Military/Combat System - Whatcha Think?

[Mark_Everson]

don Don:

Great! your writeup was exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of. We need to see what Hrafnkell on the tech end, and Druid2 and Kull on the military/combat end, think of the concept.

Mark

[Druid2]

don Don...
This looks right. Please also take a look at how it might fit into the model that just [6/4] got complete [other Mil/Combat thread]--- except for the detail on individual units.

The idea there [in the model] is that the player would decide what the aggregate units makeup would be, rather than forcing him into a historical parallel. BUT: there could be tech advances in organization that could be applied to the various TaskForces [the model's generic name for an aggregation of individual units], since the TF has a tech level parameter. That parameter could control the size of the makeup and it's ability to communicate.

We need to understand better how to integrate the tech level advances from the research tree into the combat units. And what those units are.

[This message has been edited by Druid2 (edited June 04, 1999).]

[don Don]

One way of incorporating doctrine, training, and historical factors is through distinct organizational tech advances. Just to throw the idea out for discussion, stripped of any numerical bonus/penalty specifics:

Organization Level...Unit Size...Description
ALL ERAS
·Band....................1.......Loosely organized unit
·Horde...................4+......Large (unwieldy) group
· Stub...................¼.......Disrupted unit fragment
· Mob....................¼.......Spontaneous disorganized unit
· Partisans..............¼.......Spontaneous paramilitary unit
· Militia................¼.......Part-time military unit
ANCIENT ERA
·Troop..................1-8......Standard ancient production unit
·Phalanx.................4.......Aggregate foot soldier unit
·Myriad.................4-8......Aggregate foot or cavalry unit
·Legion.................4-6......Composite foot & cavalry unit
· Maniple................1.......Legion composite subunit
· Century................¼.......Legion fractional subunit
MODERN ERA
·Battalion...............1.......Standard modern production unit
· Company................¼.......Battalion fractional unit
·Regiment................4.......Aggregate unit
·Brigade.................8.......Aggregate unit
·Division...............16+......Aggregate unit
·Corps..................64+......Aggregate unit


The general idea here is that each ancient and modern organization type is a separate advance. At first all military units are Bands. If you ever get 4 or more Bands together in the same place doing more or less the same thing they become a Horde (they can't help it). A Band would suffer some minor A/D penalty because of lack of discipline, communication, etc.; a Horde would suffer a larger penalty.

A Stub (or a collection thereof) is what's left over after a military unit is defeated. They can be regrouped to form replacement units or used to diminish the cost of new production units. Mobs and Partisans should be self-explanatory. These fractional-sized units suffer A/D penalties based on size and morale status (likely to be low).

The Troop advance enables what we would consider very basic military discipline and training. They can be grouped together without suffering command problems (no penalties). Then the Phalanx represents tactical training, which confers a minor defensive bonus. The Myriad represents another advance in training (think Alexander the Great here) with A/D bonus. The Legion advance covers the primary tactical and discipline level of the Roman Legion (but suited for whatever culture is relevant). This was the first true "combined arms" unit and would have a substantial A/D bonus. Legion Subunits are further advances enabling flexible use and deployment, Maniples having some minor bonus over the basic Troop, and Centuries having lesser penalties than Partisans.

Therefore a Legion of (2 hv inf, 1 lt inf, 1 md cav) would be better than a collection of 2 hv inf Troops plus 1 lt inf Troop plus 1 md cav Troop. After development of the Century you could attach fractional support units (a hv cav or an elite infantry) for additional bonuses. Players could while away hours fidgeting with unit composition or settle for AI defaults.

Modern Era aggregates also represent levels of military doctrine and training with increasing A/D bonuses. With the development of Battalion tech, the aggregates would be available without penalties or bonuses. After developing Regiment, all larger aggregate units would receive the Regiment A/D bonus, etc. Modern mixed units (i.e., infantry support for armor) would be a separate advance but not a distict organization as the Legion was in the Ancient era.

Construction of units would be flexible. If you wanted to produce a garrison force for a border outpost you could build a size 1 unit and place it there. Rural villages could produce Militia for defense. You could produce a Troop of up to size 8, with larger aggregates suffering some penalty less severe than the Horde penalty. For a Phalanx you could either build one directly or take size 4 worth of Troops and train them into a Phalanx. A Phalanx could be split into Troops, loosing their defensive bonus until rejoined into a full Phalanx.

It would be possible to either tie the units directly to single population units (for Partisans/Militia, for example) or to a group of population units. If you build more than the population growth can replace in the time-span of a game turn, then producing a military unit will "consume" a population group. The effects would vary depending on government/social system.

[This message has been edited by don Don (edited June 04, 1999).]