I think the detailed stats on enemy units should be hidden during play. More FOW is 'always' a good thing.
Either remove the stats altogether or replace them by semi-randomized numbers.
This kind of info should only be available to the unit-owner, especially when a commander is assigned to the unit.
I do know that the Unit Navigator may be used during play, but I guess/hope the basic stats are affected by terrain, effectiveness etc.
I'm not sure this is the way. Even without using the navigator or just the unit file it seems that most vet players and history buffs will know units anyway.
Not that they have always exact stats present, but at least they know stuff in rough terms, while it could hamper new players way more who don't.
Since we are talking about something that is probably a non-starter, I'd like to comment.
There is always a certain knowledge of enemy strengths and capabilities based on battlefield intelligence.
However, I do think it is fundamentally wrong to display both unit strength and efficiency. Also, entrenchment and experience and commanders, all of which are exhibited to the opponent, complicate the issue as well. I don't know what a good compromise would be, but opposing players shouldn't be totally aware of the opponent's full combat disposition. Maybe only show them when in actual contact with (adjacent to) the enemy units... Once contact is broken, the unit characteristics display turns off.
Before we go wrecking gameplay on the bizarre off-chance that someone might actually take this advice, maybe Erik's PvP team could do an experiment (I'd gladly participate) if someone would mod the game where it only shows one or two of these unit descriptors and only fully displays all info when in contact. That would really show the true value of ground recon units!
while I'm bitching,
*Also, I think it is VERY BAD to show when a unit is reinforced/resupplied! Especially if it is hidden from view, when you reinforce/resupply it, the unit position is given away. Double-plus ungood!
*Also, we are given instant damage assessments on our artillery and bombing runs. That's not realistic, however desirable in real life. I guess it's okay for air combat to show how many planes are in a flight, but not how effective their bombing runs and artillery fires were.
I think this thread would be better placed in scenario design.
In reality, most of the time we infantry knew almost nothing about an enemy's capabilities until we PROBED their position. Initially, full blown ASSAULTS were avoided except when in a "Meeting Engagement". Once the probing gave us a "comfortable" idea of what we were facing we could plan our attack: either hasty (little outside support) or deliberate (artillery/air support). The exceptions were when extensive recon and scouting were available, or prior attacks were performed to give us more definitive info.
New subject: Does anyone know how to change the units file from "read only" to allow editing?
