Emergency/Border Guard/Garission troops

[zgrssd]

A big issue with games like this, is having enough troops for every front. You do not need strong units so much, as you need many units.

Militia helps a bit early game, but even they are too many large units (as ironic as that sounds). And we need longterm solutions anyway.

I can think of 2 options: Active units and "diffuse" units

Active Units:
You get a option to recruit a exceptionally weak unit that is spamable. Think police forces, rather then army. Specifically:
- each unit consists of only 5 subunits. Much smaler then that and you propably want diffuse units
- the only gear selection is that of infantery militia. You are however responsible for buying the gear/replacements
- they do not use soldiers from the SHQ to form, but Population directly
- they may use the private food of the zone the are stationed in, but using public food would not be a bad idea
- they have issues using any military approaches. Entrenchment might be capped to the automatic amount, morale and readiness low, no XP gain - that sort of thing
- security points may create a immobile unit of this type in the city. Those immobile troops would count for reducing unrest, be used in events and would defend the city - but could never leave

Diffuse units:
This would not make the border guards a active unit with all the costs of calculation tactics and AI movement for them, but more of a hex-feature that spreads out from cities. If a hostile tries to invade the zone, they start slowing them down. Maybe they are actually embroiled into skirmishes (actuall combat) with a small number of enemies every hex they move.
But especially when going into the area where "cities build danger", resistance would start getting stiffer. This should prevent Slaver or Animal Stacks for getting all the way to your doorstep, without being challenged.
A simple way to limit the range of this, would be to look at the logistics coverage. If a hex is not at least green effective operational logistics for infantery, it will not get diffuse troops like that. And even in that area, it might be limited to the "danger zone".
Out-of-city assets might be another natural gathering point.
They might not act if proper military forces are in the hex. Even the weakest miltiary force will propably beat them anyway.

[jimwinsor]

Machine gun battalions make pretty good cheap border units.

[Clux]

ORIGINAL: zgrssd

A big issue with games like this, is having enough troops for every front. You do not need strong units so much, as you need many units.

Militia helps a bit early game, but even they are too many large units (as ironic as that sounds). And we need longterm solutions anyway.

I can think of 2 options: Active units and "diffuse" units

Active Units:
You get a option to recruit a exceptionally weak unit that is spamable. Think police forces, rather then army. Specifically:
- each unit consists of only 5 subunits. Much smaler then that and you propably want diffuse units
- the only gear selection is that of infantery militia. You are however responsible for buying the gear/replacements
- they do not use soldiers from the SHQ to form, but Population directly
- they may use the private food of the zone the are stationed in, but using public food would not be a bad idea
- they have issues using any military approaches. Entrenchment might be capped to the automatic amount, morale and readiness low, no XP gain - that sort of thing
- security points may create a immobile unit of this type in the city. Those immobile troops would count for reducing unrest, be used in events and would defend the city - but could never leave

Diffuse units:
This would not make the border guards a active unit with all the costs of calculation tactics and AI movement for them, but more of a hex-feature that spreads out from cities. If a hostile tries to invade the zone, they start slowing them down. Maybe they are actually embroiled into skirmishes (actuall combat) with a small number of enemies every hex they move.
But especially when going into the area where "cities build danger", resistance would start getting stiffer. This should prevent Slaver or Animal Stacks for getting all the way to your doorstep, without being challenged.
A simple way to limit the range of this, would be to look at the logistics coverage. If a hex is not at least green effective operational logistics for infantery, it will not get diffuse troops like that. And even in that area, it might be limited to the "danger zone".
Out-of-city assets might be another natural gathering point.
They might not act if proper military forces are in the hex. Even the weakest miltiary force will propably beat them anyway.

While I agree with your idea, I think than they should add a new unit type as "garrison", where it has a penalty of -75% attack, -25% defense and -50% of max entrenchment than infantry, while having -25% HP than regular infantry, but you will get a boost of 50% in reducing unrest. You would be able to upgrade it but that would be up to you.

