Hi there. Any chance you could implement an auto upgrade feature when editing units (like you did for endless space)? i miss the convenience and time saved, especially during multilayer.

There's not too much customization needed when you reach a new science tier.



What does the community think?

Like, "auto-upgrade" to up-to-date tier weapons and armor? Hm... to have this automatically I'm not sure I like it... but to have a button to do just that would be great: to automatically replace obsolete equipment with their up-to-date counterparts...

I had a situation once where I really didn't want to update everything to tier 2, because I didn't have enough minerals and money to retrofit all units with the new equipment, and I wanted all units retrofitted at the same turn... A non-optional auto-update would mess with that, because it would put everything as tier 2.



Another interesting idea is to update by category: have an option that would change all equipment to the same tier and material...

Yet another interesting idea would be to save a layout and then easily apply it to the hero... or units.

We really need this... especially for units that the game automatically updates with the passing of each era. It would be great if we could keep our mercenaries equipped with era-appropriate gear. If i buy an "Ended" unit on turn 5 and keep using and levelling it, it is reasonable to assume that I should be able to at least keep in the most up to date mercenary-type (Dust) gear.



I'd also love it if basic, yet vitally important gear like +movement accessories were standard merc/AI equipment. The way it is now sorta kills the role playing a little because no one in their right mind would hire a mercenary that can't even keep pace. Accessories need to be standard issue for all mercs and AI on the next patch. That's just something so basic and obvious and should not require tons of work to implement.

Hm... About mercenaries, you are absolutely right! It is really wrong that a mercenary that have survived for so much time doesn't upgrade their own gear... Although this can give rise to another issue: what if the mercenary you have just bought is one of custom build that have been sold by other player? Hm... ... ... maybe make the mercs pillage equipment when they win battles?



To tell you the truth, I've only bought a merc once... A dredge to fulfill a quest...



I think that if we come to think about it the current structure for units is kind of wrong: it is structured as "unit have an equipment layout X"... instead of "unit have this helm, this armor, that weapon, this other shield... This generates a whole lot of issues in game... For example, the moment a layout is deleted, units with that layout can't be upgraded... And why couldn't I upgrade a standard unit with the latest equipment, just because it is named "SOLDIER", instead of "MARINE"? .

It would be great if everything was customizable down to each piece for mercs but that's far more complicated requiring that every type of merc you purchase be listed in the unit edit area (including other faction units that have been sold).



I would be satisfied with a "equip in latest era's equipment button" which would mean if you are in an era where you just unlocked level 2 Dust weapons, the button would equip the selected merc in complete dust 2 weapons/armor, movement+3, and vision+3 iron knuckle thing, for the appropriate amount of dust.



Something like this would help balance Roving Clans which are low tier now.

@Enlil: As a matter of fact, it doesn't... The unit editor would have to be changed as well... The "retrofit" button would popup a dialog if all units have the same base type (that is, all are marines, or all are dekari rangers, etc)... This would allow you to choose the "default upgrade" , that would simply place the unit with the latest template equipments with the same equipment, or "another" (that would allow to change a different template for the same unit) or even "custom", that would allow to create an unique design for those units, with the option to save it as a template or not. If the units have a different base type, the retrofit will behave as it is today (and if a unit have a template that is not listed, then it won't get upgraded)...

I agree whit your idea. is just endless clicking.

I'd love to see a "retrofit too" option instead of the current system. But I'm not sure auto-upgrading designs would work quite right. In my experience, it never worked quite right with Endless Space, either.