Morph

is a great feature but imo currently a little underused - all factories should be able to morph units, if technically possible even planes and gunships. some ideas i had about possible morphes: (+ for add, - for remove morph option)

cloakiebots:
+ scythe->sniper->ultimatum
+ hammer->wolverine/pillager
+ rocko->slasher

shieldbots:
- thug->jack
+ thug->felon or outlaw->felon
+ thug->aspis or outlaw->aspis (or aegis? the mobile one)
*make racketeer->firewalker work by letting units gain xp for emp damage done*

vehicles:
- slasher->copperhead
+ slasher->crasher
+ slasher->banisher
+ slasher->scalpel
+ crasher->copperhead
+ leveler->reaper
+ ravager->panther
+ wolverine-> pillager

tanks:
+ goliath->bantha?
+ tremor->catapult
+ panther->reaper
+ panther->banisher

amph:
+ duck->scallop->grizzly->dante/bantha
+ archer->buoy->grizzly->dante/bantha
+ duck/scallop->snake?

hover:
+ scalpel->banisher

jumpers:
+ moderator->buoy (needs fix for slow dmg xp gain)
+ firewalker->catapult

ships:
+ typhoon->destroyer->warlord
+ hunter->snake
+ hunter->enforcer
- enforcer->warlord
+ enforcer->reef
+ typhoon->hunter
+ serpent->leviathan


spiders:
+ recluse->? scorpion maybe, or crabe
+ crabe-> scorpion
+ venom->zeus
+ spy->sniper

gunships:
+ gnat->banshee
+ banshee->rapier->brawler
+ bd->krow

planes:
+ phoenix->shadow->licho
+ phoenix->stiletto
+ avenger->vamp
+ avenger->spy plane

For gunships:
+ banshee->brawler
+ rapier->BD

Rapier to BD makes more sense than Rapier to Brawler (because they both shoot rockets)


Also morph shouldn't skip any cost-levels, so units around 2k M should morph to units around 4k M, not to Bantha directly.

i love making flea and ending whit detri

i dont think morph is so great feature, feels more like gimmick.
does not really fit with rest of game, is not consistent: all constructions (even missiles in silo or terraform) can be assisted with cons, but morph not.
Using it as "deploy" (say shield thing) is ok though.

I think it makes little sense to have bots morphing to vehicles and vice versa. The only aethetically sensible morph is the few things like glaive to warrior; it's a bigger but very similar model with a bigger but very similar weapon.

quote: it rewards you for taking care of your unit

The reward for taking care of your unit is not having a dead unit. You really don't need more incentive than that.

quote: it allows you to get counters or units more suited to a changing battles without having to switch factory - like upgrading your tanks to reaper to deal with heavier defenses or enemy tanks, upgrading your aa to get more range, upgrading your sumo to a dante for even more pwn

Having things be more easily accessible doesn't add to strategy, it reduces strategy. It puts more focus on being fast and unit control than on having a larger plan.

quote: vastly superior to other games' unit upgrade mechanics

Definitely not.

It wasn't really designed out at all, it's a gimmick, and is mostly something to add to feature lists. And it works as a feel-good mechanic, but in no way is it a good gameplay mechanic.

ofc it makes sense to morph bots into vehicles, just like it makes sense to morph them into spiders - for once they are better suited for their terrain, and then if you look at the 2 units that would gain morph, its hammers and rockos. hammers are fine, but if you need real artillery you may opt to turn one of your vet hammers into pillager. rockos you could turn into slashers, makes sense imo but anyway all of those are debatable.

dont see how morphing is not strategical, its a lot better than to have to make a new factory for every other single unit you may need in a certain situation.
for example if youre with veh up against tanks or shields, you might wanna switch to tanks, but you also might wanna morph some ravagers, provided you can, and get reapers and finally goliaths without having to abandon your factory. its not always the right thing to do, you might wanna keep the old unit for some reason or another - like sumo vs. dante, sumo has more hp and can jump, dante has big guns but dies faster. you got a descision to make, thus strategy.

its not super strategical to lock player into one path without the option to change it here and there. which doesnt mean that you can morph everything into everything, it just means that certain things can turn into certain other things which may or may not be helpful. thats good. its not a must tho, if you dont like it, dont do it.

i agree, morph is cool and your suggestions are well done. but one i would change is insteda of

quote: + leveler->reaper + ravager->panther

leveler->banisher and
ravager->reaper

another reason why morphing actually adds strategic depth rather than reducing it is that it requires you to retreat and repair to work at all. if you spam the enemy with units, destroy his buildpower and dont care if they all die, you cant morph any of those units, but its just as much a valid strategy that may win the game.

quote: ofc it makes sense to morph bots into vehicles, just like it makes sense to morph them into spiders - for once they are better suited for their terrain, and then if you look at the 2 units that would gain morph, its hammers and rockos. hammers are fine, but if you need real artillery you may opt to turn one of your vet hammers into pillager. rockos you could turn into slashers, makes sense imo but anyway all of those are debatable.

It is convenient, but that doesn't really mean it makes sense. Someone had suggested that annihilators produce energy instead of require it. That would also be convenient for the people who made annihilators, but not make any sense.

quote: its a lot better than to have to make a new factory for every other single unit you may need in a certain situation

Exactly. That does not expand strategy, but reduce it, because there is less need for planning technology investments. Although to be fair, this is a somewhat rare/niche situation. Most of the time you will be making the factory anyway.

quote: it requires you to retreat and repair to work at all

This is almost entirely execution, not strategy. Strategy refers to the plan, not how you carry out the plan.

Now, to an extent you need to plan to have build power and position your units appropriately to take advantage of it. That is strategy. But without morph it is already helpful to retreat and repair your units as much as possible. The only change that morph makes is that you my try to repair particular units because you want to level them.

Again, this is about execution then, not strategy.

quote: Exactly. That does not expand strategy, but reduce it, because there is less need for planning technology investments. Although to be fair, this is a somewhat rare/niche situation. Most of the time you will be making the factory anyway.

i repeat, you cannot morph everything into everything. possible morphs may very well be part of your overall strategy, and in fact i already consider the option to morph to tanks when i decide whether to pick vehicles for a game. its not universal tho, i cannot morph my vehicles into ships just because it would be convenient to do so.