Help -- How to Conduct Planetary Invasion?

[Sharpe111]

Hi all,

I come here as a last resort. I am new to SE5, and I can't figure out how to get my troops off my transport and onto a hostile planet. I've tried the transfer cargo buttons, but they only let me move troops from ship to ship. Any help? After I clear out all hostile ships from a planet's atmosphere, how do I get my troops to invade? Also, how do I bombard? I've equipped some ships with planetary bombardment weapons but also can't figure out how to use them. (P.S. I've checked the manual and could not find an answer, otherwise I wouldn't be asking here.)

[Phoenix-D]

Everything related to attacking happens in combat.

So, to invade: load up your transport, attack the planet, and in Tactical Combat use the Drop Troops order. Or give your transport the Capture Planet strategy, attack, and sit back to watch.

Bombardment- attack the planet, move your ships within weapons range, and right-click on the planet.

If you're already in orbit, select the ships, press A, and click on the sector again.

[Sharpe111]

Thank you Phoenix-D

[Phoenix-D]

Uh, before you go and invade: there's a bug with troops right now. They don't move.

If you want to fix it you'll have to go into Data/VehicleSizes.txt and change the Engines per Move line from 0 to 1, for all the troop entries.

[raynor]

I've found the best way to invade a planet is to put your transport in a separate task force and then give that task force the 'Capture Planet' Attack Strategy.

[neofit]

Coincidentally I was about to start a thread on this very issue. I am having trouble properly coordinating an attack on a planet (v1.13, Banace Mod 0.96). The dropship does make a beeline towards the planet, drops the shuttle, it reaches the planet, then it (the dropship) gets slaughtered by planetary defenses.

My fleet is composed of the following: 4x missile destroyers, 3x anti-proton DDs, 1x light carrier, 1x dropship, 3x support ships in their own TF with "don't get hurt" orders.

What happens is: if the planet is defended by ships or stations, all my ships besides the support TF charge the enemy and we win. If the planet only has fighters, satellites and planetary defenses, only the carrier and the dropship charge, we still win but with unnecessary losses. The missile ships, gunships, launched fighters just turn around and flee with the support TF and I need to do some manual targetting if I don't want to lose the dropship. I've tried different combinations.

- The missile ships in TF1, all core, max weapons range
- The gunships in TF2, all core, max weapons range
- The carrier in TF3, max weapons range
- The dropship in TF4, capture planet
The missile, APB ships and launched fighters turn around and flee. The carrier alone charges the enemy fighters. The dropship charges the planet, launches the shuttle, then explodes.

- TF1: dropship and carrier as core, missile ships and gunships as escort. Mission: capture planet
According to the manual the escort ships are supposed to protect the core ones. Same behaviour as before, everyone flees, but the dropship and the carrier.

I've tried doing some manual targetting. I order ships to break formation move them to the edge of the planet firing range, making sure that their own targetting circle encompasses the planet, give the order to attack said planet, and they just there, doing nothing.

I don't know what else to do. The description on the Capital Ship Missile and Anti-Proton Beam says that they can target a planet, but they don't.

OK, I'll let the dropship do its job, drop the shuttle, and flee. Problem is that it doesn't flee. It stays there, within range of the planetary defenses I cannot harm, until it goes boom. And I can't select it to manually order it to go away since it is inside the planet itself.

So the only way I have found so far is to manually tell the over-eager Carrier captain to back off, manually redirect the wussy fighters towards the enemy fighters and satellite as soon as they launch, select the dropship and keep it selected until the end. He goes into the planet, and as soon as he drops the landing shuttle I move it out of the planet's shooting range, and he makes it, barely.

One thing that may be a problem is that I have a treaty with another AI that has the 'no planetary bombardement' clause. First I am not bombarding a planet, I am protecting my ship. Second the treaty is with another empire. So either there is a bug there or the treaty window should explain this properly: if you use this clause you won't be able to reduce planetary defenses at all anywhere in the galaxy.


So how do I capture a defended planet? Why do all my ship run away and how do I reduce planetary defenses?

[Suicide Junkie]

Exactly. You aren't allowed to bombard planets. Dropping troops is fine. Firing weapons at the surface is not.

It may make more sense to you if you consider the similar clause for not using plague bombs.

Your treaty basically translates to "You must not be mass murdering evil space scum."

[Arkcon]

Phoenix-D said:
Uh, before you go and invade: there's a bug with troops right now. They don't move.

If you want to fix it you'll have to go into Data/VehicleSizes.txt and change the Engines per Move line from 0 to 1, for all the troop entries.

Awww ... thanks so much Phoenix-D! I came here just looking for a bug report, I had no idea I'd find the fix. That Ammon-Ke homeworld will be mine soon.

[neofit]

Suicide Junkie said:
Exactly. You aren't allowed to bombard planets. Dropping troops is fine. Firing weapons at the surface is not.

It may make more sense to you if you consider the similar clause for not using plague bombs.

It is not said anywhere that this clause does not apply to this very empire only but is galaxy-wide instead. It has to be detailed in the treaty clauses window. Same applies to plague bombs.

As IRL, one must not abide by the Geneva Convention rules against enemies who have not signed it themselves. And no, "it's easier to code it this way" does not cut it .

[Suicide Junkie]

It is really just a description issue.

I've suggested expanding the options to:
No Bombardment of:
- Our planets
- Our planets and Any planets with Our People
- Any planets

The distictions there would also make it clear when you're signing a No Nuking Anybody treaty.