Ground Forces Overview

Unit Design Overview

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Ground Forces and Ground Combat are undergoing a major expansion in C#. The VB6 Ground Unit becomes the Formation and the VB6 Ground Unit Type becomes the Formation Template. There are no longer fixed unit types or values; instead, Formations and Templates are created through a detailed design process at multiple levels, enabling simulation of a wide range of science‑fiction ground forces.

The most granular level is the Ground Unit Class (an individual soldier or vehicle). Multiple units of the same class form a Formation Element. Multiple elements form a Formation.

Formations move as a whole, but combat is resolved at the individual‑unit level. Readiness no longer exists; morale is tracked per Formation Element.

Two key racial factors influence design:

• Racial Armour Strength — based on highest armour tech
• Racial Weapon Strength — based on highest weapon TL (laser focal size, railgun type, meson focal size, particle beam strength, carronade calibre)

Example: 20cm Laser Focal Size = TL4 → Racial Weapon Strength = Armour Tech #4 (Ceramic Composite = 10).

Base Types

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Each Ground Unit Class begins with a selected base type:

• Infantry
• Light Vehicle
• Vehicle
• Heavy Vehicle
• Super‑Heavy Vehicle
• Ultra‑Heavy Vehicle
• Static (towed weapons, artillery, etc.)

Each base type has six characteristics:

Characteristic	Description
Size (tons)	Determines transport size and contributes to cost.
Hit Points	Used in the Damage Check: (Weapon Damage / Hit Points)^2.
Slots	Number of component slots available.
To‑Hit Modifier	Mobility‑based modifier to chance of being hit (ignored when fortified).
Maximum Fortification	Max fortification achievable via construction units/factories.
Maximum Self‑Fortification	Max fortification achievable without construction support.

Armour Types

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Armour is compared to a weapon’s Armour‑Penetration (AP). Chance to penetrate = (AP / Armour)^2.

Each armour type has two values:

Value	Meaning
Base AR	Multiplied by unit size to determine cost.
Racial AR	Base AR × Racial Armour Strength.

Example: AP 4 vs Armour 6 → 45% penetration chance.

Destruction requires three successful checks:

1. Chance To‑Hit 2. Armour Penetration 3. Damage Check

Components

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Component slots vary by base type:

• Infantry / Static / Light Vehicle → 1 slot
• Vehicle / Heavy Vehicle → 2 slots
• Super‑Heavy → 3 slots
• Ultra‑Heavy → 4 slots

Components may be restricted by base type (e.g., Super‑Heavy Anti‑Vehicle only for super‑heavy/ultra‑heavy).

Each component has nine ratings:

Rating	Description
Size	Added to base unit size.
Armour‑Penetration (AP)	AP × Racial Weapon Strength.
Damage	Damage × Racial Weapon Strength.
Shots	Number of attacks per combat phase.
CIWS	Can defend the planet from missile attack.
STO	Can fire at ships in orbit.
HQ	Headquarters capacity (tons of formation controlled).
FFD	Forward Fire Direction capability.
Const	Construction value in CFEs.

Capabilities

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Capabilities modify performance in specific environments.

• Boarding Combat — required for boarding ships
• All other capabilities — double the Chance To‑Hit in matching environments
• Multiple capabilities stack multiplicatively (e.g., Mountain + Jungle = 4×)

Capabilities increase cost by their listed multipliers. Some are infantry‑only.

Unit Summary

Introduced in v1.0.0.

The summary panel shows:

• Total size (affects transport requirements)
• Cost in BP
• Armour
• Hit Points
• Component list
• Required minerals
• Research cost

STO Example

Introduced in v1.0.0.

A static unit with an STO component includes:

• A ship‑grade weapon (any non‑turreted weapon)
• A reactor sized for recharge rate
• An active sensor with range greater than the weapon range
• A built‑in beam fire control (4× range modifier)

STO weapons gain:

• +25% fire control range
• Damage listed as min/max range values

Cost = static platform + weapon + reactor + sensor + half fire control.

