Unit Statistics and Specifications

= SR2020 Unit Specifications = Submitted by Balthagor on Mon, 01/14/2013 - 09:05

= Unit Statistics and Specifications = A Unit's Statistics and Specifications determine how it will behave in combat.

Its six changeable or dynamic Unit Statistics are kills, morale, experience, efficiency, entrenchment, combat time and maintenance.

All of a Unit's set attributes or "static specifications" are documented in the DEFAULT.UNIT file found under the "SR2020/Maps/Data" folder. Since there are over 3000 Unit different SR2020 Units all of their specs could not easily be displayed in the game. Therefore each Unit's most important static specs are listed on its large pop-up Technical Readout window

which can be accessed from the Unit Command panel.

Update 6 (Gold Edition) Two new features have been added to the Technical Readout window: Excluded/Favorites. This new control is shown at the bottom right corner of the TR above.

In addition to its Technical Readout, each unit has a smaller summary info window that pops-up when you hover the mouse over the unit's name in the Unit Command Panel. This small pop-up "tooltip" windows display a unit's six changeable Unit Statistics to the right. On the top left are displayed the Unit's eight most important numeric static specifications and a row of its Special Capabilities such as "Air-droppable", amphibious, NBC warfare protected, engineering unit, demolition unit, etc.

The following topics are descriptions of the most important of the Unit Statistics, followed by the Specifications mentioned above.

Kills
Kills are the statistical number of enemy units killed by one of your units contributes to its morale and experience. Certainly a unit with a lot of kills to its credit is worth keeping. Placing a unit into reserve does not change its number of recorded Kills.

Morale
Both firing on the enemy and destroying them increases morale. Taking enemy fire and losing your units reduces morale. Morale is also effected by salary and maybe by domestic approval.

Experience
Experience is gained by participation in combat - attacking and being attacked. The number of unit kills accomplished by your units also contributes to their experience. This experience in turn increases the unit's efficiency.

A unit's experience is not affected by being placed into reserve.

Efficiency
A unit's efficiency affects many of its other stats. A low efficiency lowers a unit's performance by reducing its stealth, offensive and defensive values, among others. Efficiency is affected by Morale, Maintenance and Training (M+T). Since M+T are uniform throughout your military, the same level of efficiency tends to spread to all deployed units.

Units constantly in action loose efficiency, as do units moving at higher speeds.

When a unit is placed into reserve it begins to lose efficiency, but quickly gains it back when re-deployed. MAR also effects efficiency.

Entrenchment
Entrenchment is a defensive tactic that is automatically performed by Units that are not on the move. Militarily, "entrenchment" is the digging of a "trench" - hiding a unit in the ground or among forest and terrain. There is a formal "Entrench" order for most units.

Entrenchment improves a unit's stealth, making it harder to target. Moving a unit resets its entrenchment value to zero. Forest, urban, and mountainous regions provide infantry the best entrenchment benefit, while plains and desert offer little value

In SR2010 Engineers ordered to entrench would stop construction and this may also be true of SR2020, since no unit can perform two commands at once.

I have noticed while playing SR2020 Gold Engineers will build while entrenched.

Strength
Land and Air Units are composed of smaller component battalions and squadrons respectively. The number of components in a Unit is known as its "Strength". During combat when one of a Unit's components is destroyed then that unit takes damage and an accompanying reduction in its strength.

A naval unit or structure (base, complex, factory or emplacement) is a single entity and its strength is expressed as a percentage based upon its accumulated damage.

When a Campaign or Scenario game begins, each Region is automatically populated with "initial" military Units whose strengths (number of battalions) are specified by the game's Order-Of-Battle (ORBATS) data. If you display a list of your initial units and then hover your mouse cursor over the name of one of these beginning units then a short "tool-tip" pop-up window will appear. This pop-up window displays a summary description of the selected Unit, including its unique starting "strength" (number of battalions or squadrons).

A problem may arise in a new game when a player wants to transport one of their new units. The player may select one of their new starting Units from a list in order to view that unit's Technical Readout (TR) window. But this large TR window does not necessarialy display the strength of the selected unit. Instead it displays the "default" strength of new units of the same type that may be fabricated in the future.

This TR default strength may not match the actual strength of the selected Unit. This mis-match in unit strength causes confusion when the player attempts to calculate the transport weight of the unit, since the two specifications indicate a different number of battalions per unit (strength), and thus different unit weights.

Supplies
The term "supplies" is somewhat ambiguous in SR2020. While "Supply" refers to the flow of material from supply-generating sources such as base and cities, when discussing "Supplies" in relation to Units we are discussing the ammunition and provisions carried on-board mobile units.

