¶ Battles
This document describes how the battle system works in Ferion, including ship-to-ship combat, ship-to-planet combat, and all related mechanics.
¶ Differences from OG Ferion
¶ Individual Ship Combat
In OG Ferion, all ships in a fleet were reduced to one aggregated "super ship" for battle calculations. This is no longer the case. Each ship now fights individually with its own stats. You cannot boost fleet effectiveness by adding ships with only shields - every ship must pull its own weight.
¶ Hidden Enemy Composition
In OG Ferion, enemy fleet capabilities were easily readable. Now, you must engage in combat to learn:
- How strong your opponent's ships are
- The composition of their army
- Their strategic loadout
This adds tactical depth and requires intelligence gathering through actual combat encounters.
¶ No Troop Ships Required
OG Ferion required specialized troop ships for planet capture. This is no longer needed - any surviving attacking fleet can capture a planet once its defenses are depleted.
¶ Fleets
Fleets are organizational units that allow commanding multiple ships as one group for movement and orders. However, in battle calculations, each ship operates individually:
- Ships are pulled from fleets and fight as separate units
- Fleet membership provides no combat bonuses
- All ships at the same coordinates automatically join battles regardless of fleet assignment
- Fleet actions are removed after battle concludes (win or lose)
¶ Ship Stats
Ships can be specialized for anti-ship combat, planetary bombardment, or hybrid roles during ship design. The following stats matter for combat:
| Icon | Stat | Description |
|---|---|---|
 |
Attack Power vs Ships | Damage dealt when attacking enemy ships |
 |
Attack Power vs Planets | Damage dealt when bombarding planets |
 |
Shields | Reduces incoming damage through damage mitigation formula |
 |
Health (Hit Points) | Total damage the ship can absorb before destruction |
¶ Health Percentage
Ship health is tracked as a percentage: (current_hit_points / max_hit_points) * 100
¶ Planet Stats
Planets have defensive capabilities focused on destroying attacking ships:
| Icon | Stat | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Attack Power vs Ships | Damage dealt to attacking ships each round |
|
Shields | Reduces incoming damage (uses same formula as ships) |
 |
Energy Reserves | First line of defense - powers the shields |
 |
Troops (Population) | Second line of defense - fight after shields fall |
¶ Two-Tier Defense System
-
Shields (Energy-Based)
- Shields draw power from the planet's energy reserves
- While shields are active, population and infrastructure are protected
- Energy does not regenerate during battle
- Shield percentage:
(current_energy / energy_storage_capacity) * 100
-
Troops (Population-Based)
- Only engage after energy reserves are depleted
- Each hit after shields fall has a 4% chance to:
- Destroy a building, OR
- If no building destroyed, 4% chance to kill 1 population
- Planet health percentage:
(current_population / max_population) * 100
¶ Building Energy Infrastructure
- Energy storage can be increased through buildings
- Energy generation requires dedicated structures
- Late-game: Dyson swarms provide massive energy generation
- Troops automatically generate over time based on population size
¶ Ship vs Ship Battle
¶ Battle Flow
- Battle executes in cycles (rounds)
- Each cycle:
- All attacking ships take their attack action
- All defending ships take their attack action
- Maximum attacks per cycle:
max(attacking_ships_count, defending_ships_count) - Ships destroyed during a cycle can no longer attack
- Battle continues until one side has no ships remaining
¶ Targeting System: Focus Fire
Ships use a focus fire targeting system with random initial selection:
- Initial target selected randomly from living enemy ships
- Ship continues attacking the same target until:
- Target is destroyed, OR
- 2% chance per attack to switch to a new random target
- This creates realistic "focus down" behavior
¶ Victory Conditions
- Attacker Wins: All defending ships destroyed
- Defender Wins: All attacking ships destroyed
- Stalemate: See below
¶ Stalemate Detection
A stalemate occurs when total damage dealt in a cycle equals zero. This happens when:
- Two fleets have no effective weapons against each other (e.g., bomber vs bomber)
- All remaining ships cannot damage their opponents
Stalemate Result: Battle ends, defender is awarded victory, attacking fleet's action is removed.
¶ Ship vs Planet Battle
¶ Prerequisites
Ship vs planet combat only begins after all defending ships are destroyed. The sequence is:
- Ship vs Ship phase (if defending ships exist)
- Ship vs Planet phase (if attackers survive)
¶ Battle Flow
- Battle executes in cycles similar to ship combat
- Each cycle:
- Attacking ships bombard the planet (using Attack vs Planets stat)
- Planet defenses counter-attack ships (using Attack vs Ships stat)
- Ships destroyed during battle are removed immediately
¶ Damage to Planet
While Shields Active (Energy > 0):
- Damage reduces shield energy
- No harm to population or buildings
- Infrastructure is protected
After Shields Fall (Energy = 0):
- Each hit has 4% chance to destroy a building
- If building destruction roll fails: 4% chance to kill 1 population
- Planet fights until troops reach 0
¶ Planet Capture
When planet hit points reach 0:
- Planet is automatically captured by the attacking player
- Ownership transfers immediately
- No troop ships or special mechanics required
¶ Stalemate in Planet Battles
Same as ship battles: if total damage in a cycle equals zero, battle ends with defender victory.
