Preview: The Invisible Front

There is a saying that “all battles are won in the mind”. In The Slush Force, this is not entirely true.

However, we cannot ignore the reality that morale and psychological factors are indeed very important for combat effectiveness.

Morale and Morale Damage

Obviously, it is stressful to be shot at! All weapons in The Slush Force deal some amount of suppression. Near-misses are somewhat damaging to morale, but actually getting hit will naturally cause extreme panic.

The loss of your squad's armored car is sure to be a shock!

Vehicle-mounted weapons as well as explosives (such as those you see on tanks and planes) are the most effective at suppression. Alien weapons are also quite intimidating.

I would not want to be on the receiving end of that...

That alien is definitely going to have a bad day...

The Effects of Stress

As you probably guessed, stress is not the best factor for high performance!

The speed at which soldiers become stressed out is determined by various factors, including their training, their own bravery, and their brothers-in-arms.

Reservists, policemen, and other poorly trained troops will panic a lot more quickly...

In contrast, paratroopers, special forces operators, and other elite units will be less shaken by recent events and recover more quickly from morale damage...

Seeing death and destruction is good for the mind (NOT!), and your soldiers will perform worse under these stressful conditions. For instance, they might miss more frequently, find it harder to reload, may refuse to advance forwards, or in extreme cases could even run from the battlefield.

How are you feeling today? The heart rate monitor (bottom, second from right) and the unit cards (top) can provide useful insight into the status of your soldiers, including their morale!

Tactical Implications

Artillery, vehicles, or aircraft can all be used tactically to suppress a very powerful enemy unit and harm their fighting ability. More numerous enemy units could also be suppressed so that you can defeat them in detail.

Not every round needs to hit the target to leave an impact!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for further updates!