Unit Rally Point Problem

[albiedamned]

The ability to set rally points on units is very nice, since it keeps you from having to constantly update rally points as the battle moves. And I especially like how the new units will also join whatever control groups the rally point unit is in. However I think I've noticed one problem with this feature. I typically will have a control group full of infantry, with the rally point set on some arbitrary member in the group. As I pump out more infantry, sometimes I notice that the new infantry fail to join the group and move to the battle. I suspect what is happening is that the arbitrary unit I chose as the rally point has been killed, thus eliminating the rally point. If anyone from BHG is reading this, can you confirm the problem I think I've identified and let me know if there is any way around it as the game currently stands?

If this is truly what is happening, then a better behavior would be if the rally point automatically switched to another unit in the group when the original rally point unit dies. The priority would be for the rally point to first switch to another unit of the same type in the same group, then to another unit of the same class (barracks/stable/siege), then to any other unit in the group.

[albiedamned]

No one ever replied to this, so I thought I would bump it. Has anyone else been frustrated by this issue? One slight workaround I've been using is to assign the rally point to a general in the group instead of to an arbitrary unit. Since the general stays behind the line (usually), he is less likely to die. But I don't necessarily have a general with every control group, so I can't always do this.

[Rohag]

I've encountered the same problem. Frustrating it is when your replacements go AWOL.

Possibly related: I've made the mistake of keeping military production buildings far from the front on "Aggressive" stance - the units they produce automatically are set to Aggressive. Units will start out heading for their assigned control group, but if they encounter any enemy unit or building on the way they'll stop and fight and may never reach the intended destination.

[albiedamned]

I changed the overall default stance in the Options screen to Defensive. I find this works much better as a default. They still attack everything they see, they just don't chase it as far so they wind up getting back to their original route sooner. Within a game, I usually try to remember to change my siege factories to stand ground, since I don't want those guys moving around without my knowledge.

[Hamdinger]

I, too, have been frustrated with the rally point issue! In addition to your theory about losing the original unit, I also wonder if there might be a limit to how many units can be in a control group. (I tend to send everything to one big control group.) Also, since a unit can be a member of multiple groups, what happens when you set a rally point to that unit? Lastly, occasionally I'll see a unit assigned to a group that I never set a rally point on. For example, I usually set my ships to group seven and the only rally points I set to that group are from docks. Occasionally I see barracks units in group seven.