Ground Forces Part 2

Formation Templates Overview

Introduced in v1.0.0.

The Formation Templates tab lists all Ground Unit Classes created in the Unit Class Design tab. Templates serve the same role as Ship Classes: a detailed design used to build Formations of that type.

The left side lists available Ground Unit Classes (with TL4 examples and several conventional‑tech comparisons). The right side lists Formation Templates, each composed of one or more Template Elements.

Unit Class List Columns

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Column	Description
Type	Abbreviation for base type.
Name	Unit Class name.
Size	Transport size in tons.
Cost	Build Point cost.
Arm	Armour Strength at design time.
HP	Hit Points at design time.
Components A–D	Abbreviations of included components.

Example: The Leman Russ Battle Tank is a Heavy Vehicle (104 tons, 60 Armour, 60 HP, 12.48 BP). Components: HAV (1 shot, Pen 60, Dmg 60) and HCAP (6 shots, Pen 20, Dmg 10).

Template Elements

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Each Template Element includes:

Attribute	Description
Name	Unit Class used.
Units	Number of units in the element.
Size	Total tonnage.
Cost	Total BP cost.
HP	Total hit points.
HQ	Headquarters capacity (only one unit contributes).
FFD	Forward Fire Direction components.
Const	Construction value (CFEs).
CIWS	CIWS components.
STO	STO components.

Totals for all elements form the full Formation Template. Rank is suggested automatically but can be overridden.

Editing Templates

Introduced in v1.0.0.

• Add Units → adds a new Template Element
• Edit Amount → changes unit count
• Delete → removes elements or templates

Example: Brigade Headquarters

Introduced in v1.0.0.

The Brigade HQ template includes:

• 2× Guard Brigade HQ units
• 36× large artillery pieces
• 12× flak tanks
• 1× Guardsman company

Support formations may be forced into Front‑Line positions; infantry elements provide protection.

Civilian Ground Forces Toggle

Changed in v1.9.0.

A new checkbox on the Formation Templates tab toggles civilian templates and unit classes.

Queued Ground Formation Training Tasks

Changed in v1.10.0.

Training tasks can be queued for ground formations.

• Using Create Task with no GFCC adds the formation to the queue.
• Queue items can be reordered, renamed, or deleted.
• When a GFCC becomes available, the highest queued formation begins training.
• Build cost is not fixed until training begins, allowing template changes while queued.

Auto Queue Ground Construction

Changed in v1.12.0.

When new Ground Formation Construction Complexes (GFCCs) are built, any queued ground formation training tasks at that population will be added automatically.

Ground Forces Replacements

Changed in v1.12.0.

Managing ground force replacements after combat can involve significant micromanagement, especially with detailed Orders of Battle. An automated replacement system has been added.

Each formation may be assigned a Replacement Template. By default, this is the template originally used to construct the formation. It may be changed using the Change Temp button on the Order of Battle tab.

When changing a Replacement Template, you may optionally update all formations that currently use the same template.

Replacement Templates may differ significantly from the original composition, allowing:

• Adding new capabilities
• Removing obsolete unit types
• Updating formations to new standards

Each formation also has a replacement priority. Replacements are assigned in descending priority order. New formations default to priority 10.

A formation may be flagged as Use for Replacements. Such formations do not receive replacements; instead, their units are used to reinforce other formations at the same population during the Ground Replacement Phase (each construction phase and after ground combat).

Over time, new Ground Unit Classes will be designed. To manage evolving designs, units may be organized into Unit Series using a dedicated tab.

• Drag units into a series to group them.
• Dropping onto the series name places the unit at the top.
• Dropping onto a unit places it below that unit.
• Dragging a unit into empty space removes it from the series.

When replacements are required, the system uses the Unit Series of each unit in the Replacement Template rather than the specific unit class. This avoids the need to update Replacement Templates when new versions of units are created.

Ordinal Numbers for Ground Formation Templates

Changed in v1.13.0.

