Assault Troop Transport
 

I'm trying to build a fleet with heavily armoured and shielded transports. The idea is that the other ships in the fleet (mainly APB ships) go on with pounding the defenses until they are destroyed while the ATT (Assault Troop Transports) go in an drop troops even before all defenses are destroyed.
I have succeeded in getting them to drop troops AFTER all defenses are gone but not while the attacks are still going on.

In my fleet, i have planet buster ships which are loaded with planetary napalm so these need to get close to the planet in order to be effective while the APB ships need to keep more distance.

When i test and only use fleet of ATT's, they indeed attack and drop troops. A fleet of ATT's, APB's and Busters, keeps the ATT's back until the defenses are gone. I've tried to let them break formation but this doesn't achive anything:

Fleet strategy is capture planet:
Primary Movement Strategy is: Drop troops
Secondary Movement Strategy is: Point Blank

APB's ship strategy: Optimal Fire Range
Buster's ship strategy: Optimal Fire Range
ATT strategy: Capture Planet

Any idea as to what i need to change to have the ATT join in the attack and drop troops even before the defenses are destroyed?

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

I believe it is hard coded to work that way. The rules as I understand them:

- If your fleet contains attack ships and a troop transport (TT), the TT will wait until the attack ships remove defenses (Weapon platforms, satellites, fighters, ships, bases).

- If the attack ships are captured, destroyed (or maybe crippled, not sure), the TT will then attemp to capture under fire.

- If there are no attack ships, the TT will attempt to capture under fire.

- The TT will attempt to capture the nearest planet or moon regardless of what you told it to attack.

- If there is more than 1 TT, same rules apply except they can capture more than 1 planet or moon in a battle. They will not cooperate to add troops to the same planet while the ground combat is in progress. If there is 1 enemy planet and you have more than 1 TT, when defenses are eliminated, both will rush the planet. The first one will drop troops and the second one will wait. If the ground combat from the first one results in defeat for you, the second one will drop troops to try again, providing the turn count is still <30. This can result in losing a lot of troops because the planet kills them off in 2 stages instead of using 1 large invasion force.

Basically, I don't think you can tinker with the strategies to change this. Hope this helps.

Slick.

[ March 02, 2003, 16:24: Message edited by: Slick ]

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

I feared this was going to be the case.
Basically, i do not see a need then for a heavily armoured TT except if all other ships are eliminated.

Anyway, thanks for the fast answer.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even in tactical combat, you cannot simultaneously drop troops from two transports.

If your forces manage to hold out for a stalemate, the second transport will be able to add reinforcements, and both Groups of troops will fight together against the surviving militia.
This rarely happens in the unmodded game.

If the planet is captured, I believe that any extra troop transports will drop their troops on the remaining planets/moons.

A heavily armored troop transport would be a good idea for attacking small colonies.
If the colony has little to no defenses, you can send the transport in while your main fleet takes on the heavily defended planets.

[ March 02, 2003, 16:45: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Don't discount the heavily armed TT. They do have their uses, if you use them properly. You could make a small fleet of them and they will attack the planet. If successful, you now have taken the planet with most/all of its defenses still in place and now under your control. No need to build WP's.

One HUGE caution on this: Be sure you take out enemy sats, bases, and moons BEFORE if you do this. If you don't, as soon as you take control of the planet (you don't take control of orbiting sats & bases), they will all fire on the planet, most likely glassing it.

Slick.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

[quote]Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:

Quote:

If the planet is captured, I believe that any extra troop transports will drop their troops on the remaining planets/moons.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you have more than 1 TT, and there is more than 1 planet, they will both rush the closest planet. The first one to get there will drop troops and ground combat will happen. The turn after GC, the 2nd TT will continue to attempt to capture a planet. It will go for the closest one: either the next planet/moon, or the current one if you lost the GC battle.

Slick.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

[quote]Originally posted by Slick:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:

Quote:

If the planet is captured, I believe that any extra troop transports will drop their troops on the remaining planets/moons.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you have more than 1 TT, and there is more than 1 planet, they will both rush the closest planet. The first one to get there will drop troops and ground combat will happen. The turn after GC, the 2nd TT will continue to attempt to capture a planet. It will go for the closest one: either the next planet/moon, or the current one if you lost the GC battle.

Slick.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That is exactly what SJ said...

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

It's really too bad there is no assault order as you mentioned.

I've seen a couple of cases in simultaneous where transports with fighting abilities would be helpful in AI-controlled combat.

One is when there is a target planet with no weapon platforms. The ship will then go try to launch troops, even if there are enemy fighters (or perhaps even ships) flying around.

Another is when something hostile heads over where the transport and other support ships are hiding in a corner trying to avoid being hurt by a raging battle. This may be an enemy support ship, or enemy units/ships with orders to target unarmed targets. At this point, even a lightly armed presence can be decisive in a corner battle and save/destroy many support ships.

