Formations;

[Gabriel Anthony]

I was reading in the manual about formations/organization. And got the impression that you can edit/change your formations. For instance, you buy a rifle platoon, B0-B4, then buy a single lt. mortar, C0, and can then add the lt. mortar to the rifle platoon, making it B5.

Is this possible? Or did I comprehend the manual wrongly. And if it is possible, how is it done? I've been tooling around in different screens (building, deployment, during game), but haven't figured out how to get it working.

[BruceAZ_MatrixForum]

You are correct. Use the reassignment button on the left to reassign the unit to a new formation.

Recon
Semper Fi

[Major Destruction]

Yes, but be careful to not reassign a commander unit.


For example, suppose you buy B0-5 a rifle platoon and you also buy C0-3 engineer platoon.
If you want the add an engineer squad to the B platoon you can add the C3 unit, and add C2 and C1 to other units but you should not reassign C0. If C0 is a problem for you, delete that unit and buy another unit. This is only possible when buying and deployingin the scenario editor.

In a regular deployment in a generated battle or for pbem, reassigning a command unit can interrupt the line of command since C0 is unavailable to pass commands down to D0. It may result in making your artillery less available or rally chances less likely.

Therefore some pre-planning may be necessary during purchase. To resssign only platoons at the bottom of the roster.

So buy everything you want but buy the engineers last. Now you can reassign BF0-3 and BE0-3 without jeopardising your command line.

[robot]

Also if you try to add say trucks to your mortar plattoon for transportation. The o unit in any formation has the tendancy to take over the new formation. Say the mortar is MO thru M3 and the trucks are PO thru P2. The P1 and P2 will be ok but the PO unit will be the new CO of the mortar plattoon. At least this has almost always been the way it has happened to me in the long campaign. That is with out using the editor which i know nothing about. This is core only that i have tried this with by the way.

[Poopyhead]

This is because of the military rank of the "0" unit. The first rank an officer makes is 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) and the second rank he makes is 1st Lieutenant (1LT) (no wonder they are so confused), so a 1LT in a truck will take over a platoon of infantry or artillery led by a 2LT unless you are careful in reassigning units.

[robot]

Your right on the head poopy. Just forgot to put in the rank. Never did like the first or 2nd LTs.

[Major Destruction]

ORIGINAL: robot

Say the mortar is MO thru M3 and the trucks are PO thru P2. The P1 and P2 will be ok but the PO unit will be the new CO of the mortar plattoon.

I would assign M2 and M3 to a sniper (for the moment)

Then assign P2 and P1 to M0
Then assign the M2 and M3 mortars to P0

(Then assign another transport to the P formation)

Now P2 and P1 are subordinate to the mortar M0 and can carry M0 and M1. (more on that below)

M2 and M3 are subordinate to P0

I am assuming that the transport units can carry only one mortar.

Why the sniper?
If you assign M2 and M3 to the P formation they become P3 and P4
Now you assign P1 and P2 to the M formation.
P formation now consists of P0, P3 and P4. The result of this is that P3 and P4 will be 'out of contact' more often than they should be.

What's the problem with having trucks subordinate to artillery?
If you are playing with command control on, and move truck P2 away from the commander (mortar P0), it will not have enough orders to return to the commander and the commander has not enough movement to move to the truck.

[robot]

Great explanation Major. Another way is to just buy a sec of 2 mortors and a sec of trucks twice. Then dont play with C&C on. Less time and easier to figure out.[:D][:D]