How often have you watched a battle and screamed (internally or vocally) at the computer for making your fleet move idiotically? Ever wished that your admirals would keep your Point Defence Destroyers to guard your Battleships, or stop sending your Cruisers out in front of your Corvettes? Have you been confused seeing fighters all fly off to one flank, leaving you open to missile attacks from the front?
Since Stellaris' release, I've been dreaming of having more control over battles. I'm not asking for a "Total War"-style tactical battle - that would be silly in a real time grand strategy game. What I'd like to suggest instead is a "Battleplan" that you can apply to a fleet, that your admiral will then execute if possible (and if capable) when battle is joined.
This is how I envision it:
Since Stellaris' release, I've been dreaming of having more control over battles. I'm not asking for a "Total War"-style tactical battle - that would be silly in a real time grand strategy game. What I'd like to suggest instead is a "Battleplan" that you can apply to a fleet, that your admiral will then execute if possible (and if capable) when battle is joined.
This is how I envision it:
- Create a Battleplan Designer menu item like the Ship Designer.
- In the Battleplan Designer, the player can create Battleplans. Each Battleplan defines:
- the starting formation that the fleet will hold, by hull/class;
- the movement of each hull/class once battle starts;
- the target priority for each weapon (maybe?) against which hull and under what conditions (e.g. "Shields", "Low/no shields", "Less than X% remaining hit points", etc.).
- On the fleet screen, you can select a Battleplan that you want the fleet to use. Once battle is joined, you can't change the Battleplan. The default Battleplan will just make ships behave as they do now.
- The fleet's admiral skill determines how quickly and accurately the Battleplan is executed. The more complex the plan is, the higher skill the admiral needs to execute the Battleplan effectively.
- In the Fleet Stats screen after a battle, you will be able to see what Battleplan(s) you and the enemy used. The AI will attempt to adopt Battleplans that were effective against them, and you can copy Battleplans that were used against you.
