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[Ivan Issaccs]

Lore wise it makes sense, space marines take years to mature, I mean essentially they grab teenagers and enroll them into super soldier gene mod school.
However it isn't finding the recruits that takes to long, its that fact they only do one at a time, so basically, if you find 6 recruits the last one is going to be well into his 30's by the time they get a look around to him.

[dennislp3]

Is Chaos infestation going to be implemented? Specifically, the idea that if Chaos ever claims an area strongly and for long enough, that it gets Warp-shifted and thus becomes almost impossible to purge?

This already happens...I have seen a daemon world before in a chaos controlled area

[JohnieRWilkins]

Any insight on why units sometimes don't attack during battles? Is it a range thing?

[DukeFluffy]

Is Chaos infestation going to be implemented? Specifically, the idea that if Chaos ever claims an area strongly and for long enough, that it gets Warp-shifted and thus becomes almost impossible to purge?

Pretty much.  Daemon worlds are already in but not fully programmed.  Other stuff should also follow.

Any insight on why units sometimes don't attack during battles? Is it a range thing?

Units only attack if they have a valid enemy to use a weapon on- so if your front rank is made up of Dreadnoughts, the dreads block line of sight to the rear ranks and can only be harmed by decently strong weapons.  If the enemy has nothing but Ork boys in their own front rank, and piddly dakka behind that, they simply won't attack at all.  Or it might be a bug.

[Zangi]

Any insight on why units sometimes don't attack during battles? Is it a range thing?

Units only attack if they have a valid enemy to use a weapon on- so if your front rank is made up of Dreadnoughts, the dreads block line of sight to the rear ranks and can only be harmed by decently strong weapons.  If the enemy has nothing but Ork boys in their own front rank, and piddly dakka behind that, they simply won't attack at all.  Or it might be a bug.

Definitely helps if there was something that indicated that.  I've gotten myself in situations where neither side attacks each other, for over +10 turns.

[nenjin]

Plus when like 3 Dreadnoughts are holding back hundreds of melee attackers, seem a bit unrealistic. In terms of lore, just about anything in the standard 40k table top can be brought down with enough units swarming over it; ripping out power cables, wrenching off armor plates, climbing in through top hatches, ect.....In the end I just want to read about my Assault Marines tearing shit up without having to build a combat force specifically for that to happen.

[Retropunch]

The only thing that I want to ask is, Do you plan to change anything about recruitment system? cause 3-4 year for 1 scount is really painful.

The reason recruitment is so slow is because I've taken into account getting the Recruits when they are unaugmented humans, and the time to train + implant all of the astartes upgrades.  With additional recruiting worlds the rate of finding these recruits is literally doubled, and then tripled if you have three worlds.  Despite this that may still be too slow.  I might increase the rate at which they are found in the future.

Do you plan on giving more control over combat? From what I've read it seems pretty abstract. I wouldn't actually mind this sometimes, assuming realistically the chapter master couldn't micromanage ALL the fights, but nevertheless.

Are you going to give individual marines more personality?

Dev in da house!

Why are space battles all graphical while ground combat text-based?  Seems slightly odd.

In earlier versions of Chapter Master I actually had animated ground combat.  Every 3 marines or vehicles would be represented by a sprite, sometimes even more for the enemy, and then the two sides would just smash together.  Explosions everywhere.  The problem with that was it was difficult to represent so many units at once, and eventually, despite having a 3:1 or 1:50 ratio for enemies too many calculations were being ran.  Performance was terrible.  I might go back to an animated battle in the future.

One of the suggestions (that might have been in this thread?) was to represent a more abstract battlefield with icons and whatnot.  This may occur in the future- a small battle display and customizing formations.  We will see.

Firstly, I do like the slow recruitment - it makes for a completely different feeling from the usual super quick recruiting that you get in games, and gives more weight to decisions. It's also very fitting with the setting that each marine takes ages to 'mature' and whatever, and each one is an investment. Perhaps you could be given a few that are mid way through recruiting as you start out?

Second point: An abstracted display would be great. Even having some cursory control (order a retreat/rush into melee range/whatever) over the battle would help the player feel much more in control.  This is especially the case as you're not normally fighting tons of battles every turn like in a lot of 4x games, where it just eventually becomes a pain to click through them all.

[nenjin]

I like that recruitment is fluffy. That's what's really important to this game, is its commitment to the fluff. Every game studio that touches 40k, one of the first things they do change what parts of the fluff don't work for your average video game. Not saying that's not warranted in a lot of places but, like you said, "every other RTS game has quick recruitment and that CM does not makes it feel different." Fluff, wielded in the right hands and with the light of the Emperor, can make for good gameplay.

I think part of the problem is this: the game map is too small to really, you know, rebuild the 10th company from its dregs in any sort of reasonable game. In the time it take to bring 50 neophytes into the 10th company, you've cleaned the map thrice over (or you got Tyranid fleets in which case, you're probably bio-matter at this point.)

Not sure if there are plans to expand the game map but.....I'd play it. I'd play the shit out of it.

[LoSboccacc]

true I always found silly how fast you could start from zero to full chapter in dark crusade dropping predator after predator just because I had enough req.

[nenjin]

Actually that reminds me of something.

When I was playing with recruitment I noticed some pretty big variance in the starting XP of special characters (wasn't paying attention to scouts.)

