Pre-TN - Ground Forces

[StevioM (OP)]

Am I right in thinking there is no way to transport Ground Troops Pre-TN?

Am trying to have as 'low tech' start as is feasible. . .  I'm already struggling as Geo Survey is locked behind TN and Grav locked behind JD. . .  Figured I could just load up some Geo/Grav Troops and survey the old fashioned way, but I don't seem to have any method of transporting them between planets.

Is this WAI?

[the obelisk]

You could always just choose not to research what you don't absolutely need.

[liveware]

I'm pretty sure you can develop a very crappy troop transport module at pre-TN tech. I know I have designed troop transports with conventional engines before, but I've lost or deleted my design files. I think I had to build them once in a rush to put down an insurrection on Luna at basically the start of the game (conventional start).

[Ulzgoroth]

Am I right in thinking there is no way to transport Ground Troops Pre-TN?

Am trying to have as 'low tech' start as is feasible. . .  I'm already struggling as Geo Survey is locked behind TN and Grav locked behind JD. . .  Figured I could just load up some Geo/Grav Troops and survey the old fashioned way, but I don't seem to have any method of transporting them between planets.

Is this WAI?

There are no grav-survey troops, and geosurvey troops can only survey after a space-based survey is already done.

[Migi]

Am I right in thinking there is no way to transport Ground Troops Pre-TN?

Am trying to have as 'low tech' start as is feasible. . .  I'm already struggling as Geo Survey is locked behind TN and Grav locked behind JD. . .  Figured I could just load up some Geo/Grav Troops and survey the old fashioned way, but I don't seem to have any method of transporting them between planets.

Is this WAI?

AFIK ground units don't conduct normal ground surveys, they only conduct the follow up surveys if the body has potential.
The tech tree visualisation from this thread indicates that transport of ground troops is indeed locked behind TN tech.
In VB you could remove techs so if you really wanted you could buy your way up to a tech and get rid of the pre-requisites but it looks like Steve hasn't added that feature in to C#.

If you wanted to you could instant TN tech, then create a component with an RP cost of 5000, then not use any of the unlocked TN techs until you've researched the component. Because there are no restrictions on component names, you could call the component "Trans-Newtonian Technology".

On the other hand you could ask for it to be changed in the suggestions thread.

[Garfunkel]

Yes, without TN tech you cannot:

1 - perform a geological survey
2a - have active contacts (since AS5 is behind TN tech)
2b - since no AS, there can be no using missiles with conventional engines against actual targets (aside from planets as planets can be hit without MFC)
3 - transport troops

I recommend doing pre-TN tech ground war entirely on Earth. It does stretch the imagination of how you would wage war on Luna or Mars effectively without magic space suits and so on. Casualties would be horrendous because the smallest scratch would mean death unless you were really good and really fast with a patching kit.

Alternatively, you can use SM mode to give yourself TN tech and then the troop transport, troop transport - drop capable, techs of various sizes, then delete TN tech so that all the other stuff won't clutter your research window. The transport modules should remain available to you for use with ship designs.

A second alternative is what I'm using in my 1890 campaign - research just the basics needed to get those transport modules and intentionally stop there. So my ground forces will largely be pre-TN level when they hit Mars.