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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:10 pm
by Blathergut
batesmotel wrote:For what it's worth, I can't think of any accounts of ancient battles where troops deployed the main line of battle (ignoring skirmish screens out in front) seem to have caused a major surprise by appearing in the middle of the battle. There are certainly accounts of troops deployed in ambush before a battle being a factor, e.g. Lake Trasimene or Trebia, but other than troops that were hidden by terrain to start with, it doesn't seem like Fog of War was a major factor in determining the outcome of ancient or medieval set piece battles. If anything, FoG PC may go a bit too far in having individual BGs obscure other BGs from the same side.
Chris
agreed...or very very rare...i think this FOG thingie can go too far. The idea of cataphracts hiding behind pikes and suddenly bursting out is a tad much imo. A bit of FOG, like not seeing behind a hill or something, adds a nice little flavour...but let's not over-do it.
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:22 pm
by TheGrayMouser
You have to admit though the idea of clouds of dust becoming visible is pretty cool, this was a feature of Steel Panthers in certain arid maps, you never knew if those streaks of dust pealing off to your flanks were MBT's or go-carts
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:56 pm
by Blathergut
Ya, clouds of dust maybe...guess it would depend on the scale of the battle. Huge things like Alexander's to-do's...sure. Some skirmish or battle in Gaul or Spain...probably not.
Historic Examples
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 9:06 pm
by CharlesRobinson
Actually - some of the battles of history does give examples of large troops hinding behind rank and file troops - an example would be the great Elephant Victory (Seleucids vs Galatians). The Elephants were hidden behind the battle line of Pike.
Re: Historic Examples
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:29 pm
by grumblefish
CharlesRobinson wrote:Actually - some of the battles of history does give examples of large troops hinding behind rank and file troops - an example would be the great Elephant Victory (Seleucids vs Galatians). The Elephants were hidden behind the battle line of Pike.
Also, any battle where a flank was weighted unbeknownst the enemy, such as the second battle at Mantinea. Both flanks were weighted at Marathon.