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target. It may take several turns to get there depending on the range. There are a few rare units that can shoot down ballistic missiles, so theoretically the attack can be stopped with careful planning. All ballistic missiles cause megahex damage. Mobile launchers can only fire every 5 turns, and subs can only fire every 2 turns. If the targeted unit or holding is destroyed before the missile reaches it, the shot is wasted.
-Occupy is only available to infantry units. It lets them capture cities and other holdings. Depending on the rule settings, this can happen instantly or take several turns. If "occupation endurance?Eis on, an enemy capital takes 4 turns to occupy. Large cities take 3 turns to capture; small medium cities, large factories, air bases and naval bases take 2; small cities, small factories, airports, ports, and bridges take 1 turn. These numbers assume a full infantry squad; it will take longer if the unit is damaged. Occupying is the most crucial aspect of expansion, so get used to it.
-Transform changes units like towed artillery and missile launchers from their transport formation to their combat formation. It is more of an inconvenience than a feature, so time things carefully.
-Destroy is an order to raze a holding. This is common to bombers, attack aircraft, missile launchers, and some specialty units. A destroyed holding confers no benefits (like income or resupplying ability) to its owner and cannot be entered. Destruction ability depends on the weapon being used, and is listed under the unit's weapon specs. The larger the holding, the more damage it can take before collapsing. Remember: Destroying stuff uses ammo too.
-Repair is available only to certain units like infantry and the construction vehicles. This allows you to increase the HP values of damaged or destroyed buildings, allowing them to function again. Repair is done in only small increments, so it takes a while to bring a holding to full working order..
-Merge allows you to combine two adjacent units of the same type. For example, if you have 5 T-80's left in one squad and 3 in another, you can transfer one squad into the other for up to 8 units, or balance them out at 4 each.
Experience, fatigue, and ammo are averaged between the transferring units. Be careful, because this command uses both units?Eactions and they can't do anything else that turn.
-Disperse is the opposite of merge, as it allows you to split a unit into smaller groups. This is generally useless because full/undamaged units are always more effective than smaller ones. However, if you are short on infantry and need to take cities fast, you may want to try it with your foot soldiers (only if "occupation endurance" is off).
-Enter allows the unit to enter the building or holding. While stowed in the holding, the unit is immune to conventional enemy attacks, and may be repaired or resupplied depending on the holding type (see the above list). Obviously, do not let the opposing forces capture or destroy your holdings while you have troops in them.
-Board allows one unit to be stowed aboard another. This is only available when a unit ends its move on the same hex as a compatible carrying unit. Many stacking combinations are possible; you could stow an infantry unit aboard a truck, the truck aboard a helicopter, and the helicopter aboard an aircraft carrier. Carrying another unit does not effect the carrying unit in any way.
-Rearm allows the unit to change its weapons loadout. This is only available at bases and factories that you own (not your allies), as well as your aircraft carriers. Usually only aircraft and some ships have multiple configurations.
While an aircraft can fly into an airport and rearm on the same turn, they must start and end their turn on the boat if rearming on a carrier.
-Jam, an option available on electronic warfare planes, turns on the active jamming field to defend against enemy radar over a large area. It basically prevents the enemy from seeing anything in the area around it. Be sure to do this any time you anticipate an attack, particularly by air, on your forces.
-Conceal orders the unit to hide in its surroundings. This seems to work best in forests for infantry. While concealed, a unit usually can't be detected until an opposing unit moves right next to it, where upon they will be ambushed.
-Bridge is only available to the construction unit. It builds a bridge to span a small gap or river. The construction unit must be right next to the hex where you want to build the bridge.
-Disband deletes the unit. This is important in scenarios where the maximum number of units you can have is limited, as you can get rid of ineffective or nearly dead units in order to produce more useful fresh troops. In any other situation it is a waste.
Engaging the enemy
------------------
As you move your units around the map, taking holdings and setting up defenses, sooner or later you'll run into the opposing forces. Combat is quite simple.
Move your unit into weapons range of the enemy, and click the "attack" button on the upper left hand corner of the action bar that pops up (it looks like a bomb). Most units can only attack in the adjacent hex, but some weapons like missiles and artillery have much longer range. Crosshairs will appear on all units that can be attacked. Click on one of them, and you will see the battle projection screen. This shows the projected losses on both sides as red X's imposed over the current unit strength. You can also select which weapon to use if more than one is capable of attacking your target. Click the confirm button and you'll see the units do battle (unless you turned off "real fight" in the configurations menu). Opposing units will counterattack automatically if they are able to; the other players don't have to do a thing.
