Is this a bug?, cheese? or a legitimate tactic?

from GalCiv2 Forums
Is this a bug?, cheese? or a legitimate tactic?

I just tried this and it works on beta 3 . If you send one transport 1000 troops and do core detonation and mass drivers they can sacrifice themselves but kill 4x5 times the defending troops because of the mass driver/core detonation bonuses. After they can kill off most/some of the defending troops, but still lose, the planet doesn't suffer any penalty (because you haven't conquered it), But then you can just fly in a new large invasion fleet using tradtional invasion tactics and beat up on the greatly reduced garrison and conquer the planet. You get to reduce the garrison using the MD/CD tactics but don't suffer any penalty unless you misjudge and you sacrificial MD/CD attacks are misjudged and you actually conquer the planet by mistake?

Is multiple invasions per turn a legitimate tactic?

13,631 views 11 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Yep, this is a known exploit. It's not a bug, though. The special effects of those invasion options only take effect if you win the battle. This is mean to prevent players from sending 1 troop simply to screw up the planet. Unfortunately, it also means that one can be as harsh as possible without any real penalty.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
This is mean to prevent players from sending 1 troop simply to screw up the planet


Why is this not a legitimate tactic? this would be like the US bombing the enemy factories to weaken them. This would be the planetary bombardment option so many people want and ask for.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Making a change for this would probably make a lot of sense. It would make every one crying for bombardment happy for one.... As long as the AI used the tactic when appropriate, I think it's fine. (and the AI used faster transports...)

As it is now, you can do this with your 1st transport and unless you win by accident, get a good planet on the second go. I tend to use gas tho, just because it's safer and generally kills enough. (only on huge pop centers)

For the most part I find using mini-soldiers is the best. (along with good soldiering)
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


Why is this not a legitimate tactic? this would be like the US bombing the enemy factories to weaken them. This would be the planetary bombardment option so many people want and ask for.


For the same reason the planetary bombardment so many people want and ask for would pretty much obliterate any strategy in the game. See all 65439789 threads on the topic.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Would it really destroy the game? It would change the game a lot, but remember that Master of Orion 2 used planetary bombardment as valid part of the game, both as part of a ground invasion and on it's own to destroy infrastructure.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Is it just me or is there way to much relating this game to MOO!? This is galciv not MOO i dont a giv a **** what MOO does or did. Heh got annoyed, anyway the 1 transport bomb thing just doesnt seem fun. Neither does the thought of 1 troop possibly destroying my empire,by destroying my tech/production/economic capital planets, which could happen to me seeing how i like to play large or huge maps with rare-uncommon habital plants.

Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
As it is a deliberate design decision on the part of the game designers to make it work like it does (did see a post from frogboy), one would assume that doing intentionally it isnt an exploit.

Personally I would think that the tactic of sending in a small transport intending to reduce a planets quality without winning seems like a more reasonable and plausible tactic, but aparently that was considered an exploit, so it is designed so that one can do it the other way around.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

The way it works is the way it works partially because of the "genocide run" in MOO1/MOO2. We don't want the end game to be about running around exterminating everyone.

Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Getting back to the original problem, seems the solution is straightforward:

1. Put a minimum troop count for various invasion tactics.
2. Make the damage from various tactics proportional to the troop count.

Attacking a planet with one soldier should obviously have no effect.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Thanks Frogboy for the comment.

I actually understand and like the intent.

To get some impact you have to waste some troops and multiple transports ( so it is not free, it is a tradeoff ) and it is not a clear thing that you will always fail, its like you are sending in suicide shock troops that are playing with WMD fire. Judge it right and you do sacrifice troops to waste the garrison, get greedy and actually capture the planet and you actually slag vaste portions of it.

I was just making sure it was a game design decision, not a unintended exploit or bug.

I actually never did like that last Risk sweep the map play in MOO. Or the other times where in strategy games your allies turn against you because you are winning.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Getting back to the original problem, seems the solution is straightforward:

1. Put a minimum troop count for various invasion tactics.
2. Make the damage from various tactics proportional to the troop count.

Attacking a planet with one soldier should obviously have no effect.

The current behavior is as designed.  I know there are lots of people who want to be able to mop up by bombing other planets into dust but we're not going to be doing this.