MP - Restricted View

[Azrael]

Hey Guys,

First and foremost, I know you can turn the Battle Map off.

I just think that if you are playing with "Restricted View", the information displayed on the Battle Map should only be what is readily visible in your line of sight.

I feel this will make the game more strategic, one example being that you will be better able to attempt to Flank an opponent, while at the same time having to deal with the hazard of being flanked yourself.

Some people like the Battle Map. It's nice to know where all the Units are at any given time.

I would like to see the Battle Map modified so that the only Units that appear on it are the Units your troops can actually see.

When not playing with "Restricted View", I think the Battle Map should remain as is, so people who like that feature in it's present state will still have it.

What do you guys think?

Azrael

[Dionysus9]

You are referring to the "Minimap", not the battlemap. The battlemap is the battle-field you are playing on.

Yeah, Az, I think you are right. Except, it is kinda nice to know when someone has artillery. I mean, if you are gonna have napoleonic anti-personell artillery in MTW, I'd like to know where it is.

[Kraellin]

you can turn the radar map off in your options. then, when you host a game, nobody else shld be able to use it either.

K.

[CBR]

I would love to see a host option to remove the all seeing radar. Would make enemy concentrations and flanking maneuvers harder to spot and increase tactics. And you would be able to hide some units behind a hill and not just in woods. /me drools

CBR

[longjohn2]

The minimap does only show enemy units that are visible to your units. Hiding behind a hill is perfectly possible, just that the game won't tell you whether or not the enemy has spotted you.

[CBR]

But as long as its within even your restricted camera it will be on the radar. I still find it too easy to spot enemy units. If the radar was not there you would have to see it yourself by moving the camera and you might be busy somewhere else. The fog of war could be increased.

CBR

[Cheetah]

IMHO the minimap is a necessary help given that you have to command 16 units simultaneously, and that you have to make decesions within a split second (at least in MP).

[Kraxis]

CBR there is no Fog of War in the Total War series.

And just because the camera is restricted it doesn't mean the view won't show other things.
On the minimap you can see what your guys can see, so as longjohn said you can hide troops on an incline. Though the camera, even restricted, can move arouns and over the hill and spot them, I have done that hundreds of times in SP and a few times in MP. They won't show up on the minimap but you know they are there because you have seen them.

I definately like this.

[CBR]

Yes in fog or a blizzard I sometimes see units that doesnt show on the radar. Thats nice.

And that combined with the limited ability to hide behind a big hill and in woods is actually fog of war http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

I havent done any tests to find out precisely when a unit is hidden behind a hill or not. But just today I had a battle where I saw some enemy units on top of a hill. I moved the camera down and saw that my units could only see a few of the front units but the radar showed either all or most of his units. So my guess its a combination of the max height of the camera and banners of enemy units or something like that.

I still feel its too easy to spot enemy units.

I guess there could be several small improvements.

-Dont show different colours of enemy armies so you cant see an enemy concentration by just taking a quick look.

-Just show enemy units within a certain range and not the whole map... dont know perhaps 10k range or less..just a number.

You will still have the radar but just not as good as it is now.


I have noticed that in fog/blizzard etc(maybe even very far away in good weather? - cant remember right now) sometimes you see a unit but dont get any info. That might be nice to have even in good weather. You see the enemies at a distance but difficult to spot precisely how many units and what type.

Im just really after some more uncertainty and less information in the game. Something that promote scouting, hiding and confusing your opponent.(yes ofc playing on steppeinland is not the greatest map for that)

If you need to get closer to actually see that the enemy only has 12 units in front of you and then wonder where the remaining 4 is. Coming closer to a wide enemy formation that actually just are a few spears standing in 2 ranks to look bigger etc. All these small things that could make it more interesting.

CBR