Sometimes, you will be attacked by enemy units out of your radar range. If this happens, the enemy won't show up in the battle display; you'll just see
"UNKNOWN?Eon the enemy side and your troops getting blown up.
When you've finished giving orders to your existing units, just click the "End
Phase" button in the action bar. At this point, you'll be returned to the production phase, and can click on any of your unit-producing holdings and order more forces.
Maintaining your forces
-----------------------
Inevitably, your units will be damaged in combat. They will run low on ammo and fuel. They may even become too tired to fight. Like a real army, they need supplies and rest. The easiest way to do this is park a unit in an allied holding. See the holding type list above so you know what to put where. Note that you cannot repair or rearm at allied holdings, only refuel
Another way to maintain your forces is with supply units. Each production type has a generic supply truck and supply ship. At the end of the turn, any adjacent units (land and sea, respectively) will be refueled and rearmed. For aircraft, you will need a tanker plane. They will refuel any adjacent allied aircraft at the end of their turn. Each production type has at least one, if I recall correctly. Note that helicopters can't do mid-air refueling. They can enter and refuel at large cities, but not rearm. Also remember that the supply units and tankers can only carry a limited amount of supplies themselves, so keep them maintained as well.
One last note about maintenance: DSP is extremely stingy about repairing units.
Only the capital, large factories, airbases, and naval bases can repair units, and these are few and far between. Often you must simply accept the fact that front line forces cannot be repaired and will eventually be destroyed. However, if you are close enough to the appropriate holding, or have invested enough in strategic airlift, repairing veteran units is a very good idea. As units fight and perform other actions, they gain experience and become more effective in combat. If at all possible, you should keep high level units in top condition; this will increase your army's fighting potential tremendously.
----------------
Production Types
----------------
There are 16 default production types in DSP. Production types are basically the arsenals of different countries. The game includes a production type editor, which you can use to create your own national arsenals to play as, but that may be covered in a future update. Here are the 16 countries/types, along with their strengths and weaknesses and notable units.
Japan
-----
Japan is a defensive powerhouse. They have a large number of advanced units, including US imports and their own modified versions of such weapons. They have an excellent navy, including powerful Aegis destroyers, subs, frigates, and corvettes for all occasions. However, they lack a true aircraft carrier and land attack capability, so their ability to project power is limited.
Key units
-F-15J Refit: Best overall interceptor in the game, with very accurate long range AAM-4s.
-F-2: A bit pricey, but a very cool fighter/attacker with strong anti-ship power.
-Kongou Refit: An outstanding Aegis destroyer with both anti-air and anti-sub ability.
-DDH: A destroyer-sized helicopter carrier. Gives some semblance of overseas power projection.
USA
---
Hands down, this is the strongest production type in the game. The US armed forces have units for every conceivable situation, and not only that, they have the best money can buy. With the exception of a couple of units (like the export F-35C and a Swedish destroyer), the US has a monopoly on Stealth tech, which is just plain evil in this game. Their one weakness is that their better units are extremely expensive.
Key units
(Oh man, where to begin?)
-F-22 Raptor: Overpriced and not given due credit, but still godlike. Fly right through radar and ambush zones, fire the AMRAAMs, and watch the fireworks.
-B-2 Spirit: Stealth + range 18 Advanced Cruise Missiles = enemy capital destroyed before they even know there's a threat.
-USS George H. W. Bush: Upgrade to the Nimitz class (the name is speculation, I hope). It's a huge nuclear carrier and the most expensive thing in the game.
-CGX: The ultimate Aegis cruiser. No land attack ability, but it has stealth and SM-3 SAMs.
Russia
------
Russia has a very large and well-balanced inventory of units, much like the US, but cheaper and lower quality. In actuality, they have a number of very advanced systems, making them one of the best production types in the game, and have excellent long range weapons. "In Soviet Russia, ballistic missiles launch
YOU!"
Key units
-Su-27 Flanker: A very nice interceptor. Has good agility, range, and weapons.
-Su-35 Super Flanker: Next to the F-22, this is the best fighter in the game.
Expensive for Russian gear, it has great evasion and good armament. (What the hell is an R-37 though?)
-S-300: The Russian answer to the Patriot, it is not as accurate but has longer range.
-Kirov: A powerful nuclear battlecruiser with a huge arsenal of weapons, including deadly anti-ship missiles as well as long-range SAMs.
