Aurora is on version 2.5.0 C#, available at the Aurora Forums.
Contact Erik on the forum for a wiki account.
C-GU Components
Basics
Infantry, static and light vehicles all have one 'component slot', vehicles and heavy vehicles have two slots, while super-heavy and ultra-heavy vehicles have three and four slots respectively.
Each slot can hold one component from the list and the same component can be put into multiple slots. Certain components are only available with certain base types.
For example, the Super-Heavy Anti-Vehicle component can only be used by super-heavy and ultra-heavy vehicles.
The primary component is selected from the main table, while any additional components are selected from the dropdown(s) below the main table.
Each component has a name and an abbreviation and is rated in nine different areas:
- 1) Size: The size in tons is added to the size of the base unit type.
- 2) Armour-Penetration (AP): If the component is a weapon, the chance to penetrate a target's armour is (AP / Armour) ^2. The AP Rating is the underlying AP of the component (not shown), multiplied by the Racial Weapon Strength.
- 3) Damage: If the component is a weapon, the chance to destroy a target after the armour has been penetrated is (Weapon Damage / Hit Points) ^2. The damage value is the underlying damage rating of the component (not shown), multiplied by the Racial Weapon Strength.
- 4) Shots: The number of times a weapon will fire during each ground combat phase
- 5) CIWS: 'Y' indicates this component is a Close-in-Weapon-System, capable of defending the planet (on which the unit is based) from missile attack. This CIWS will use the values in the CIWS section, which will become visible when a CIWS component is selected. More on this in a later rules post.
- 6) STO: 'Y' indicates this component is a Surface-To-Orbit energy weapon, capable of engaging ships in space within weapon range of the planet on which the unit is based. The weapon type used for the STO component can be selected in the section to the centre right, which will become visible when an STO component is selected. More on this in a later rules post, although see the second screenshot.
- 7) HQ: The headquarters capacity of the component in tons. This is the total size of the formation (or formation hierarchy) that can be effectively controlled by a commander based in a unit with this component. To assign a commander to a formation, one of the units within that formation requires a headquarters component. More details on command hierarchies will be provided in a future rules post.
- 8) FFD: 'Y' indicates this component is a Forward Fire Direction (FFD) component. Forward Fire Direction allows a front-line unit (more on that later) to direct the fire of bombardment units from a formation in a support position, fighters on close air support missions, or ships in orbit. A later rules post will explain this function.
- 9) Const. The construction value of the component in Construction Factory Equivalents (CFEs).
- Infantry, Static and Light Vehicle have 1 slot for weapon/equipment.
- Vehicle and Heavy vehicles have 2 slots.
- Super-heavy vehicle has 3 slots.
- Ultra-heavy vehicle has 4 slots.
http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=9792.msg110845#msg110845 Date 05.11.2018]
Here is a screenshot from the database with the current values:
http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/GCComponents002.PNG
One lesson I learned from VB6 was making sure I plan for future expansion. For ground-based weapon components, I can just add new ones to the database and the program will pick it up. So I don't need to cover every option at the moment. I'll add more as I (we) learn from experience.
It's more complex for components that do other things (such as construction, survey, etc.) and anything on those lines will require some coding.
Component List
Bombardment Weapons
Support and Rear Echelon formations that contain formation elements with bombardment weapons can be assigned to support front line formations that are part of the same organisation. Formations in a support position with light bombardment weapons will fire with the front line formations.
Formations in a support position with medium/heavy bombardment weapons or formations in a rear echelon position with heavy bombardment weapons will fire in a subsequent phase.
Supporting medium artillery will choose between hostile forces in Front-Line or Support field positions (and will ignore any elements in Rear Echelon field position for purposes of relative size), while heavy artillery can select targets in any field position.
In other words, if the enemy has supporting heavy artillery in a rear echelon position, you will only be able to target those elements with your own heavy artillery (or ground support fighters, or orbital bombardment support).
Construction Equipment
Fortification happens at the element level. Formation elements can fortify to different levels, depending on the base type of the unit class. That level is also affected by whether the element is restricted to fortifying itself or if it has assistance from construction vehicles. Date 21.10.2018
Forward Fire Direction
Each Forward Fire Direction (FFD) component in a formation allows support from a single ship in orbit or up to six ground support fighters. If more ships and fighters are assigned to a formation than can be supported, the chance to hit is modified by:
Number of FFD / ((Fighters / 6) + Ships). [Date 11.10.2018]
Geosurvey Equipment
Geological Survey Teams do not exist in C# Aurora. Instead, a new ground unit component (100 tons) provides 0.1 survey points per day.
