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[Thakh]

Okay.
This is the n-th time that I've lost a fortress due to completely undisciplined soldiers.
I had a big force, more than enough to stop the invasion.  However, the squads figured that it's best to arrive at the battlefield one dwarf by one, presumably since the others weren't finished drinking/eating/sleeping yet.
Needless to say, each of them got butchered the moment he got there (as did a lot of civilians that figured it's the best time to loot the dead soldiers, but that's a different issue).
Could soldiers please, PLEASE, pretty please with cherry on top, pay more attention to the fact that they're required somewhere instead of that cozy looking chestnut bed and mug of ale?
Maybe give the squads a setting of what's going on?  To switch between, for example, Standing Guard/Patrol Duty/Emergency/etc, or something similar?

Thanks up front.

Thakh
-counting the dead

[Puzzlemaker]

I find that patrols help, because those don't require the squad leader to be there, and having a backpack + waterskin with them set to have rations and to carry water also helps a lot.

[umiman]

Also, instead of placing your soldier's assigned point close to the enemy, try to place it some distance away, but in the line of attack. That way, they will assemble together in a somewhat respectable force first.

[Draco18s]

quote:Originally posted by umiman:
<STRONG>Also, instead of placing your soldier's assigned point close to the enemy, try to place it some distance away, but in the line of attack. That way, they will assemble together in a somewhat respectable force first.</STRONG>

Doesn't work when you're playing a 2x2 map.  Everything's close to the enemy AND in the line of attack.

[Digger]

How ABOUT an ability to edit their scatter range? Say if the sqad can't take more than 5x5 area, the commander won't move until every sqad member gathers in 5x5 around him, however they are still able to attack someone close to them.

[ February 23, 2008: Message edited by: Digger ]

[numerobis]

quote:Originally posted by Draco18s:
<STRONG>

Doesn't work when you're playing a 2x2 map.  Everything's close to the enemy AND in the line of attack.</STRONG>

You need to invest in walls.  Seal yourself off from attack, mass the troops, then exit in a blaze of glory.  Whichever way it goes, it'll be glorious and the troubadours will be singing about it for 1,000 years.  Right, Roland?

If dwarves carry water/food/sleep on the floor, you avoid dwarves going for booze at battle time.  But, they get narcoleptic on the battlefield.  Maybe there should be a "don't sleep" option where dwarves just get drowsy and can't fight well and get unhappy, but at least are still in the battle.

[Burnme]

I'm fairly certain that smarter and more responsive military options are on the list, if not actually currently in the works. Until then though, I just pause and save before a critical battle moment, exit, run a batch file that switches the raws so that the race i'm playing is no_sleep/no_eat/no_drink, go back in and win the day (or lose), and the rest is history.

It works well enough.

Oh, and assigning your derfs to smaller or even one-man squads appears to help them arrive to combat closer together.

[Puzzlemaker]

Stationing military = very bad idea, because the squad leader HAS to be there for the rest of them to show up.  With patrols, I have found that any available guys in the squad immediately start patrolling.  Plus, as opposed to stationing squads, they stay exactly the patrol path, even if its just a 2x2 box.

Setting rations + water also helps a ton, because once they go on duty they can stay on duty a lot longer.

[Draco18s]

quote:Originally posted by benoit.hudson:
<STRONG>You need to invest in walls.</STRONG>

Walls and channels did indeed get constructed on the one map.  The only way they can get to me "harm free" is if they show up where the wagons do (which, despite showing up everywhere else on the map, they've never done).

[Thakh]

Yup.  The problem isn't the defense of the fortress, that's easy to do with the proper passive defenses.  It's the traders and migrants appearing at completely random parts of the map edge that get butchered before any sort of millitary can get over there.

[Mikademus]

The most sensible solution to this problem is to be able to mark zones as "military" and add an "emergency" (or "martial law" or "DEFCON"?) toggle. When under emergencies all non-military stay out of military zones, and all military units are on-duty and alert.

From a programming perspective, different FSM's (or at least different paths in the general FSM) would come into play in emergency situations.

[Jayfrin]

maybe being able to manual control military like selctign a dwarf and saying you go here and he'l drop what hes doing and go there...

[gurra_geban]

best way to control military right now is by not using squads...
your troops will spar when they want to, and stay on station as long as they individually can, and its not that tedious...

ive built a fortified tower at the central stairway. when gobbos come execute orders for dwarves not to go outside, and station all troops exactly where you want them to stand, in my case, in the tower...

[Boksi]

I'm pretty sure military improvements are up.

I mean, this is the Army Arc, right?

Anyway, I read a while ago about schedules and somesuch, which I really liked. I wonder where that thread was? It was a really nice system and would work really well in my onion.

Er, opinion.