Fog of War?

[Ballacraine]

Shogun 2 had a very pretty, albeit unrealistic, implementation of this.

Is Fog of War going to be implemented in a similar fashion in Rome 2?

Whilst it would be fun to explore & discover as with Civilization V & Shogun 2, it does not really add to immersion as it is far from being realistic.

At its start point, any faction is going to have at least a working knowledge of its surrounding area.

I am in favour of Fog Of War, but I think it should only apply to armies & settlement details in surrounding areas.
Classic Civ V & Shogun 2 FOW is fine for more distant areas.

On a related issue, at the outset there should be a variety of unit experience.
It would not be realistic to have all green units.

Balla.

[Jester]

the system in Shogun2 was actually closer to previous TW games than to Civilization.

In Civ you know nothing about the unexplored lands. there can be everything... land, sea, mountains or the next city. In Shogun2 however you just get a very stylized version of the map but it shows everything... the kind of terrain and location of cities.
so in Shogun2 you also had knowledge of the surrounding area, only thing you didnt know was the location of enemy armies and how advanced their provinces were = pretty much standard fog of war

[Mamertine]

I just hope there is a way to remove fog of war. Ever RTW and M2TW game I played, that was the first thing I did. I want to see what the other factions are doing. Plus, it is a little more realistic. If Parthia took over all of Anatolia and you are Rome and in Greece, you would know about it. Between scouts, merchants, and spies factions would have a general knowledge of who controlled which major cities and where major armies were.

[Ballacraine]

I just hope there is a way to remove fog of war. Ever RTW and M2TW game I played, that was the first thing I did. I want to see what the other factions are doing. Plus, it is a little more realistic. If Parthia took over all of Anatolia and you are Rome and in Greece, you would know about it. Between scouts, merchants, and spies factions would have a general knowledge of who controlled which major cities and where major armies were.

I can see your point of view, but a God like omniscience would oversimplify the game for me & destroy immersion.

Balla.

[Mamertine]

I can see your point of view, but a God like omniscience would oversimplify the game for me & destroy immersion.

Balla.

Yeah, it does take away a little of the difficulty if you can see them coming a continent away.

New idea. I would love it if they just gave you the whole map and you could see who owns what and no armies unless a scout spots them. That way you can see how other factions are doing but not see armies marching towards you. Pretty much like no fog of war, but enemy armies, spies, etc. are not visible unless close to you.

[Ballacraine]

the system in Shogun2 was actually closer to previous TW games than to Civilization.

In Civ you know nothing about the unexplored lands. there can be everything... land, sea, mountains or the next city. In Shogun2 however you just get a very stylized version of the map but it shows everything... the kind of terrain and location of cities.
so in Shogun2 you also had knowledge of the surrounding area, only thing you didnt know was the location of enemy armies and how advanced their provinces were = pretty much standard fog of war

Yes, I take your point about that.
The reason I lumped them together was the fact that the graphic depiction of FOW was similar.
Having given further consideration, I suppose I would be quite satisfied with the Shogun 2 method.

Balla

[kronpas]

Its gamey but I see no other alternatives to emulate the need to gather information in real life. Its been in strategy games for ... ages?

edit: 'the need to gather information' is too vague. Does anyone know a better term?

[Tenerife_Boy]

I hate fog of war. that's just my opinion

[Pontic Pontus]

Maybe do something like letting you see the surrounding provinces up to 3 territories away, because in real life you would knowa lot about nations that are close to you and a lot less about those far away.

[kronpas]

Maybe do something like letting you see the surrounding provinces up to 3 territories away, because in real life you would knowa lot about nations that are close to you and a lot less about those far away.

You could already see whats up in the immediate provinces and provinces with trade activities to you. With agents the area you can watch is extended, though its by map-miles, not by provinces.

[panzerschreck]

I hate fog of war because most of the time it's totally unrealistic.

[ashbery76]

Shoguns2 FOG showed provinces details so it was hardly Civ.It was just a nice graphical cover more than anything.

[DogSoldierSPQR]

Also in Fog of War, you never know when the AI may just take a few more extra steps than is allowed. After all, you'd never know

[Ballacraine]

OK, I can see there are mixed opinions on this.....

What about my postscript about unit experience?
IIRC in Rome I all units started out as green, which was a less than realistic start point.

Balla

[Lord Dakier]

Well how about the basic fog of war from Shogun 2 but simply knowing which faction controls that part of the map? You don't get to see any units or anything all you see is maybe the faction name and color.

[Anaxamander]

Well how about the basic fog of war from Shogun 2 but simply knowing which faction controls that part of the map? You don't get to see any units or anything all you see is maybe the faction name and color.

Couldn't you already see that info in Shogun 2 through the diplomacy map?

[Lord Dakier]

Couldn't you already see that info in Shogun 2 through the diplomacy map?

Yeah but you had to find the faction first. Imagine this more as you travel to uncharted land and have heard whispers of the authority who govern such lands.

[Anaxamander]

Yeah but you had to find the faction first. Imagine this more as you travel to uncharted land and have heard whispers of the authority who govern such lands.

Oh yeah, that's right. I guess it's been a while since I started a new campaign. I agree that I would at least like to know if, for instance, the Suebi have taken over the entirety of Europe.

[d4g4n]

I am fine with the S2 system, and cannot imagine what they would change about it.

[Ballacraine]

I am fine with the S2 system, and cannot imagine what they would change about it.

In all honesty, I thought it a very pretty way of doing it.

It was just I hadn't seen it so far in the Rome 2 previews.

Balla