I feel dumb asking this but...

Actually, yes it can. This game focuses only on space and fleets, the game engine propably couldn't handle ground combat. But maybe infiltration frigates á la Homeworld 2 on the diplomacy expansion?

Whats the point of ground battles when you can just sit in space and glass an enemies planet? If you went around capturing every planet with foot soldiers it would be extremly expensive in money and manpower. It would take billions of soldiers just to completely control one planet.

Highly unlikely. It was considered early in development, and repeatedly shot down. IC wants to keep the focus on managing the space empire, not individual planet battles.

Heck no the way this game runs won't allow that. ToJKa is right the engine would need a rewrite or they would need another game out for it to work.

Maybe guns on planets firing on ships but not ground combat.

Besides vasari would win even more

It's been my experiance that this usualy happens,

Defeat planet defense and bombard world.

Cannot colonize due to hostile culture.

*Errant Novalith shell slams into world*

Cannot colonize due to radiation.

 

Would actually be very nice if it went like in Pacific Wars. When you've done with the defenses - or even a bit before - you start ferrying your ground troops to the planet. (Maybe a bit of bombardment first.) The long fighting starts - instead of the long bombardment - as your troops and the defenders battle it out. You'll have to periodically run supplies for your army, otherwise their effectiveness drops and you stop making any gains in the battle. If the hostile fleet arrives they can start running the supplies to their own troops or even bombard their own planet if they don't mind killing a few million civilians in the process of eliminating hostile forces.

Sins is already good in that planetary conquest is not just a flipswitch effort, but actually taking over usable planets could offer another option and while this may seem to make the battles last longer it could actually speed up the game when you can capture planets intact (besides it sends a nice human message to the game's players :D).

It's not a dumb question. If you didn't ask I would have suggested.

Ground battles would be amazing and perfect this game, well that and 10 new factions, 4 new ship classes, 1000 new technologies, 15 new planets, and the ability to travel in deep space without those stupid phase lanes, but ground battles would be good.

I boubt that they will ever be put in. If they are, it will be auto-matic. They could set it up so that capitol ships and powerful cruisers could send down dropships as a second type of planetary bombardment allowing you  to capture planets without killing everyone on it and destroying the planetary upgrades. They should have done that in the first place.

Well, at the rate video games are going, especially sinse spore came out, we'll see ships and ground battles before the end of 2020, unless the world end in 2012 (doubtful).

I like varis2000's idea about how planet seige should work. Top notch.

I would have liked to have troops. Send in a bunch of Masterchief-Chuck Norris hybrids.

I thought about different ways of capturing planets.  One idea involved a troop ship that would send troops to the planet to fight the "population."  You would need many troops ships of course to take over a big terran planet.  But not so much vs an asteroid.  Well instead of popualtion, mayeb they would have a garrison, which could be upgraded also with planetary upgrade.

Of course you would not control the ground forces, it would mearly be automated, with possibility for tech upgrades for the troops.

but that would mean the population on the planet would have to be higher than that of the troop ship it wouldnt be right 250 people living on a planet get taken out by troop ship which in reality can carry a couple thousands men. They would need to redo the game so the pops on the planets are more than that of the troop ships then you would need Defence upgrades for the planets like say a Battlion upgrade then Weapon emplacements it gets stupid at that point you'll lose focus from the space battles. The ecomony would need a complete redo aswell due to the new upgrades and new ships needed and the extra resource Manpower.

Swat911, it was already explained that the population ont he planet does not account for all peopel living on the planet, it is merely the amount of popualtion loyal to your empire.

 

I prefer theya dd dedicated troop number, but when I originally thought this up it was for a mod.

I think thats a great idea. It would be easier to capture low population planets. Once the planet would get below 10 population you get it with everything that is upgraded. It would of course take longer on more developed planets. I think this idea needs to be applied to all structures as well but only after the planet is taken you coudl take structures.

The ship could be called the Conquer class and for vasari be the Conquerer class Opresser (ship name)

Advent the Conquer class Subjucator (change name if needed due to already being a subjucator) or The Purger. (Change planet bombarder name)

Tec Conquer class The Diplomat. (would work differantly and make friends wiht the race. takes longer than other 2 but leaves poplulation intact. no damage to infanstructure.)

The vasari and advent would suffer 2 random upgrades being destroyed in teh process of subjucating/oppressing the planet due to destruction but not everything would be lost saving valuable resources.

This entirely eliminates the error of totally redesigning the engine and also makes it so minor engine adjustments would be needed to make it practical and actually useful.