Editing Ground Units / Ground Combat (section)

== Ground Forces: Formation Templates ==

The Formation Templates tab of the Ground Forces window is the equivalent of VB6 Ground Unit Types, although it may be easier to think of them as serving the same function as Ship Classes. A Formation Template is a detailed design that serves as the blueprint for building Formations based on that design, in the same way Ship Classes define Ships.

This tab is split into two halves. On the left is a list of available Ground Unit Classes created using the Unit Class Design tab (explained in the previous rules post). All of these were created using TL4 technology, with three exceptions. For comparison purposes, the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank and the Warrior AFV were created using Conventional rather than Trans‑Newtonian technology, while the “Challenger – Base TN Upgrade” was the Challenger design with TL1 technology.

=== Formation Templates ===

The right‑hand half of the tab shows Formation Templates. A new Formation Template is created by clicking the '''New''' button. In this example, four templates already exist. Each Template consists of one or more Template Elements, shown in the bottom‑right section.

For example, the '''Guard Armoured Regiment''' has four template elements:
* 60× Leman Russ Battle Tank
* 1× Macharius Command Tank
* 12× Hydra Flak Tank
* 24× Hellhound Anti‑Infantry Tank

Each Template Element has the following attributes:

; Name
: The Unit Class for this element.

; Units
: Number of units of that Unit Class in this element.

; Size
: Total size in tons.

; Cost
: Total cost in Build Points.

; HP
: Total aggregate Hit Points.

; HQ
: Headquarters capacity of the Unit Class.

; FFD
: Total number of Forward Fire Direction components.

; Const.
: Construction value in CFEs.

; CIWS
: Number of CIWS components.

; STO
: Number of STO components.

=== Editing Templates ===

To add new Template Elements to a Formation Template, use the '''Add Units''' button with the adjacent text field. The number can be edited later using the '''Edit Amount''' button. Both Formation Templates and Template Elements can be deleted using the appropriate buttons.

=== Example: Brigade Headquarters ===

This screenshot shows the Macharius Command Tank on the left and the Brigade Headquarters formation template on the right.

The Macharius is a super‑heavy vehicle with:
* two super‑heavy anti‑vehicle weapons
* an HQ4 component (10,000‑ton HQ capacity)
* a size of 518 tons
* a cost of 93.24 BP

The Brigade Headquarters formation template includes:
* 2× Guard Brigade Headquarters units
* 36× large artillery pieces
* 12× flak tanks
* 1× company of Guardsmen