Fuel is a separate item from supplies. With some transport units there is also an exchange of "Cargo" and "Supplies" that takes place during re-fueling operations.

When discussing the supplies carried on a combat Unit, the supplies generally consist solely of the ammunition load of the Unit. Each combat unit expends its ammunition supply at a certain rate until it has run out of ammunition. If this unit is lucky enough to be firing from its own Region's supplies hexes then it can automatically resupply from its Region's own infrastructure.

Otherwise when a Unit runs out of ammunition/supplies it must either move to a supply source or wait until a supply/transport unit comes within range of its hex so that the Unit can draw supply from the supply Unit.

With Transport Units their Cargo consists of that Unit's supplies, until the Unit transports other units. Then the transport Unit's supplies are displaced by the Unit(s) that are loaded for transport.

Supplies are consumed either through the expenditure of ammunition in combat, or in the case of a Supply Unit, when supplies are transferred to client Units during resupply.

Ammunition
As was mentioned above, all Units carry a set maximum supply load which is separate from its fuel load. Ammunition refers to muntions other than missile units carried as supplies by the combat unit.

Bullets, shells, mortar rounds, torpedoes, air-to-ground missiles and air-to-air missiles, to name a few, are not handled in SR2020 as discreet items to be manufactured and stocked. Instead they are simply classified as "Supplies" that are carried on the land units, aircraft and ships that utilize them as their weapons.

For instance attack submarines use torpedoes as their main attack weapon, yet there are no such virtual weapons in SR2020. Instead a submarine travels into supplied waters controlled by its Region or rendezvous with a supply ship and automatically takes on supplies which include torpedoes to re-arm it with.

Interceptor aircraft cannot load discreet air-to-air missiles to fire at enemy aircraft because there are no such missiles in the game. So instead when Interceptors re-supply they take on generic supplies, which for this type of unit include air-to-air missiles.

The same is true of the ammunition for both land and naval artillery - these items consist of generic consumable supplies instead of artillery shells.

Missile Capacity
Units that can launch missiles are known as "Missile Platforms". Each missile has a set size specification that ranges from 2 to 18. Each missile platform has a "Maximum Missile Size" listed on its Technical Readout, as well as a "Missile Capacity" specification. If a missile's size exceeds a platform's Maximum Missile Size, then that missile is too large larger to fit onto the platform's launchers.

For instance - some Frigates have a Maximum Missile Size of 2, so if you lack a missile unit design for missiles with a size of 2, then you will be forced to purchase such a missile design from another Region, since all of your existing missiles are too large to fit onto the Frigate's launchers.

A platform's Missile Capacity is calculated by multiplying the strength of the platform (number of launchers) by the maximum number of missiles that can be loaded onto a unit's launchers. The number of missiles that can be loaded onto each of a unit's launchers is calculated by dividing the platform's Maximum Missile Size by the size of missile. Since you cannot load a portion of a missile into a launcher you must round this number by removing any fractional portion.

For instance the M270-A1 MLRS can also be used as a missile platform. The maximum missile size of its launchers is 4. Its default strength is 14 launchers. If we wish to launch missiles with a size of 2 from this platform then each launcher would accommidate 2 missiles (4 divided by 2) and the M270A1 will load a maximum of 28 of these missiles (14 times 2). If we were dealing with size 3 missiles then each launcher would only hold 1 missile (4 divided by 3 = 1.333, rounded to 1).

In the DEFAULT.UNIT file the "Maximum Missile Size" that we have been discussing in the game is listed under a column labeled "missile capacity".

Combat Time
Combat Time is the time required for a unit with a given reaction time to fire its entire load of ammunition. CT is a desirable attribute of a combat unit because the higher its CT, the longer it will remain active on the battle line. This attribute is particularly important for artillery, which is useless and vulnerable without ammunition to fire.

CT should not be confused with the time that a unit spends patrolling or delivering supplies in a combat zone. These units are tireless in the performance of their tasks.

Combat time is an important unit attribute because the realistic design of a combat unit requires that it strike a balance between its consistent fire-power and the amount of supplies (ammo) that it can conceivably carry.

Weight
The total weight of a Unit consist of the weight of its vehicles, equipment, fuel and supplies.

The weight of a Unit listed in the game is the weight of the Unit's hardware without fuel supplies or personnel.

When transporting a unit the weight loaded onto its transport is the published weight of the, plus the weight of its supplies.

