I wish Ground Combat were a little more engaging....We have such lovely views of the planets and some of the tech in the Tree hints at highly augmented soldiers....I would think showing that your faction is currently fighting over a planet would be pretty neat. (There's also a ton of great artwork showing Imperial Soldiers, Cravers and Hissho warriors it'd be a shame letting that kinda stuff go to waste.)

And the idea of zooming in towards a planet under siege and see flashes, smoke and fires on the surface to show that yeah...The planets a warzone.





Possible strategic benefits would emerge from using Soldiers in relation to just saturating bombing a planet into submission.

Keeping the planetary infrastructure by putting boots on the ground for example...And I don't think there would need to be a TON of extra data to Ground Units.

Just stuff like Light Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Drop-Pod/High Dive Marines, Armored Units and Air Stuff....Each with their own pro's and cons...Hell maybe even some Faction specific infantry or Tech....



I'll post more concrete ideas when they come.

Todays been a rough day for me...

Excellent suggestions! Please take a look at the suggestions thread to see what others have said about this.

davea wrote:
Excellent suggestions! Please take a look at the suggestions thread to see what others have said about this.

Ah, should have known I wasn't the only one....Hmmm....Gonna have to look.

I've been having some ideas rattle around in my head.



The big reason why I'd love to see GroundWar though is because....Well it sort of fits with the game. The Cravers were made as some ravenous Techno-Barbarian horde...The Hissho mighty warriors...The Empire clearly has some pretty good troops based on pics and some of their racial advantages....And even the Sophons have pretty sucky infantry if their racial stuff is to be believed.



Ground combat is the sort of thing that could really add an entirely new layer of depth into the game and in such a way to as make it work without breaking space combat.

Can't say as I disagree with you. It all depends upon what the developers see as their vision for how much texture they want in the game. One man's texture is another man's friction. My impression so far is that they want to keep the game streamlined. The current model of invasions certainly meets that description, anyway. To add more detail and complexity in a ground combat model would definitely make for a lot more action and decision-making for the player, but it would also have to work within the existing solo and multiplayer game modes. Frankly, I'm skeptical they will add it.

I agree that adding such a model would need some work. But at the same time this wouldn't need to be highly detailed. It's not like you zoom in and control units on a planetary map. I was more thinking you have overall strategies you assign your assaulting or defending force.



An assaulting force could be given an 'order' to assault and destroy a planets infrastructure and destroy the ability to make ships, or it's food making ability, or it's manufacturing ability instead of merely trying to take the planet.



You could order them to try and take over the planet in which case you'd instead capture infrastructure and cities and slowly aid the fleet in taking the planet.



You could just order them to attack the enemy ground forces...Making the attack go quicker but at the same time there's a greater chance at damaging infrastructure...Even more so if you give your ships a green light to make orbital bombardments.



Defenders on the other hand could be given strategies relating in digging in and trying to hold everything...Meaning infrastructure is protected along with the planets control points.



Or they could be told to fall back to Bunkers and Hidden Bases and try and weather the storm till reinforcements arrived and they can take back the planet.



Or they could focus on only holding key areas and infrastructure.



There are a lot of different strategies that can be employed and the types of units you have. (Light Infantry, Mechanized, Heavy Drop Pod Marines and etc.)

Could lend to different play styles, strategies and etc.



Anyway...Yeah they might not add it....But hell one can always hope...The games still in Alpha after all.

I made a thread in the main about this and well saw this and wanted to add my two cents.



One of the ideas I wish Ground Combat were a little more engaging....Is the fact we have such lovely views of the planets in the galaxy, along with the fact that some of the tech in the Tree hints at highly augmented soldiers.

Personally

I would think showing that your faction is currently fighting over a planet would be pretty neat. (There's also a ton of great artwork showing Imperial Soldiers, Cravers and Hissho warriors it'd be a shame letting that kinda stuff go to waste.)

The basic idea is that a planet under siege would let you zoom in much as you do already to get such a stellar look at the planet, but instead of seeing peaceful verdant forests, rivers and mountains we instead see a planet literally under siege, flashes from orbital bombardments, smoke and fires on the forests and cities as they burn. The planet is currently a warzone between two or more galactic powers...Often armed with mighty and extremely lethal weapons....Pointed directly at the planet like a gun. And turns seem to last years...Having your warships fighting and bombing a big pile of rocks for five years means the place would be pretty wrecked...

Even if the option of Ground Warfare wasn't added. (As sad as that would be.)

Some sign that your actively fighting for the fate of a planet would be a welcome addition and add a tremendous amount of depth to the setting.



Onto ground warefare itself and how it would fit into the current dynamic.

Players can actively recruit Divisions (Though perhaps more in the way of military divisions.) directly from a world. The unit thereby being represented by a little 'card'. To ferry troops you'd need to add a module to a warship that allows them to carry the Division (Plus munitions and gear.) Each Division would be split up between a number of different 'types' with their own pro's and con's.

Light Infantry for example would be the weakest and cheapest GroundWar Unit in the game. (Unless you massively teched them out.) But at the same time you can fit more of them into a module and that means more boots on the ground to carry out your orders.

Then you get stuff like Heavy Infantry. (More expensive and take up a lot more room on a module.)

Mechanized Infantry

Armored Units.

Marines (Your non-faction elite units.)



Another idea I was batting around would be allowing you to 'tech up' your infantry with tech from the tech tree. (Stuff like better personal armor, personal shields, better small arms or vehicles, drone support, C3 stuff and etc.) Of course this makes them slower to build, more expensive and means you'd need more module space to ferry them.



Now it boils down to what do you do with your soldiers? What are the benefiets from putting boots on the ground? The answer is a lot...The overall idea on how you 'control' your Ground Forces would be in assigning them more an overall strategie in how they defend or assault a target world.



An assaulting force could be given an 'order' to assault and destroy a planets infrastructure, farms would be razed. Manufacturing facilities would be sabotaged or wiped out. Science Outposts would be wrecked. (Maybe a possible chance at getting temporary research bonus for a turn or two from taking captured data? Or maybe have that as it's on Strategic Objective?)



You could order them to try and take over the planet in which case you'd instead capture and secure infrastructure and cities and slowly aid the fleet in taking the planet.



You could just order them to attack the enemy ground forces...Making the attack go quicker but at the same time there's a greater chance at damaging infrastructure...Even more so if you give your ships a green light to make orbital bombardments to help clear out pockets of resistance.



Defenders on the other hand could be given strategies relating in digging in and trying to hold everything...Meaning infrastructure is protected along with the planets control points at the cost of possibly spreading themselves to thin.



Or they could be told to fall back to Bunkers and Hidden Bases and try and weather the storm till reinforcements arrived and they can take back the planet.



Or they could focus on only holding key areas and infrastructure and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.



Or as a final gesture in the face of defeat they could start destroying the planets infrastructure. (Though at a cost.)



There are a lot of different strategies that can be employed and the types of units you have. (Light Infantry, Mechanized, Heavy Drop Pod Marines and etc.)

Could lend to different play styles, strategies and etc.