Steve-
Will it be possable to split your ground foces into groups and have them attack different empires/nations on the same planet and maybe hold some back as reserves ?
Okay, this is my third attempt to post this message. This morning I think I took too long and it timed out when I tried to post it, and just now I started writing this, then decided I needed to do some research, so I copied what I had written, did my research, then came back and the texted that I had copied was gone. The third time is either going to be a charm, or I give up.
Backstab's post above got me thinking about ground combat, something I have been pondering on and off for some time, especially given the likely importance that it may have in my campaign. The suggestion above crystalized some ideas that have been bouncing around in my head for a while. The changes I'm thinking of are taken from some of the strategic level games I've played in the past, and I think that they will give ground combat in Aurora more of an interesting dimension.
Working from Backstab's suggestion and the strategic games I mentioned, I suggest the creation of "assignment areas". A nation would have a "Strategic Reserve", and a "Border Area" for each nation on the planet. If there are no other nations, then there is only the Strategic Reserve. If there are five other nations, then there is the reserve and five border areas, one for each other nation. Ground troops have to be assigned either to the reserve, a PDC (like the reserve but sheltered from orbital bombardment), or a border area. A ground unit has to be given an order to move from one area to another, and ground units cannot move from one border area to another. They have to go to the reserve first, then to which ever border area they are needed. This setup simulates actual physical locations, but at a strategic level without having to worry about maps and actual locations. A system like this also gives the player a lot of options for strategy, as real decisions need to be made between forward deployment and reserves. Also, instead of having one large mass of troops available for defense against any enemy, a nation with multiple opponents will have to decide how to allocate its troops depending on the threat level of each nation. Of course, units can only attack the nation "adjacent" to the border area they are assigned.
A nation attacking another nation would only have to face the ground units actually assigned to its "border area". Of course, both nations will be able to move units from the reserve to their threatened border, but if one surprises the other it could possibly destroy most of the defending units in the border area and do some damage to the defending nation before it can move units into the threatened area.
Along these same lines I'd like to suggest adding the ability to give units different orders. Implicit in the suggestion above are movement orders, but I'd like to see different combat orders as well. The type of orders a unit can use would be dependent on the type of unit. The following are the ones I can come up with off of the top of my head:
1. Entrenched defense (Infantry only, adds to defense strength)
2. Anti-partisan (garrison and infantry, adds to police value, reduces attack value)
3. All out assault (all except garrison, requires morale of +80, adds to offensive strength, reduces defense strength)
4. Penetration Assault (Armor only, requires morale of +80, reduces morale rendering a unit incapable of attacking)
All units with no orders are considered to be "Defending" with no stat adjustments. There more commands, I know, but that is all I can think of for now.
An ambitious change, I know, but something along these lines would add a lot.
Kurt