Germany
-------
Germany has extremely powerful ground forces, with some of the best tanks and artillery. They have an interesting mix of ex-Russian gear (MiG-29s), US tech
(MLRS), and European specialties (Typhoon). Unfortunately, their air force and navy are sub-par at best, and thus their power projection is very limited.
Key units
-Typhoon: Germany is one of several production types to have the Eurofighter, and it's their best air unit.
-Leopard 2A6: Probably the best tank in the game, edging out even the M1A2.
(How do the developers know this when it's never even seen combat?)
-PzH2000: A very nice self-propelled artillery piece, it's at least as good as the Paladin in most respects, but with less ammo.
UK
--
The United Kingdom is one of the most well-balanced countries. They literally have a little bit of everything, and in some cases that little is very good.
Their navy is also well above average, complete with a range of carriers, destroyers, and subs.
Key units
-F-35C: It's stealth, it's VTOL, and it's versatile. The only weaknesses of this jet are its low payload and fuel.
-Challenger 2: One of the best MBT's in the game, and possibly the best armored.
-Type 45 Daring: A fairly powerful destroyer for any occasion.
-CVF: A proposed future carrier design. As cool as it is, there are no navalized aircraft in Britain's arsenal to take advantage of it. It's still good with VTOLs.
France
------
France has a good mix of both unique units and European specialties.
Unfortunately, France cannot be played accurately in this game, as there are no "surrender" or "appeasement" options.
Key units
-Rafale M: A multirole fighter with decent capabilities. Its biggest advantage is that it can land on carriers.
-Leclerc: A surprisingly good MBT, almost on par with the
Challenger/Abrams/Leopard/Type 90.
-Charles de Gaulle: The only non-US nuclear powered carrier in the game. It's not as good, but it gets the job done when it isn't falling apart.
-Le Triumphant: A nuclear ballistic missile sub. It's not the best of its type, but doesn't need to be.
Italy
-----
Italy has a slightly below average ground force, an average air force (with
Typhoons, Harriers, and even Starfighters), and an above average navy. Their weapons aren't the highest quality but they aren't the worst either.
-C-1 Aliette: It's a decent MBT, and its the best they've got. At very least it can take some hits.
-Vitrio Venneto: Italy is one of only 3 countries that have a cruiser. This one has a good array of weapons.
-Horizon: A surprisingly expensive and well-armed frigate, notable for its long
-Occupy is only available to infantry units. It lets them capture cities and other holdings. Depending on the rule settings, this can happen instantly or take several turns. If "occupation endurance?Eis on, an enemy capital takes 4 turns to occupy. Large cities take 3 turns to capture; small medium cities, large factories, air bases and naval bases take 2; small cities, small factories, airports, ports, and bridges take 1 turn. These numbers assume a full infantry squad; it will take longer if the unit is damaged. Occupying is the most crucial aspect of expansion, so get used to it.
-Transform changes units like towed artillery and missile launchers from their transport formation to their combat formation. It is more of an inconvenience than a feature, so time things carefully.
-Destroy is an order to raze a holding. This is common to bombers, attack aircraft, missile launchers, and some specialty units. A destroyed holding confers no benefits (like income or resupplying ability) to its owner and cannot be entered. Destruction ability depends on the weapon being used, and is listed under the unit's weapon specs. The larger the holding, the more damage it can take before collapsing. Remember: Destroying stuff uses ammo too.
-Repair is available only to certain units like infantry and the construction vehicles. This allows you to increase the HP values of damaged or destroyed buildings, allowing them to function again. Repair is done in only small increments, so it takes a while to bring a holding to full working order..
-Merge allows you to combine two adjacent units of the same type. For example, if you have 5 T-80's left in one squad and 3 in another, you can transfer one squad into the other for up to 8 units, or balance them out at 4 each.
Experience, fatigue, and ammo are averaged between the transferring units. Be careful, because this command uses both units?Eactions and they can't do anything else that turn.
-Disperse is the opposite of merge, as it allows you to split a unit into smaller groups. This is generally useless because full/undamaged units are always more effective than smaller ones. However, if you are short on infantry and need to take cities fast, you may want to try it with your foot soldiers (only if "occupation endurance" is off).
-Enter allows the unit to enter the building or holding. While stowed in the holding, the unit is immune to conventional enemy attacks, and may be repaired or resupplied depending on the holding type (see the above list). Obviously, do not let the opposing forces capture or destroy your holdings while you have troops in them.
