Kalran: Tales of the four nations/Civilians

Though most factions do their best to make sure that the battlefield is clear of non-combatants, this is not always possible in the fluid, ever-changing nature of modern warfare. As a result, these people can find themselves trapped on the field of battle. The presence of Civilians can be used as a tactic by underhanded factions, and there are consequences for killing them, so try to avoid it. Civilians are not autotargeted, but commanders can order their forces to kill them if they think it necessary.

Civilians come in two forms; on foot, and in vehicles.

Infamy System
The Infamy system is a gauge that shows how the civilians view a faction.

Every commander will start with 0 Infamy points. Whenever its forces, weapons, or somehow whatsoever kills a civilian, it gains some amount of Infamy index(displayed by the red, accumulating ring around the yellow dot). If a civilian under their control gets killed, it would gain another amount of index. When enough index is accumulated, the commander will gain an Infamy point. For each infamy point it currently has, its forces will suffer from a 5% decrease in attack and defense. One can have 10 infamy points at most, which would result in a 50% handicap. If one has 10 and keeps violating the rules above, no more index will be gained. Instead, some money would be lost, and for most factions will have their units take heavy morale damage. Infamy index and points will be gradually lost over time and when one's threat meter is orange or red, its infamy index will decrease at a rate of 150% or 200%.

To control neutral civilians, a commander can order any ground unit(and some helicopters) except certain units(undead for example) to get close to them. Every qualified unit projects a radius determined by its commander's Infamy level(more the points, smaller the radius) in which civilians will be turned to its side. If another sides' units also come near, the already turned civilians wouldn't switch sides unless there's no longer any of your units around them. Commanders can directly order friendly civilians around, but if they leave the radius(aka get too far away from any of their units, not binding to their original captors) they will become neutral again. Friendly civilians can enter transport, just make sure when they land there're still escorts so they wouldn't turn neutral again.

Friendly civilians can be evacuated(in-game, enter and vanish) at HQ buildings and outposts, which projects a radius themselves too. For every civilian evacuated, the commander's infamy index would be reduced for some amount. If the commander has no infamy point, it will receive credits instead.

All above don't apply units disguised as civilians(DSDF, Tenko assassins, etc.).

Footmobiles
Civilians wander aimlessly around the battlefield, usually sticking close to buildings or safe zones. They won't react to most infantry or light vehicles. However, large, frightening units, gunfire, or feared factions will cause them to run away until they feel they are at a safe distance. By contrast, the vehicles of factions they hate will be pelted with rocks should they wander near; this does no damage, but can be very annoying and slows the forces. Civilians will attempt to get out of the way if a vehicle comes too close, to avoid being squished, and they are uncrushable to prevent accidental infamy gain/monetary loss. When civilians die, new ones tend to wander out of buildings to keep the map population steady.

Police/Militia
Unlike the normal civilians. Police/Militia are armed civilians, either helping evacuate other civilians or protecting them, and will not hesitate to fight when necessary. At 0 infamy a commander can control them like normal civilians, and in some cases have them provide fire support, but if the commander's infamy is at 7 or more they will start attacking them instead.

Vehicles
Civilian vehicles wander in preset paths around the field, usually onto the map at one area and off it again at another. They will try to avoid large vehicles and fighting, but will otherwise continue along their path. Certain vehicles, such as trains, trucks, or cargo planes, may contain goodies if you break them open, and are willing to take monetary losses for it.