Thanks for doing these tests and posting them. It helps tons in understanding what ES does.



Some further notes from the xml.

SpecialModule.xml describes the troop, fighter, and bomber modules.

For troops of potential importantance are the tags: Simulation TroopsEfficiency, CollateralDamageAgainstPopulation, and CollateralDamageAgainstImprovements.

These tags may be deprecated, but they also might not be.



[CODE]

Below I list the values for these tags for the various modules

Type Eff Pop Impr

Troop 1 Regular 250 1 0

Troop 1 Elite 420 2 0

Troop 1 Crowded 250 1 0 *Claims to cost 2 pop but also land 2 pop in invasions

Troop 2 Regular 500 2 0

Troop 2 Elite 875 3 0

Troop 2 Crowded 500 2 0

Troop 3 Regular 1500 0 0

Troop 3 Elite 3000 0 0

Troop 3 Crowded 1500 0 0

Troop 4 Regular 3600 2 0

Troop 4 Elite 7200 3 0

Troop 4 Crowded 3600 2 0

[/CODE]



There are similar values for Fighters and Bombers: LandInvasionStrength, CollateralDamageAgainstPopulation, and CollateralDamageAgainstImprovements.

That's a lot to type out, so I'll summarize, you can look at your own files if you want more detail.

Balanced and Invasion Fighters and Bombers have these values, Combat Fighters and Bombers do not. The values vary depending on level and ship type ranging from 0 to 6. Unlike troops there isn't a consistent pattern. Invasion typically have twice the value of Balanced ships. Bombers are higher than fighters.

Igncom1 wrote:
I feel like the war-fair mechanics in ES have gone over the line of depth and have just added too much complexity.

Haha yeah there definitely is a lot to learn (I just picked this up last week)! I think some of it could be easier to adjust to with a little better presentation to the player; some of these points seem to not be included in any tooltips, description windows, or the manual.

Nebur_Wolf wrote:
Maybe I misread something, but what are the advantages of bombers and fighters, instead of "raw" invasion power? Aside from those attack options (bomb, immediate invasion...).

As far as I can tell, it's exactly as you say: Bombers/Fighters enable you to Bombard an enemy system. Balanced/Invasion Bombers/Fighters give both the "raw/normal" Invasion Strength as well as Land Invasion Strength, but if you only want the regular Invasion Strength you can usually get more bang for your tonnage with regular Siege-type Support Modules. Troop Invasions can also be done without Fighters/Bombers; I'm not sure if they provide any benefit for that (possibly increase the % chance for it?)



When it comes to combat, supposedly Bombers/Fighters ignore all enemy defenses (other than Armor, which only adds HP), but I'm not sure how effective they are in combat vs. normal weapons.



I suppose one possible advantage, at least for the Balanced/Invasion type Fighters/Bombers, is that they are versatile, since they give you a bit of Invasion Strength, a bit of normal combat firepower, and the ability to Bombard (if you also have Bomb-type Support modules in your fleet).

Anosognos wrote:
Excellent post, Xen0n. I really appreciate you going through all that testing.



From what I gather, that would maximize efficiency in military expansion would be as follows:



[LIST=1]

Bring a fleet with lots of elite troops, put them on the ground, invasion complete.

If the enemy requests a cease-fire, deny it.

Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you have the all but a few of the systems you want.*

Offer a cease fire on the condition you get some additional planets you have your eye on.

[/LIST]

*If you're going for a diplomatic victory, you're only going to be fighting when war is declared on you. In that case, omit step 3.





Interestingly, this is already what I had been doing because it seemed to work well. Your testing seems to indicated it's also the mathmatically optimal strategy.



Again, I really appreciate the work. The information about exact population lost with different amounts of troops is especially helpful. Great work!

Yeah, the immediate speed + potential bonuses to Ownership really make Troop Invasions more appealing. Unfortunately I still haven't figured out the exact mechanics, for example what the difference between using the different types of Troops (Regular / Elite / Crowded), or how to determine your % chance of Immediately Invading.



Oh, and I forgot to mention that (at least if you already control their Homeworld,) you can request an enemy to give you all of their remaining systems through Diplomacy, which effectively is a surrender on their part.



And I also put this together to help keep track of my own information as I worked it out, since I couldn't find it somewhere else yet. Glad it's helpful so far!

Excellent post, Xen0n. I really appreciate you going through all that testing.



From what I gather, that would maximize efficiency in military expansion would be as follows:



[LIST=1]

Bring a fleet with lots of elite troops, put them on the ground, invasion complete.

If the enemy requests a cease-fire, deny it.

Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you have the all but a few of the systems you want.*

Offer a cease fire on the condition you get some additional planets you have your eye on.

[/LIST]

*If you're going for a diplomatic victory, you're only going to be fighting when war is declared on you. In that case, omit step 3.





Interestingly, this is already what I had been doing because it seemed to work well. Your testing seems to indicated it's also the mathmatically optimal strategy.



Again, I really appreciate the work. The information about exact population lost with different amounts of troops is especially helpful. Great work!

Maybe I misread something, but what are the advantages of bombers and fighters, instead of "raw" invasion power? Aside from those attack options (bomb, immediate invasion...).

I feel like the war-fair mechanics in ES have gone over the line of depth and have just added too much complexity.