raiders calling for reinforcements

[keylocke]

new raid event.

i wanna suggest that when raiders lose 50% of their troops, they'll retreat to the edge of the map and start calling for reinforcements and then attack again when reinforcements arrive. but when raiders drop to 25% of their troops, that's when they actually decide to exit the map completely.

this will create a raid event that forces the player to be both defensive and aggressive, because the raid will never end unless the player can actually force the raiders to flee from the map.

[SpaceDorf]

This could get overpowered really quick .. but the Idea is not bad

[keylocke]

the amount of time for supplies and reinforcements to arrive could take days. meanwhile, the raiders would have to deal with their injuries and dwindling supplies.

maybe it could be similar to a siege event, but instead of building mortars, the raiders would build a supply camp. something like this :

-raiders arrive and start building their camp
-after building, they attack your base.
-when their numbers drop to 50%, they retreat back to their base camp to treat their wounds and wait for reinforcements.
-after a day or two, reinforcements arrive and the raiders can resume attacking
-if at any time, their numbers drop 25% and below, the raiders will try to flee the map while kidnapping/stealing what they can.

it's essentially like the siege event, so it's not a very complex behavior compared to that.

[cultist]

the amount of time for supplies and reinforcements to arrive could take days. meanwhile, the raiders would have to deal with their injuries and dwindling supplies.

Yeah. Either the reinforcements arrive too soon and screw over the player, or they take long enough that any wounded raiders die from their wounds. Finding a sweet spot between these two options that takes into account the colony's strength seems almost impossible.

Perhaps limit the "call for reinforcements" behavior to when pirates are vastly outmatched or brought the wrong troops for the kind of defenses you have. If you are evenly matched and pirates can be reinforced, I can see them easily wiping a colony with only small gaps in its defense.

I like your idea too. A siege event that doesn't force a certain kind of response (attack or die) would be welcome.

[Thane]

It would definitely have to be a special siege type raid and the number of times they will call for reinforcements will have to be kept low to prevent farming.

I could see myself just keeping a raid like that going until everyone has amazing weapons and armor.

[SpaceDorf]

True to the farming.
A fixed camp sounds like an excellent Mortar Target.

[PotatoeTater]

the amount of time for supplies and reinforcements to arrive could take days. meanwhile, the raiders would have to deal with their injuries and dwindling supplies.

maybe it could be similar to a siege event, but instead of building mortars, the raiders would build a supply camp. something like this :

-raiders arrive and start building their camp
-after building, they attack your base.
-when their numbers drop to 50%, they retreat back to their base camp to treat their wounds and wait for reinforcements.
-after a day or two, reinforcements arrive and the raiders can resume attacking
-if at any time, their numbers drop 25% and below, the raiders will try to flee the map while kidnapping/stealing what they can.

it's essentially like the siege event, so it's not a very complex behavior compared to that.

This is a great idea, make it into its own event, call it Assault. We would then have raids, (Single wave of enemies pushing into the base), sieges, (pirates attempt to mortar the colony into submission, and lastly assaults, (raiders build a camp and send waves towards the player, additional supplies and manpower will arrive to assist the raiders over time until the player knocks out at least 25 percent of the force, and/or destroys the camp. Stolen supplies will also be gathered here as well as captured pawns.)

[keylocke]

ooh i like the name "assault" or "skirmish" or i dunno.

as for the farming bit, the more you farm anything that increases your wealth could also slowly increase the raid size. so the longer you wait, the harder things will get. plus if you're hostile with 2 or more factions and you keep the "assault" raiders too long, you could get a 3 way skirmish (it could be fun if the 2 raiding factions are hostile to each other as well).

besides, just as the enemy can call for reinforcements, the player can also call for reinforcements from their allied factions as well if things get out of hand. (ie : they can stay at your base for a week, as long as you give them food and lodging and you can draft them. but you can't unequip their items, and if they die, you get a relationship penalty with their faction)

lastly, i think this type of raid should only be spawned as a late game type of raid, so it needs prerequisites like :

-it can only spawn on colonies that are at least 2 years old.
-it can only spawn when there are at least 10 colonists.

also, just like other typical raids, if the raiders are "winning", they can just choose to kidnap people or steal expensive items and leave the map. this could be activated when they incapacitate/kill around 50%-75% of your colonists.

