Why are AI Hashishin visible to me?

[EatYerGreens]

Their Unit parchment says "they can hide in plain sight" but, up against them I find I can see them right from the start of the battle. I was expecting a challenge, like loss of my general but was instantly disappointed.

I'm doing Byz at the moment, so it will be a long while before I can try them for myself, short of getting them as mercs, but I don't have much hopes for being able to exploit their special ability for myself.

I've read an old Hashishin thread, containing reports of success, provided they were not set to 'fire at will' as this permits them their own target choice and their position is revealed to the AI general as soon as they begin firing.

Also success reported when having them hidden in woods (lush terrain), though this makes them little different from other woods-concealable units but, interestingly, no luck when in the desert, of all places. So much for concealment 'in plain sight'.

Any observations about this phenomenon?

Note: I've installed the VI expansion since my last encounter against Hashi's. If the visibility thing was a known bug in original MTW, fixed in VI, please let me know.

Thanks.

[ichi]

You see AI Hashishin when they shoot or move, they should be invisible a few moments after they stop moving.

When you use them place them on Hold Form and turn Fire-at-Will off. This way they'll remain hidden until you order them to attack.

ichi

[IrishMike]

Wow, I'm just surprised to see the AI build Hashishin. Never seen that in one of my games before. What year in the game is it?

[Ironside]

Wow, I'm just surprised to see the AI build Hashishin. Never seen that in one of my games before. What year in the game is it?

Could be Jihad hashishins.

[EatYerGreens]

You see AI Hashishin when they shoot or move, they should be invisible a few moments after they stop moving.

Thanks ichi. I've vague recollections of seeing them in deployment position, even before they began to move but, other than that, I'll take your word for it.

Their big mistake is that they were attacking me and so they HAD to move, in order to get within firing range. Easy meat for my archers.

@ ColdKnight

You're probably right about hardly ever seeing AI use these, outside of Jihads.

In my example, it was a rebellion army, in Portugal. Two battles in rapid succession and they failed miserably each time.

The funniest one was about 6 Hashies and 3 Mangonels, of all things. I don't think the poor Mango's even got a chance to fire because I'd manually deployed, away from the default position and was displaced slightly to one side of the map. Of course, Mango's can't turn once placed, so they just sat there, dumbly, maybe the closest unit got some shots off, until I'd dealt with the H's and could approach them from the side and make the crews run. I'd have liked to have seen them operating properly and in close up but with restricted camera and their crews running away as my Cav units approach, the opportunity didn't arise.

[aleh]

Hehe, I was faced with entire stacks of ballistas and Hashishins during Turkish rebellions, they aren't /that/ hard to beat.

[Ludens]

Off course, generals can never hide, even if they are Hashishin, so if they were the general's unit...

But then Hashishin are 'discouraged' to be the general's unit, so this is probably not the case.

[ichi]

But then Hashishin are 'discouraged' to be the general's unit, so this is probably not the case.

Mother, to her Hashishin son "You'll never become a general at the rate you're going. All of your friends alreadyhave good jobs, and you're still living at home. I think you wo'nt ever amount to anything. You need to work harder, and stop smokin that dope!"

Father, to the mother "now Martha, don't discourage the boy"