Ground units with this component may be added to ground formations to provide a geological survey capability. All formations at the same population with a geological survey capability will combine their survey points to conduct a ground-based survey. This can only take place after the orbital survey is complete.
Once the orbital survey of a system body is completed, the potential for a further ground survey will be revealed (None, Minimal, Low, Good, High, Excellent). The ground survey requires the same survey points as the orbital survey, except they are generated by ground forces. Only system bodies with a diameter of at least 4000 km will be eligible for a ground-based survey (in Sol that is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ganymede, Callisto and Titan).
Normal mineral generation (at system body creation) has three phases:
- 1) An overall roll for the potential for minerals to be present, based on radius, density and system abundance. If this roll fails, the body has no minerals.
- 2) A roll for each type of mineral to be present, based on density and abundance. Duranium has twice the chance of any other mineral.
- 3) A roll for the accessibility of each mineral generated in step 2). This is based on radius.
Once the ground survey is completed (assuming potential is Minimal or higher), a new mineral generation roll will take place. For this roll:
- Step 1 is the same regardless of the potential.
- Step 2 is modified by the potential. Minimal is 25% normal, Low is 33% normal (same as teams in VB6), Good is 50% normal, High is 100% normal and Excellent is 200% normal.
- Step 3 is modified by High (+ 0.1) and Excellent (+ 0.2). All others are same as normal.
If a deposit of a mineral that didn't previously exist is generated by the ground survey, that deposit is added to the system body.
If a mineral deposit is generated by the ground survey and a deposit of that mineral already exists on the system body, the existing deposit is changed to match the amount or accessibility (or both) of the ground survey deposit if the latter is greater.
The chances that an eligible body (4000 km diameter) will have ground survey potential is equal to: None 60%, Minimal 20%, Low 10%, Good 6%, High 3%, Excellent 1%.
For reference, in the Colonial Wars campaign, there are 2145 eligible bodies in 495 systems, so in general about 1.7 worlds per system will have potential of at least Minimal. About 1 system in 23 would have an Excellent potential world.
| Here is an example survey ground unit:
Geosurvey Vehicle Transport Size (tons) 218 Cost 8.72 Armour 20 Hit Points 40 Geosurvey Equipment: Geosurvey Equipment: Vendarite 8.72 Development Cost 436 |
HQ Component
Based on comments above and my own play test, I have changed how HQ capacity works. Instead of multiple HQ components, there is now a single component with a configurable capacity (similar to STO in principle).
You select the HQ component and then type in the required capacity.
The component cost is Capacity / 2500 and the component size is Capacity / 50 with a max of 500 tons. There is no limit on cost.
Because of this configurable aspect, the HQ can only be placed in the primary slot for those units with multiple slots.
You can't assign a commander to a formation without an HQ and you can't pass on higher-formation bonuses to formations without an HQ. Date 22.11.2018
Logistic Modules
Two new ground unit components have been added; the Logistics Module, which is Size 50 and provides 500 GSP, and the Logistics Module - Small, which is Size 10 and provides 100 GSP.
The standard module is available for light vehicle and infantry base types, while the small module is only available to infantry.
Here is an example of a light vehicle with the Logistics Module.
http://www.pentarch.org/steve/Screenshots/SupplyVehicle02.PNG
When drawing supply from outside their own formation, units can only draw on logistic modules mounted on light vehicles. Logistics modules with an infantry base type can only supply their own formation.
Xenoarchaeology Equipment
Xenology Teams do not exist in C# Aurora.
Instead, a new ground unit component (100 tons) provides 0.5 xenoarchaeology points. Ground units with this component may be added to ground formations to provide a xenoarchaeology capability. All formations at the same population with a xenoarchaeology capability will combine their xenoarchaeology points.
The annual chance for a race to successfully translate the alien language and symbology is equal to the xenoarchaeology points on the planet. For example, a Xenoarchaeology Vehicle is created with 2 components, giving it 1 xenoarchaeology point (cost about 9 BP). If a formation has forty such vehicles, the annual chance would be 40%. The chance in any given construction phase is equal to the annual chance * (construction phase length / year).