!!! Combat Maneuverability

Combat Maneuverability (CM) is a measure of a unit's ability to close down other units and dodge incoming attacks.

A high CM means that a unit can get within the range required to shoot a short range weapon earlier than the a unit with low CM. High CM units are also more likely to avoid shots from opponent weapons, causing them to miss more often.

It is unwise to combine a low CM unit with a low range weapon because it will be low on the shoot order, giving a higher chance that the unit will be shot at, and destroyed before getting a chance to shoot.

On all units except  [soldiers|Unit_Type_Soldier] , the CM is affected by hull size and number of engines. Increasing the number of engines will generate a high CM rating. A larger hull will make a unit less maneuverable. This means that a larger hull ship must have more engines to achieve the same CM rating as a smaller hull ship.

Naturally, you should play to how you would expect a unit to behave. A 300 hull tank, with lots of engines will not perform as well in a main battle tank role as a similar sized tank with more powerful, longer ranged weapons.

It is also possible to design  [stationary units|Unit_Type_Stationary]  that have no engines and no CM rating. These units are therefore unable to move, even between planets.