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Is multiple combat round + Initiative order Illogical?

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larienna
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I have a simple combat system where unit have an initiative order of attack, then roll a die and have the potential to kill or rout enemy units which could then be killed if routed again. Artillery shoot first, then infantry then cavalry.

Now, the problem is that since it's a solitaire game, I do not want to handle retreats, because it will bee too annoying for the AI to retreat. So I was thinking of continuing battles until one side lose all it's units.

But since each unit could kill at most 1 unit, unless you have numeric superiority, you will never kill all opposing units. So multiple battle rounds are necessary.

But it seems a bit illogical that after the cavalry has attacked, that it goes back to artillery again. The thematic reason that artillery shoot first is that their get their first shot while the enemy is approaching.

The only logical reason is that there could be multiple assaults. Doing another round of combat is another assault on another day. It could also give you a chance to recover routed units between assaults.

Else I would have to make killing units faster, and possibly remove routing, but it would reduce the depth of combat.

d.walkabout
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Have you played Ruin Wars

It's been a while, but if I'm remembering correctly Ruin Wars has a very similar, if not exactly the same, combat mechanic and a solution that may help you. If you haven't played it, Ruin Wars is a fantasy tabletop game that puts you in commned of one of 4 factions, each faction has its own units with special abilities, etc...
Point is, combat occurs very much like in your game where each unit has an order in which they attack when fighting. Once their turn is up, that's it. When all units engaged in a battle have had their turn, the players involved add up who has the most units still standing and that player wins the battle, claiming the territory while their opponent's remaining units retreat. If both players have the same number of units standing I believe you check each unit's rank or power and then see who has the most of either...don't recall what to do if those match though...

Hope this helped. Good luck with your game!

czarcastic
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Joined: 06/06/2016
Skirmish alternative

Without scripting for retreating units, multiple combat rounds until elimination does seem inevitable.

However, multiple rounds doesn't necessarily mean that all units disengage and fall back into formation after the initial clash. It would make the combat a bit more complex, but you could change the available actions for the subsequent rounds.
For instance, ranged units could still fire, but would run a risk of hitting friendlies. Cavalry could dismount fight as infantry, make a charge at the ranged units, or have a greater chance of eliminating routed units.
If possible, perhaps consider giving artillery the ability to affect more than one unit and possibly increase the rout chance. Artillery is a "shock and awe" type of unit.

larienna
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Considering I am going to

Considering I am going to have a lot of unit type others than the basic 3, I cannot give additional special conditions, that would just multiply the rules.

Victory II simply roll all units at once ( 1 die per unit type), but there are still special abilities that happens in a special order like artillery, but I think it only happens once, then you roll indefinitely.

By "Ruin Wars", I imagine you mean "Rune Wars". Still a game called "Ruin Wars" that takes place in a post apocalyptic world could be cool. Since I did not want to handle retreat, this is unfortunately not an option.

I think the multiple assault (different days of battle) with option to regroup each round would be the solution.

d.walkabout
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DERP!

Yeas...I did mean "Rune Wars"

adversitygames
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You could take artillery out

You could take artillery out of conventional battles entirely (so they launch a barrage which can potentially eliminate units without causing a full combat)

Alternatively (or additionally) you could make it so artillery just get one shot per combat, so after the initial barrage they get caught up in close combat and become pretty useless.

For olde black powder cannons (which if you've got cavalry I guess is what you're using) the loading time on them is prohibitive, they aren't much good in a fast-paced close combat around a load of cavalry sabres and bayonets.

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