Formers Or Rover Formers

[Andemagne]

right! do you build formers or rover formers, or both or no formers at all? (rover former is a former with 2 movement points) just started to wonder this on the other day.

EDIT1: I allways play as Spartans so I have Doctrine: Mobility aveilable from the start.
EDIT2: and yes, I only build rover formers.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Its all a question of mins. In the early game its formers only.

[Jamski]

Only Formers. I like to win.

In the early game building Rover Formers is just not ecomomical, and in the late game you have former power to spare.

-Jam

[Net Warrior]

I like to build one rover former at soon as I can do it in 5-6 turns. It really helps in getting that road built one turn sooner so the rest of the team can start to work.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Net warrior, thats why I go with infantry transports.

It allows you to get that infantry former onto a rocky square and it can start roading immediately, repeat with another infantrytransport and former combo thus allowing the remainder of the former army a move along a road and immediate mining and/or boreholing. No down time regardless of terrain type.

Which bring me to my ratioanle for gang forming. The gang forming is most effective because it eliminates the penalty of movement (i.e. lost forme turns). The more spread out your former legions the more losses you normally take due to movement. Ganging them (especially with infanty transports) likely means never losing former turns to movement.

[Dansz]

Ogie, could you explain in more detail what you're meaning please? I usually use rover formers, but what you're describing seems better, if only I understood it properly.

[GeoModder]

I think he means and infantry unit with the transport pod on it.

[Dis]

I don't see the point. You can begin terroforming the minute you move into a square, even if you have no movement points left. It could make getting into fungus easier I guess.

[Dansz]

I didn't know land units could transport stuff. It's something I've never thought of trying. Gang forming I assume is meaning using 4 formers to create a farm in 1 turn instead of 1 former to create a farm in 4 turns, and that sort of thing. That's what I usually do when I have enough formers.

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Dansz
I didn't know land units could transport stuff.

If you've only played SP then you've probably never encountered this, as the AI's will never build land transports, and if even assisted by a CMN giving AI Factions land transports, the AI has no clue how to use them. The AI cannot even use aircraft carriers effectively, as they just ferry the units from base to base.
The only transport the AI uses effectively is a sea tranport for carrying land units. FYI.

D

[Barinthus]

Formers and sea formers only.

Once in a long while I may see it fit to build a drop former

[Method]

rover formers after fusion power. If for some reason i'm playing so late in the game that they become something to look into, Hovertank formers or even gravship formers

[Commy]

The thing with formers is, you don't need speed. On a large planet, you might build one or two rover formers to build roads, but that's it. Since most formers terraform squares in close proximities, there's no point in giving the speed. And, as Jamski said, it just isn't economical, and really isn't worth it.

[Method]

you don't _need_ them, no...but you don't _need_ your left arm either

[Skanky Burns]

But your left arm allows you to do so much more in the same amount of time. A rover former is just kinda nifty.