Slitherine

I discovered while playing FOGI that in FOGI, routed troops would through friendly troops on their escape route and cause friendly troops to rise in disruption level.
I found this to be a very interesting mechanic, and a good reflection of the common situation in ancient warfare where routed troops rushed through their own lines.
I'm curious why this mechanic was removed in FOG2? As far as I know, light infantry can still cross their own units, so it must not be a problem with the game engine.

Passing through units was not possible in the STUB engine that Pike and Shot used, hence routs could not go through other units in that game. Most of the mechanisms of FOG2 were based on those of Pike and Shot rather than those of FOG1.

During the development of FOG2, the ability to code pass throughs was added to the engine, to allow light foot to pass though other troops. But we did not feel the need to change the rout code.

rbodleyscott wrote: ↑Wed Apr 27, 2022 4:28 pm Passing through units was not possible in the STUB engine that Pike and Shot used, hence routs could not go through other units in that game. Most of the mechanisms of FOG2 were based on those of Pike and Shot rather than those of FOG1.

During the development of FOG2, the ability to code pass throughs was added to the engine, to allow light foot to pass though other troops. But we did not feel the need to change the rout code.

I find this mechanic interesting and dramatic, and it also makes strategic maneuvers more meaningful to drive the opponent's routed forces back to the battle line. But may speed up the pace and randomness of the game though.

wzfcns wrote: ↑Thu Apr 28, 2022 2:20 am

rbodleyscott wrote: ↑Wed Apr 27, 2022 4:28 pm Passing through units was not possible in the STUB engine that Pike and Shot used, hence routs could not go through other units in that game. Most of the mechanisms of FOG2 were based on those of Pike and Shot rather than those of FOG1.

During the development of FOG2, the ability to code pass throughs was added to the engine, to allow light foot to pass though other troops. But we did not feel the need to change the rout code.

I find this mechanic interesting and dramatic, and it also makes strategic maneuvers more meaningful to drive the opponent's routed forces back to the battle line. But may speed up the pace and randomness of the game though.

And we know some people don’t like much in the way of randomness. Although it wouldn’t in itself random, it might not be fully predictable, and would accentuate the effect of other randomness.

How would that be more random than the pinballs we have now?

fogman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 3:34 pm How would that be more random than the pinballs we have now?

More random cohesion drops, that is, as opposed to pathing of already routed units. I myself am in the school of wanting less player control (less forgiving fall backs, anarchy charges, charge refusal, automatically resolved melee phase, etc etc) but that is not necessarily a majority opinion.

The rout paths will be more predictable, not less. And if you know that, you can maneuver your rear units to not be affected. If you play FoG1, you'd know what I mean.

fogman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 4:29 pm The rout paths will be more predictable, not less. And if you know that, you can maneuver your rear units to not be affected. If you play FoG1, you'd know what I mean.

I played about 10 MP matches of FOG1 while beta testing FOG2, so I do know what you mean. I think it would be interesting if pass through caused a cohesion test, not auto drop, so that higher quality units would be less likely to be effected. But it doesn't sound like a likely feature.