I made this so that the various ways we can support / enhance the ground combat in C# would all be in one place and easily checked.
First of all, if you just want to glass a planet, you can commit
Planetary Bombardment:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg107703#msg107703This is part of normal space combat, in which:
* Missiles are a fast way to destroy everything, cause Nuclear Winter and high radiation levels.
* Beam weapons are a slow way to destroy installations without environmental effects.
* Why not use terraforming to suck away their atmosphere?
If you want to conquer the planet, you can soften up the defender via
Naval Bombardment:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg111435#msg111435This is part of normal space combat, in which:
* Bigger ground formations are more likely to get hit
* Beam weapons are very likely to miss
* Missiles have default hit chance of 100% reduced by fortification and deal lot more damage, including to environment
Having done that, you can send in your aerospace fighters to perform
Non-Support Fighter Missions:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg110233#msg110233This is part of ground combat, in which:
* No need for friendly ground forces
* Chance to hit is lower
* 50/50 chance of hitting defender AAA
* Fighters are safe from starships
* Combat Air Patrol is probably going to deal with enemy fighters but Steve hasn't coded it yet
Now you can drop your ground forces to the surface! *cue the Klendathu landing scene*
While ground combat is taking place, you can have your ships provide
Orbital Bombardment Support:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg110310#msg110310This is part of ground combat, in which:
* Fleets assigned to specific formations
* Only beam weapons fire
* Much more accurate than Naval Bombardment but requires FFD among troops
* Slower firing which saves MSP
And finally, your aerospace fighters with fighter pods can provide
Ground Support:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg109886#msg109886This is part of ground combat, in which:
* Fighters pick targets like Heavy Bombardment units and have same hit chance
* 6 fighters per 1 FFD
* Fighters are safe from starships
* Enemy Combat Air Patrol might kill your fighters but Steve hasn't coded it yet
So for example, I'll most likely build Assault Carriers carrying pure "air" fighters equipped with various Fighter Pods:
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=8495.msg109885#msg109885Divided into different squadrons which will perform CAP, SEAD, SND and CAS missions. But in addition, I'll make Bombardment Cruisers, equipped with a big broadside of huge lasers - ROF is not an issue since they fire once every 6 hours - that provide Orbital Bombardment Support. Might even use Plasma Carronades for that work.
Ground Support Fighters will be extremely small. Steve's example is only 107 tons with 3 Pod Bays.