This game has armored nomadic alien cavalry!

[laagamer]

I played my first game, read the manual, and thought I'd start over since I messed up a bunch.

Well, instead of crappy militia that the minors have, they start with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ nomadic alien cavalry. They're already in special suits, because the planet is toxic, that I don't even have!

And they're all hostile. RIP second run.

Question. Early game, how do you keep other neutral factions from just sending small units to waltz around and take hexes from around you.

Do I really just declare war on everyone at once? Because that went poorly for me the last time.

[maerchen]

In the chapter 'Borderline syndrome' I explained it a bit.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2314171481

Essentially, if you open gaps, the AI will exploit these. Do not overextend. Raise independent MG units, play defensive and turtle up until you are able to outtech or overwhelm them with upgraded models. Try to get the model design council early if you have good units with structural design of 100+. If you ahve farmers nearby, conquer or charm them with diplomacy.

In 5.2.3.1., page 159ff, the suits and rules for other regimes are explained.

The game is challenging on so many levels. At higher difficulty, you autospawn with major regimes bordering you - I had one bordering my capital -, have 0% tax income at turn 1, and general aggression is high.

[maerchen]

This should be helpful, too:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2307278327 and the subsequent guides for the other turns.

If you are very desperate, you can restart the same game via loading the lastplanetgenerated.se; this can shuffle the borders and your starting faactions a bit, and you might get better models.

[laagamer]

Originally posted by maerchen:

In the chapter 'Borderline syndrome' I explained it a bit.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2314171481

Essentially, if you open gaps, the AI will exploit these. Do not overextend. Raise independent MG units, play defensive and turtle up until you are able to outtech or overwhelm them with upgraded models. Try to get the model design council early if you have good units with structural design of 100+. If you ahve farmers nearby, conquer or charm them with diplomacy.

In 5.2.3.1., page 159ff, the suits and rules for other regimes are explained.

The game is challenging on so many levels. At higher difficulty, you autospawn with major regimes bordering you - I had one bordering my capital -, have 0% tax income at turn 1, and general aggression is high.

I'm getting poked at by free folk militias from all around. And majors seem to expand like crazy. They obviously don't seem to have the supply restrictions that I have.

Should I just scout hexes with a motorized unit that slowly starves to death or something?

[ulzgoroth]

What's stopping you from getting supplies to your units? You might want to consider nationalizing your initial logistics asset if you can't get enough out of the private version, though that does have downsides.

The majors have some logistics restrictions, but their dirt roads are free and their cities spontaneously generate truck points...apparently a lot of long-ranged truck points.

I think you'll find that starving units aren't good at running around. Motorized units can't move without fuel, and even foot units will have low AP from low readiness.

[laagamer]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

What's stopping you from getting supplies to your units? You might want to consider nationalizing your initial logistics asset if you can't get enough out of the private version, though that does have downsides.

The majors have some logistics restrictions, but their dirt roads are free and their cities spontaneously generate truck points...apparently a lot of long-ranged truck points.

I think you'll find that starving units aren't good at running around. Motorized units can't move without fuel, and even foot units will have low AP from low readiness.

Interesting! Thank you!

And supply wise, it's just simple lack of IP at the start. And an Industry asset can be expensive at the start, especially when I had to prioritize food and fuel. So, expanding became problematic. It just seemed like the majors don't have this problem, but you've explained why! Interesting.

And that's why my infantry seems to lose AP if they are moving every turn. I was wondering why that was.

So, maybe save pure infantry battalions for home defense, and use more mobile formations for tracking down and taking out hostile groups!

[maerchen]

Exactly. When you don't move your units, readiness goes up and they autoentrench up to the respective hexes' maximum. You can check the max entrenchment when you mouseover the hex info as shown here, 'The Map' chapter, third image:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2326245400

That's why you don't attack with MGs, but hold the line preferrably on forest or mountain hexes. Let the enemy come, raise one or two buggies and encircle them.
With that I mean first grabbing all hexes around a single enemy unit and then attacking it. No room to retreat equals surrender if you win the fight.

If you don't have a metal mine at your disposal as you mentioned tech III start at matrix forums, you can nationalize the recycler, too. This will give you metal to build industry, some fuel for early buggys (they count as hard targets) and rare metals to sell. With that money you then can buy the truck station, too.

The AI rules are to be found at 5.18, page 349 manual.

[ulzgoroth]

Another fun fact, motorized units lose much less readiness than foot units. Foot units riding in trucks or APCs are treated as motorized here! So yeah, walking everywhere is terrible for mobile warfare.

[maerchen]

Another thing to mention is SHQ and OHQ commanders. SHQ gives overall bonuses and supplies the units, but charismatic OHQ commanders with high leadeship score can regenerate AP fast, raise readiness and help digging in - and you can attach up to two units of the same size or lower to an OHQ, benefitting from his skills.

[ulzgoroth]

Commanders can also provide a variety of outright combat bonuses.

I tend to always find that I want more attachment slots than my line units can offer, once I have the economy for anything beyond a mob of infantry. Since heavy bombardment, wheeled recon, AT guns and AA weapons, and certain late-tech units can't be included in line formations...

[laagamer]

Dude, ya'll are so helpful! Thanks! Really appreciate it, fellas!

Originally posted by maerchen:

Exactly. When you don't move your units, readiness goes up and they autoentrench up to the respective hexes' maximum. You can check the max entrenchment when you mouseover the hex info as shown here, 'The Map' chapter, third image:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2326245400

That's why you don't attack with MGs, but hold the line preferrably on forest or mountain hexes. Let the enemy come, raise one or two buggies and encircle them.
With that I mean first grabbing all hexes around a single enemy unit and then attacking it. No room to retreat equals surrender if you win the fight.