PvK

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

it's ashame it's not possible. I wanted to do a galactic recreation of D-day. Now it's not going to happen http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif
I took the enemies planets anyway but not with assault transports but with the standard run of the mill troop transport.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

you might want to try using short-range weapons on your ATT. (dont forget the shields and armor... a lot of). Massive-mounted planetary napalm might do the trick (hehe - 1800 damage per 40kT per 2 turns)
......
guess what, if armed the ship will proceed to capture the target planet immidiately. Be careful though as in max tech three APB-armed M.W.P's can cream the transport before it comes into range.

And if im not mistaken, if you capture the WP's intact, you get them to work for YOU.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

What would happen if ALL you ships are "troop transport" class ? They don't have all have troops on board, just be labeled "troop transports"

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">They would go into a corner. I think.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This doens't work. I have run a series of test with transports without a weapon, then transports with a weapon and the best i've got so far was that the transports attacked the planet.
I used the Assault Transport (had a ripper on it),
switched the fleet orders from drop troops, point blank to point blank and then drop troops. The assault transport still had drop troops as it's own orders but they just continued to go with the rest of the fleet and destroy the planet and not drop troops. I've let them break formation but they just attack the planet and not drop troops.
I've tried ever combination i know.
Is there anybody that has succeeded in doing this because i think Slicks right and that it's not possible.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

You are right Minipol. Weapons on a troop transport (other than PDC) are no help in a planetary invasion. If your ship and fleet strategy is set to drop troops they will not fire (other than PDC) and if the ship and fleet strategy is set to anything other than drop troops, they will not drop troops.

Geoschmo

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

Hopefully this is changed for SE V. It would be cool to have mixed fleets and have the TT go in to drop troops under fire.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">They would go into a corner. I think.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't know about that. I haven't tested this so it is pure conjecture, but I was actually gonna do this in a game one time but my fleet was waxxed before I could try. Since there would be no other ships besides TT's, I think they would all rush the planet and try to capture it. If your run-of-the-mill attack ship was labelled as a TT, you might have to tweak the "Capture Planet" strategy to get them to fire appropriately.

I was also thinking that you could transition ships in and out of the "TT" class by a retrofit, which would not even have to change any components or cost anything.

Like I said, I haven't tested this, but I think it could work.

Slick.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

I retried:
8 Assault Transport with 1 beam weapon
8 planet busters.

Fleet orders:
- Point blank
- Drop Troops

Result:
Sometimes (1 in 5/6 times) the AT seems to drop troops while their are still Planet busters around. Most of the time though, the planet is destroyed. When they do drop troops is probably when the defences are gone. I couldn't check since it did test strategically.
But i really can't seem to make them drop troops immediately.

Labelling attack ship as troop transports didn't seem to do anything.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

OK, I think I made it work:

ALL ships in a fleet must be Troop transports, ALL must have troops on board and weapons. This way they all fly toward planet firing weapons ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif The first troop transport that reaches planet will drop troops. Even if there are still weapon platforms on the planet !

However, if ground combat fails, this ship will become "attack ship" - no troops on board ! Other troop transports will try to fly away untill the unlucky ship is destroyed. Then all of them turn back on the planet like sharks! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

I know it is not the "right" solution but it still allows you to promptly conquest a heavy defended planet with a lot of WP but few troops !

I want to try this tactics in Proportions game. It is hellishly difficult to conquer an established colony in Proportions. It may be defended by hundreds WP and planetary shields. Practically impossible to destroy them all ! If only I could manage to get a troop transport close enough... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

It's still a shame that you can't send in multiple loads of troops like this. I'd like to build a fleet of assault scouts in Proportions- each one with high training and ECM to avoid enemy fire but only carry a few troops. You might lose a few but dozens more would get through, and you could end up with loads of troops on the planet.

Unfortunately, strategic combat will get one through, wait for the troops to die, send in another, wait for them to die...

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

It is possible to make veru tough troops in Proportions that will survive 10 rounds of ground combat. Few waves of suicidale troop transports and you may capture planet http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

Oleg,

i knew they would drop troops if the fleet consisted of all troop transports but what i was trying to achieve was having a mixed fleet of troop transports and attack ships and having the TS drop troops while the attack ships pound the planetary defenses. I haven't succeeded in doing this.

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

It's very common for the ground combat to go on for many strategic turns in Proportions. The problem is that the strategic AI may not drop any reinforcements until the first wave is eliminated by the defenders. You can drop reinforcements in tactical mode - the trick is getting the AI to do the same thing, which I haven't tested much, but is sounds like dogscoff has.

PvK

Re: Assault Troop Transport
 

i really hope we will be able to use assault troop transports in SEIV. They would be very neat. And make the troops less vulnerable to fire from ships bombarding the planet.