Original Units Created

[MariOne]

No, you CAN use drop pods on any land chassis, regardless of equipment. You can have drop formers, probes, crawlers, pods, and even transports.

transponder crawlers: IIRC they were named "canary with eyes" (or ears) on this forum....

Sorry but I seldom get to build all thos high-tech complex units. When I get past Fusion & Orbital, the rush to transcendence leaves very little time to fidget with unnecessary units....

Most originals are those very simple units that you can put to a specific task with success...

I remember seeing someone using Arty Cops, one row cost...

In a recent game, my enemy was surprised when I succeeded in taking down his jets with 1-<1>-1... (I had not the minerals or the money avaiability to produce even impact noodles in emergency hurry, but thos humble SAM scouts served the purpose perfectly).
Also, when I suddenly decided to take my former ally's coastal seabase, which was at 9 tiles from my nearest, but with an adjacent land tile distant 8 from it, I invented the ... Drop Marine Scout! 1^~-1-1. Only two rows cost. Drop it on the coast, and invade the base... It was the only solution to achieve it in one turn, simple, cheap and elegant. (he had no AeroC or interceptor defenses, of course)


Also, General cousLee always praised me the usefulness of Drop SAM Rovers, even simple <2>^-1-2. It took me a while to understand, but they are often very effective.

[TresXF]

cheap standard scout patrols (infantry) and scout rovers are the best.

send them in while you are developing new tech and prototypes. before the big invasion starts you just have to upgrade them to attack units, base defenders etc.

fast production rate and not outdated when they arrive at the enemy's gates (you just need loads of money)

[MariOne]

I could give in for scout patrols, but...
Scout Rovers are in my HUMBLE opinion the utter idiocy in unit design (I never ever EVER build one).

For the same production cost, you can have a 2-1-1 or a 1-2t-2.
Immediatley useful units usually for the time when you build them.
And when you'll have to upgrade them, you'll also have to pay 10ec less because you start from one level up in weapon/armor.
Of course the only downside is when you'd need to upgrade to a 6-1-2 and you have only 1-2-2 in the area, while yor upgradable 2-1-2 are distant. That is, a little less flexibility.

But I'd have to say that you might need better units than mere shells *far before* you are able to produce an income such to sustain the required expenses to upgrade them. In that meanwhile you hardly can renounce to build your 1-3-1's, and the upgrade from a plasma garrison to a scoutpatrol is NOT cost-effective.
It's true that at higher weapon/armor levels, upgrading might become sometimes more convenient than hurrying. But even in those case usually you'd have the best efficiency balance between "available production capability / cash flow / time-to-market" by starting with something more than level 1 weapon/armor in your shell.

I know that there are experienced players (see Sikander) following a strict shell-upgrade strategy. Maybe I'm not as smart as them, but in real play (that is not against stupid AI) I hardly have found the conditions where that tactic is viable/convenient other than in limited occasions.

[MariOne]

OH, and I forgot...
STANDARD scout patrols are usually the FIRST design that I mark as "Obsolete"!
Thanks to a peculiarity in the units production cost formula, you usually can add FOR FREE one special ability to them.
After you discover SoHB, it's STUPID to build a 1-1-1 instead of a 1-1t-1.

I can't recall offhand exactly, but there are also other patrol designs with free added ability.
For sure a 1-1-1 police.
I think also a (1)-1-1.
Most likely if I'm not mistaken also a 1-1-1 Trained, which is a stepstone to get to Elite upgraded units in many cases.

All those free abilities do NOT in any way hinder the upgrade possibilities (Artillery apart), and don't influence its cost either...

I have to say, that in MANY occasions I even use to take the 1-1-1's I was forced to build in the very early stage of the game, and spend the 10ec required to upgrade them to 1-1-1 Police!

[Yxklyx]

My new favorite unit is the Gas Wave Chopper.

[TresXF]

@ marione
never had a prob with money (energy) - i'm a capitalistic builder

slightly mods of the 1-1-1 infantry (with free addons) or even the rovers (i like(!) them) are used of course.

btw, i believe this thread was meant as a think tank - not as a step-by-step-blue print

[Earwicker]

My favorite combat/ expansion unit is a 1-1-1 trained drop infantry (I rename them dropboyz). Cost is 19 or 20 minerals, and the "trained" ability is a freebie. They are quite potent to take empty bases (pre-aero-defenses) or bolster the garrison of bases you've captured with ground units. Drop them in and upgrade to a defender or an extra attacker, depending upon your needs.

[Clear Skies]

Originally posted by Yxklyx
My new favorite unit is the Gas Wave Chopper.

I like these also!

[Frankychan]

From TresXf,

btw, i believe this thread was meant as a think tank - not as a step-by-step-blue print

Thanks for getting the underlying message. I kinda wanted everyone to share with each other their own unique unit idea's that we might wanna try out.

Mine was the 'Nuclear Submarine'----never mind the cost!
It's just fun to play with it.

[Adalbertus]

Originally posted by Earwicker:
Drop them in and upgrade to a defender or an extra attacker, depending upon your needs.

Never tried to do that. Can you drop and upgrade in one turn (provided you do not use any movement point)?
It is certainly covered in another thread, but I'm too lazy to look it up :
If you upgrade a trained unit, does it loose morale?

[Flubber]

I use a few of the units indicated like the radar sea crawler. I love specific units and make all kinds of different combinations

1. Mall cop -- This is the basic probe on an infantry chassis to reduce cost and is used for base defense

2. The AWACS-4-- a radar plane given the highest weapon the base can build in a turn-- often these guys are impact equipped but the main job is patrolling the frontiers

3. The suicide chopper-- perhaps only equipped with a 4 weapon and the idea is to take a run through opposing unarmoured crawlers/formers and perhaps self destruct at the last movement point

4. The Locust Liquidator -- a best weapon SAM artillery rover, These guys just decimate locusts, worms and IODs-- damaging them so much that a green scout can finish off the stack

5 El cheapo (radar) chopper-- Often I will send a cheap chopper off to explore any remaining unknown frontier. I often find the long range current scouting data to be more than worth the cost of the thing


Those are just some of them. My workshop is always full of all kinds of cheaper units. Later game you might want to go best weapons on everything but lots of times, I build "cheaper" in the early to mid game-- knowing that the role of the thing is to die

[MattyBoy]

I like that cheap chopper idea, Flubber.
Maybe Drop SAM Rovers too.

There are some awesome old threads on all of this, especially on infantry probes with good defense as cheaper "clean" defenders.

[Sikander]

Marione,

You are correct that I use a regimented approach to shells and upgrades, but I play a lot of single player, and very little multiplayer, and the intent is to save me micromanagement headaches. If I can follow my development paradigm, I have tons of cash, and no really difficult choices to make. I store up clean shells when there is nothing better to build for that day when someone needs a lesson in manners.

There have been some interesting ideas here. I tend to build SAM artillery when the need arises, but most of the time it doesn't. Artillery is pretty handy since the patch, but it needs to be part of a combined arms team obviously.

To answer a question, the only time the trained special ability does any good is when the unit is first built. You can then upgrade the unit from the right click menu (or using U), and it will retain it's higher morale even though the type that you upgrade to lacks the trained attribute. Upgrading the entire type from the Unit Workshop however loses the morale upgrade.