            Concept : How to take a sector or ship from the enemy

NAME
   Attack - Details for attack, assault, paradrop, and board

Level: Expert

This info page describes 4 different  commands:  "attack",  "assault",  "para-
drop",  and  "board".   These are the four commands that you use to take some-
thing (either a ship or a sector) from the enemy by force.

   A combat has 15 steps:
   (1)  Ask the aggressor for the target sector/ship.
   (2)  Ask the aggressor further details about the offensive force.
   (3)  Estimate the odds and possibly ask the aggressor for confirmation.
   (4)  Move reacting defensive units to the target sector.
   (5)  Calculate defensive support.
   (6)  Fight.
   (7)  Spread the plague.
   (8)  Take mobility and supply from land units.
   (9)  Send reacting units home.
   (10) If successful, the aggressor takes the target sector/ship.
   (11) Remove mobility and efficiency from the target sector/ship.
   (12) Remove mobility from the aggressor's sectors/ship.
   (13) Possibly ask the aggressor for mil and units to move into the target.
   (14) Possibly interdict the aggressor's mil and units as they move.
   (15) Charge the aggressor BTU's.

(1)  Ask the aggressor for the target sector/ship.

   Sea, sanctuary, and wasteland are illegal targets.
   You may not assault a mountain.
   You may not paradrop into a mountain, capital, city, or fortress.
   You may only board a ship from the sector the ship is in, you may
   not board a ship which is faster than your ship, and you may not board
   a submarine at sea.

The "assault" command is the only command which will let you attack  your  own
sector (you can use this to get mil & assault units on shore).  You should not
"attack" unowned land (see info explore).

If the SLOW_WAR option is enabled, you will not be able  to  attack  a  sector
owned  by  a  country you are not AT_WAR with, unless you are the old owner of
the sector.

If the SNEAK_ATTACK option is also enabled, you can attack ONE sector owned by
a  country  you  are  not  AT_WAR with, paying $5K for the privilege. Once the
sneak attack is done, you will automatically declare war  against  the  enemy,
and  go  through the normal SLOW_WAR sequence before you can attack again (see
info relations).

(2)  Ask the aggressor further details about the offensive force.

When you board, you are asked for a ship or sector to board from.  If you  are
attacking  or assaulting, then you have the option to specify whether you want
your forts/ships/plane/units to support your attack.  If no support is  speci-
fied, then it is assumed that you want support from all sources.

If you are not paradropping, then you will be asked  for  mil  and  units  you
would like to attack with.  The following limitations apply to the aggressor's
mil:

   Attack:  You are limited by the mobility of the attacking sector
            according to the mob-cost to move the mil into the target sector.
   Assault: If the target sector contains mil, then you may only attack with
            1/10th of your mil on board, unless your ship has "semi-land"
            capability in which case it is 1/4th, -or- if your ship has
            "land" capability in which case there is no limitation.
   Board:   When boarding from a sector, the sector must have mob.  When
            boarding from either a ship or a sector, the number of mil
            you may board with is limited to the maximum number of mil that the
            target ship can hold.

   The following restrictions apply to the aggressor's land units:
   A land unit must have mobility and be in supply (see info supply) in
   order to be able to enter the combat.  Land units with "security",
   "supply" or "flak" capability may not attack.  Also, you may not
   attack with artillery units (i.e. if frg > 0).  Only land units with "assault"
   capability may assault or board.
   Attack:  The land unit must have at least as much mobility that it
            would cost for it to march into the sector.
   Board:   You may only board with as many land units as the target ship
            can hold.

When asked whether you'd like to include a certain land unit  in  the  combat,
you will be given a prompt ending in [ynYNq?].  At this prompt, you can type:

   y - yes this unit
   n - no this unit
   Y - yes all units in this army
   N - no all units in this army
   q - quit attack
   ? - print this help message

(3)  Estimate the odds and possibly ask the aggressor for confirmation.

   The offense strength of your land units is mil * off where "mil" is the
   number of mil in the unit, and "off" is the offense multiplier of the
   unit (see show land stats), with the following exceptions:
   Assault: If the unit doesn't have "marine" capability, then its
            offense strength is cut in half.
   Board:   If the unit doesn't have "marine" capability, then its
            offense strength is equal to half of the number of mil in the unit.

The total offense strength is the number of mil plus the offense  strength  of
all  offensive  units.  This number is then multiplied by the offense value of
the sector the mil and units are  attacking  from  (see  show  sector  stats).
Ships have an offense value of 1.

The defense strength of a land unit is the total number of  mil  in  the  unit
times  its  defense  multiplier  (see show land stats).  The only exception to
this is non-marine land units on ships which have  a  strength  equal  to  the
total  number  of mil in them.  The defense strength of units out of supply is
cut in half.  The defense strength of fortified units is multiplied by (127  +
fortification) / 127.

The total defense strength is the number of mil plus the defense  strength  of
all  defensive  units.  This number is then multiplied by the defense value of
the sector the mil and units are in (see show sector  stats).   Ships  have  a
defense  value  of  1  +  def/100  (see  show  ship  stats).   You can use the
"strength" command to see the defense strength of your sectors.

