Ideas for Better Battlegroups by AVP

[AVP]

Ideas for Better Battlegroups
Read Time: 3 minutes

First, to the developers, I'd like to say that I'm happy to see the changes made to the Battlegroup System since SRU. What used to appear to me as only a hotkey system for players to grab groups of units quickly, seems to now be a system (potentially) capable of utilizing various units grouped together to accomplish limited objectives, independent from player (human) input; If so, very cool.

After watching one beta tester's recent stream, here are three suggestions I have on how to make the Battlegroup system more useful for players.


Leaders

As you now can assign a unit to "lead" a battlegroup, I'd like to propose adding in special Head Quarters units for SR2030. An HQ unit's purpose: To provide a small combat efficiency boost to units, within their battlegroup, that are within X km (let's say 48 or 64km max), or X # of hexes away, from that HQ unit's position. I think this would be a good way to also represent command and control (C2) within the game. Furthermore, perhaps certain techs could benefit these units' C2 range (e.g. going from 16km to 32k) or instead, technology could unlock better HQ units to research - to accommodate for better combat characteristics (defense, spotting, etc) of the HQ unit - with a longer C2 range.

Adding these HQ units would add additional depth to combat. One could also imagine a feature wherein the destruction of a battlegroup's "leader" would result in a morale loss for the units within the battlegroup OR all units of the same type (land, sea, air) within a 2-hex radius.

One should not interpret this suggestion as adding in a penalty for players who aren't using HQ units - it should only be a slight efficiency boost - but rather as a vehicle for which the AI can better use battlegroups/formations and improve the gameplay experience. I'm sure future ideas could be built around HQ units and the AI's use of them.


Missions

If Battlegroups are being designed to be able to carry out independent operations, I'd like there to be a mission editor tool, where players can designate a mission and assign a battlegroup to that mission. I think this mission mechanic would make the battlegroup system more useful and intuitive for players, especially for those new to Battle Goat games.

To create a mission, players should first select the "Missions" button, which would be located under the Defense Department tab. Upon selecting "Missions", a pop-up window, similar to the "unit presence" or "atlas" windows, should pop up where players can see all of their created missions. Here players should see (by column from L to R) Mission Name, # Assigned Battlegroups (per Mission), # Units currently Assigned (per Mission), Status (Active/Inactive buttons), Mission Type, and a Trash Can Icon (Delete button).

Under the Mission Type header, players should be able to select several buttons, similar to how one selects acceptable targets for units in SRU (air, land, sea, fortification, etc). I believe there are 5 mission types that would be most useful for players using the battlegroup system, but I'm certain there are other categories that may also fit within this grouping.

Mission Types:
Patrol - Patrol X Area;
Strike - Attack all visible hostile land and sea units in X Area;
Intercept - Attack all visible hostile air units in X Area;
Resupply - Refuel or Supply all friendly units (below 65-60% supply) in X Area;
Garrison - Garrison all POI (Urban-, Military-, or Industrial centers) in X Area. Perhaps, priority on military centers, then urban.

Back to creating a mission; Once the "Missions" tab is selected and one can see all of the above info displayed (if there's anything to display), there should be a button above the headers titled "Create New Mission". A small pop-up window should appear with a text box, similar to the rename hex UI, where a player can type in a name for the mission. A red "X" button should be below it on the left-hand side of the pop-up (Cancel) and a green check mark should be on the right-hand side for accept.

Once the green check mark, or the ENTER key, is clicked, the player's cursor should change to the Nav/reference point marker. Players can start marking out an area by clicking on hexes to an area for the mission they wish to create. Left-click would drop a reference point and right-click would undo the last reference point. The "Enter" key would finish defining the mission area.

Once done, the mission should be seen in the "Missions" tab and players should be able to select a mission type by ensuring the icon for that mission type is highlighted. All new missions should by default be set to Active.

At this point, a player should select a battlegroup from the Battlegroups Tab and select the "Assign Mission" button, which would be where the "Orders", 'Filter Unit Selection", and "Individual Rules of Engagement" buttons are. When a player selects "Assign Mission", a list of player-created missions should pop up and a player should be able to select the mission they wish to assign the selected battlegroups.

If a battlegroup is assigned to a mission, there should also be a way to quickly unassign a battlegroup from any missions it has been assigned.


Formations

You should be able to set formation behavior for each battlegroup. These controls would enhance AI behavior, especially if coupled with a Mission system. My hope is that by using formations within battlegroups, AI-controlled units will no longer move to capture objectives or engage hostile units without supporting equipment engaging simultaneously. Below are the following formation controls which would I believe would be simplest to implement:

Tight: Battlegroup units stay close - all on the same hex, if possible - to the Battlegroup leader;
Loose: Battlegroup units spread out to cover a larger area (>2-3 hexes away from other units);
Independent: Battlegroup units use the default logic the AI uses presently.


Supporting Thoughts

1. Adding depth and use to the Battlegroup system would also require better UI for battlegroup management. Specifically, a window where players can view all of their battlegroups and where they are assigned (if at all). A player should be able to quickly select a battlegroup via this screen as well.

2. Units should follow their assigned ROE when operating missions via their battlegroup assignment.

3. Tight formation behavior perhaps could be easily implemented by automatically making all units of the battlegroup move at a common speed and set to escort the leader.

4. When players manually issue orders to units assigned to a mission, the units should complete the player issues tasks (move to/attack X hex), then once they reach that location they should return to their assigned mission.


Thanks for giving this a read and leaving feedback (either a comment or via the poll). I will respond to comments when able.