-Board allows one unit to be stowed aboard another. This is only available when a unit ends its move on the same hex as a compatible carrying unit. Many stacking combinations are possible; you could stow an infantry unit aboard a truck, the truck aboard a helicopter, and the helicopter aboard an aircraft carrier. Carrying another unit does not effect the carrying unit in any way.
-Rearm allows the unit to change its weapons loadout. This is only available at bases and factories that you own (not your allies), as well as your aircraft carriers. Usually only aircraft and some ships have multiple configurations.
While an aircraft can fly into an airport and rearm on the same turn, they must start and end their turn on the boat if rearming on a carrier.
-Jam, an option available on electronic warfare planes, turns on the active jamming field to defend against enemy radar over a large area. It basically prevents the enemy from seeing anything in the area around it. Be sure to do this any time you anticipate an attack, particularly by air, on your forces.
-Conceal orders the unit to hide in its surroundings. This seems to work best in forests for infantry. While concealed, a unit usually can't be detected until an opposing unit moves right next to it, where upon they will be ambushed.
-Bridge is only available to the construction unit. It builds a bridge to span a small gap or river. The construction unit must be right next to the hex where you want to build the bridge.
-Disband deletes the unit. This is important in scenarios where the maximum number of units you can have is limited, as you can get rid of ineffective or nearly dead units in order to produce more useful fresh troops. In any other situation it is a waste.
Engaging the enemy
------------------
As you move your units around the map, taking holdings and setting up defenses, sooner or later you'll run into the opposing forces. Combat is quite simple.
Move your unit into weapons range of the enemy, and click the "attack" button on the upper left hand corner of the action bar that pops up (it looks like a bomb). Most units can only attack in the adjacent hex, but some weapons like missiles and artillery have much longer range. Crosshairs will appear on all units that can be attacked. Click on one of them, and you will see the battle projection screen. This shows the projected losses on both sides as red X's imposed over the current unit strength. You can also select which weapon to use if more than one is capable of attacking your target. Click the confirm button and you'll see the units do battle (unless you turned off "real fight" in the configurations menu). Opposing units will counterattack automatically if they are able to; the other players don't have to do a thing.
Sometimes, you will be attacked by enemy units out of your radar range. If this happens, the enemy won't show up in the battle display; you'll just see
"UNKNOWN?Eon the enemy side and your troops getting blown up.
When you've finished giving orders to your existing units, just click the "End
Phase" button in the action bar. At this point, you'll be returned to the production phase, and can click on any of your unit-producing holdings and order more forces.
Maintaining your forces
-----------------------
Inevitably, your units will be damaged in combat. They will run low on ammo and fuel. They may even become too tired to fight. Like a real army, they need supplies and rest. The easiest way to do this is park a unit in an allied holding. See the holding type list above so you know what to put where. Note that you cannot repair or rearm at allied holdings, only refuel
Another way to maintain your forces is with supply units. Each production type has a generic supply truck and supply ship. At the end of the turn, any adjacent units (land and sea, respectively) will be refueled and rearmed. For aircraft, you will need a tanker plane. They will refuel any adjacent allied aircraft at the end of their turn. Each production type has at least one, if I recall correctly. Note that helicopters can't do mid-air refueling. They can enter and refuel at large cities, but not rearm. Also remember that the supply units and tankers can only carry a limited amount of supplies themselves, so keep them maintained as well.
One last note about maintenance: DSP is extremely stingy about repairing units.
Only the capital, large factories, airbases, and naval bases can repair units, and these are few and far between. Often you must simply accept the fact that front line forces cannot be repaired and will eventually be destroyed. However, if you are close enough to the appropriate holding, or have invested enough in strategic airlift, repairing veteran units is a very good idea. As units fight and perform other actions, they gain experience and become more effective in combat. If at all possible, you should keep high level units in top condition; this will increase your army's fighting potential tremendously.
----------------
Production Types
----------------
There are 16 default production types in DSP. Production types are basically the arsenals of different countries. The game includes a production type editor, which you can use to create your own national arsenals to play as, but that may be covered in a future update. Here are the 16 countries/types, along with their strengths and weaknesses and notable units.
Japan
-----
Japan is a defensive powerhouse. They have a large number of advanced units, including US imports and their own modified versions of such weapons. They have an excellent navy, including powerful Aegis destroyers, subs, frigates, and corvettes for all occasions. However, they lack a true aircraft carrier and land attack capability, so their ability to project power is limited.
