FOW wierdness v3.03

[Hoyt Burrass]

Hi All,

I picked up this game last week and have been learning the ropes...some weirdness occurred (and may have been occurring) with FOW. I am playing on the middle setting; 'Enemy'

I am playing as the Austrians and ordered Hiller's corps to advance to Brannan. No enemy units are spotted anywhere on the map, when, in the execution phase of the 6th turn, I get the combat popup and Hiller fights the French VII corps. No French units are shown on the map at all during the entire turn, or during the next orders phase. I pop out to strategic map and two blue squares show up on that map (In the correct location) but not on the main game map. I save the game and scratch my head.

This morning, I think, perhaps I should document with some screenies to the Matrix forum. So, I load up the save game file and voila! the previously absent french units appear on the main game map. So, I load up the previous turn's autosave and once again the french units are present...So, I load the next previous turn and the french units are present...Now, when I played the original game I never saw any French units on the map anywhere, only on the strategic map after I had the battle.

Now, I'm new to the system and perhaps this is WAD...but it struck me as odd and thus this post.

thanks in advance for any light you can shed.

[chemkid]

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[Hoyt Burrass]

Thanks for the link...some issues exist with 3.03...but 3.04 is on the way!

[Rasputitsa]

Late into this as I am travelling, but I have noticed similar effects with enemy units showing on the overview map, but not on the main map. I am not sure if this is the same event, but when your units find enemy units and there is no full battle to resolve (e.g. you only get a 'skirmish' report), they can remain in the same hex together, the enemy units are hidden in the stack with your own unit counters.

Cycle (right click) through the stack and the enemy units may show (but not always), or mouse over the stack and the number of units in the stack will show in the game screen top bar. If you have 5 friendly units in a hex and the stack total is 7, then there are 2 enemy units there also, even if you cannot see them all on the screen.

Alternatively this shows the value of the overview display, which will show where known enemy units are, even if you don't have any other indications. So like any good commander, get the information from wherever you can. You could look on the overview information as coming from scouts and spies, you know something is there, but you don't know what. So I don't see this as a bug, more a representation of reality.

I have commented in another thread that if units are close, or in the same hex, there should be more information shown, even when FOW is selected, but otherwise it is just part of the uncertainty which existed in Napoleonic warfare that this game reproduces so well. [:)]

[Hoyt Burrass]

It wasn't a skirmish. it was a full blown battle.

[Rasputitsa]

The peculiarities of the display system have been apparent in preparing the AAR I have been posting. This is my experience with the game:





A white Austrian unit symbol is shown on the Overview map in the position where, on the Main map, there is a French stack headed by MOUTON, but no Austrian unit is in sight on the Main map. I know there are Austrian units there, because there has been combat.

[Rasputitsa]

Cycling through the stack brings up 1 Austrian unit, not previously visible:




The stack total is 9 units and 7 are French, so there must be 2 Austrian units there, although only 'Kottulinsk' ever shows, the other remains invisible on the Main map.

Is this similar to your experience, or something different ?

Checking the stack totals and sifting through the stacks, will give a good indication of what hidden units might be present, although not ideal. I have commented on another thread that, even with FOW selected, there should be more information on enemy units, when they are in the same hex, or adjacent to friendly units.

Maybe Frank can advise if this is WAD, but either way, I am treating it as part of the uncertainty of warfare for now.