Skirmishes - some thoughts

[Adraeth]

As i said i really like single player skirmishes, thanks to this random feature BA will be just like the great old Steel Panthers; anyway, i will share some thoughts that might be interesting for the development.

- During enemy turn the player can see what kind of units the AI is moving, i suggest to hide the portraits of AI units with a "?" or a generic portrait.

- i think Victory flags are very close to each other, they might be less victory flags or sparse victory flags, to allow some strategic movement.

- it should be interesting to have a trigger in the skirmish menu to choose the amount of bonuses inside skirmish (large-medium-small-none) for axis and for allies. (in a carry over random campaign this trigger might portrait the "bigger strategy situation in that specific front")

(for the carryover campaign i had a positive answer and so i thank you slitherine )

[Igorputski]

I disagree with all the above. Too many want to take a chess game and change how it plays. I'd rather see the units on the map much like a boardgame of the same nature. You see all the units in them and it makes for better planning of how to make your move. Remember the ole saying "Keep it Simple Stupid" Don't try to add so much realism to the game that the ai cannot handle it. I recall games like "Empire" that one didn't have to deal with fog or diplomacy or anything outside of battle itself. That's what I'd prefer to see here.

[Adraeth]

indeed i agree with you to keep it simple for the AI can't work with something difficult, however i considered the "hidden" units only for the player. The player should not know what kind of units he will face until they are visible ... so scouting should be really important. Far from me to "redo" an excellent engine like BA2

[Igorputski]

Well thas kewl then as long as the ai doesn't have to deal with it. Anything to make the games harder for the player I'm all for. I have no problem with them having borg siting and extra units or resources as long as it's challenging and not overly overpowered that it can't be beat. Sort of like Civilization. Everybody knows it cheats and cheats hard but everybody loves it that loves strategy games. I'll never forget the first time I played Civilization I, I actually felt like I stepped thru time to the stone age and Lenorad Nimoy (Spock) as the narrator made it an even greater experience.

[SirGarnet]

Need the enemy to mis-appreciate troop dispositions and intentions in order to surprise him/it, so misleading the enemy is a crucial tactical element. Figuring out what the enemy is up to is another key objective, including recon and other intelligence.

Scouts might be stealthier if terrain is suitable.

[Adraeth]

just a little note: in skirmish the random map is always flat, i experienced no hills.
I think this might be intentional for this early stage of the game, anyway i report to the staff.

[AndrewGardner]

When playing against the AI, you can hide the enemy unit UI with Options->Advanced Options->Opponent UI.

This has no effect on the AI difficulty, it does not know about unspotted player units either way.

[Adraeth]

When playing against the AI, you can hide the enemy unit UI with Options->Advanced Options->Opponent UI.

This has no effect on the AI difficulty, it does not know about unspotted player units either way.

thank you

[pomakli]

When playing against the AI, you can hide the enemy unit UI with Options->Advanced Options->Opponent UI.

This has no effect on the AI difficulty, it does not know about unspotted player units either way.

İs this option also for the campaign available? ( a good one!)

[pomakli]

İs it possible to block this information for the enemy?

During a skirmish I am able to read this info of an enemy tank..

[pipfromslitherine]

İs it possible to block this information for the enemy?

During a skirmish I am able to read this info of an enemy tank..

Do you mean you don't want to see info on enemy units when you mouse over them?

Cheers

Pip

[AndrewGardner]

When playing against the AI, you can hide the enemy unit UI with Options->Advanced Options->Opponent UI.

This has no effect on the AI difficulty, it does not know about unspotted player units either way.

İs this option also for the campaign available? ( a good one!)

Yes, this option affects all single player games (opponent UI is always hidden during the replay in multiplayer games). This option is also available in BA1 by the way, it is not a new feature to BA2.

[pomakli]

İs it possible to block this information for the enemy?

During a skirmish I am able to read this info of an enemy tank..

Do you mean you don't want to see info on enemy units when you mouse over them?

Cheers

Pip

Yes, Pip, don't want to see..

[SirGarnet]

If my troops recognize the unit (depending on their scouting and visual and auditory recognition skills) and can radio, signal or courier it in, I'd like to know.