Ground Combat [continued]

Designer's Note: Here's is a special section of really Geeky stuff. This is the kind of material that you'd find in they sort of Strategy Guides written by Alan Emrich and Tom Hughes. Surrender & the Honors of War and Ground Combat Logistics are just a couple of the new aspects we're bringing to Surface Combat that neither previous MOO game dared to deliver.

Surrendering & The Honors of War

If both sides surrender, the side that is blockaded surrenders to the other. If neither side is blockaded, the smaller side surrenders to the larger side.

When a side surrenders, it requests the "Honors of War" (i.e., a safe trip back home). Thus, its ground forces there evacuate in an effort to reach their Reserves. Irregular forces don't evacuate; they just disappear automatically.

A d6 is rolled for the evacuating forces on the table below using the die roll modifiers listed:

-3 Honors of War Denied: all surrendered Grunts are massacred (eliminated). Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds ñ80.

-2 Honors of War Denied: all surrendered Grunts flee as per "Escape of Defeated Forces" with their chances halved (this is halved twice if they're also blockaded). Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds ñ40.

-1 Honors of War Denied: all surrendered Grunts flee as per "Escape of Defeated Forces." Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds ñ20.

0 Honors of War Granted but Equipment is Seized and Officers are Held: all surrendered Grunts return safely but become Infantry and have their experience reduced to the lowest value of the next lowest Experience Level.

1 Honors of War Granted but Equipment is Seized: all surrendered Grunts return safely but become Infantry. Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds +25.

2 Honors of War Granted but Equipment is Seized: all surrendered Grunts return safely but become Infantry. Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds +25.

3 Honors of War Granted but Equipment is Seized: all surrendered Grunts return safely but become Infantry. Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds +25.

4+ Honors of War Granted Unconditionally: all surrendered Grunts return safely. Surrendered civilization's Casus Belli adds +50.

-2 if Political Ideologies are of a different Series

-1 if Political Ideologies are of the same Series but a different Branch

-2 if both sides have a State Religion and they are of a different Theocratic Series - OR - if the victorious side has a State Religion and its government policy is to persecute other religions

-1 if both sides have a State Religion and they are of the same Theocratic Series but share no Dogmas nor their Credo

-2 each if the victorious Leader is Evil or Xenophobic

-1 each if the victorious Leader is Underhanded, Ruthless, Militarist, or Paranoid

+1 each if the victorious Leader is Average, Honorable, Diplomatic, or Unifier

+2 each if the victorious Leader is Pacifistic, or Champion of the Underdog

Die rolls greater than 4 and less than ñ3 are treated as 4 and ñ3, respectively.

Ground Forces' Supply

Partisans, Rebels, and Militia never need supplies. All other types of Grunts (from Recruit through Elite and from Infantry through Battleoid) do require logistical support to fight at full effectiveness. Supply is only considered when a ground force is besieged (i.e., "isolated").

Magazines as Supply Sources

To avoid the effects of Isolation (see below), friendly Magazines on the planet may be used to sustain friendly Grunts. Each new Magazine has a "Supply Capacity" of 50 points. For each point of damage inflicted on a Magazine, its Supply Capacity is reduced by 10.

Each type of Grunt requires a certain number of magazine points for sustenance as listed below:

7 Infantry
9 Space Marine
15 Mobile Infantry
19 Armored
25 Battleoid

Effects of Isolation

• If an Isolated ground force is fully supplied by magazines, there is no effect.
• If it is 90-99% supplied by magazines, all units have a maximum Number of Attacks of 4.
• If it is 75-79% supplied by magazines, all units have a maximum Number of Attacks of 3.
• If it is 50-74% supplied by magazines, all units have a maximum Number of Attacks of 2 and Rally modifiers are halved (rounded up).
• If it is 20-49% supplied by magazines, all units have a maximum Number of Attacks of 1, High Intensity combat is no longer an option, and Rally modifiers are halved (rounded up).
• If it is less than 20% supplied by magazines, all units have a maximum Number of Attacks of 1, High Intensity combat is no longer an option, plus Morale and Rally modifiers are both halved (rounded up).

Isolated Forces & High Intensity Battles

When an Isolated force chooses to employ High Battle Intensity that turn, none of the penalties for Isolation affect it that turn. However, a number of "hits" on friendly magazines are automatically inflicted at the conclusion of each Round of Combat that turn (due to the rapid consumption of supplies). This number of self-inflicted magazine hits equals:

1+ (surviving Grunts' sustenance supply needs/80) - rounded off to the nearest whole number.

Also note that the "bigger" grunts eat more, proportionally. This is deliberate. Because of their specialized needs, it is much harder for them to live off the land. If you want to cut an enemy's Battleoids down to size, put them under siege and starve them.

Is it me or is there a unusually large amount of tactical consideration for a strategy game series? Will there be a auto resolve feature to bypass the tactical battle aspects, and will that bypass be intelligent enough to be able to use without unnecessarily high losses?

You never have to make any decisions about ground combat. That's what you have army Generals for. They make all those decisions. If you spend an Imperial Focus and want to micromanage a battle, then you can go in and change that General's standing orders if you like and watch the fireworks for yourself (rather than just read the report after-the-fact).

As for "unnecessarily high losses," who is to say that your decisions weren't worse than the General whose orders you overrode? Variables, such as the enemy commander, the enemy's plans, and plain old luck during a battle might have more to say about your "high losses" then anything else.

You can only point things in the "right direction" (whatever you perceive that to be) to affect how things should go, but as they say, "no plan survives contact with the enemy."

A Surface Combat "simulator" is available in case you'd like to gauge the results of battle. Click here to check it out.

[ BACK TO SURFACE COMBAT INTRODUCTION ]