Effectiveness of Cover

Field of Glory II is a turn-based tactical game set during the Rise of Rome from 280 BC to 25 BC.
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Morbio
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Effectiveness of Cover

Post by Morbio »

I have a couple of questions regarding the effectiveness of cover, one I think is a bug, the other is probably WAD but needs improvement IMO.

Firstly, this is a screenshot of the start of one of my recent MP games, from the first view of the battlefield after I complete deployment I could see all my enemies cavalry hiding in the woods. No moves had taken place, but I could see them. The screenshot is from the beginning of turn 2 and my opponent hadn't moved his cavalry at all, but I could see them and he was probably thinking I was oblivious to the units in the woods. I know I've suffered because of this in a previous MP game... there was I thinking my enemy's units were marching into my trap, when at the last moment they all turn to my units, along with cavalry and then I was outnumbered and doomed! :evil:
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Screen_00000013.jpg (266.33 KiB) Viewed 1098 times
Why is this happening?

The second point, is regarding the system messages for units in cover and out of sight. In a current game my opponent had a unit that was well in cover (I couldn't see it and didn't know it was there... although I suspected something was there) and he decided to fall back. All good, I hear the sounds of marching, but then in big white letters above his hidden unit appears 'Fall Back'. So now I know exactly where a unit is! I know that I've raised similar before, I believe it was a rallying message, and I think this really shouldn't happen and it really lessens the effectiveness of cover in the game. My view is that units in cover shouldn't have any messages visible to the enemy in replay, the sound of marching is fine, just not the words or the rally horns... although you could argue the horns are the officers rallying the troops and they don't tell you exactly where the unit is. Is this possible to fix in a later release?

Finally, just a comment for those who think impact MF are overpowered. My opponent had a good solid army of average, protected hoplites, with good skirmisher support and some nice cavalry, but the game was so one-sided it was not fair to my opponent. The average hoplite will win the melee and the long battle, the problem is that they generally don't get to that state because too may disrupt on impact and then they break and this disrupts neighbours and then it's all downhill. This battle finished 40-0 and my opponent is a reasonable player that didn't do anything I'd class as silly, but a fair number of units went to disrupted on impact and probably 2 or 3 went straight to fragmented!
Nosy_Rat
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Re: Effectiveness of Cover

Post by Nosy_Rat »

Cavalry hiding in the first line of trees (or buildings) can be seen from a very long distance.
Since there are tracks running through that forest, you also have the line of sight to that cavalry unit with the general.
Morbio
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Re: Effectiveness of Cover

Post by Morbio »

OK, that explains the mechanic, but what's the rationale for cavalry being visible in the first line of trees/buildings, and why not infantry?
Nosy_Rat
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Re: Effectiveness of Cover

Post by Nosy_Rat »

I guess it's difficult to hide horses?
rbodleyscott
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Re: Effectiveness of Cover

Post by rbodleyscott »

Nosy_Rat wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:54 am I guess it's difficult to hide horses?
This.

If the cavalry deploy in the second line of wood squares, they will normally be hidden, but in this case the track is allowing them to be seen.

This is WAD.
Richard Bodley Scott

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rbodleyscott
Field of Glory 2
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Re: Effectiveness of Cover

Post by rbodleyscott »

The second point, is regarding the system messages for units in cover and out of sight. In a current game my opponent had a unit that was well in cover (I couldn't see it and didn't know it was there... although I suspected something was there) and he decided to fall back. All good, I hear the sounds of marching, but then in big white letters above his hidden unit appears 'Fall Back'. So now I know exactly where a unit is! I know that I've raised similar before, I believe it was a rallying message, and I think this really shouldn't happen and it really lessens the effectiveness of cover in the game. My view is that units in cover shouldn't have any messages visible to the enemy in replay, the sound of marching is fine, just not the words or the rally horns... although you could argue the horns are the officers rallying the troops and they don't tell you exactly where the unit is. Is this possible to fix in a later release?
It is something we can revisit.
Richard Bodley Scott

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