Now, When your scouts estimate the defense  strength,  they  only  count  land
units  and  mil that they see.  If your scouts didn't notice the efficiency of
the defending units, then they assume that they are at 100% efficiency.   Your
scouts  also  assume  that  none  of the enemy units are fortified.  Once your
scouts have come up with an "estimated defense strength", then that number  is
compared  with your offense strength.  If the defense is estimated as stronger
than you, then your scouts warn you and ask you  if  you  want  to  abort  the
attack.  The output so far might look like this:
   [##:##] Command: attack -14,2

   -14,2 is a 100% 5 harbor with approximately 0 military.
   Number of mil from headquarters at -15,3 (max 108) : 10
   cavalry #7 has a base attack value of 44
   attack with cavalry #7 in -15,3 (~ 100%) [ynYNq?] y
   cavalry #24 has a base attack value of 44

                Initial attack strength:      108
   Scouts report defending unit: inf1  infantry 1 #22 (efficiency 71, tech 169)
   Scouts report defending unit: inf2  infantry 2 #41 (efficiency 94, tech 169)
   Scouts report defending unit: inf2  infantry 2 #42 (efficiency 94, tech 173)
   Scouts report defending unit: inf2  infantry 2 #43 (efficiency 65, tech 139)
             Estimated defense strength:     1118
                         Estimated odds:        8%

   Are you sure you want to attack [yn]? n
   Attack aborted

Note that your estimated odds are  calculated  before  any  enemy  units  have
reacted,  and  before  support multipliers are calculated, so they will not be
particularly accurate.

(4)  Move reacting defensive units to the target sector.

If the target is not a mountain, then defensive units in  nearby  sectors  may
react.   Defensive  units will keep reacting until the defense strength is 1.2
times the offense strength.  The following restrictions apply to reacting land
units:

   - The efficiency of the unit must be higher than it's retreat percentage.
   - The unit must be in supply.
   - The unit must have enough mobility to get to the target.
   - The unit must be in range.

If the unit is in a 60% efficient headquarters, then 1 is added to  its  reac-
tion  radius.   If  it is on "reserve" mission, then 2 is added to the radius.
Note that you can limit the reaction radius  of  your  land  units  using  the
"lrange" command.

(5)  Calculate support.

For attack and assault, both offensive and defensive  support  is  calculated.
For  paradrop, only defensive support is calculated, and for board there is no
support (however, defending ships within range will fire on the boarding  ship
or sector before the fight).

The aggressor's support is calculated based on what the aggressor  asked  for.
Defensive support is only called in to the extent that it would be useful.  If
the aggressor outnumbers the defender 10-to-1, then the defender will not have
any  support.   Otherwise, the defender will keep calling in support until its
strength is at least 1.2 times the offense strength.

Fort, ship, and unit support is simply those forts, ships, and units in  range
that can fire (see info fire).  Note that ships and units on missions will not
fire support.  Plane support comes from those  planes  on  "support"  mission.
The support multiplier is

   1.0 + fortdamage/100 + shipdamage/100 + planedamage/100 + unitdamage/100.

Ships/forts/units belonging to allies of the combatants will support, if  they
are  at war with the other combatant. (For example, if A is allied with B, and
at war with C, and A attacks C, things belonging to B will support the  attack
if  able.  The same is true for defense. If C attacks A, the B stuff will help
defend A)

After these four supports are calculated, then land mine support is  added  to
the  defense  support.  Defending land mines add (number of mines) * 0.02 to a
maximum of 0.40.  If there are attacking engineers present, this number is cut
in half.

(6)  Fight.

Total offense and defense strength are multiplied by their support multipliers
to  obtain  the final combat strengths.  From this, odds are calculated.  Then
in each "round", a chance according to the combat odds determines  whether  an
aggressor  or defender troop is lost.  Troops killed in combat are first taken
from the mil (from the sector containing the most  mil),  and  then  from  the
units  (from  the unit containing the most mil).  Combat odds are recalculated
and the process continues until there is a  victor.   Each  time  there  is  a
casualty, a character is printed:

   ! means a defending soldier bit it
   @ means one of your soldiers went doan

If the effiency of a land unit is less than its  retreat  percentage  when  it
gets  hit,  then it will need to make a morale check.  The chance of failing a
morale check is (retreat percentage - efficiency).  If the unit has nowhere to
retreat  to, then it takes "extra losses" which amounts to an extra 10% docked
from its efficiency.  Otherwise, the land unit retreats to the adjacent sector
containing  the  maximum  number of civs.  Units will never retreat into moun-
tains.

When planning an attack remember that overwhelming  forces  greatly  increases
your  odds;  i.e.,  attacking  10 men with 40 will result in your losing fewer
troops than if you had attacked with 20.

(7)  Spread the plague.

First the aggressor infects the  target,  and  then  the  target  defends  the
aggressor.

