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amjayee
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Jyväskylä, Finland
Oct 1999
time: 07:14
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Units
Created: May 23rd 2000
Updated: -
This is a description of a unit/conscription system for the game. I will be updating it according to the discussion. From the beginning of the description you can see, when it was updated, and what was changed.
The military unit system is a little different from the earlier games. In this game, creating units would require three things: The men, the equipment, and the training. You could build the unit equipment in some city, then transfer them to some region, where you hire the men for the unit from the region's population. When you don't need the unit anymore, you could "disband it" - let the men go to their work - but the equipment are stored, so you can later create another unit, in another time.
This is the system that has been used throughout the history, when the ruler has wanted to wage war, but hasn't got money to keep a regular army. The setback is, that the men don't get proper training.
The third thing, training, is needed to get more experienced and skillful units. For a unit to reach a certain experience level, a certain amount of training is needed. Training costs money. Also engaging in combat rises the experience level of the units. If the units are held in service for a long time, their experience drops. To preserve the experience, some further training is needed. This is because the men in the unit don't live forever - they need to be replaced. The new men need to be trained. Also the skills of existing men need to be replenished.
In the game, it could be possible to use some time - a couple of turns - to train the men before the war. It could be done anywhere, but if there are barracks in the location, it would be much more efficient. Of course the men would be unavailable for other work during that time. When the war is over, the men could be freed, and the experience would be lost. It could be possible to preserve the unit for some time, by placing the men in "reserve". During the few next turns, if new war starts, the same men could ba called to service again.
Yet another possibility would be to create a regular army; the units are available any time, until they are disbanded or destroyed. This would be the most costly option, but the men would be far more experienced. Also, the men would be unavailable for other work. There is, however, a possibility that was used at least in feudal china. There, the soldiers were kept in a not so densely populated region, where they farmed land with their families part of the year, and trained soldier arts the another part. This could be possible for the player, too, to save something from the costs, but losing in unit experience.
With the regular army, a service time for the men needs to be set. This would decide the rate at which the men are replaced, and also the amount of training the unit needs. In certain point in the game, it could become possible to create a reserve army. In that system, a certain percentage of male citizens are trained, and then placed to reserve. If war starts, the trained men could then be called to service. Of course their experience level wouldn't be as good as with professional soldiers, but there would be plenty of them, with relatively low cost. In all times, war has needed both "cannon fodder soldiers" and elite warriors.
I hope I can update this soon. -amjayee
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23-05-2000 18:54
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