[Freeciv-Dev] more complex unit and battle system

[peter jurcovic <hhg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this was discussed here already (I haven't seen it in
"Suggestions/Ideas"), but I have several notes and suggestions related
to units and battle system.

I don't know how many of you have played "Panzer General" (PG) or
"Allied General" (AG) or other game from this serie, because my point is
(in fact) to implement their really sofisticated (and cool) battle
system to freeciv.

I'll try to give here full overview:


1.    Unit have experience points

Current freeciv system allows only veteran status, but in PG system unit
gets certain amount of experience points after every battle and
experience can grow (almost) to infinity (my maximum at the end of the
game was at about 600). Experience has (and should have) *enormous*
influence on battle result and in PG it's the *fundamental* issue.

2.    Unit have number (power)

That means in PG you don't have "one" unit, but you have "one group with
number (power) 10". Something similar is already implemented - units in
freeciv have energy. However, units in PG can become "bigger than 10"
later as their experience grows. This means that you could "repair" your
unit to 120% of their original energy or even more (according to their
current experience status). One other important point: in PG, only one
unit (that means in real world one group, one division) can be on
certain hexagon in certain time.
(Just FYI maximum number in PG is 15).

3.    In battle, it's not necessary to have one unit completely
destroyed

AFAIK in freeciv one unit *always has* to be destroyed. In PG, the case,
when two units with full power meet in battle and one is completely
destroyed is very rare (something like this can happen if one unit has
very low experience (say "10") and other has very high experience (say
"400")). Unit is usualy completely destroyed after 3-4 attacks
(according to its experience and number).

4.    Replacement and Elite replacement

In PG, "Replacement" command replaces damaged unit with new
unexperienced forces and experience points of unit are reduced. "Elite
replacement" does not lower unit's experience, but costs you "Prestige"
(in freeciv, it could be gold). Replacements makes your unit's number 10
(or 100%) and if you want more, you have to order more replacement
commands in next turns (if you want to replace unit, you can't give unit
any other orders in that turn) and every replacement over 10 gives unit
only 1 (10%). If you replace unit with energy under 100%, it'll be
replaced to 100%.

If your unit is next to *one* enemy unit, you can order replacement, but
you can't replace unit to 100% (usualy only to 70-80 %). If your unit is
next to *two or more* units, you simply can't order replacement.

There's one more interesting point here: if you order replacement, unit
will be replaced immediatly, but in ongoing enemy turns, your unit is
*not* just ordinary unit with energy 100% and if it's attacked, it can
(and will) suffer much more than unit with energy 100%, which was not
replaced.

5.    Complex terrain advantages and disadvantages

In freeciv, terrain types can give unit an advantage in defence, but it
gives same advantages to *all* types of units. In PG, certain terrain
types give advantage only to certain unit types: if infantry is fighting
armor in forrest or in mountains, the infantry has a *great* advantage
(and the armor has a great disadvantage) and if it's more experienced
and/or has more energy, the armor unit will be really bad beaten. This
advantage is of course in defence as well as in offence. Even greater
advantage has infantry in a city. Attacking skilled infantry with full
energy which is defending a city with an armor is a suicide.

Interesting terrain type in PG is the river, because it gives very great
disadvantage to all unit types in defence as well as in offence. This
doesn't apply on the aircrafts of course ;), and of all terrain units
only Bridge Engineers are imune (they are of course a fighting unit, not
civ style engineers).

6.    Defensive artillery and anti-aircrafts

In PG, several types of units can attack enemies on squares (or better
said, hexagons ;), which are not just next to them. Units with these
ability are artilleries and some anti-aircraft weapons. When these units
are next to your unit, which is under attack, they'll aid your unit by
striking the attacker. Anti-aircrafts will (of course) strike only air
attackers.
(The range, which artilleries and anti-aircrafts can attack in, is in PG
2-4).

7.    Morale and suppression

In PG, every unit has also morale points. These points can be reduced or
gained in battle. They can be also lowered when in siege. Morale
influence the battle similar as experience, but with lower effect. One
example: we want to take over the city defended by experienced infantry
unit with high morale and full energy. Direct attack by armor or
infantry would be probably unsuccessful (or, if your attacking infantry
is also experienced with high morale and full energy, the battle could
be very hard and both units would end very damaged (but your unit
probably more damaged)). The common routine is attacking the defender by
artilleries and bombers and reducing its energy and morale points and
then attacking directly with infantry.

8.    Rugged defence

Rugged defence is the usual result of situation, when you are attacking
a unit with high morale and energy, which is defending a town. When this
happened you are in big troubles, because experienced unit in rugged
defence can completely destroy the attacker very easily. The result can
be sometimes also inverted - unit in rugged defence can be damaged hard
or even destroyed, but only if the attacker is *very* experienced and
defender is not experienced at all.
(Note: rugged defence can ocure also on grass or plain terrains, but
quite rarely).

9.    Zones of control

In freeciv, your unit can't move from a square next to one emeny unit to
square next to other enemy unit. In PG, your unit can move this way, but
you have only one move point. But changing zones of control in freeciv
may be quite problematic as far as some types of units have only one
move point at all ;). Well, as I'm thinking about this now, to make the
PG system really effective, it would be good to do a "zoom in", to look
at the world in bigger detail (at least to give all units more move
points and to give cities more usable squares, or better to let cities
grow to more squares).

10.    Upgrading

In PG, in the beginning of every scenario you have the possibility to
upgrade your units, which costs you some prestige. I see absolutely no
reason why should we not implement it in freeciv. Naturely, freeciv has
much, much important "time aspect" and it would be quite strange to have
hyper-experienced armor units, which you would use from the utter
beginning as some phalanx ;). There have of course to be some
restrictions.

11.    Number of unit types

In PG and AG, you can choose from several dozens of tank, artillery,
infantry, aircraft, etc units (I think there's more than hundred of
them). Of course, I don't suggest to implement 40 kinds of armours in
freeciv ;), but I still think that *one* type of armour is quite
ascetic. That apllies also on *two* types of fighter units, etc.
(On the other side, situation with infantry is here quite a bit better).

12.    Units can be named

This is (for somebody) not very important issue, but it helps to change
the view on your army: in contemporary system, your units are in fact
just anonymous cannon fodder. But if you'll have to take care of them
and train them and be able to name them, that'll be much, much
different.
(Of course you won't "have to" take care of them, but then you could
have serious problems with somebody who does ;)



These are the major points. I hope you haven't found this mail too long
and boring and you'll all consider these suggestions as really
interesting and gonna-be-implemented-very-soon ;). I think I'll make
some patches by myself but I'm not sure when.

I would be extremely glad to see this system in freeciv, because PG is
for me (from the battle point of view) the best strategic game ever.
People, who would not like these changes (are there any?) just would be
able to turn them off in the server setup or let them turned on and try
to ignore them - at least until the moment, when they'll face an enemy
army consisting of ultra-experienced greatly motivated units with energy
150% each ;) ...


I'm looking forward to any comments and discussion.
    -Peter Jurcovic


---------------------------------
Freeciv with Panzer General battle system: 'Cause Civilisation should be
perfect.