Planetary Invasions

I was envisioning a hard crash landing and then doors shoot open on all sides and units pour out.

Kinda like this, but with a bunch of units coming out from one pod:

(the whole trailer is really good, but skip to 1:10 for the drop pods)



I want dozens of drop pods raining down from the sky. Some getting shot out of the sky, some making it. Then units pour out and run out in all directions and all hell breaks loose. All sorts of crazy explosions and units moving this way and that.

Think about how absolutely awesome the cinematic mode would be for that. Pods raining down from above, bombers carpet bombing. Pods getting shot out of the air. Units streaming out of the pods moving in all directions trying to clear a beachhead.

It'd be so awesome.

I have no words to express how awesome that would be I totally agree with your idea and since pa team said they are going for a more flak style of anti orbital defence(can't find the thread they said that) this is totally possible we actually need to have civil defenses sirens too like when the meteor crashes into a planet it will be EPIC

YES.

Why not add a method of preliminary bombardment as well? Load all the drop pods into a carrier space transport, that is capable of firing at the planet from orbit, it wouldn't need to be orbital laser strength, just something like a few weak holkins shooting from space, to clear a bit of the way for the pods.

Yesss that would be the perfect beachhead dozens of bots flooding in with bombs flying around

EPIC

I'm imagining the drop pods from Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War as well. In the intro cinematic from the game, which I just now realise is turning 10 years old this year, they do use break rockets just before they land. But in the game, they actually hit hard into the ground.

Here's the intro cinematic of the game, right at the end at 2:15 is when you see the drop pods landing:


And here's the actual landing animation from in-game:

I like the idea of then crashing on the ground hard but they at least need to use a small break rocket else they will just look like nothing could survive inside like that go to 0:23 for drop pod



Not too strong to look like is slowly decending but not too weak to look like it´s crushing into the planet killing everyone inside

Of course destroyed drop pods can crash into the planet as debris that would be awesome

They're robots, they can handle it.

The laser platforms are so slow and one can just build a million umbrellas. How bout a mother ship that units can be sent to it from the base planet and the mothership shoots units onto the planet. Sorta like a teleport but having the option to drop the gate on the planet or having a gate on the mothership....

So....basically the same thing as an asteroid with Unit cannons and Factories and/or Gates?

Mike

sorta like a unit cannon on an asteroid with halleys?

Anything to fix or orbital play. Right now I only play 1 planet cause of how bad it is. Guys can just bunker with umbrellas and avengers resulting in a stalemate.

100 drop pods raining down on the planet would be so ****** epic and awsome! My vote is on that

That's the cheap, single use astraeus idea.

Not really, they're really different.

Mike

Then read "transport unit" instead of "Astraeus"

Add atmospheric re-entry flames to the drop-pods and it looks even more epic

Battle Barges. Large spacecraft built in orbit and loaded with units.. While in orbit it can bombard the planet with a battery of guns. It could then descend down into the atmosphere to deploy a bulk of units on the ground.

In a similar style we could have Interplanetary Aircraft carriers that have anti-orbital weapons and deploy fighters and bombers after descending into the atmosphere.

For balance sake the descend/ascend needs to be a slow process with the Barge is disabled for the transition. It can't use it's orbital weapons or deploy it's units while it's transitioning. A slow ascent means you can't just drop in, deploy, and skirmish away.

This allows strategic options similar to controlling a small moon, but on a smaller scale. These could be used for assaulting moons or interplanetary attacks when no moon in present. Splitting the combat roles between two units means you can't stage an assault with one well rounded super unit.


If Uber never builds them I still look forward to modding it myself. Some things have to be done.

Thats just categorial semantics, regardless of them both being transports, the Astraeus and a Drop Pod have completely different mechanics behind thier function.

Do you think Helicopters and Jets, despite both being aircraft, function the same way?

Mike

I so much second that. Perhaps we could have three of this kind. 1. Transport/Carrier, heavily armored with light defensive weapons - it builds and drops assault units. 2. Cannon ship, decently armored, heavily Orbit to Surface attack capability. 3. Escort, lessly armored, but with great Orbit to Orbit attack capability.

So, you are prepared for every season.

On the ground, perhaps w could have some kind of Surface to Orbit Laser Beam...

Note. Enabling the Carrier/Transport to build its own units eliminate the necessity to have to load units into it. The trade off may be energy/metal consumption.

I want to add (the obvious) that once a faction controls an entire planets (or more), it also has access to great amounts of resources in the form of metal/power (and surface). Therefore, if we do not add some costly units in the form of Space Vessels or Super Weapons with *Surface to Orbit* or *Planet to Planet* capabilities, we are reduced to produce an enormous amount of average units.

Which usually translates in terribly low framerate and server crashes.