How to nuke from orbit?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Ok so I finally got into wars. I built up fleets, i have defences. Its time to take the fight to the enemy. I researched Planetary Bombardment. I have medium ships with lots of beams on them. I send a fleet of 3 ships to the enemy planet and destroy the puny ships there. The planet is defenseless.

How do I make my ships orbitally bombard the planet from orbit, destroying all the buildings and population?

I tried right clicking on the planet again with the fleet selected, no dice. I tried waiting a turn and then making the fleet try to attack the defenseless planet again. No dice.

Is there some special tech i need to nuke them from orbit? Note, i am not trying to invade or take over the planet. I just want to glass the planet from orbit.
13,652 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There is no orbital bombardment, aside from the various invasion techniques you can use when invading via troopship.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
God, what is it with people and xenoside? sheesh, the satisfaction of killing those people isn't enough, you want to nuke their planet too?

Will somebody think of the children?
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There is a tech called "planetary Bombardment". That's what you are looking for.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The regular GC2 weapons aren't powerful enough for strategic bombardment. IMO the game definately needs high-yield bombardment weapons (aka 'bombs') to enable players to damage infrastructure and kill taxpayers without needing to invade (say, as part of a retreat).
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
They were going to include a bombardment of such, but the ships were so small only a chimpanzee could fit into the control room. Testing did not fare well, it seems that chimpanzees can't help but push the big red button way before the ship reached the target. One reported account stated, when everything was loaded and ready to go for testing, they lead the chimp into the control seat and as soon as it was secured in, they noticed the fire button and pressed it. This report would not have been recorded if it wasn't for the luck that we still cannot perfect the trigger device for our fusion bombs.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Caint do it. Only way to 'slag' the planet is to use one of the more messy invasion plans that wipes things out...take over the planet, demolish all the buildings, load all of your troops back onto a transport except for one...and destroy the colony.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
IMO the game definately needs high-yield bombardment weapons (aka 'bombs') to enable players to damage infrastructure and kill taxpayers without needing to invade (say, as part of a retreat).


never tried this but thought about it. why not put 1 troop in a transport then use one of the messier invasion tactics, like mass drivers. what i don't know is if the number of destroyed structures/ reduction in planet quality is based on the strength of the invading force, or if it's unrelated. if it's unrelated, then you could do some real damage to an empire you don't plan to actually invade with only a few minor -ahem- sacrifices. send those to a couple of the higher quality planets. Oldstatesman's way of taking the planet and leaving it works too... personally, i'd rather not deal with the micromanagement.

IMO i think there should be a separate module for invasion tactics. how the heck does a basic troop transport have the equipment needed to haul an asteroid into a collision with the planet, or affect its tides. i think it'd be more in line with the way ship conflict works. usually i build a defensive fleet to keep the AI intimidated enough to leave me alone, with a bit of every defense and offense (technology permitting) so my enemies don't perceive any weaknesses. if they do go to war with me, i usually rush out the ships i actually intend to fight them with, specialized to combat their military. regardless of how other players or the AI deals with the three-fold weapons system, the real point is that it's extremely hard to build ships that can effectively meet any challenge.

i feel invasion isn't consistent with that model. the same module is capable of all invasion tactics. usually when i invade a planet, i don't know what tactic i'll use until i'm looking at the tactics choosing screen. if i had to include different modules on my transports to have different tactics available, i feel this would be much more stragetically interesting - i'd have to evaluate a planet i wanted to invade long before i sent a transport at it, or otherwise face pyrrhic victory at best.

but more than anything i'd just like more tactics, maybe some ethically specific ones.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow I cant believe this feature doesnt exist. I mean, in a huge galaxy i'd much rather blow them up than have to invade each planet. I guess i'm too used to MoO.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The regular GC2 weapons aren't powerful enough for strategic bombardment. IMO the game definately needs high-yield bombardment weapons (aka 'bombs') to enable players to damage infrastructure and kill taxpayers without needing to invade (say, as part of a retreat).


What the hell are ya talking about?? The game has black hole torpedos and weapons that distort time and space itself to cause more damage to enemy ships' equally impressive defensive technologies and uR talking about how the games needs bombs?? omg omg ... ... like ... omg ok ok ... im ok *wipes laugh tear* Naw, but I think the weapons it has are more than enough to destroy a planet, it's just like everyone else says, that the game doesn't have an option to bombard a planet.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wow I cant believe this feature doesnt exist. I mean, in a huge galaxy i'd much rather blow them up than have to invade each planet. I guess i'm too used to MoO.


That's how I always played MoO. Once I had my initial planets I rarely expanded past them. It was bombardment until I reached stellar convert and then every alien planet vanished...
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It's expressly described in-game how the early missiles were designed to *not* be useful as strategic weapons, and none of the other weapons are more than an order of magnitude more powerful. Being called a 'black hole torpedo' tells us nothing about the weapon's yield, which must be low. If you think the weapons in GC2 are powerful enough to 'destroy' planets (I *really* hope you don't mean 'explode' planets) you're just illiterate.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
No i was really hoping for a "Planet Killer" weapon too. a weapon that would either vaporise the planet entirly or else leave a gray rock that has Planet Quality 0. someone needs to make a mod for a weapon like this........