The building loop
Defilade does not let you drop a finished building from the sky. The confirmed loop is:
- Place the structure.
- Soldiers walk to it and build it by hand.
- Construction can happen mid-combat — you can put up a wall while a fight is going on.
- Structures can be destroyed by fire and repaired afterward.
- FOBs can be captured, so a forward base is a risk as well as an asset.
That makes build placement a combat decision, not a menu decision. A building that goes up in the open will be shot down; a building that goes up behind a trench and a wire belt survives.
Confirmed buildings
| Building | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Factory | Vehicle production | The demo makes it a big steel hangar |
| Research building | Upgrades | The demo gives it a satellite dish that turns |
| Barracks | Infantry production | Confirmed in the public building list |
| Helipad | Helicopters | Confirmed; air units not in the demo |
| Medic tent | Casualty recovery | Confirmed; works with stretcher rescues |
| FOB | Forward base | Resupply, unit cap, capture point; losing the last one is game over |
| Rebel tunnels | Rebel faction | Tunnel network + prisoner interrogation |
Defenses are buildings too
The defensive list overlaps with base building:
- trenches;
- concrete walls;
- barbed wire;
- mines;
- tank traps;
- MG nests;
- watchtowers;
- camouflage netting (anti-FPV drone).
Build them in layers: obstacle first, fire second. Wire and tank traps slow the enemy; MG nests and infantry kill what the obstacle stops. A minefield without fire support only delays.
Build order and placement
Exact costs are not public, so this is priority, not a clock:
- Factory — you need units.
- Research building — upgrades compound.
- Barracks — bodies to hold points.
- FOB toward the contested point — not at your spawn.
- Defenses around the FOB — wire, mines, tank traps, an MG nest.
- Medic tent — keep veterans alive.
- Helipad — only when you can afford air units and defend them.
Place buildings so they support each other: a factory behind a trench, a research building under camo netting, a FOB with a clear road to the supply line. Do not build a lone structure in the open.
Repair and destruction
Buildings can be destroyed and repaired. That means:
- keep a cheap infantry squad near the base as a repair/defense party;
- repair the factory and FOB first — losing either hurts more than losing a wall;
- do not repair under direct fire unless the building is critical; pull back and repair after the fight;
- expect the AI to target your supply trucks and production, not only your units.
What the demo changes
The demo’s base layer is a rework:
- factory = steel hangar;
- research building = satellite dish;
- green build grid shows valid placement;
- manpower runs out, so capture points matter.
The last point is the important one: you cannot build a giant base off your starting income. You have to take ground to pay for the base that holds it.
What we still need
- building costs and build times;
- population or unit-cap values per FOB;
- repair cost and speed;
- whether buildings can be captured (FOBs can; others not confirmed);
- the full defensive build list.
We will fill these in after the December 1 demo.