I was getting new Lexicanum with up to a 20 starting xp difference, between the guys who graduated under a slow training regime vs the ones who graduated under a sped up one. Is the game just grabbing a random marine from the Chapter when it starts training an Aspirant, is that why there's the XP difference? Or does the rate of recruitment have any impact on that? 'cause I think it'd be kinda appropriate where there's an ideal recruitment rate, and above that new scouts (and Chaplains and Apothecaries and Librarius) graduate faster but get fewer xp out of the process. Whereas marines trained under slower regimes get somewhat more xp out of the training process in exchange for it being so as balls.

[Retropunch]

I like that recruitment is fluffy. That's what's really important to this game, is its commitment to the fluff. Every game studio that touches 40k, one of the first things they do change what parts of the fluff don't work for your average video game. Not saying that's not warranted in a lot of places but, like you said, "every other RTS game has quick recruitment and that CM does not makes it feel different." Fluff, wielded in the right hands and with the light of the Emperor, can make for good gameplay.

I think part of the problem is this: the game map is too small to really, you know, rebuild the 10th company from its dregs in any sort of reasonable game. In the time it take to bring 50 neophytes into the 10th company, you've cleaned the map thrice over (or you got Tyranid fleets in which case, you're probably bio-matter at this point.)

Not sure if there are plans to expand the game map but.....I'd play it. I'd play the shit out of it.

Couldn't agree more with what you've said. W40k hasn't ever really been properly captured in a game because the canon/fluff is always way too hardcore to translate into a game. The whole grimdark 40k thing is about an endless struggle against evil, with drastic losses and a very real possibility that humanity will lose. Whilst games always have to portray you as the winner, or at least some sort of saviour.

An expanded map is absolutely 100% needed, both to allow for a more complex and deeper game.

Still, I don't think it'd need to be a faithful recreation (As the 40k galaxy map is huge) but a much expanded map would be strongly appreciated in any form.

[Zangi]

Its either me or the Lexicanum people come from your own troops.  As in, your Librarian found out that they are psykers...

Not too sure of the Chaplains and Apothecary, since they start at the base.... they don't count toward the total number of troops?

[Puzzlemaker]

A bigger map would definitely help, but do they recruit in parallel?  if you recruit give guys, do they marine-itize them one at a time or all at the same time?

Maybe a good solution to have would be to make the recruitment process more visible.  Like, you can see what level each recruit is at, or something.

So, yes, I like the fluff, but it needs to be more visible what is actually happening because right now it's a little confusing.

[Nuttycompa]

To make it clear, I don't mind long recruiting time I like the fluff too. In fact seeing your new hope that you have waiting for 60 turn get obiterated in his 1st mission, is something that shed tear in my eye.( in a good way, somehow  )

But my problem is it is not a parallel process, which lead to situation where you have 40-50 neophyte waiting in line to be train.

Another question for Mr.Duke
How "request military support" really work? Do we click plant or fleet or our fleet?

[DukeFluffy]

Plus when like 3 Dreadnoughts are holding back hundreds of melee attackers, seem a bit unrealistic. In terms of lore, just about anything in the standard 40k table top can be brought down with enough units swarming over it; ripping out power cables, wrenching off armor plates, climbing in through top hatches, ect.....In the end I just want to read about my Assault Marines tearing shit up without having to build a combat force specifically for that to happen.

That'll probably be added semi-soonish.

Second point: An abstracted display would be great. Even having some cursory control (order a retreat/rush into melee range/whatever) over the battle would help the player feel much more in control.  This is especially the case as you're not normally fighting tons of battles every turn like in a lot of 4x games, where it just eventually becomes a pain to click through them all.

Anything display related, or adding more buttons/functionality, will have to wait for the UI update.

I think part of the problem is this: the game map is too small to really, you know, rebuild the 10th company from its dregs in any sort of reasonable game. In the time it take to bring 50 neophytes into the 10th company, you've cleaned the map thrice over (or you got Tyranid fleets in which case, you're probably bio-matter at this point.)

Not sure if there are plans to expand the game map but.....I'd play it. I'd play the shit out of it.

The may used to be even smaller- about half the current number of stars.  It's pretty decently big as is, but increasing it further is relatively easy to do.

Is the game just grabbing a random marine from the Chapter when it starts training an Aspirant, is that why there's the XP difference?

Yes.  Aspirants are taken from 1st and 2nd company, IIRC.  Might just be 1st.

Do they recruit in parallel?  if you recruit give guys, do they marine-itize them one at a time or all at the same time?

Maybe a good solution to have would be to make the recruitment process more visible.  Like, you can see what level each recruit is at, or something.

They recruit in sequence but all recruits train at the same time.  This means you can get a maximum of one Scout each turn, IIRC.  Adding more visibility to the recruit pane will have to wait for the UI update.  That's going to be the big update that adds more options, functionality, and prettiness. Soon.

But my problem is it is not a parallel process, which lead to situation where you have 40-50 neophyte waiting in line to be train.

Another question for Mr.Duke
How "request military support" really work? Do we click plant or fleet or our fleet?

Recruiting is not parallel but training is.  Military assistance you place the green circle over where you want the computer to attack.  It's fairly bugged currently, so I'll be fixing that.