Ordinal numbering now increments per template, not globally. For example:

• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 1st Armoured Regiment

A new Use Roman checkbox applies Roman numeral suffixes instead:

• Infantry Regiment I
• Infantry Regiment II

Instant Build uses both Arabic and Roman numbering.

Because Roman numerals sort poorly alphabetically, a new Sort Creation option on the Ground Design and Economics windows sorts units with the same abbreviation by creation order.

Ground Formation Bonuses

Changed in v2.2.0.

Ground Formation Commanders now apply **25% of their bonuses** to subordinate formations that:

1. Are within the hierarchy beneath the commander (unlimited depth) 2. Are at the same population 3. Have their own commander

This functions similarly to Naval Admin Commands.

Example: A formation with:

• Its own commander: +20%
• Parent commander: +25%
• Higher‑level commander: +30%

Total bonus = 1.20 × 1.0625 × 1.075 = **37%**

If the hierarchy under a commander exceeds the HQ Rating of their formation, bonuses are reduced proportionally:

Reduction = HQ Capacity / Formation Size

Copy and Update Template

Changed in v2.2.0.

A new Copy + Update button has been added to the Formation Template tab.

When pressed:

1. A new Formation Template is created based on the selected template. 2. The new template is named with a year suffix (replacing any existing four‑digit suffix). 3. Required rank is copied. 4. All formations using the old template as their Replacement Template are updated to use the new one. 5. All Template Elements are duplicated. 6. If racial armour or weapon modifiers have changed, new Ground Unit Classes are generated as upgraded versions. 7. New classes receive year‑based names and are instantly researched; old classes become obsolete. 8. If the old class was in a Unit Series, the new class is added to that series. 9. If not, a new Unit Series is created containing both old and new classes. 10. STO elements receive updated tracking speed and ECCM (weapon remains unchanged).

Developer note: Research projects were considered but rejected to avoid excessive complexity.

Creating Formations from Elements

Changed in v2.2.0.

On the Order of Battle tab, you may drag an element node from an existing formation to a population node to create a new formation composed only of that element.

• The population must be on the same system body unless SM mode is active.
• Two popups will request the new formation’s name and abbreviation.
• Cancelling either popup cancels creation.

If the Amount Popup checkbox is enabled, a third popup allows transferring only part of the element. Example: dragging 120 Leman Russ tanks may create a new formation with 40 tanks, leaving 80 behind.

Ground Construction Change

Changed in v2.2.0.

In v2.1, each Ground Force Construction Complex (GFCC) built units independently at the Ground Formation Construction Rate (GFCR).

In v2.2, all GFCC output is combined into a single construction pool, similar to industrial projects.

Example: GFCR = 320 12 GFCC → 3840 construction capacity (plus governor bonus)

Task creation works as before, with the addition that:

• You may assign a percentage of output to each task.
• If tasks are assigned at 100%, only one formation is built at a time.
• Tasks added when GFCCs are fully allocated are placed in the queue.
• Queued tasks retain their assigned percentage and begin when capacity becomes available.

Ground Unit Training Costs by Population

Changed in v2.6.0.

Training costs for formations with special capabilities may be reduced depending on the environment of the training population.

If a Ground Unit Class has capabilities such as:

• Desert Warfare
• High Gravity
• Extreme Temperature
• etc.

…those capability multipliers are **free** if the formation is trained on a world where those conditions naturally occur.

Example: A Desert Raider infantry unit costs 0.375 BP each. A 2000‑unit formation costs 750 BP.

Training on:

• Desert world → 600 BP (750 / 1.25)
• Desert world with extreme temperature → 400 BP

Cost is locked in when training begins (not when queued).

The normal cost is shown on the Ground Forces window. Any reduced cost is shown on the GU Training tab.