¶ Damage Calculations
¶ The Formula
Damage uses a logarithmic shield reduction formula:
ratio = shields / attack
damage_multiplier = 1 / (1 + log(ratio + 1))
damage = ceil(attack * damage_multiplier)
final_damage = max(1, damage)
¶ Key Properties
| Scenario | Base Result |
|---|---|
| Attack = 100, Shields = 0 | 100 damage (full damage) |
| Attack = 100, Shields = 100 | ~54 damage (shields reduce ~46%) |
| Attack = 100, Shields = 1000 | ~15 damage (heavy mitigation) |
| Attack > 0, Any Shields | Minimum 1 damage guaranteed |
| Attack = 0, Any Shields | 0 damage (e.g., settler ships) |
¶ Critical Hits
After base damage is calculated, there's a chance for a critical hit:
| Roll | Chance | Effect | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | 5% | Critical Hit | 150% damage |
| 6-100 | 95% | Normal Hit | 100% damage |
This adds tactical uncertainty to battles - even weaker fleets can get lucky with critical hits, potentially turning the tide of battle.
¶ Important Notes
- Base damage formula is deterministic, randomness comes from critical rolls
- Minimum damage of 1 ensures battles eventually resolve
- Higher shield-to-attack ratios provide diminishing returns on defense
- The formula rewards balanced ship designs
¶ Ministers
Ministers can significantly modify battle behavior. Combat-related ministers are found in the Ministry of Conquest and Ministry of Defense.
¶ Ministry of Conquest
¶ 1. Reduced Destruction Chance
Name: Vesper
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Effect | Reduces collateral damage during planetary bombardment |
| Mechanic | Building/population destruction chance reduced from 4% to 2% per hit |
| Applies To | Attacking player (protects infrastructure on planets you're capturing) |
| Benefit | Captured planets retain more buildings and population |
¶ 2. Auto-Assign Capture Building Queue
Name: Orin
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Effect | Automatically assigns a building queue to newly captured planets |
| Mechanic | Uses the player's configured "Conquer PQA" (Planet Queue Automation) |
| Applies To | Attacking player (on successful planet capture) |
| Benefit | Captured planets immediately start productive construction |
¶ Ministry of Defense
¶ 1. Focused Planet Defenses
Name: Bonucus
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Effect | Planet defenses use focus fire targeting instead of random |
| Mechanic | Same target attacked until destroyed, 3% chance to switch per attack |
| Applies To | Defending player's planet |
| Benefit | Concentrates fire to destroy attacking ships faster |
¶ 2. Preserve Defensive Buildings
Name: Olyx
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Effect | Defensive buildings may survive planet capture |
| Mechanic | Each defensive building has 50% chance to NOT be destroyed on capture |
| Applies To | Attacking player (buildings on planets you capture) |
| Benefit | Captured planets may retain shields/attack buildings |
Note: Normally when a planet is captured, ALL defensive buildings (those providing planet attack or shield bonuses) are destroyed. This minister gives each one a coin-flip chance to survive.
¶ Common Strategies
¶ Fleet Specialization
Fighters (Anti-Ship)
- High Attack vs Ships, low Attack vs Planets
- Designed to hunt and destroy enemy fleets
- Vulnerable to planets, ineffective at capture
Bombers (Anti-Planet)
- High Attack vs Planets, low Attack vs Ships
- Designed for rapid planet capture
- Requires fighter escort or risk stalemate vs enemy bombers
Hybrid
- Balanced Attack vs Ships and Planets
- More versatile but less specialized
- Safer option when enemy composition is unknown
¶ Defense Strategies
High Health Builds
- Ships that absorb more damage but deal less
- Effective for attrition warfare
- Good for defensive positions
High Shield Builds
- Reduces incoming damage significantly
- Effective against many small attacks
- Less effective against concentrated high-damage attacks
¶ Battle Reports
¶ Generation
After every battle, a detailed report is generated containing:
- Battle position (coordinates)
- Turn number
- Players involved
- Winner determination
- Complete object states (ships, planet)
- Full event history
¶ Notifications
- Both players receive news items with battle report links
- Reports accessible from the news screen
¶ Battle Replay
- Clicking a battle report plays a visual replay
- Replay is 100% accurate to actual calculations
- Shows each round, damage dealt, ships destroyed