Wolfhart
The Last in Line
This is a study of how armies and their abilities work.
There are two main rules, both with a few exceptions:
1. Unit Abilities like Blitz and All Terrain As Roads work if the army has them checked in the editor
OR if all units loaded in the army are of the same type and have the abilities checked.
(This is an inclusive OR, meaning that it works also if both parts apply)
This is confirmed for Wheeled, Foot Unit, All Terrain As Roads, Blitz, Radar, Amphibious, Invisible, Immobile, and Detect Invisible. Its also confirmed for Ignore Move Cost.
Please observe that if you load an army with different types of units who all have the same ability like Blitz, the army still wont be able to blitz unless it has Blitz enabled itself. The army will only inherit the ability if all units in it are of the same type.
A partial exception is Detect Invisible, since any unit will keep it's own ability to do this even though the army don't inherit it. This would show if you have a unit with Detect Invisible together with another unit in an army with Radar: you can see the invisible units in the squares next to you, but only visible units at a range of two squares.
Hidden Nationality does NOT work when checked for an army and the army contains units which are not of Hidden Nationality. The nationality of those loaded units is recognized by the AI (and by you if you encounter such an army). If all units in the army are of the same type and of Hidden Nationality the Army will be so too and will treated like that by the AI; they attack on sight! But there is a graphical bug: the human player can see the correct civilization colour on the unit loaded in the Army, which itself is of neutral colours.
2. Special Actions like Airdrop and Bombard work only if the army has them checked in the editor.
This is confirmed for Airdrop, Airlift, Pillage, Bombard, Capture, and Stealth Attack (assassin army!). This applies also to Worker/Engineer Actions and Air Missions (see down below).
Any Special or Worker/Engineer Actions of the units loaded in the army cannot be used: it is the Army who must have these checked. This means that an army of Paratroopers still wont be able to paradrop if the Army hasnt Airdrop checked. This also means that it is the restrictions of the army that rule:
To make it even more complicated: the Army itself may also Enslave, but only through Lethal Bombardment. If the Army has Bombard with Lethal Bombardment and Enslave checked, it will create its own unit type when your army kills off an enemy with bombardment.
The armys ability to kill off enemies with Lethal Bombardment means that the army itself may gain Combat Experience, go Elite and ultimately create a Leader.
This Army bombardment could be better represented in the Army unit graphics. Like in other land units bombardment uses the Attack1 flic, and the epic Army units only shouts in this animation. Having Bombard Fx checked helps a little, but who will be the first to create an modern Army unit with mortars or light howitzers firing as Attack animation (representing Corps or Division artillery), or a fantasy Army unit with a Wizard casting spells on the evil enemy?
Anything else?
Oh yeah, the Transports Only Foot Units and Transports Only Tactical Missiles flags can be used for an army, also in combination, but not the Transports Only Aircrafts.
Army as an Air Unit works, but badly; it will load aircrafts if the Transports Only Aircrafts flag is set and give these an extra movement point which with Blitz means an extra Air Mission. But the Air Missions must be enabled for the Army, and like the land army it will use the Armys own Bombard Strength, not that of the aircrafts. When used for Bombing mission a graphical bug appear: the army is in its original place but the graphics of the aircraft in it hangs still beyond the bombing target.
Army as an Sea unit does not work, since ships wont load in it. Even if the ships have Load checked under Special Actions the button refuses to appear when the ship is in the same square as the Sea Army.
About upgrading armies:
An army unit can upgrade to another army unit only in a city with Barracks AND Military Academy (or other buildings with the flags Veteran Ground Units and Build Armies Without Leader). To be able to upgrade into an army unit your civilization must also have one army less than its able to support. E.g. if the number of Cities Needed to Support an Army is four and you already have two armies, you must have at least twelve cities in order to upgrade those armies. Observe that it doesnt matter how many armies you want to upgrade, as long as your civilization can support one more.
When an army unit has been upgraded into another army unit it will unlike other upgraded units be able to move at the same turn you upgraded it, with all its movement points at your disposal regardless of how many you spent before the upgrade.
If the army unit upgrades into a non-army unit, the units loaded in the army will be unloaded with all their movement points at your disposal. This is the only way to get the loaded units out of an army.
RS74 came up with this way of unloading units in armies which works splendidly:
So, any questions?
Edit: added the content of the post below.
Edit Jul 01: added quote of RS74
There are two main rules, both with a few exceptions:
1. Unit Abilities like Blitz and All Terrain As Roads work if the army has them checked in the editor
OR if all units loaded in the army are of the same type and have the abilities checked.
(This is an inclusive OR, meaning that it works also if both parts apply)
This is confirmed for Wheeled, Foot Unit, All Terrain As Roads, Blitz, Radar, Amphibious, Invisible, Immobile, and Detect Invisible. Its also confirmed for Ignore Move Cost.
