Making a Combat Engineer unit

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Advanced Tactics Series >> Mods and Scenarios >> Making a Combat Engineer unit

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Making a Combat Engineer unit - 10/20/2016 8:42:57 PM

the_iron_duke

Posts: 79
Joined: 10/7/2016
Status: offline

I'm interested in adding a Combat Engineer unit to the sub-unit list and am thinking how best to model it.

These are my thoughts:

- cost around maybe 300 (250-350) production points (NOTE: I am also thinking of modding the Rifle sub-unit to strengthen it and raise its value from 100 to 150 production points)

- the combat engineer is a specialist unit and so I think it should have one or two areas of expertise where it excels, but otherwise is not particularly powerful. So I think it should be no better, and perhaps worse, than a Rifle unit except in the following circumstances:

a) Attacking enemy in close terrain. I'm not sure if there's a way of making a unit ignore entrenchment bonuses, but the combat engineers' flamethrower firepower could be modelled by giving it big bonuses in the combat landscape stats when attacking certain terrain hexes. Terrain like cities would get a big combat bonus, forest a decent bonus and mountains I'm not sure. One could argue that close terrain like mountains is not what it's good for - against entrenched enemy in mountain caves the combat engineer would be very effective, but in mountain valleys, a rifle is probably useful.

b) River-crossing capability. I was having a look at the editor to see if there were some stats that could be modded in this area. I've not found any yet, but hopefully there's something that could be modded. Options might include: removing penalties for this unit to attack across rivers/streams; unit acting as temporary bridge, although this might be a bit complicated and powerful.

d) Not sure about giving EP. I was wondering about giving giving engineer points to this unit but am currently undecided. A regular engineer costs 200 production points and gets two EP per turn. I can't remember what the EP costs are for doing some of the basic things like building roads - what's the EP cost for building a road on plains? And forest?

I'm working on a graphic, which is still under construction (here with added colorization):

Post #: 1

RE: Making a Combat Engineer unit - 10/21/2016 5:21:15 AM

the_iron_duke

Posts: 79
Joined: 10/7/2016
Status: offline

I think the principle of the Combat Engineer unit would be that it costs two or three times as much as a Rifle unit, but offers three to five times as much offensive power than a Rifle unit when attacking close terrain. In all other circumstances (apart from rivers) it is no better than a Rifle unit, including defending close terrain. So it would need to be supported by other infantry due to its potential vulnerability on the counter attack. It's comparative vulnerability in defense would help prevent the combat engineer unit becoming too powerful in maps with lots of close terrain.

(in reply to the_iron_duke)

Post #: 2

RE: Making a Combat Engineer unit - 10/21/2016 8:40:13 AM

ernieschwitz

Posts: 3893
Joined: 9/15/2009
From: Denmark
Status: offline

quote:

b) River-crossing capability. I was having a look at the editor to see if there were some stats that could be modded in this area. I've not found any yet, but hopefully there's something that could be modded. Options might include: removing penalties for this unit to attack across rivers/streams; unit acting as temporary bridge, although this might be a bit complicated and powerful.

I can confirm that this is not possible.

(in reply to the_iron_duke)

Post #: 3

RE: Making a Combat Engineer unit - 10/21/2016 2:56:11 PM

the_iron_duke

Posts: 79
Joined: 10/7/2016
Status: offline

Which, the former or the latter? The latter (unit acting as bridge) I didn't think was likely possible, but the former (adjusting combat penalties for attacking across river) I thought might be moddable.

(in reply to ernieschwitz)

Post #: 4