Free capability environments:

• High Gravity — gravity > species maximum
• Low Gravity — gravity < species minimum
• Extreme Pressure — pressure > species maximum
• Extreme Temperature — temperature outside species range
• Mountain Warfare — terrain includes “Mountain” or “Alpine”
• Desert Warfare — terrain includes “Desert” or “Arid”
• Jungle Warfare — terrain includes “Jungle” or “Rainforest”
• Rift Valley Warfare — terrain includes “Rift Valley”

Automated Ground Force Replacements

Changed in v2.7.0.

A new Build Replacements checkbox appears on the GU Training tab of the Economics window.

When enabled and no other tasks exist:

• GFCCs automatically build replacement units for any damaged formations.
• A formation is damaged if its total tonnage is less than its Replacement Template.
• Damaged formations are processed in descending replacement priority.

Replacement logic:

• Missing units are built and added to the formation.
• Construction rate = available capacity ÷ unit cost.
• Only whole units are built.
• If insufficient capacity remains for a full unit, cheaper elements are attempted.
• Remaining capacity carries over to the next construction phase.
• If a normal build order is assigned or no damaged formations exist, remaining capacity resets to zero.

Unit Series interaction:

If a template element uses a unit class that belongs to a Unit Series, all units of that series in the damaged formation count toward the required total.

Example: Template requires 60 MK II Tanks. Formation has 20 MK I + 30 MK II (same series). → 10 MK II tanks will be built.

If all formations reach their TOE and the replacement flag is set, an event is generated.

Setting Ground Formation Support

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Here is a screenshot of the UI for setting support relationships between superior and subordinate formations. You drag the superior formation on to the subordinate formation. If the Support checkbox is checked, the supporting formation is shown in blue-grey with the name of the supported formation. Any supported formation is shown in orange.

Support can only be provided when:

• The supporting formation is a superior formation in the hierarchy of the supported formation, OR
• It is directly subordinate to a superior formation in that hierarchy and has no subordinate formations of its own (e.g., independent artillery).

Additional rules:

• Supporting and supported formations must be on the same system body.
• Support only functions in combat if:

 - The supporting formation has bombardment units,
 - It is in Support or Rear Echelon,
 - The supported formation is in Front Line.

Drag‑drop intelligently distinguishes between:

• Setting support relationships,
• Reassigning formations to a new HQ,
• Removing HQ assignments,
• Moving formations between populations (same system body),
• Moving elements between formations.

Ground Formation Element Transfer UI

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Selecting the Elements option displays formation elements within the hierarchy.

Rules:

• Formations without subordinates show elements directly beneath them.
• Formations with subordinates show elements under their own node to reduce clutter.

Element transfer:

• Drag elements between formations (same system body only).
• Normally the entire element transfers.
• If the Amount checkbox is checked, a popup allows partial transfer.
• If the receiving formation already has an element of the same Ground Unit Class, units are merged.

Ground Force Mothership Display

Changed in v1.13.0.

The Ground Forces window now displays the mothership name (if applicable) next to ships transporting ground formations.

Ground-Based Geological Survey

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Geological Survey Teams no longer exist. A new 100‑ton ground unit component provides **0.1 survey points/day**.

Rules:

• Ground formations with this component combine survey points.
• Ground survey is only possible after orbital survey is complete.
• Only system bodies ≥ 4000 km diameter are eligible.

Mineral generation phases: 1. Roll for mineral presence. 2. Roll for each mineral type (Duranium has double chance). 3. Roll for accessibility.

After ground survey:

• New deposits may be added.
• Existing deposits may be increased if the new result is better.

Geosurvey Vehicle

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Transport Size: 218 tons Cost: 8.72 BP Armour: 20 Hit Points: 40 Component: Geosurvey Equipment Mineral Cost: Vendarite 8.72 Development Cost: 436 RP

Ground-Based Xenoarchaeology

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Xenology Teams no longer exist. A new 100‑ton component provides **0.5 xenoarchaeology points**.

Rules:

• All formations at the same population combine their points.
• Annual chance to decipher alien language = total points.

Example:

• Vehicle with 2 components = 1 point.
• 40 such vehicles = 40% annual chance.

