner than a battle of attrition (about 1/5, maybe 1/10).
But it takes much longer than a battle of attrition (maybe 3-5 turns)

How does this affect general gameplay?
- adds a decision : lose time <=> lose troops
- gives additional significance to the distinction between green Troops (cannon fodder) and elite units (see below )
=> adds different roles for green and elite units, and a possibility of using your elite units in a way that preserves them
- gives significance to different unit types: units that are more expensive, but have an advantage at strategical combat

II) Ground armies that gain experience, and are more than the sum of their units


1) Elite units
- how are elite units produced? Elite units require an additional ressource: "Elite officers". This is a global ressource that is the byproduct of ground battles.
- what are the advantages of elite units?
a) moderately enhanced battle value
b) big advantages at strategical battles
c) much better than green troops at attacking fortified planets (see below)
d) don't suffer from the disatvantages that green troops have when fighting in planetary environments that are unfavorable for their race


2) General staff
This is a globalized version of the "hearts of iron 2"- generals. Each empire has one general staff. It gains experience with every ground battle the empire fights. Experience results in globally raising the unit stats in every ground battle the empire fights. Once the general staff reaches a certain experience level, it may aquire special abilities- advantages on certain planet types for example.



III) Fortified planets

A player has the option to fortify planets (different levels of fortification). This is expensive, but has two strong effects:
1) Makes the planet resistant to orbital bombardement
2) Gives the defending troops massive advantages against green troops, but only moderate advantages against elite troops


How does this fit into general gameplay?
- enhances the importance of ground battles, as it reduces the possibility to bomb the enemy into oblivion from orbit
- elite units become more important, since you will need them to storm a heavily fortified planet
- players gain the ability to turn a few choice planets of strategical importance into fortresses that are a pain in the ass for any agressor who doesn't possess a seasoned ground force




IV) Affected race pick
- Warlords can build elite units without consuming elite officers. They also may pick some general staff abilities at the beginning of the game for free.

Well though out and expressed. Please stick around.

I do think ground combat is a little boring now, but it is supposed to be very simple -- something that could happen within the tactical battle for the system.

Theoretically, if you could add one thing to ground combat, what would it be and why?

_________________
—• Read this First before posting Game Design Ideas!
—• Design Philosophy
—•— My Ideas, Organized —•— Get an Avatar —•— Acronyms —•—

I would pick the fortified worlds. Interesting option and easy enough to add.

I like the ideas... to sort of generalize it and put in my Priority order

Fortification Idea (first because it is probably easiest to add)
Planets can Fortify (anti-ship+anti-troop) for a Price.

Experience/Elite idea (most interesting... in my opinion)
1. Each empire gets a "Pot" of Ground Combat Experience [produced from ground battles.. and possibly other sources, buildings, etc.]
2. GCE can be used to
... Purchase "Elite" Troops (you may also need to consume a normal Troop in the process)
... Provide Global bonuses for all Elite Troops ("Promotions" ala Civ.. but applied to ALL your Elite Troops)


Combat idea (an "in combat" decision)
Each side has a Total bv (Green bv * number of Green troops + Elite bv * number of Elite Troops)
Each turn subtract an amount from each Army's Total bv (Green Troops eliminated first)
Amount subtracted
Regular combat: Smallest Total bv
Strategic Combat: (Smallest Total bv + Enemy Elite Total bv) * (some # less than 1)

So the side with more Elites does more damage in Strategic Combat.. and it also takes longer

One idea i've been kicking around is a defense focus. It would allow your defensive meters (shields, troops, defense) to go higher and recover faster than would otherwise be possible, though of course meter growth would not be instant. The cost would be that you loose out on the production you would get from a production focus. If you switch away from the defense focus, your defensive meters would drop back gradually to normal levels.

_________________
—• Read this First before posting Game Design Ideas!
—• Design Philosophy
—•— My Ideas, Organized —•— Get an Avatar —•— Acronyms —•—

I like the idea. Simple and interesting (IMO).

I also like the idea of a defence focus. I think it is a could way to have a fortified planet, with a trade off that it reduces the effectiveness of the planet for production. Also if the front lines shift then you are not stuck with a fortified world you no longer need, as you can change the focus.

revision 5153

"Roughly added the new Protection Focus, which increases shields, defenses, and troops."

_________________
—• Read this First before posting Game Design Ideas!
—• Design Philosophy
—•— My Ideas, Organized —•— Get an Avatar —•— Acronyms —•—