(8)  Take mobility and supply from land units.

The "aggresor loss factor" is equal to  the  number  of  aggressor  casualties
divided  by  the total number of aggressor troops that went into the conflict.
Similarly, the "defender loss factor" is  calculated.   Then  each  land  unit
loses  mobility  equal to 10 * (loss factor).  Defensive land units on reserve
mission only lose half of that.  Also there is a chance equal to the loss fac-
tor that the land unit will use up some of its supply (see info supply).

(9)  Send reacting units home.

If the defending land unit did not retreat, then send it back to where it came
from at no mobility charge.

(10) If successful, the aggressor takes the target sector/ship.

Either 1 aggressor mil (first choice) or one  land  unit  (second  choice)  is
automatically  moved  into  the  conquered ship or sector to occupy it.  Since
this mil or unit is effectively "chasing out" the remnants  of  the  defending
forces,  the  defender  will not interdict it (because he won't want to damage
his forces with "friendly fire").

   This is what happens to the sector when you take it:
   - All deli and dist information are wiped.
   - The production in the sector is stopped (see info stop).
   - Planes in the sector lose 30 plus random(100) efficiency and go to 0 mob.
   - The avail is set to 0.
   - New che are created (see info Guerrilla).
   - Set the loyalty of the sector to 50 (see info Loyalty).
   - Reduce the mobility to 0.
   - The civs in the sector become "conquered populace" (see info Occupation).

   When you take a ship:
   - Mission, retreat info and fleet info is wiped.
   - Planes on the ship are reduced to 10%.

   When you take someone's capital, the defender loses half of their
   money or $3000 whichever is greater.  If the defender wasn't broke to
   begin with, then the aggressor gets half of their money times (1/5 +
   4/5 * efficiency of the sector).

(11) Remove mobility and efficiency from the target sector/ship.

The efficiency of the target sector or ship is damaged by a  percentage  equal
to the total number of casualties divided by ten.

If the target is a sector, then it will lose an amount of  mobility  equal  to
the  maximum  of  20  and  a percentage of the mobility equal to the number of
defender mil casualties divided by the total number of mil  that  were  origi-
nally  in  that sector.  So if for example, your casualty fraction was 70/100,
and your sector  started  with  50  mobility,  then  you  would  lose  max(20,
50*70/100) = max(20, 35) = 20 mobility.

(12) Remove mobility from the aggressor's sectors and ships.

The pre-combat mobility costs are:

   Attack:  Remove mobility equal to the mob cost to move the mil into the
            target sector.
   Board:   If boarding from a ship, the cost is the half of the speed of the
            defending ship times the efficiency of the defending ship.
            If boarding from a sector, the cost is the number of boarding
            mil divided by 5.

Only sectors are charged an additional post-combat  mobility  cost.   In  this
case,  the  amount  of  mobility the sector loses is calculated using the same
formula as is used for the defending sector's mobility cost.

(13) Possibly ask the aggressor for mil and units to move into the target.

If the combat was an assault, paradrop, or board, then all victorious mil  and
units  are  automatically moved into the target.  The mil are moved in with no
mobility charge.  If the combat is assault, then the mil will take  an  amount
of  food with them proportional to the number of people leaving the ship.  The
mobility cost to land units is as follows:

   Assault: If the land units are attacking from a ship with "land" capability,
            then land units are charged (update mob) mobility, except for
            "marine" units which are only charged half of that.  For all
            other kinds of ships, land units go to -(update mob), except for
            "marine" units which go to zero.  Here, (update mob) refers to
            the amount of mobility that units gain at the update.
   Board:   Marine units are charged 10 mobility and other land units are
            charged 40.

In the case of attack, the aggressor is asked what they'd like to move  in  as
follows:   First,  the aggressor is asked how many mil they would like to move
in from each attacking sector.  This number is limited by the amount of mobil-
ity  left  in  the  attacking  sector.  Then the aggressor is asked which land
units they'd like to move into the sector with the  same  [ynYNq?]  prompt  as
above,  the only difference being that 'q' now means "don't move anything in".
The mobility costs here are the same as for "move" and "march".

(14) Possibly interdict the aggressor's mil and units as they move.

Post-attack interdiction only occurrs in the  "attack"  command  (and  not  in
"assault",  "paradrop",  or  "board").  When you move your mil into the target
sector after an attack, you will risk the same chances of interdiction (number
of  mil  /  200)  and stepping on land mines (see "info lmine") as if you were
moving them using the "move" command.

Similarly, once you have specified which land units you'd like  to  move  into
the  conquered  sector,  then all of your units will move in at once, and they
will be interdicted in the same way as though they were being moved using  the
"march"  command,  including  the danger of stepping on land mines.  Note that
there is no post-attack interdiction and no danger of stepping on  land  mines
if the INTERDICT_ATT option is disabled (see version).

(15) Charge the aggressor BTU's.

The BTU cost is equal to 0.5 + (the total number of casualties) * 0.015.

SEE ALSO
   attack, assault, paradrop, board, Combat