If you don't have a metal mine at your disposal as you mentioned tech III start at matrix forums, you can nationalize the recycler, too. This will give you metal to build industry, some fuel for early buggys (they count as hard targets) and rare metals to sell. With that money you then can buy the truck station, too.

The AI rules are to be found at 5.18, page 349 manual.

I was just thinking to myself last night that running down groups of retreating militia was stretching me too thin at the beginning! I didn't know encircling was the key to ending that!

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

Another fun fact, motorized units lose much less readiness than foot units. Foot units riding in trucks or APCs are treated as motorized here! So yeah, walking everywhere is terrible for mobile warfare.

I noticed that! I assumed so. That's why I've been using motorized infantry to get around now.

Originally posted by maerchen:

Another thing to mention is SHQ and OHQ commanders. SHQ gives overall bonuses and supplies the units, but charismatic OHQ commanders with high leadeship score can regenerate AP fast, raise readiness and help digging in - and you can attach up to two units of the same size or lower to an OHQ, benefitting from his skills.

I understand the bonuses, for the most part, but are you saying that once I form a battalion with an OHQ, I can then add up to 2 independent units to it?

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

Commanders can also provide a variety of outright combat bonuses.

I tend to always find that I want more attachment slots than my line units can offer, once I have the economy for anything beyond a mob of infantry. Since heavy bombardment, wheeled recon, AT guns and AA weapons, and certain late-tech units can't be included in line formations...

Interesting! I'm not sure I understand what attachments mean?

----

I don't think I've typed this much since I wrote my undergraduate thesis.

EDIT: Also, if I add say 500 trucks to an all infantry battalion, would that change it's AP capability?

[maerchen]

We were all noobs once, just like you. I got addicted to this game after watching the YT tutorials from @dasTactic, those are great.
Can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1154840/discussions/0/2998799961253293597/

And after I bought the game at Slitherine on release day in june 2020, I am just more addicted. Writing guides helps me to get through the pandemic and keeps my brain and senses sharp, as I am no native speaker.

I put in the UI guide, a bit out of order, but here you are:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2326245400

Chapter Attaching A Unit:
Right Bar, top tab 'Orders Bar', 3rd subtab from below is Unit Admin, where you can click on 'Change HQ' once you chose a unit.
In the Bottom Tabs, 2nd subtab you can see and leftclick through the Units on a hex, as you can see in the Top Tabs on the right, OOB button. A bit redundant, but you will find a way that suffices you and the OOB button helps you find that one unit you a re missing out.

You can attach up to two units of the same size or lower to an OHQ, benefitting from his leader skills. And it doesn't matter if you attach a GR unit or an independent or militia unit. Mind that readiness drops by 30 when changing HQ.

You are right with the amount of typing time and space it takes to write, but the UI for writing guides is nice here and better in Ux than at matrixforums. Some people describe DasTactics' series of university level education.

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by laagamer:

I understand the bonuses, for the most part, but are you saying that once I form a battalion with an OHQ, I can then add up to 2 independent units to it?

Yes. You use the 'unit adminn' button on the independent unit and change HQ. You can only add independent units that are the same or smaller scale - no adding an independent tank division on to an infantry brigade.

Originally posted by laagamer:

Interesting! I'm not sure I understand what attachments mean?

I meant 'independent' units added to the OHQ.

Buggies and motorcycles are the first models you'll see that can only be in independent units. Basic artillery actually can be in line troops of certain types (siege infantry and some derivatives) but a dedicated artillery unit can be helpful for ranged attacks. (Side warning: artillery has worse-than-foot movement, I think. So any unit with artillery in it really needs to be motorized or mechanized unless it's intended to be completely static.) Later self-propelled artillery types can only be independent units.

Originally posted by laagamer:

EDIT: Also, if I add say 500 trucks to an all infantry battalion, would that change it's AP capability?

You can't really do that, can you? The only way to add trucks to a unit without trucks is to make it into a different type of unit.

I don't think a transport-equipped unit gets the benefit of being transported unless it has at least as many transports as transportees.

[laagamer]

Originally posted by ulzgoroth:

Originally posted by laagamer:

I understand the bonuses, for the most part, but are you saying that once I form a battalion with an OHQ, I can then add up to 2 independent units to it?

Yes. You use the 'unit adminn' button on the independent unit and change HQ. You can only add independent units that are the same or smaller scale - no adding an independent tank division on to an infantry brigade.

Originally posted by laagamer:

Interesting! I'm not sure I understand what attachments mean?

I meant 'independent' units added to the OHQ.

Buggies and motorcycles are the first models you'll see that can only be in independent units. Basic artillery actually can be in line troops of certain types (siege infantry and some derivatives) but a dedicated artillery unit can be helpful for ranged attacks. (Side warning: artillery has worse-than-foot movement, I think. So any unit with artillery in it really needs to be motorized or mechanized unless it's intended to be completely static.) Later self-propelled artillery types can only be independent units.

Originally posted by laagamer:

EDIT: Also, if I add say 500 trucks to an all infantry battalion, would that change it's AP capability?

You can't really do that, can you? The only way to add trucks to a unit without trucks is to make it into a different type of unit.

I don't think a transport-equipped unit gets the benefit of being transported unless it has at least as many transports as transportees.

This all makes sense! Yay! I'm learning!

EDIT: I've got them now! Understanding AP makes that easier.

https://imgur.com/a/HHj7F4b

[ulzgoroth]

I often prefer to use either buggies (MG firepower without foot attack penalties and more recon points) or motorcycles (dirt cheap and lots of recon points) for my early cavalry arms (plus any GR tanks or mechs I luck into of course).

But motorized infantry can certainly do the job nicely.

EDIT: Motorized militia units can also do pretty well, when available.