There has obviously been a great deal of discussion on the topic of space combat. Some people (unrealistically) want ES to have full-blown real-time combat (As in Sword of the Stars, for example) or full-blown turn-based combat (As in Master of Orion 2, for example). I would love to see something like that, but it isn't realistic for ES at this time. Maybe someday in an expansion / DLC or sequel.



However, there is room for improvement with the current model. Here are the issues I see with the current model. My goal would be to make the combat more realistic with greater player agency and less 'gamey' while keeping it fast-paced and 'hands off.' The basic system would follow the model of Dominions 3, another great strategy games that kept the combat 'hands off,' but allowed for greater player agency. It is obviously late in the game now with Beta arriving, but I would rather see the game delayed a bit than



Issues:

1) Fleet and Weapon Distance / Range. This is very 'gamey.' Why are fleets locked into Long / Medium / Melee range phases? What is forcing each fleet to approach the other? Why can't the fleets maneuver? If ships are using long range weaponry, why wouldn't they attempt to maintain standoff to maximize their effectiveness?

2) Cards. Also very 'gamey.' Why do we need something so abstract? Why not just allow for a selection of realistic tactics and maneuvers? Why does the whole fleet need to be locked into the same card? If I have some ships with missiles, why can't they focus on a tactic that allows for maximizing missiles, while my laser ships focus on a laser-based tactic?

3) Capabilities. Right now we only have direct fire weapons. Where are the fighters? Where are the kamikaze ships? Boarding parties? Mines? Sustained beam weapons? There is a huge wealth of potential here that isn't being used. This is especially odd since the combat visuals and music are so clearly inspired by Battlestar Galactica, with its focus on carrier warfare. Not only would the addition of varied capabilities add depth to the game, it would also add a great deal of visual interest (see #4).

4) Visuals. Right now fleets just sit and shoot at each other. There isn't any maneuver or excitement. This is especially weird since the fleets are supposed to be moving from Long to Melee range. It would be more exciting if the Melee phase was actually a close-in fight, with ships blasting away at each other up close.

5) Auto-resolve. The player cannot control anything, not even the cards that will be played, when auto-resolving. This leads to sub-optimal results, forcing the player to micro-manage combat more often.

6) Repetition. The game can currently feature lots and lots of combat. However, it can become extremely repetitive due to the lack of player agency and options. This makes #5 a major issue since the Player will likely want to auto-resolve some combat, but will be punished for doing so by significantly less ideal results.



Suggestions:

1) Remove the Long / Medium / Melee phases. Instead, divide combat into simple time phases that are independent of fleet distance. Each phase would play out the same way, but would simply be the equivalent of a 'turn' during which particular options occur.

2) Divide the Battlefield (space field...) into linear sectors, ie: 1,2,3,4,5. One Fleet will start in Sector 1. One Fleet will start in Sector 5. Ranges will be based on position among the sectors. So if opposing ships are both in the same sector, they are considered in Melee. One sector apart, they are in Medium. Two sectors apart, they are in Long. Three sectors apart, they are in Extreme.

3) Limit weapon effective ranges. Allow Missiles to fire up to Extreme Range, Lasers up to Long range, and Kinetics up to Medium Range. Maintain effectiveness of each weapon class based on ranges. This would make maneuver vital based on your weapon loadout.

4) Allow the Player to set default Fleet Orders, outside of combat. This would fix Issue #5, since the player would be able to decide ahead of time which tactics to use. The Player would be able to string a series of Orders together into a battleplan. For example, your light strike craft could be ordered to strike deep into the enemy fleet to target vulnerable support ships, then retreat back behind your big capital ships.

5) Allow fleets to be broken into sub-units, ie: A 'missile' section, a 'carrier' section, and a 'support' section. This would allow fine control over ships, allowing for deeper tactics than 'everyone sit and shoot.' Now you can have your support ships hang back while your kinetic ships surge forward to close range, for example. This is similar to the 'Task Force' concept from some other games.

6) Remove card system and replace with an Orders system. During each phase, every Task Force within a Fleet can execute one Order. These Orders could include things like:

- Engage at Long / Medium / Melee Range. This would be a move order that has the Task Force move to the specified range to engage the enemy. A Sub-Order would allow for priority of targets between Closest / Farthest, Smallest / Largest, Weakest / Strongest, etc.

- Move to Sector. This would order the Task Force to move and hold at a specific sector. So you could order your fast kinetic ships to speed to the rear of the enemy fleet to strike vulnerable targets while telling your vulnerable support ships to hang back in your starting sector, out of range of most enemies.

- Use Special Ability. This would allow for special ship abilities, such as launching / recovering fighters / boarding parties, repairing, etc. Special Abilities would be similar to the current Card system, but based on ship capabilities than generic cards.

7) Add new ship Capabilities and Tactics, such as:

- Carriers: I know some people don't like space fighters because they are 'unrealistic.' I don't really buy this argument in a light sci-fi setting. We can have space ships shooting lasers and bullets at each other, so why not fighters? It is all just space magic at the end of the day, afterall. Fighters would be very characterful for human races and the Hissho, with their focus on individual honor. Not every species would need to have them. A Carrier Section would take lots of weight and would only be available on larger hull sizes. Each Carrier would be able to deploy fighters or bombers. Fighters will be very effective against other fighters / bombers and Small Hulls, less effective against Large Hulls. Bombers would be very effective against Large Hulls, less effective against Fighters / Bombers and Small Hulls. Boarding Parties would be small unarmed craft that can assault enemy ships, capturing and destroying / disabling them. Some races (such as Cravers) would be well suited to assaulting enemy ships, while others (such as Amoeba) might be incapable of it / highly vulnerable to it.

- Kamikaze / Ram: This would order the ship / fighter to crash into the target. A great tactic to use when your weapons aren't very effective against an enemy fleet or you are stuck with small ships against big ships. Costly, but characterful and interesting for a desperate / uncaring Admiral.



This may seem like a major overhaul, but it really wouldn't be. The core of the system and even the UI would be maintained. I think a system like this would be an excellent compromise between those that want full control over combat and those that love the current system. You would increase player agency, but keep things quick and 'hands off.' I think a system like this would go a long way towards making the combat more interesting, something that would really help give the game legs compared to the current decent but simple and repetitive system.



Thanks for reading!