Please observe that if you load an army with different types of units who all have the same ability like Blitz, the army still wont be able to blitz unless it has Blitz enabled itself. The army will only inherit the ability if all units in it are of the same type.
A partial exception is Detect Invisible, since any unit will keep it's own ability to do this even though the army don't inherit it. This would show if you have a unit with Detect Invisible together with another unit in an army with Radar: you can see the invisible units in the squares next to you, but only visible units at a range of two squares.
Hidden Nationality does NOT work when checked for an army and the army contains units which are not of Hidden Nationality. The nationality of those loaded units is recognized by the AI (and by you if you encounter such an army). If all units in the army are of the same type and of Hidden Nationality the Army will be so too and will treated like that by the AI; they attack on sight! But there is a graphical bug: the human player can see the correct civilization colour on the unit loaded in the Army, which itself is of neutral colours.
2. Special Actions like Airdrop and Bombard work only if the army has them checked in the editor.
This is confirmed for Airdrop, Airlift, Pillage, Bombard, Capture, and Stealth Attack (assassin army!). This applies also to Worker/Engineer Actions and Air Missions (see down below).
Any Special or Worker/Engineer Actions of the units loaded in the army cannot be used: it is the Army who must have these checked. This means that an army of Paratroopers still wont be able to paradrop if the Army hasnt Airdrop checked. This also means that it is the restrictions of the army that rule:
- Airdrop range will be the Operational Range of the Army, not the one of the loaded Paratroopers
- Bombard Strength and Bombard Range will be the Armys own, not that of any units in it
- the possible targets of Stealth Attack will be those the Army has checked, not those of any loaded Assassin
- Worker Strength will be the Armys own
- and so on.
To make it even more complicated: the Army itself may also Enslave, but only through Lethal Bombardment. If the Army has Bombard with Lethal Bombardment and Enslave checked, it will create its own unit type when your army kills off an enemy with bombardment.
The armys ability to kill off enemies with Lethal Bombardment means that the army itself may gain Combat Experience, go Elite and ultimately create a Leader.
This Army bombardment could be better represented in the Army unit graphics. Like in other land units bombardment uses the Attack1 flic, and the epic Army units only shouts in this animation. Having Bombard Fx checked helps a little, but who will be the first to create an modern Army unit with mortars or light howitzers firing as Attack animation (representing Corps or Division artillery), or a fantasy Army unit with a Wizard casting spells on the evil enemy?
Anything else?
Oh yeah, the Transports Only Foot Units and Transports Only Tactical Missiles flags can be used for an army, also in combination, but not the Transports Only Aircrafts.
Army as an Air Unit works, but badly; it will load aircrafts if the Transports Only Aircrafts flag is set and give these an extra movement point which with Blitz means an extra Air Mission. But the Air Missions must be enabled for the Army, and like the land army it will use the Armys own Bombard Strength, not that of the aircrafts. When used for Bombing mission a graphical bug appear: the army is in its original place but the graphics of the aircraft in it hangs still beyond the bombing target.
Army as an Sea unit does not work, since ships wont load in it. Even if the ships have Load checked under Special Actions the button refuses to appear when the ship is in the same square as the Sea Army.
About upgrading armies:
An army unit can upgrade to another army unit only in a city with Barracks AND Military Academy (or other buildings with the flags Veteran Ground Units and Build Armies Without Leader). To be able to upgrade into an army unit your civilization must also have one army less than its able to support. E.g. if the number of Cities Needed to Support an Army is four and you already have two armies, you must have at least twelve cities in order to upgrade those armies. Observe that it doesnt matter how many armies you want to upgrade, as long as your civilization can support one more.
When an army unit has been upgraded into another army unit it will unlike other upgraded units be able to move at the same turn you upgraded it, with all its movement points at your disposal regardless of how many you spent before the upgrade.
If the army unit upgrades into a non-army unit, the units loaded in the army will be unloaded with all their movement points at your disposal. This is the only way to get the loaded units out of an army.
RS74 came up with this way of unloading units in armies which works splendidly:
my first post here, long time follower havent seen anyone figure out how to load and unload units in armies. Think ive got it figured out. Make armies upgradable to another army type a unit (i used medieval army, lack of creativity)with same shields and everything else expect prerequisite of military tradition with ZERO transport slots and flagged the "medieval army" with ARMY,LEADER, AND BUILD ARMY. When the army is upgraded to medieval army it has no transport ability so the units get kicked out, and the new unit can then produce a new army.
I apologize in advance if someone figured this out long ago, ive just never seen it.
So, any questions?
Edit: added the content of the post below.
Edit Jul 01: added quote of RS74