Ground units & Officers (mutiple questions on same topic)

[Nibelung44 (OP)]

I have many questions about ground units and the 'land system' overall.


1. I think I read that the AI is not yet capable of doing planetary invasions, is it still right? Is this going to be changed in the future (I guess it is a huge task to develop an AI)

2. if yes to (1) it means that practically, adding garrisons to PDC serves no purpose, except role-playing, and that troops in defenses serve only as to quiet unrest?

3. Back to more mundane topics: I see there is a button 'add unit' in the GU training tab, but it is grayed out. Do I need a tech to create new type of units?

4. How REP units are used exactly?

5. Are assaults units the only ones capable of being dropped by drop pods?

6. why would I want to build low tech divisions? I don't think I can even transport them. Resource wise, I'm better with mobile battalions, or am I missing an hidden stat, like more hit points to divisions?

7. Do Marines have a specific purposes?

8. What can the engineers do exactly? Assemble PDC (how can I do that), give 1 industrial points, uncover sites, right? I can use some pointers on how to use them to assemble a PDC. Do they have a 4th role I did not know (like helping the assault units blow the armor of PDC)


thanks in advance
 

[Brian Neumann]

1. & 2.)  Currently the AI will not do invasions, and I don't know the timeline for this to change.

3.)  You need to be in SM mode to add units.  This instantly adds them to the selected colony without charging for them, ie like the fast ob for ships option.

4.)  REP units are a low cost unit that are automatically drawn from when a unit takes casualties.  Rep is short for Replacement.  They are of no use for combat directly but can make your ground units much better in a long fight as they will not be slowy degraded.

5.)  Any unit can be used for assult drops.  The assult unit has a high attack and weak defence value and that is all.

6.)  You probably won't ever build low tech divisions, but it is easier to have them on the table than to hide them, and they are needed for a conventional start to the game.

7.)  Marines have a bonus for fighting in a ship (which does include pdc's as well).  This makes them by far the best unit for shipboard/pdc fights.

8.)  Besides their combat value (minimal) each engineer brigade counts as one industry point.

Brian

[UnLimiTeD]

To add to 8, you just assemble PDCs with your industry, to which Engineers contribute.

[Nibelung44 (OP)]

thanks the both of you. I would like to know about this AI thing, but I understand Steve is a busy guy. 

[Steve Walmsley]

thanks the both of you. I would like to know about this AI thing, but I understand Steve is a busy guy. 

No AI invasions for the moment but it is on the list.

Steve

[Nibelung44 (OP)]

Thanks for your answers.

[Nibelung44 (OP)]

New questions on this topic:

When an officer is captured, practically he is dead for me or can I recover him on the planet he is interrogated?

When an officer dies, is it possible to check a kind of 'graveyard' to see who is was exactly, what he did? This is perhaps more a feature request than anything, but many a time I don't remember exactly what were his (her) stats and I can't check them as he is dead.

[Steve Walmsley]

New questions on this topic:

When an officer is captured, practically he is dead for me or can I recover him on the planet he is interrogated?

When an officer dies, is it possible to check a kind of 'graveyard' to see who is was exactly, what he did? This is perhaps more a feature request than anything, but many a time I don't remember exactly what were his (her) stats and I can't check them as he is dead.

When he is captured, he is effectively dead. You can't recover dead officers. In an earlier version the program kept all retired or dead officers in a 'Retired' rank but no one really used it and it clogged up the DB with thousands of inactive commanders.

Steve

[Maltay]

8. What can the engineers do exactly? Assemble PDC (how can I do that), give 1 industrial points, uncover sites, right? I can use some pointers on how to use them to assemble a PDC. Do they have a 4th role I did not know (like helping the assault units blow the armor of PDC)


thanks in advance
 

Drop pre-fab PDC components on a body.  Then drop an Engineering Brigade on a body.  The body now has 10 production point because of the Engineering Brigade.  This is the equivalent of a CF.  If you have the necessary mineral stockpiles on the body, then this will build the pre-fab PDC components into a PDC.  After which, remove the Engineering Brigade.  Rinse and repeat to setup maintenance, tracking, or defensive stations on bodies across a solar system without importing Factories on Freighters or Cargo Ships.

[Vanigo]

Drop pre-fab PDC components on a body.  Then drop an Engineering Brigade on a body.  The body now has 1 production point because of the Engineering Brigade.  This will build the pre-fab PDC components into a PDC.  After which, remove the Engineering Brigade.  Rinse and repeat to setup maintenance, tracking, or defensive stations on bodies across a solar system without importing Factories on Freighters or Cargo Ships.

Actually, each engineering brigade has as much production as a construction factory - at least 10 production points. And don't forget, you'll also need to ship some minerals to assemble the PDC.

[Father Tim]

Actually it won't, since there is currently a bug whereby a colony with no actual Construction Factories incorrectly calculates its production points as zero - regardless of the number of Engineering Brigades present.  So for the moment you need to throw a CF down with the Engineers to get them working.

[Vanigo]

Actually it won't, since there is currently a bug whereby a colony with no actual Construction Factories incorrectly calculates its production points as zero - regardless of the number of Engineering Brigades present.  So for the moment you need to throw a CF down with the Engineers to get them working.

Really? Huh. Does it matter if there's any population present, or will an unmanned factory work?

[Beersatron]

Really? Huh. Does it matter if there's any population present, or will an unmanned factory work?

It shouldn't.

Easiest way is to just SM one onto the planet and then remove it once construction is completed.

[Maltay]

Actually, each engineering brigade has as much production as a construction factory - at least 10 production points. And don't forget, you'll also need to ship some minerals to assemble the PDC.

Thank you, I corrected my post.