Key units
-F-15J Refit: Best overall interceptor in the game, with very accurate long range AAM-4s.
-F-2: A bit pricey, but a very cool fighter/attacker with strong anti-ship power.
-Kongou Refit: An outstanding Aegis destroyer with both anti-air and anti-sub ability.
-DDH: A destroyer-sized helicopter carrier. Gives some semblance of overseas power projection.
USA
---
Hands down, this is the strongest production type in the game. The US armed forces have units for every conceivable situation, and not only that, they have the best money can buy. With the exception of a couple of units (like the export F-35C and a Swedish destroyer), the US has a monopoly on Stealth tech, which is just plain evil in this game. Their one weakness is that their better units are extremely expensive.
Key units
(Oh man, where to begin?)
-F-22 Raptor: Overpriced and not given due credit, but still godlike. Fly right through radar and ambush zones, fire the AMRAAMs, and watch the fireworks.
-B-2 Spirit: Stealth + range 18 Advanced Cruise Missiles = enemy capital destroyed before they even know there's a threat.
-USS George H. W. Bush: Upgrade to the Nimitz class (the name is speculation, I hope). It's a huge nuclear carrier and the most expensive thing in the game.
-CGX: The ultimate Aegis cruiser. No land attack ability, but it has stealth and SM-3 SAMs.
Russia
------
Russia has a very large and well-balanced inventory of units, much like the US, but cheaper and lower quality. In actuality, they have a number of very advanced systems, making them one of the best production types in the game, and have excellent long range weapons. "In Soviet Russia, ballistic missiles launch
YOU!"
Key units
-Su-27 Flanker: A very nice interceptor. Has good agility, range, and weapons.
-Su-35 Super Flanker: Next to the F-22, this is the best fighter in the game.
Expensive for Russian gear, it has great evasion and good armament. (What the hell is an R-37 though?)
-S-300: The Russian answer to the Patriot, it is not as accurate but has longer range.
-Kirov: A powerful nuclear battlecruiser with a huge arsenal of weapons, including deadly anti-ship missiles as well as long-range SAMs.
Germany
-------
Germany has extremely powerful ground forces, with some of the best tanks and artillery. They have an interesting mix of ex-Russian gear (MiG-29s), US tech
(MLRS), and European specialties (Typhoon). Unfortunately, their air force and navy are sub-par at best, and thus their power projection is very limited.
Key units
-Typhoon: Germany is one of several production types to have the Eurofighter, and it's their best air unit.
-Leopard 2A6: Probably the best tank in the game, edging out even the M1A2.
(How do the developers know this when it's never even seen combat?)
-PzH2000: A very nice self-propelled artillery piece, it's at least as good as the Paladin in most respects, but with less ammo.
UK
--
The United Kingdom is one of the most well-balanced countries. They literally have a little bit of everything, and in some cases that little is very good.
Their navy is also well above average, complete with a range of carriers, destroyers, and subs.
Key units
-F-35C: It's stealth, it's VTOL, and it's versatile. The only weaknesses of this jet are its low payload and fuel.
-Challenger 2: One of the best MBT's in the game, and possibly the best armored.
-Type 45 Daring: A fairly powerful destroyer for any occasion.
-CVF: A proposed future carrier design. As cool as it is, there are no navalized aircraft in Britain's arsenal to take advantage of it. It's still good with VTOLs.
France
------
France has a good mix of both unique units and European specialties.
Unfortunately, France cannot be played accurately in this game, as there are no "surrender" or "appeasement" options.
Key units
-Rafale M: A multirole fighter with decent capabilities. Its biggest advantage is that it can land on carriers.
-Leclerc: A surprisingly good MBT, almost on par with the
Challenger/Abrams/Leopard/Type 90.
-Charles de Gaulle: The only non-US nuclear powered carrier in the game. It's not as good, but it gets the job done when it isn't falling apart.
-Le Triumphant: A nuclear ballistic missile sub. It's not the best of its type, but doesn't need to be.
Italy
-----
Italy has a slightly below average ground force, an average air force (with
Typhoons, Harriers, and even Starfighters), and an above average navy. Their weapons aren't the highest quality but they aren't the worst either.
-C-1 Aliette: It's a decent MBT, and its the best they've got. At very least it can take some hits.
-Vitrio Venneto: Italy is one of only 3 countries that have a cruiser. This one has a good array of weapons.
-Horizon: A surprisingly expensive and well-armed frigate, notable for its long
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- Daisenryaku Perfect FAQ by System on 09/03/2006, 09:50