Idea: Capturing living units

[MirceaKitsune]

I really enjoy some of the unique mechanics in 0ad, including the ability to capture and hold enemy buildings (even if they're of a different faction) instead of downright destroying them when attacking. This inevitably begs the question: Why not have the ability to do the same thing with people and other enemy units? Wouldn't it be fun if workers or enemy soldiers could also be made to join you? Here are a few ideas I was thinking of:

• Capture units on attack: At rare random intervals, when an unit being attacked is close to dying, the unit may choose to join the attacker rather than take the final blow. This could be connected to how loyal your units are to you... if you're doing a poor job and the town is under-developed or you lack resources, you could have a greater chance of your units deserting.

• Capture units by bribing: You can already bribe spies to share their line of sight. With this mechanic you could also bribe an enemy unit to become part of your team! The more developed your enemy is, the more the bribe could cost.

• Capture units by destroying their city or defeating the faction: When an enemy faction is defeated its remaining buildings are transferred to Gaia. In case the game is configured so you can take down an empire without killing all its units, any unit left alive surrenders and becomes yours.

• Trade units with allies: You can already send or receive resource donations to and from allied factions. It would be cool if an ally could also opt to donate soldiers when need be, meaning they allow some of their units to chance become your units.

Just like buildings, captured / donated units would retain their original faction but change color and become part of your team. If the received unit has the ability to create buildings, it could additionally be allowed to create the buildings of its faction rather than of your own: This would allow the interesting circumstance where your team can have units from multiple cultures at the same time despite starting off as part of just one (eg: Romans), which is already part possible by conquering enemy buildings. What are your thoughts on having this even as an option?

[fatherbushido]

Those topics have been widely debated all among the forum or the ticket manager.

I won't provide you answers as that's not my role but give you some elements.

4 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Just like buildings, captured / donated units would retain their original faction but change color and become part of your team. If the received unit has the ability to create buildings, it could additionally be allowed to create the buildings of its faction rather than of your own: This would allow the interesting circumstance where your team can have units from multiple cultures at the same time despite starting off as part of just one (eg: Romans), which is already part possible by conquering enemy buildings.

I start with that point as it has effect on the other points.

It's really common in some other games. Some discussions few years ago concluded it doesn't fit really with the game as it is: keeping "civilization" (call that how you want)  diversity. But technically, both case are already doable, so that's just a matter of decision of what to do in your game/mod.

4 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Trade units with allies: You can already send or receive resource donations to and from allied factions. It would be cool if an ally could also opt to donate soldiers when need be, meaning they allow some of their units to chance become your units.

As said above, it's really common in other games. There is a ticket about that. I don't know if that's wanted : decide what to do with the above point, decide if that's fair to give units to your ally just to prevent him of dying, decide if you can give units or structure. Apart from that matter of design, there is just the gui part : placing the button at the nice place.

4 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Capture units by destroying their city or defeating the faction: When an enemy faction is defeated its remaining buildings are transferred to Gaia. In case the game is configured so you can take down an empire without killing all its units, any unit left alive surrenders and becomes yours.

Already doable and mainly depends of the first point and a matter of victory conditions.

 

4 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Capture units by bribing: You can already bribe spies to share their line of sight. With this mechanic you could also bribe an enemy unit to become part of your team! The more developed your enemy is, the more the bribe could cost.

That's mainly a matter of design, do you want that one to be randomly selected ?

That kind of thing was evoked for a roman hero.

4 hours ago, MirceaKitsune said:

Capture units on attack: At rare random intervals, when an unit being attacked is close to dying, the unit may choose to join the attacker rather than take the final blow. This could be connected to how loyal your units are to you... if you're doing a poor job and the town is under-developed or you lack resources, you could have a greater chance of your units deserting.

That's mainly a passive conversion. That was evoked for converting animals or citizen woman. There are a lot of way of doing that, the annoying part is to design something which fits well in game (not becoming too important and not being useless) and which actually brings something.

[Yekaterina]

I think capturing units is a good idea. Gaia units after a player resigns is a huge headache. Also I don't want to kill all of the enemy citizens as they do not attack my people can be of use.