Tactical Combat Solution: Initial Deployment Turn

[Noble713]

I'm sure others have mentioned this (at least for defenses), but here goes:


This feature was in SE3 (and in SE2, I think), and I don't know why it was removed. You know that 1st turn in tactical combat when you can't move your ships, and you can select enemy forces by left-clicking? This should be the deployment turn. A large box is set up around your ships (depending on which direction they came from), and you can instantly move any ship to any square by dragging it there.

Problems this would solve:

1. Cluttered formations. I HATE going into battle with 2+ fleets of 20 ships each, as they always start out stuck together and spend the first few turns trying to spread out.

2. Will allow you to break a large fleet up into smaller formations with specific positions (fast ships on the left flank in a Flying V, heavy ships Line Abreast on the right flank, missile ships forming a Dome in the center).

3. Would solve the problem of bases being on the wrong side of the planet. Just move 'em when the tactical combat starts.

4. More logical arrangement for warp point battles. Why oh why would you park your vulnerable carriers and repair ships RIGHT NEXT to the warp point you are defending? These things should be at least 10 squares away, and with a deployment turn, you could put them there. Same goes for missile ships and other stuff that wasn't meant to slug it out at point-blank range.