Construction‑phase chance = annual chance × (phase length / year).

Ground Force Fortification

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Fortification happens at the element level. Formation elements can fortify to different levels, depending on the base type of the unit class. That level is also affected by whether the element is restricted to fortifying itself or if it has assistance from construction vehicles. The level of self-fortification and maximum fortification is as follows:

• Infantry, Static: Self 3, Max 6
• Light Vehicle, Medium Vehicle, Heavy Vehicle: Self 2, Max 3
• Super-Heavy Vehicle: Self 1.5, Max 2
• Ultra-Heavy Vehicle: Self 1.25, Max 1.5

All elements move from non-fortified to their maximum self-fortification level in 30 days without outside assistance. This progress is linear and happens automatically for all formation elements when their parent formation is not set to front line attack.

Construction elements will work on any element in their own formation or that formation’s subordinate hierarchy that has already reached its max self-fortification level. If the construction element’s formation has no subordinate, the construction elements will work on any element in their own formation’s parent formation or in that parent formation’s subordinate hierarchy that has already reached its max self-fortification level. Construction elements can only assist elements that are on the same system body (they can be in different populations on the same body).

Given sufficient capacity, a construction element can fortify any other element from its maximum self-fortification level to the maximum fortification level in 90 days.

The capacity of a construction element is equal to the construction rating of the element’s unit class * number of units * race construction rating * commander production bonus * 100 tons. For example, a formation of 50 construction vehicles, each with 0.1 construction rating (2 const components at 0.05) for a race with 16 construction which is part of a formation with a commander with 10% production bonus would be: 0.1 * 50 * 16 * 1.1 * 100 = 8800 tons. A construction battalion of this type would cost 636 BP to build.

All construction elements are ordered by descending order of construction capacity. Each one determines the list of elements that they can assist (using the above criteria), excluding any that have been assisted by a previous construction element. The list of target elements is ordered by Construction Rating (so construction units fortify themselves last), then descending tracking speed (so point defence STO and then normal STO), then by field position (so front line defence, then support, then rear echelon), then by descending max fortification (so infantry, static first), then by descending cost (elements with more expensive units first), then by descending morale.

The construction element cycles through the list of target elements using the following process:

1. The total size of the target element is determined (element unit size * number of units). 2. This is compared to the remaining construction capacity of the construction element. If it is greater, then the remaining construction capacity of the construction element is reduced by the size of the target element. If it is less, remaining construction capacity is reduced to zero and a Size Vs Capacity Modifier equal to (remaining construction capacity / target element size) is applied. 3. The amount of fortification that could be accomplished in ninety days is determined by deducting the target element self-fortification level from the target element max fortification level. 4. The amount of fortification that could be accomplished within the current period is determined by 90 Day Fortification Amount * (Current Period / 90 Days) * Size Vs Capacity Modifier. 5. The fortification for the current period is applied. If this would surpass the target element maximum fortification, then that value is set instead. 6. If the construction element has capacity remaining, it moves on to the next target element in its list.

Because of the way this is applied, it will take the same amount of time to move infantry from fortification level 3 to level 6 as it does for armour from 2 to 3.

This process allows the player to either directly manage construction elements by attaching their formation to the desired target formation, or to attach the formation to a high level HQ and have the process happen automatically. If a construction element is used to fortify other elements, it will not contribute its construction capacity to its parent population during the next construction phase.

In combat, if the fortification level of a formation element is greater than 1, it is multiplied by the fortification bonus of the dominant terrain.

Genetically Enhanced Soldiers

Introduced in v1.0.0.

Infantry units can be given capabilities, known as Genetic Enhancement, which increase their hit points and make them more resistant to damage. There are three options:

• Basic Genetic Enhancement: RP 5,000, HP x1.25, Cost x1.5
• Improved Genetic Enhancement: RP 10,000, HP x1.6, Cost x2.0
• Advanced Genetic Enhancement: RP 20,000, HP x2, Cost x2.5

Once researched, the new capabilities can be chosen from the available capabilities list during ground combat design. These are all Biology/Genetics techs and the first in the sequence can be researched following Genome Sequence Research.

