Individual Retreats

[zinfab]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before.

 

Why can't individual ships pull out of a fight to be replaced with a fresh new one?

 

I've found myself willing to let my damaged ships die in the middle of a space battle for the benefit of being able to call in a different "reinforcement." Additionally, since the computer auto-selects the initial ships in a space battle, this requires you to delicately balance the numbers of any particular kind of ship in the fleet, as it's auto-select will vary according to how many of each type of unit you have in your fleet.

 

Why not allow individual ships to retreat (even at the cost of not being able to call it back in)? NOT having this creates an exploit that allows you to decimate an opponent's cap ship, but not destroy it, denying them the chance to bring in reinforcements. In a more "realistic" sense, this is balderdash, as that ship would be replaced if there was a replacement available.

 

BTW, this is NOT a bash. I LOVE the game. I'm just curious about the reasoning behind the decision.

[Garbageben]

I don't know, but I clearly understand where you are coming from.  It makes sense that if every unit counts that pulling back a ship so that it won't die when you are about to win a battle should be a viable option.  Maybe it can be added in the expansion.

[Throxx]

Expansion? Was there an official statement regarding this?

[Teradyn_pff]

No, there wasn't.  But to the point of damaging a ship to the point to where it is useless, this actually frees up pop cap.  I think it is done based on overall health.  I have had damaged ground units that freed up pop cap and then repaired/healed them after filling up the cap again and actually end up over the pop cap.

[Darthscharnhorst2]

I don't know, but I clearly understand where you are coming from.  It makes sense that if every unit counts that pulling back a ship so that it won't die when you are about to win a battle should be a viable option.  Maybe it can be added in the expansion.

 

Well without persistant damage this would turn into a huge exploit.  However, I am all for individual retreat AND persistant damage 

[Cobra848]

It's a tactic that they put in the game,  They said it in the last interview at LucasArts fourms

 

Page 4, 5 post down.

 

If you destroy the hard points, but not all, in an enemy ship and leave the ship around it consumes the pop cap for the enemy, but it's harmless.

 

 

Yeah, it has to be one way or the other.  Constant damage with retreat, or no constant damage, no retreat.  I think there are other choices, just I haven't taken the time to think og them.

[R2-Opus2]

My thought process has been that if you don't have persistant damage, there isn't too much of a point of having individual ship retreats.  Personally I'd like both as I think they'd work better hand in hand.

 

The way I was thinking retreat could work would first be a matter of:

 

1. The Engine hardpoint needs to still be there for it to be open to your units like it is now.

 

2. Keep retreat viable as is for the entire fleet if its selected (i.e. Ctrl+A then clicking the retreat button)

 

3. Single fleet retreats could work where selecting a unit, then the retreat button only retreats that vessel while not ending the battle.

 

Barring all of that however, it would at least be nice to have either self destructs on all ships capable of it that might cause some damge to the enemy when it dies - Or if its engines still work, telling it to ram a target.  I figure if you can't leave, might as well go out in a blaze of glory

[zinfab]

excellent suggestions, r2.

 

without retreats, I'd LOVE to ram a tired ISD or VSD into a space station. that'd be cool!