[zgrssd]

ORIGINAL: jimwinsor

Machine gun battalions make pretty good cheap border units.

Some issues with that:
1. Still limited to my troops
2. MG's are pretty expensive in IP and Metal
3. I do not need something that good in combat the first place. Infantery Brigades have issues fighting them.
4. I need mass, not class.

[Soar_Slitherine]

You can make small units by creating custom battlegroups using the "Transfer/BG" button in the right-side panel. They have a few penalties that keep them from being optimal as main combat units (reduced attack value, reduced hitpoints if at 3 subunits or less, increased chance to shatter during retreats). I can see making them being a chore if you need large numbers of them, though.

[Cornuthaum]

ORIGINAL: zgrssd

ORIGINAL: jimwinsor

Machine gun battalions make pretty good cheap border units.

Some issues with that:
1. Still limited to my troops
2. MG's are pretty expensive in IP and Metal
3. I do not need something that good in combat the first place. Infantery Brigades have issues fighting them.
4. I need mass, not class.

MG infantry brigades are mass, not class. they are the very image of the dirt cheap line-holders.

[zgrssd]

ORIGINAL: Cornuthaum

ORIGINAL: zgrssd

ORIGINAL: jimwinsor

Machine gun battalions make pretty good cheap border units.

Some issues with that:
1. Still limited to my troops
2. MG's are pretty expensive in IP and Metal
3. I do not need something that good in combat the first place. Infantery Brigades have issues fighting them.
4. I need mass, not class.

MG infantry brigades are mass, not class. they are the very image of the dirt cheap line-holders.

They got up to twice the defense power of basic Infantry, at 50% higher cost.

500 Infantery? Now that I can call cheap mass.

500 Infantry with Militia gear? That is more what I am aiming for.

[Justus2]

ORIGINAL: zgrssd

ORIGINAL: Cornuthaum

ORIGINAL: zgrssd



Some issues with that:
1. Still limited to my troops
2. MG's are pretty expensive in IP and Metal
3. I do not need something that good in combat the first place. Infantery Brigades have issues fighting them.
4. I need mass, not class.

MG infantry brigades are mass, not class. they are the very image of the dirt cheap line-holders.

They got up to twice the defense power of basic Infantry, at 50% higher cost.

500 Infantery? Now that I can call cheap mass.

500 Infantry with Militia gear? That is more what I am aiming for.

You could always set their unit admin settings to only take in the lowest model units (Soldier-at-Arms I or whatever), as you upgrade your 'combat' formations raise new green formations with the old models. I have cheap 'QRF' buggy bns, that can screen along a section of border, that use my initial model buggies when my 'combat' recon battalions replace with the model III or IVs.

[Kamelpov]

You want cheap unit click independant troop select light infantry on the city you want to defend + enough for strategic transport it's done.

[zgrssd]

I repeat:
I do not want combat ability!

I want a cheap unit, that is not percieved as a danger, that I can use to fill gaps in a frontline. Just something to slow the enemy down. And manpower is usually the biggest issue to getting and maintaining those units.

If I wanted a 1000 man Indepedant Infantry, I would get a 1000 man Independant Infantry!

[Kamelpov]

Soviet cheap unit still use manpower so you have no choice. Or otherwise use automated turret it won't move and slow them down and don't use manpower I think.

[zgrssd]

ORIGINAL: Kamelpov

Soviet cheap unit still use manpower so you have no choice. Or otherwise use automated turret it won't move and slow them down and don't use manpower I think.

I am talking about recruiting something with Militia Level gear right from the population, not Automation Level tech!

What is so hard to understand here?
I want a spamable unit to fill gaps in the frontline with little more then roadblocks, that are easy to recruit but do not pose a danger to overall game balance.

[Jdane]

Crappy original model light infantry battalions then?

But fair enough, you certainly have the right to suggest Vic to implement half-battalions of original militia quality for garrison and picket purposes.