FOG OF WAR NO LONGER AN OPTION

[Drummond]

I am following the updates on this game because I have enjoyed immensely Commander Europe at War and Commander Napoleon at War and am looking forward to having a playable WW1 game built upon the same game design. However, reading the "Faction Preview Episode 1" I was a bit dismayed by the statement in one of the captions that reads "Fog of war is no longer optional in the game settings". Am I understanding this correctly -- the Fog of War toggle at the start of the game will be eliminated and Fog of War will always be "ON"? If so I am a little disappointed. I usually played with the Fog of War option "OFF". I liked the feel of seeing all of the units on the map at the same time; it sort of had the feel of those classic Avalon Hill strategic board games that I recall playing in the 1980's ("Third Reich" and "War and Peace" in the case of CEAW and CNAW respectively). I don't see why this feature would be eliminated altogether. Afterall, in CEAW and CNAW it was an OPTION; if players liked the more realistic Fog of War setting they had it available, and those of us who preferred the feel of a board game could switch the option off. I feel that the two earlier Commander games appealed to a wide variety of gamers and that there were enough options available (oil consumption, fog of war, weather, random research in CEAW, for example) to make the game more challenging for those who desired a more complex game. So I think that it's important to provide options for players. Therefore, eliminating the Fog of War option just doesn't make sense to me. I would be curious if anyone else has an opinion on this topic.

[IainMcNeil]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure if this is true as I tend to agree with you. Options are good!

I'll wait to hear what the team has to say.

[adherbal]

It wouldn't be difficult to add as an option, but it's a vital part of the gameplay. Playing with FoW disabled would be like playing without naval warfare. You just disable a whole part of the game.

In WW1, like any war, reconaissance was essential. It was the whole reason that triggered the war for the skies and the rapid development and improvement of aircraft. If you play without FoW you have no reason to build planes, at least not until much later in the game when fighters and bombers become powerful enough to affect the strategic situation on the ground. Early aircraft are solely ment to protect the skies and allow reconaissance over enemy territory. Control of the skies means you can prepare and launch offensives against an unprepared opponent. Without FoW all this is irrelevant.

Additionally there would be little point in trying to launch a surprise attack (land based or naval invasion) if the enemy can see it coming from miles away.

The game is designed with FoW as key feature. Disabling it will not give you the optimal gameplay experience.

If you do include it as an "option" it will be probably be a setting in a TXT file, not an actual ingame option, for the reasons stated above.

[Drummond]

I understand your point about Fog of War making the game more realistic and having a direct impact on the building and deployment of air units. And your point is a valid one. However, my point is that Fog of War was an option that was available in CEAW and CNAW and that it is better to provide options to players rather than take away options. The games may be more REALISTIC with the Fog of War option “on” but for some of us the games are more FUN with the Fog of War option “off”. It’s that old tradeoff in computer simulations between FUN and REALISM. But I feel that if you give the player enough rule options they can find their own level of comfort between the two.

I would think that since the Fog of War ON/OFF code already exists in CEAW and CNAW it wouldn’t be too difficult for the designers of The Great War to bring it over to incorporate into this new game. Perhaps if you did that and then set the Fog of War default setting to ON at the start of a new game more players would end up using it and would get the full flavour of the game as described in your message.

Barring that, if there would be a way to edit a .txt file in the game as you suggest it would be good if someone would be able to make that information available on this message board so that those of us who would like the Fog of War options available can try to make the change ourselves.

Finally I would like to add that while I do have an issue with the Fog of War option being eliminated all of the other items that I’ve read about in the two Great War update bulletins look great. I realise that many people at Lordz and Slitherine are putting forth a lot of effort on this project and I for one would like for them to know that it is appreciated. Some of us have been waiting a long time to have a PLAYABLE strategic WW1 computer game available and your “The Great War” certainly looks like it will be it. I only wish that you would reconsider your elimination of the Fog of War option.

[IainMcNeil]

I think if there is an option to turn it on/off it has to be in the main menu not a text file as it is likely to be the more casual end of the market who wants the option and they will not be willing to edit text files.

[MesaDon]

I agree with making FOG an option. I to played many an old Avalon Hill game and I like that board game feel on occasion like in Third Reich, Guns of August, Afrika Korps, and all the rest.

[syagrius]

I agree more options is always better than less, however I understand the reasoning of the developers concerning game mechanics. The option should be available but with a "warning" in the manual that playing with FoW off will affect game mechanics and overall experience; that would be an acceptable tradeoff in my opinion.

I agree that it will likely the first PLAYABLE operational WW 1 game out there, and we all wish for the best!

[Drummond]

Thanks for the contributing to this discussion MesaDon and Syagrius. I feel it is important for the game developers to get feedback from the customers. And I was happy to read that you both feel that Fog of War should again be an option available to the players. I am always of the belief that the more options provided to the players the better. Because years from now when we're playing this game for the hundredth time we might want as many options as possible to keep things fresh! And I also like Syagrius' suggestion: Have FoW as an option but mention in the manual the ramifications of switching it off. And I'd take it a step further and have the default position for the FoW option as ON at the start of a new game. That way most gamers might be inclined to play the game with FoW ON and get the full flavour of the game as mentioned by the designer. But for those of us who might want to play a game with FoW off, that option would also be available.