Empire Deluxe Enhanced Edition

Unit Orders and The Command Queue

Quick Links:

• Orders Overview
• The Unit's Command Queue And The Current Order
• Giving A Unit Orders
• Available Unit Orders List

Other Detailed Links:

• The Manual
• Unit Actions
• The Difference Between Orders and Actions
• The Orders Tab

Orders Overview

Orders are very important in a game of Empire Deluxe Enhanced Edition, for they allow your units to move, fight and win the game.

Previous versions of Empire Deluxe allowed a unit to only take one order at a time. Empire Deluxe Enhanced allows for a unit to have a "Command Queue", giving it  an ordered list of Orders to follow. With this additional capability, comes additional complexity in the interface. Setting up a series of commands for a unit is not simple, and setting up such as series of orders takes more time that just one click or  button press.  Actions help mitigate this complexity a great deal. Also, the user has the ability to save Command Queues for use in other games.

The Unit's Command Queue, And The Current Order

A Unit's Command Queue can be visualized as an ordered list of Unit Orders, as in shown in the following image:

These are apparently orders for a convoy type mission. The unit as been instructed to move to a location (4, 36), then unload all of its units, then move to another location, (12, 31), a load units till it is full. Finally, the unit is instructed to repeat these orders.

The Unit's Command Queue also has the concept of the Current Order, which is the order the unit is going to work on when it is processed again. In the image above, the current unit order is  represented in red.

Manipulating the Command Queue of a unit is not recommended for every unit and for every turn. Rather, it should be used only in those situations where it is necessary to instruct a unit to do a little extra and a little more.

Giving A Unit Orders

When giving orders to a unit orders, you must be aware that the unit will execute these orders in the order that they are listed. It is up to you to make sure the orders make sense and will be executed according to your intentions.

Some orders take several turns to be completed. A unit will continue to execute an order until that order is completed, or until it is apparent that the order will be impossible to execute. The Unit's Command queue is then "Advanced", meaning it looks for the next order in the queue to make the current order. If there are no more units in the queue (and there is not Repeat Orders in the queue), the Unit's Command Queue will be cleared of all orders.

Some orders can only be executed when a unit is under certain conditions, or of a certain type. The former cannot be controlled by the Unit' Command Queue, and so it is possible to set up order combinations that will fail upon execution.

Lists of orders can easily be saved and reloaded through the button options supplied in the Orders Tab of the Information Window, or the Order Point Editing Dialog. Obviously, when reusing a list such as the one shown above, in a new game under different conditions, some data in the list will need to be adjusted, (such as the specifics to the location in this particular example).

Available Unit Orders List

The following is the list of orders that are available. Some orders are only possible for certain unit types and under certain conditions. Orders that refer to the "Current Location" refer to the location the unit is at when it comes time for the order to be executed.