Hey guys,



today I managed to start a counter-offensive against the AI for the first time instead of getting screwed (yay!).

When I came to attack their first sytem, I waited for some options to come up. But nothing happened, so apparently all you can do is besiege a system.

What I want to propose is that more options are added, cause if I have the biggest fleet of my empire in the enemy's system, they should be able to bombard them or even land on the planet and take it over, instead of just waiting for the people to get pissed



Alongside with this, I would really like some sort of planetary/system defense system being introduced.

Maybe one could have different types of defense systems, like bunkers or rocket silos to make landing on the planet harder for attackers.

Further down the research tree one could get shield bubbles making bombardements impossible and landing really hard.

And as a the best defense of them all, we could have some sort of giant planetary defense cannon, which destroys/damages fleets besieging the system.



On the system level one could have starbases, acting like a fleet, so the starbase has to be destroyed before the siege of the system could even begin.



To counter all this, on could have new types of modules for ships, so one could build ships especially designed for landing opeartions or bombardement.



I think these options would increase the strategic depth of the game, cause atm it is all about having the biggest and most fleets.

(But it is already a shitload of fun, don't get me wrong here )

I would really like an option that allows systems to be taken at a faster rate, but causes significant infrastructure/population damage.

There's some defences you can build (like the cloaked buildings)

You can add invasion modules to your ships.

More ships = faster invasion (even if the ships don't have invasion modules)

I agree with SirNitram, the way you can invade other systems is way too boring. Just putting your ships in a system and wait. (In the late game you can just put some fleets together and wait for 3 turns in average). I like that you can put special invasion tools on your ships, but these are not necessary and I never used them. I would appreciate that you have to decide whether you use an invasion module or attack systems for your ship and that you can only invade if you have a space ship having a invasion module.





Also, I want more tactical decisions in invading, too.



I like the idea of getting a system faster but with a loss of infrastucture and inhabitants. Also I want to decide if I want a system at all. You really sometimes need just to exterminate a bunch of annoying aliens

I agree. Invasions are a bit simplistic at the moment. I also agree that the invasion modules seem a bit pointless as you will do just fine without them. I suppose this does relieve you of a bit of micromanagement though as any ship will do. I would like to have the system changed so that you cannot take over unless you have specialized modules on your ships but can nonetheless bomb from orbit with ships lacking them. On the defense side on things, planets should be able to switch their production to resistance supplies. It seems a little silly to be working on major infrastucture projects with aliens bombing you from orbit. I feel it would make more sense to arm the population for the impending invasion.

I agree I would like to see some changes to the invasion system. I was thinking of some possible additions such as a way to wipe out only the population though some kind of biological weapon and therefore you get the planet with a small population but with all the upgrades and without the revolt status. Also a way to completely destroy the structures and population but receiving a penalty to the planets FIDS, changing the planet to to either a barren or lava planet, or just making it uninhabitable for awhile due to fallout or something.

To hell with invasions! Give me bio-weapons so that I can obliterate a species (but keep their infrastructure).



At the moment it's a bit too.... easy to convert a captured population to your cause. Just build them a supermarket.

Boygor wrote:
To hell with invasions! Give me bio-weapons so that I can obliterate a species (but keep their infrastructure).



At the moment it's a bit too.... easy to convert a captured population to your cause. Just build them a supermarket.

^^ this.



I can't recall what 4x strat it was, but in one of them you had the option of bombing civilian buildings, military buildings, bombing everything, or just invading. More strategic options when invading would make for a much more involved and interesting gameplay.

Yeah, it should really be "Slash and BUrn" For fast invasion, but kills populace and buildings. "Bio-warfare" For killing pop but keeping building, "Standard Bombardment" Which kills mostly buildings and will And "Ground Invasion" To take everything.

I think there should be six options ... 3 for invasion options and 3 for bombardment options. You choose one invasion and one bombardment option.

1) Invasion options

Negotiated Surrender and Puppets

Full Invasion

Destruction

2) Bombardment Options

Minimal civilian casualties... surgical strikes

Victory through Air Power

Nuke them till they glow



Negotiated Surrender/Puppets would be fastest, but the planet would become neutral, not yours. You'd be able to fly past it, trade with it, but not rule it. If this was an ex-colony of yours (assimilated), you get it back immediately.

Invasion is slower and costly. The colony will take a long time afterwards to be assimilated fully.

Destruction will cause you to become in a state of 'total war' with your opponents as you slaughter the inhabitants of this world. Population are destroyed during the invasion until the world is empty, then it will get 1 population point of your own species, which is assimilated.



For bombardment: minimal casualties means the war takes longer, but the planet remains intact.

Victory through air power means that theirs a good chance of population and building loss.

Nuke Em till they glow will destroy (eventually) all the buildings and population of the world, and add an anomaly 'radioactive wasteland'. Once again this will cause you to become the diplomatic state of 'total war' with the owners of the planet.





Once again, AI's might be restricted. Cravers, perhaps, must always choose destruction as the invasion option.

VieuxChat wrote:
There's some defences you can build (like the cloaked buildings)

You can add invasion modules to your ships.

More ships = faster invasion (even if the ships don't have invasion modules)

Listen to this guy, he knows things... smarticle things...

The same ideas of orbital bombardment are discussed on multiple threads. I will use the moderator ability "merge threads". It's super-effective! Please continue discussion on this thread:

/#/endless-space/forum/29-archives/thread/13541-suggestion-orbital-bombardment-choices