Engine Craziness...

[KG_Soldier]

Maybe you should read the manual chapters "How to Fight" and "How to Win."

Why? I've done both.... B)

And it's still not obvious to use fences and stonewalls to provide cover, use canister at closer ranges, place leaders near regiments or that commanders can be killed?

Methinks you've misunderstood his original post.

[Turbotay]

I think a quick fix to the commander scouting problem is to allow - either in a mod, or in the game setup menu - the option of making commanders 'blind'. In other words, they don't see anything on the battlefield, so there's no point in galloping off like a suicidal pony express rider.

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Muleskinner

[Garnier]

I think a quick fix to the commander scouting problem is to allow - either in a mod, or in the game setup menu - the option of making commanders 'blind'. In other words, they don't see anything on the battlefield, so there's no point in galloping off like a suicidal pony express rider.

That's a good idea -- an option in the data files either by unit type, or formation, for the unit to not have LOS.

[Jack ONeill]

I like it. I like it a lot. Great idea.

Jack B)

[Davinci]

I think a quick fix to the commander scouting problem is to allow - either in a mod, or in the game setup menu - the option of making commanders 'blind'. In other words, they don't see anything on the battlefield, so there's no point in galloping off like a suicidal pony express rider.

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Muleskinner

Great idea – But it would probably have to be programmed to act sort of like the HITS \ Follow view. The commander could only have a limited ground view of the area.

Otherwise – this would conflict with the view from the F – Key . basically if the Commander is blind this view would not function – and that probably will not go over too well!

davinci

[Turbotay]

The HITS/follow view is a function of the 'camera' displaying the battlefield. My suggestion wouldn't effect the camera. I'm talking about just fixing it so that no commander model registers as seeing enemy units. That way, if HITS is enabled, you're still riding around and the camera is following you, but the only enemy troops you'll see are the ones your regiments or batteries have LOS on, and not their commanders.

[WriterJWA]

I have no real problem with leaders scouting troop locations ... I just want there to be risks to it (and the added realism of leader casualties from fire).

Perhaps an LOS solution would be to follow the Combat Mission model. The player only sees what the selected unit/leader sees. A leader might not see the same thing as one regiment sees, or another regiment sees all the way across the map.

[Little Powell]

For killing commanders, you wouldn't want regiments to start using up their ammo on him. The best solution I thought of so far is for generals within a certain range of regiments to be "silently" fired on, they just take a chance every so often to die, representing the sharpshooters of the regiment taking pot shots. It doesn't affect the regiment in any way.

This check could be disabled if the commander is close to a friendly regiment, that way it doesn't interfere with the current way that commanders are killed.

The chance would have to be mod-able, and probably default to 0 so it doesn't affect singleplayer.

It wouldn't "solve" commander scouting, but would make it more risky.

How about making this a part of the realism setting in MP. So you check Realism, there's a dice roll when a commander gets within a certain distance of an enemy unit and no friendly forces are around. If he loses the roll, he goes down..

Another idea we had in early testing; if your character dies you get kicked out of the game. That will make you a little more hesitant about getting close to enemy lines.

[WriterJWA]

I like it! (Although the "getting kicked from the game" is liable to create all kinds of backlash, I think) Out of curiosity, could the dice roll be modified? Say by terrain, proximity to friendly units, etc...?

[Little Powell]

I like it! (Although the "getting kicked from the game" is liable to create all kinds of backlash, I think) Out of curiosity, could the dice roll be modified? Say by terrain, proximity to friendly units, etc...?

I would say yes but we'd just have to see when we get there. Maybe there could be a line added in one of the csv files to make it modable.