For instance, when loading a Marines unit into a supply truck - a default strength Marines unit of 54 battalions has a weight of 108 tones and holds 27 tones of supplies. Its transport weight is 108 plus 27 = 135 tones. A TRP Supply unit can transport 192 tones, so it can only carry one default strength Marines unit which leaves 54 tones of unused cargo space.

A default Engineer unit has a strength of 54, weighs 432 tonnes and carries a maximum of 108 tonnes of supplies. If we wish to transport this unit aboard a transport ship then the Engineer unit would be stripped of its personnel and its 32 tonnes of fuel and would weigh 540 (432 + 108) tonnes when loaded aboard ship.

Many Land units can be split into multiple smaller units in order to transport them more efficiently.

A transported unit's missile load does not count towards its weight when considering how much weight that the transporting unit can carry, since its missiles are unloaded from the transported unit prior to loading the unit onto the transport. This of course does not include aircraft being transported on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Reaction Time
Reaction time is a unit's time interval between firing its limited supply of non-missile ammunition. By non-missile ammunition we mean the ammunition that is carried as supplies in a combatant unit.

Depending upon its reaction time a unit may do a great deal of damage to an enemy in a short period of time, or more spread the same damage over a longer interval. This trade-off becomes important when offensive units venture into un-supplied enemy territory.

In the DEFAULT.UNIT file reaction time is referred to as "initiative".

Attack Specifications
Attack specs measure the strength with which a combat unit can inflict damage on an enemy unit of a certain target class. These target classes are fortifications, soft, hard, air, close combat, surface and sub-surface.

In general all combatant units possess most of these attack specs to varying extents. The two exceptions are high air and sub-surface which are unusually difficult targets. Also, submarines are a special case.

The attack damage type applied depends upon the target type that is attacked. Soft attack damage is applied to non-armored ground targets but armored land targets receive hard attack damage. Attacked structures receive fortification damage. The type of air damage done to an aircraft or missile depends upon its altitude - close, mid or high.

In SR2020 there is no such concept as accuracy - attacks always succeed.

There are a wide variety of missile types, each of which are engineered to attack one specific type of the targets listed below.

Tech research advances can greatly increase the range of your Unit's weapons.

Fortification
Fortifications are the complexes, bases, fabs, production facilities and formal military fortifications of the enemy. All such structures possess an intrinsic defense value due to their sturdy and rigid structure and there are units and missile designs that specialize in attacking such structures. The best choice would be direct-fire weapons that can focus their damage on the target structure instead of indirectly peppering the entire hex with lesser damage.

Structures are supported by their central complex or hub and are heavily and automatically repaired each day at midnight. This makes it difficult for attackers to keep pace with these aggressive repairs.

Soft
Soft targets consist of un-mounted units such as Marines, un-armored artillery and AA. In RT warfare the specialized weapons for these targets are often referred to as anti-personnel weapons (such as cluster-bombs). In SR2020 they usually consist of indirect-fire weapons that do general damage to all targets in an enemy hex.

Hard
The term "hard targets" in SR2020 usually refers to armored land units such as tanks and APCs. Most front-line infantry units are armored to a certain extent so that their personnel are not considered to be "soft" targets.

Close
The term "Close" refers to "Close Combat" targets such as those encountered in urban warfare. The CC combat environment is very common in SR2020 due to the prevailance of garrisons in so many hexes. Mastering the most efficient tactics for dealing with CC situations is very important.

There are unit designs that have both CC defense and attack values and the player should seek these out and utilize them in these combat environments.

The "Land/Filter" panel contains a filter control that will highlight the close-combat hexes of the Map.

Even armored units such as tanks are vulnerable to close combat attacks and great care should be taken when considering deploying such units into these areas. Surprisingly aircraft are also subject to CC damage.

Early on in the game the masters of CC attack are your Engineering units. These construction units turn out to be fierce CC fighters and can also perform demolition on entrenched units in a CC environment.

Air
Air attack of course refers to your Unit's ability to attack aircraft. One expects to find this value in Anti-Aircraft (AA) units, but surprisingly most infantry units also have some AA capability. So it is best to keep your aircraft from flying across hexes that contain enemy units, even if no formal AA guns or missiles are present. Aircraft are also damaged by close combat damage so close combat hexes that contain enemy units are a double-threat to your low-flying aircraft.

