A challenge or simply infeasible?

[Calahan]

While dealing with a support issue a thought occurred to me regarding a potentially interesting challenge scenario, and I know how much some players like these so I thought I'd flesh out the challenge properly, along with seeing just how feasible it actually is (since it might make the game either impossible to play, or so frustrating that it defeats the purpose of playing the game).


Challenge: You are not allowed to directly issue any orders to any Pawns, apart from the following list of exceptions (due to them being actions essential to playing the game, and which there are no other way of performing other than by issuing a Pawn a direct order).


Exception list (note this list will likely be in flux for a while as workarounds are found and/or rejected)

- Equipping weapons



(Note: this post started out as a reply to a support thread, but I've removed the support thread posts/parts)

[Bozobub]

Can't work; you wouldn't be able to order your pawns to react to raids, for example, and they likely would ALL die to the very 1st tribal waving a shoddy knife about...

[Lys]

Can't work; you wouldn't be able to order your pawns to react to raids, for example, and they likely would ALL die to the very 1st tribal waving a shoddy knife about...

Doesn't setting their "hostile reaction" to aggressive make them counterattack? I haven't ever used it, I always just set it to "ignore" because when they "flee" they bring themselves in worse situations than they would be if they would just keep on walking.

[Snafu_RW]

Can't work; you wouldn't be able to order your pawns to react to raids, for example, and they likely would ALL die to the very 1st tribal waving a shoddy knife about...

Doesn't setting their "hostile reaction" to aggressive make them counterattack? I haven't ever used it, I always just set it to "ignore" because when they "flee" they bring themselves in worse situations than they would be if they would just keep on walking.

Still won't equip a wep tho..

[gipothegip]

Can't work; you wouldn't be able to order your pawns to react to raids, for example, and they likely would ALL die to the very 1st tribal waving a shoddy knife about...

Doesn't setting their "hostile reaction" to aggressive make them counterattack? I haven't ever used it, I always just set it to "ignore" because when they "flee" they bring themselves in worse situations than they would be if they would just keep on walking.

I think the biggest issue with raids would be strategizing when you can't give direct orders. You couldn't make an organized effort.

I guess managing restricted zones might help. You'd probably have to rely heavily on traps and turrets for defense.

@Snafu_RW Calahan did say that'd have to be an exception.

[asanbr]

So no drafting and no combat control?

[Calahan]

So no drafting and no combat control?

Yes, I think not allowing either of those would be part of the challenge.

Although this idea is still very much in the new fledgling stage right now, and I'm not sure when I'll have chance myself to commit some time and thought to it. But that doesn't mean others can't engage in the initial theory crafting and/or trial runs, as I'm still far from sure if it's even possible to play the game like this. Or at least not without an ever expanding list of exceptions, which would probably start to quickly defeat the entire basis of the challenge (but as I said I haven't had any time yet to put any really thought into this other than the being interested in the basic concept).

[TheMeInTeam]

Can't work; you wouldn't be able to order your pawns to react to raids, for example, and they likely would ALL die to the very 1st tribal waving a shoddy knife about...

Doesn't setting their "hostile reaction" to aggressive make them counterattack? I haven't ever used it, I always just set it to "ignore" because when they "flee" they bring themselves in worse situations than they would be if they would just keep on walking.

I think the biggest issue with raids would be strategizing when you can't give direct orders. You couldn't make an organized effort.

I guess managing restricted zones might help. You'd probably have to rely heavily on traps and turrets for defense.

@Snafu_RW Calahan did say that'd have to be an exception.

You could still get them to shoot down a corridor, but would they shoot at max range?  A siege would probably do you in regardless, zoning straight at them on decent difficulties is suicide but mortars w/o manual orders are unusable (and sieges can come earlier than you can get mortars).

[Songleaves]

Definitely feasible, but would probably require really cheap tactics like funneling enemies through lots of traps. Some considerations:

* Can't rescue guests or capture downed enemies

* Can't use communications to call for aid or do orbital trading

* Can't trade with visiting caravans

* Will probably do a lot of turret micromanaging, such as to destroy psychic ship parts

* Release animals is useless since can't put colonist in draft mode

[The Nickman]

I think a better set of rules would be you can draft colonists and order them to do anything they can do when drafted, but when undrafted you can't order them to do anything.

This way, you'll still be able to fight, you'll still be able to equip weapons and rescue downed colonists or captured prisoners BUT to heal them, you'll need to rely on your priorities to do that.

Seems like a better clear cut black and white set of rules.  Plus fights otherwise will just be near on impossible at the higher difficulty levels.

[Vlad0mi3r]

I have been thinking about it and I feel it could be done with the only exception being equipping weapons and possibly colonist rescue. I do not think rescue happens automatically (I have never waited long enough to find out so correct me if I am wrong) but it would make rescue animals very central to your efforts.

Everyone seems to think your first raid would be the end but by using zone control you could manoeuvre your pawns around. Lots of micro I guess but doable.

My only concern would be ship parts and mortar attacks. How do you get your team to attack the ship part? How do you man a mortar without giving the order? These are the only two that I can not think of a work around. 

[YokoZar]

I think a better set of rules would be you can draft colonists and order them to do anything they can do when drafted, but when undrafted you can't order them to do anything.

This way, you'll still be able to fight, you'll still be able to equip weapons and rescue downed colonists or captured prisoners BUT to heal them, you'll need to rely on your priorities to do that.

This sounds like inviting a bit of tedium, as you could micromanage colonists by drafting them, moving them next to the thing you want them to work on, then setting their priority to that task to be 1.