Wyrdysm Games

I was just thinking that perhaps we could have some basic system set in place for the conquest of planets that isn't arbitrary. We could just wing it with a bit of RP, but I could see that becoming problematic in tight, important situations.

The way I see it, troops could be produced with a price tag, same system as ships, maybe with a cap on production per turn depending on the planets production capacity, probably the same one applying to ships.

Each different kind of ground unit would have a differing number of attack and defence points. For example, a infantryman might have a lower defence score than a tank, but an artillery unit would have higher attack than the tank but lower defence.

Battles are a simple balancing act of attack and defence. To make things a little bit more interesting modifiers kick in. Terrain might give modifiers to certain units. Your tanks will get attack and defence nerfs in heavy forest, just like infantry get defence boosts in those same forests or cities. Maybe you can apply global modifiers by applying a certain set of tactics.

Anyway, who else thinks this would make a good inclusion and has some ideas?

Maybe have ground vehicles.
Make them like smaller ships (Hovertanks) with different balancing?
Should be fairly simple (1 section, 1 weapon), balanced rock-paper-scissors style, so battles boil down to better unit combination and positioning?
Just have it all on flat ground for simplicity sake, or we could put up obstacles (immovable, non-rotating ships for walls, etc)

Bringing up some metadev again, ground combat thoughts;

It'll probably be autoresolved in some fashion.

There are a group of important statistics for your units;

Type:
Type governs the class of your unit, whether it's standard infantry, anti-tank infantry, or what have you. Each type has it's own benefits and drawbacks, in a sort of complicated rock-paper-scissors-esque system.

Tech:
Technological level of your armed forces is as important as that of your space force. A force that is outnumbered but has superior tech can win even if the odds look bad.

Training:
All troops require training. A handful of civilians with handguns are no match for an elite commando unit, or a light recon vehicle. Better training = better results.

Morale:
Morale of your troops is as dependent on the war situation as morale of your citizens. Morale can make or break an army's performance in the field.

A large portion of it could be local support for your faction too.
If you had previously held the system for a long time then the locals might want a return to the old order. This could also be used to effect income from systems, and chances of rebellion.