Rename Alien Ground Units

Changed in v2.0.0.

The Intelligence window now gives you the option to rename each alien ground unit class in the same way as an alien ship class. The updated name will be used in all ground combat reports.

Scrapping Ground Unit Formations

Changed in v2.0.0.

You can scrap ground units for thirty percent of their wealth and minerals. On the Ground Forces window, select a ground unit formation and click the new ‘Scrap Formation’ button. All elements within the formation will be scrapped. Wealth is added to the racial balance and minerals are added to the parent population stockpile.

Decontamination

Changed in v2.2.0.

A new Decontamination component has been added for ground forces. This has the same size and cost as the Xenoarchaeology component and can be mounted on medium or larger vehicles.

Each Decontamination component on a planetary surface will increase the rate of Radiation Reduction by 0.01% per year.

For example, a formation of 100 Decontamination Vehicles, each with two Decontamination components, would increase the rate of Radiation Reduction by 2%. This formation would cost 872 BP.

A new Decontamination bonus has been added for ground forces commanders, although it is rare with only about 1 in 14 commanders having the bonus.

Ground Force Organizations

Changed in v2.2.0.

A new tab called Organization has been added to the Ground Forces window.

This has two tree view controls. The first, on the right, lists all existing formation templates and their elements. The second, on the left, is for creating organizational hierarchies for ground forces.

To create an organization, press the Create Org button and enter the name of your organization. This creates a node without any units that acts in a similar way to a naval admin node. With the top level in place, you can drag and drop formation templates from the right-hand side to create any depth of hierarchical organization.

For example, you could create an organization called Infantry Division. Under that you would drag the template with the divisional assets (which might also be called Infantry Division, or Division HQ, etc.). The admin nodes are green, like naval admins, while all nodes containing an actual template are yellow-white. Under the divisional assets, you might drag your infantry regiment template four times, plus perhaps an STO regiment.

You might also drag several battalions under each regiment, but there is an easier way to do that. When you drag nodes on the treeview, anything with an existing parent is moved, but anything without a parent creates a copy instead.

That means you can create smaller, or lower level, organizations and then drag copies of that entire org into a different org.

For example, you could create a regiment org with a HQ formation template directly under the admin node and then four battalions under the HQ. Then you create a division org, add a division HQ formation template, then drag-copy three regiment orgs under the divisional HQ. When you drag-copy an admin node into another org, the admin node itself is not transferred, so in this example the regimental HQ formation templates of the regimental org would move directly under the divisional HQ (along with their subordinate battalions).

You can set field positions for formation templates in the organization in a similar way to active formations.

Once you have the org created, you can choose a population and add everything in the org to the build queue. The build tasks will retain the organizational hierarchy and the resulting ground formations will assemble into the same org once they are built. They will adopt the specified field positions. Even if you change or remove the organization after issuing the build order, the build tasks will remember the hierarchy and the field positions. The build order will work down the hierarchy so each new formation should have the correct parent waiting when it is built. Changing the build queue manually may prevent this working correctly.

There is also an Instant Build option that can be activated by the SM and will build the entire org instantly with hierarchy and field positions.

The reason for having the admin node is to allow different configurations of similar formations. For example, if the division HQ formation was the top node, you would only have one org under that division HQ. With admin nodes, you can re-use the same top-level templates in multiple similar nodes. You could also have more than one formation directly under the admin node. For example, you could have ten boarding forces under the admin node and build them all with one click.

Using Copy + Update to create new formation templates based on improved technology will replace the existing templates in the organizational structures with the updated templates.

This screenshot shows simple regimental and divisional organizations, but these could be made very detailed. The ‘Infantry Regiment’ org was dragged on to the ‘Divisional Assets’ three times.

The second screenshot shows the OOB view after using the Instant option on the ‘Infantry Division’ org.