It's time to talk unit ideas

Staring at your navel can be inspiring.

T1 Tricky Scout Sub
Relatively fast (for a sub) and equipped with a special defense system that can 'spoof' anti-sub weapons, letting the scout retreat in the commotion. Moderate distance sonar. Similar function to Sun Fish, but trades speed and information for the ability to spy on active fleets.

T1 Destroyer
Relatvely fast ship armed with cannons, anti-air guns and anti-sub depth charges. Short range sonar. Jack-of-all-trades, but requires large numbers to be effective at any role. (The blob unit of the sea.)

T1 Missile Frigate
Radar and bombardment ship, armed with several small, inaccurate multi-stage missile launchers. Mainly useful for bombarding targets that can't chase it away.

T1 Amphibious Fabrication Boat
Converts to a bot-like fabricator when on land. Potentially useful for transitioning from a naval starting position onto solid ground.

T1 Fabrication Float-Track
The 'land' equivalent to the amphibious fabrication boat, just in case hovercraft are too obvious for you.

T2 Supralittoral Cruiser
Cruiser with extremely shallow draft that can beach itself for additional bombardment range, but is effectively stuck if land units can't give it a little push.

T2 Transport Hydrofoil
High speed large-scale aquatic transport. Can accelerate to a higher speed than all other ships, despite its speed.

T2 Sniper Sub
Submarine with long ranged torpedoes. Can snipe navies and defenses from a distance, akin to artillery.

T2 Deep Water Sub
Submarine that attempts to lurk below the crush depths of most naval units and weapons. Nearly untouchable, but mainly limited to scouting and economic harassment due to short ranged weapons.

easy to solve, "Selfreplicating mine field" just to get a DS9 reference in.

Big Stompy Robot!!

Seriously though, Nuclear Artillery, a la real world, has to deploy, but fires small nuclear shells.

A spider unit that can attach itself magnetically to enemy units (assuming it gets close enough), and either self-destructs, or "eats" the enemy unit by reclaiming it. The unit being attacked in such a way cannot defend itself by firing on the spider, but it's allies can, therefore also inflicting damage on the afflicted target unit.

Some unit ideas:

Transformer: Mobile bot able to transform itself into a turret, increasing damage but vulnerable to long range weaponry.
Jetpackbots: Fast moving bots equipped with jetpacks, usefull for crossing cracks and canyons. Low firepower
Mobile radar platform: Provides radar coverage in a small area around the unit.
Missile launcher: Long range mobile missile launcher, comparable to a low damage catapult
Flame tank: Close combat tank equipped with metal melting flame-throwers, effective versus blobs of units and buildings
Chiller: Air plane equipped with nitrogen bombs capable of freezing units, reducing their move/attack speed


Btw, I'd also like to see some real asteroids in the game, instead of only small moons... Does anyone know if these might be coming?

What about "mine units"?

That's not what I would call them, just wanted to get people's attention. What about units, you deploy and they bury themselves, and when enemies come so close to them they pop up out the dirt along with any units close to them and any units close to any other unit that pops up, then they assist the first one that was attacked and attack it's target.

So basically, an ambush unit that jumps the unit that triggers them and gathers up against them in a swarm. This would also add "diversity" to the bot lineup along with the Recluse. You could call it the Trojan, or something better.

Would it be horse-shaped?

Actually, I made a rough draft of a model for the unit.

I would like to thrown in FunkOff's idea of a land-based torpedo launcher. (maybe a tactical missile that deploys a large number of torpedo?)

Also I would like to see both a hover tank and an amphibious tank that travels underwater for surprise beach assault.

Also an orbital deployed, mid-power boat; can be dropped on land as a makeshift kinetic weapon

That's called a regular bomb. It turns hit points into wreckage.

Mines are special because they are a defensive tool that has to be used in anticipation of the enemy. They are very difficult to use in a proactive way. Because of that, they require a different mindset to use successfuly. That's all well and good for a RTS game.

I make the assumption that this conversation has been done before. Mines are not a bad idea, but it is difficult to make one that is consistently useful. A mining option should not be made irrelevant by a single detector or any number of tanks with guns, and I'm sorry if you have trouble following that. It really is a tricky thing to do well.

The anti air option can work very well, because even if you can see the mine it's no less of a hazard to deal with. Interceptors have to get up close to do anything, bombers can't do squat, and ground forces have to run straight into your defenses to clear them out. It would be a very difficult thing to deal with, making it a very successful defense.

Some mobile multi-platform aircraft repair unit. In TA we had land, sea, and air units that were mobile and have air units dock with it for repair. I'd build a couple, assign them guard units of the same type (air/land/sea) and then put them on patrol routes away from the front line, but still near my own flight paths so the planes could repair as needed. Was quite nice, and prevented the need to fly all the way back to my base for repair - usually a death sentence since there were even more enemy forces in-between the first battlefield and my base.

That would be quite helpful.

Orbital weapons platforms beyond the killsat and fighter.
I'm talking Boats in Space.
Space-Tanks
Space-To-Air
Air-To-Space
Space-To-Ground arty/missile boats
Space-To-Space
Transports capable of carrying more than just one unit

Useful for planetary invasions beyond just sending in waves of satellites and having to build your invasion force on-planet, and if they function in-orbit only then you don't get the homeworld battles you were worried about making.

Stuff like this, from the fanart thread

WARNING use with caution due to extreme potency!!!

The BUG, Bugger, AI Swarm Bot:
A small fast moving spider like bug that assimilates every unit and structure it comes in contact with,
using the metal and energy it collects to reproduce extreme numbers of it self.
Like a wave they sweep the land.

Can only be construct by the commander.

Comes on-line with in 30 sec so be sure you are not on the planet when this happens.

I see this thing as a parting gift. Build in your on base it starts to consume your base copying itself,
moving to the closest unit or structure.

It should be weak easy to destroy in few numbers but annoying if left to consume a big base and if it wins control of the plant it should become self aware.

Thus creating and AI COMMANDER.

Decoy buildings, very little resource to build has no real purpose but to act as a target for opposing players

Bombers that drop sea mines

Mini subs for underwater scouting without being detected

Missile launcher like a V2 rocket. Unit rolls up deploys aims missile takes time to shoot and missile can be intercepted by air does damage to target and small surrounding area very weak armour

One for Lava planets unit rolls up next to lava collects it rolls into enemy units/base gets destroyed explodes lava other them so a suicide bomber unit

The bacon unit. If you have it when your commander dies it will throw bacon at your commander in a team game and resurrect him Can only build one per game per side

MIRV launching artillery/tanks!

Was looking through the fan art forum and found a post with a concept model (#post-719426) for what looks like a Fido, but it closes its legs into a brick to for firing.

Me, I'm think a mobile cannon platform would be pretty cool, so maybe this is a slow-walking dual-Bertha cannon that can be mobile, but has to settle before firing and then unsettle before moving again increasing the mobility cost and possibly energy cost.

Just found out about this experimental weapon design, and it would kick all of the *** in PA

http://jalopnik.com/the-flying-crowbar-the-insane-doomsday-weapon-america-1435286216

a nuke-powered low altitude ramjet capable of hitting 3 times the speed of sound. It spews radiation out it's back as it goes, lobbing nukes as it whips past



also, the orion rocket. But I think that's already on the table