Close Air
The Close Air spec measures the strength of a Unit to attack air targets. Close air targets are commonly helos but since fighters and bomber aircraft also provide close air support they become CA targets when they attack. As was stated, infantry have CA values of from 4 to 20. For instance Special Forces start out with a CA of 12 and can go as high as 15. The Russian BTR-80 APC has a CA attribute 20 since it is armed with a 30 mm gun that can engage helicopters at ranges of up to 4,000 meters. The CA of the M1090 FCS tank is 30. The good news is that the CA range of infantry is from 1 to 5.

AA guns start at a CA of 20 and go up to 50 and have ranges of from 5 to 15. Redeye hand-held AA (MANPADS) missiles start at 36 and go as high as 57. MOPADS have ranges of from 3 to 8. Mounted missile AA CA starts at about 40 and goes up to about 80. Their ranges start out at 10 and can go as high as 260.

Recon units and some artillery also have some CA value. Some helos have CA and all Interceptor and fighter aircraft all have high CA values. Nearly all combatant ships have some CA value and the CA of true AA ships is as high as 300 due their excellent radar and missile systems. Shipboard AA can also have very long ranges.

Russian submarines have AA missiles in their sails so they are also an AA threat.

Mid Air
Mid Air AA targets are generally "fast mover" aircraft other than helos that fly fast and high, above the range of most AA guns and all MOPADS. In general only AA units, combat aircraft and combat ships possess MA values. Effective MA range is the same as the unit's CA range.

High Air
There are very few high air aircraft and so there are very few AA Units that can deal with them. Most of these are high-tech AA missile systems such as the MIM-104 Patriot PAC-2 system, large combat ships or other high-flying combat aircraft. The fixed Air Defense unit also possess HA values.

Surface
The "Surface Attack" attribute refers to the ability of a unit to attack naval vessels. Ships are usually engaged by other ships or with anti-ship missiles.

Of the land units missiles, artillery and tanks possess the best SA values. Like with Close Air, most infantry units have some small SA values if the ship gets close enough. Suprisingly many AT and AA units can also engage ships to a small extent.

Air units generally attack ships with missiles but most naval combat aircraft have strong SA values. Most land based combat aircraft can attack ships to a lesser extent.

Sub-Surface Attack
Sub-Surface Attack refers to Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). ASW attack values are limited to ASW helos, fix-wing ASW aircraft and combat ships equipped with Sonar or with magnetic detection systems.

There are no ASW missiles or fixed Sonar units. Nuclear weapons will not affect submarines.

Range
All Unit's attack capabilities have a maximum range, but the damage sustained by the target does not decrease with range.

Unfortunitely the official effective land ranges of SR2020 units at the low end are incorrect in the real game - units with official ranges of 1-15 km can actually attack and damage units outside of their own 16 kn hex. Foremost among these units are garrison, which have an official land attack range of just 1 km, yet can punish any unit that moves to an adjoining hex.

"Enhanced Ranges" is a Game Setting that is available in the game Lobby before the start of the game. If you activate this setting then the maximum ranges of your Units attacks will increase with each new range-extending military technical improvement that you discover.

Defensive Specifications
Your Unit's defensive specs are a measure of how damage-resistant they are to the four types of attack - Ground, Air, Indirect and Close Combat. In general the more armored a unit is the higher its defensive values.

Stealth is similar to Defense in that it decreases the spotting ability of the attacker but it does not reduce the accuracy of the attack or its damage.

Ground
"Ground Defense" represents a Unit or structure's resistance to damage from land attacks or from nearby ships. For aircraft it is from close combat attack from small arms. For surface naval units "Ground Defense" represents a ship's resistance to damage from other naval vessels and submarines or from nearby land units. For submarines it represents defense from attack by ASW ships.

Un-armored land units defend against soft ground attack and armored ones from hard attack. Structures defend against fortification attacks.

Air
"Air Defense" (AD) represents a Unit or structure's resistance to damage from aircraft and direct-fire missiles. All units possess some AD since any target can be attacked from the air.

You can increase your AD by moving to a friendly hex with a base or fortification. Fortifications in particular offer great shelter from indirect fire.

Indirect
"Indirect Defense" represents a Unit's resistance to damage from artillery fire, area-effect-indirect fire missiles and bomb damage.

You can increase your ID by moving to a friendly hex with a base or fortification. Fortifications in particular offer great shelter from indirect fire.

Close Combat
"Close Combat Defense" represents a Unit's resistance to damage from short-range small arms and explosives in close quarters hexes, like when it is involved in urban warfare. The Land Department has a filter that will display CC hexes, or you can press the 'V' hotkey instead.

There is a great deal of CC fighting in the game so this is a very good attribute to have large values of. Units with both CC defense and offence values make good anti-garrison units.