capturing planets in PBW games

[trooper]

I don't know if my foes will let me this opportunity... but just in case !

I 've always played these critical moments in tactical mode against AIs, so in strategical mode what are the main mistakes not to be made to avoid stupidely glassing a planet instead of capturing it ?(or to avoid losing my troops and my fleet...)

[geoschmo]

1. Make sure the troop transport has a ship strategy of capture planet.

2. Make sure the fleet has a strategy of capture planet.

3. Make sure the troop transport has troops onboard.

As long as you do these three things then your fleet will attempt to capture the enemy planet. If the enemy has weapons platforms the attack ships will engage it till the weapons plats are gone or your ships are. The troop transport will run for the corner while this happens. Once the platforms are gone the troop transport will make for the planet. Your attack ships will then concentrate on taking out any ships/bases/fighter/sats/drones left. The troops will drop if your transport can get there before the combat round is over.

If your troops are defeated your fleet will then turn back and attempt to glass the planet.

If your troops are sucesful and the enemy has any bases or sats left they will open fire on the planet.

Sometimes, not too often in the unmodded game, the combat round will end with your troops and the enemy at a stalemate. If this happens combat will resume during your opponents next turn. If it Lasts long enough to get back to your turn you can even try dropping reinforcments on the planet. In the unmodded game though this rarely happens.

Geoschmo

[Slick]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
1. Make sure the troop transport has a ship strategy of capture planet.

2. Make sure the fleet has a strategy of capture planet.

3. Make sure the troop transport has troops onboard.

As long as you do these three things then your fleet will attempt to capture the enemy planet. If the enemy has weapons platforms the attack ships will engage it till the weapons plats are gone or your ships are. The troop transport will run for the corner while this happens. Once the platforms are gone the troop transport will make for the planet. Your attack ships will then concentrate on taking out any ships/bases/fighter/sats/drones left. The troops will drop if your transport can get there before the combat round is over.

If your troops are defeated your fleet will then turn back and attempt to glass the planet.

If your troops are sucesful and the enemy has any bases or sats left they will open fire on the planet.

Sometimes, not too often in the unmodded game, the combat round will end with your troops and the enemy at a stalemate. If this happens combat will resume during your opponents next turn. If it Lasts long enough to get back to your turn you can even try dropping reinforcments on the planet. In the unmodded game though this rarely happens.

Geoschmo

I think I found a little problem with this yesterday and I have seen Posts about it in other threads. Need to add 1 more item. The target planet must have a population greater than 0. For some reason, the troop transport won't attempt to capture an enemy planet with 0 population. You would think this would be a no-brainer, but I couldn't get it to work after 4 tries. Unless anyone has a way to modify the Capture Planet strategy???

Slick.

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
The troop transport will run for the corner while this happens. Once the platforms are gone the troop transport will make for the planet.

I would add a couple of points:

If your ship weapons are all missiles, and the planet has few platforms and facilities -- the first volley may destroy it. That's not the transports fault. Review combat to see if this was the case.

If the planet has a colonized moon, the one closest to the transport will be invaded. Send more than one transport in these cases.

[ January 21, 2003, 17:08: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Baron Munchausen]

Originally posted by Arkcon:

quote:

---

Originally posted by geoschmo:
The troop transport will run for the corner while this happens. Once the platforms are gone the troop transport will make for the planet.

I would add a couple of points:

If your ship weapons are all missiles, and the planet has few platforms and facilities -- the first volley may destroy it. That's not the transports fault. Review combat to see if this was the case.

If the planet has a colonized moon, the one closest to the transport will be invaded. Send more than one transport in these cases.

---

As of the latest patch it should target the planet you clicked on with the attack command. It's quite frustrating to send in an invasion fleet with hundreds of troops to take a 'huge' size planet and have them attack the moon instead, then glass the huge planet because they don't have troops to take it...

[Baron Grazic]

Trooper,
I asked this question awhile back and both Geo & Grandpa Kim both replied with the instruction given here and I used that tactic just yesterday in a PBW game.
I'd love to see the look on my opponents face when he opens the current turn only to see my fleet sitting deep in his territory being resupplied at a planet he thought was his.

[trooper]

[quote]Originally posted by Slick:
[QB]

Originally posted by geoschmo:
[qb]1. Make sure the troop transport has a ship strategy of capture planet.
2. Make sure the fleet has a strategy of capture planet.

if the transport is included in the fleet, the strategy for both the transport and the fleet is the fleet strategy, isn't it ?

When you defend a planet this time, are mines, fighters and satellites stored in the planet cargo automatically launched to join the combat, or are they given to the enemy ?

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by dogscoff:
What if you have all troop transports and no attack ships? Will they try to take the planet anyway, even if there are weapons platforms?

Sometimes I want to send in a heavily shielded/ armoured transport to take the weapons platforms intact.

I've done that against the AI. The troop transport, if it has one weapon, like CSM, will stay with the fleet be closer when it's time to drop troops. 'Tho more often than not, it gets targeted by the weapon platforms and vaporized.

It is fun to use well defended troop ships to capture a planet with weapon platforms intact -- and have the planet start shooting down sats, fighters, space yards in orbit.

[ January 22, 2003, 13:52: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Arkcon:
I've done that against the AI. The troop transport, if it has one weapon, like CSM, will stay with the fleet be closer when it's time to drop troops.

Really? Because in my experience placing a weapon on a troop transport has no effect. If the ship has capture planet orders it will still run for the corners until the planet is defensless. Also in my experience if you have a fleet of only armed troop transports and no attack ships they will rush the planet as usual, but not fire their weapons, except for PDC. The only way I have been able to get armed transports to use their weapons is to change their ship orders, and doing that makes them not drop troops.

You aren't confusing the troop transports with the PDC only ships where you put a single weapon on it to keep it with the fleet are you? I'd be interested to know how you got this to work.

Geoschmo

[ January 22, 2003, 14:05: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

[dogscoff]

Thanks for the answers. A few more questions:

Do those reload-time weapons work against planets? That would be a great weapon if it could somehow be used during planetary invasion: knock out their guns temporarily and then send in the troop transports.

Oh, and would fighters be counted as attack ships in your earlier responses?