[cultist]

There's a bit of a logical loophole though. If the raiders have 15-20 guys on standby, why are they only sending 4-5 at you at a time instead of making a coordinated attack? Makes sense for the first try, but once they realize they can't break your defenses, they should up the ante, not simply try again with the same basic strategy.

[Thane]

-it can only spawn on colonies that are at least 2 years old.
-it can only spawn when there are at least 10 colonists.

Not sure about this. Remember we have mortars and they are definitely within research reach for a two year old colony.

At which point I bombard them until they are about to break. Wait for reinforcements, rinse and repeat. I may lose much of the loot, but there is no risk to my colony.

If we want to keep it late game I would suggest a new structure to combat just shelling them to the Precambrian. The foxhole. Holds a raider and while it imparts a terrible shooting penalty it shields from all but direct artillery hits.

[CannibarRechter]

> We would then have raids

I also feel like we should have traditional old country raids, where the raiders main objective is to cart off stuff, including farm animals.

[keylocke]

There's a bit of a logical loophole though. If the raiders have 15-20 guys on standby, why are they only sending 4-5 at you at a time instead of making a coordinated attack? Makes sense for the first try, but once they realize they can't break your defenses, they should up the ante, not simply try again with the same basic strategy.

what standby? the raiders who retreated after losing 50% of their troops? those dudes are probably trying to heal their wounds while waiting for reinforcements so that their remaining 50% don't get wiped out like what happened in their previous try.

the thing is, even if the player succeeds in defending their colony, if they remain on the defensive rather than offensive, then the raid will continue slowly whittling their defenses down. the wounds on their colonists starts accumulating, their resources starts dwindling, etc..

so pure defense is not advisable. the objective is to force the enemy to flee. (both defense and offense play is necessary for the player)

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@CannibarRechter :

as for the mortars.. yea, i kinda like that idea. maybe the raiders can build mortars as well.
but mortars is a good way for long range offensive.

currently, i barely use mortars and focus more on my elite sniper team.

so i think it's actually a good way so the mortars don't just end up as decorations in most bases. (coz i often build several mortars but barely even use them, since my sniper team is already too badass)

[makkenhoff]

Actually, I like this idea. It makes sense they might call for help, maybe even get told to finish attacking them, depending on social with the people who are involved? Could be pretty complex in a hurry - but I like the stories that could form from it.

[Thane]

as for the mortars.. yea, i kinda like that idea. maybe the raiders can build mortars as well.
but mortars is a good way for long range offensive.

currently, i barely use mortars and focus more on my elite sniper team.

so i think it's actually a good way so the mortars don't just end up as decorations in most bases. (coz i often build several mortars but barely even use them, since my sniper team is already too badass)

I absolutely adore mortars (EMP mortars can go die somewhere). Once I research them it's gg. I don't know about you but I tend to accumulate so many colonists who can't hit the broadside of a barn. Plus if you play on larger maps they are incredibly useful for long range death.

Siege? Send 10 guys to the mortar park and shell them to the Precambrian!

Tribals gathering? Send 10 guys to the mortar park and shell them to the Precambrian!

Crashed ship part? Surround with a double layer of shells, send 10 guys to the mortar park and blow it to kingdom come!


That last one is especially funny. All the scythers are vaporized and all I am left with is centipedes (most of whom have had their weapons blown off) stumbling toward my walls at the speed of an arthritic snail!

Without some kind of mortar defense the raid type you are describing would just be another instance where I do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPXVGQnJm0w