Fog of War

“	“Not quite ready yet”
	— Mercia

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Last edited by Emo Tarquin on 2021-01-02 21:51:53.

“	“Fog of war restricts unit visibility by covering the map in fog tiles.”
	— Codex, Fog of War

Fog of War is a gameplay mechanic that introduces limited vision range, reducing the visible information to a player and influencing combat opportunities.

The entire map by default is hidden from the player under a 'fog'. Every unit has some range of sight they can see within the map. When a tile is within visible range of a unit, it will perform similar to a normal game. Tiles not visible have several restrictions placed upon them.

Targetting

Fog tiles are not targettable by any action. This includes attacks, unloading from a transport, and many grooves. The only exception is that the player may select to Capture a building within the fog, however they do not know if the building is occupied until the action is performed, and if it is they will be Ambushed by the building.

Not all abilities are targetted at the map. This includes the Heal and Hex spells from the Mage and Sky Rider, and detonations from a Sparrow Bomb, along with some Grooves. These can still be used in an area even if the player does not know what is in the fog.

Invisibility

Any non-ally unit positioned within the fog will be functionally invisible. They will not appear anywhere on the map, masking their location. However, they will still be seen attacking units and can be heard.

Buildings will always be shown, regardless of Fog of War, however it will not be shown if the building is occupied by a player if it is positioned in the fog, with the exception of Strongholds.

Overview Screen

During a Fog of War match, the Overview screen will only provide data about the current player and ally players. This means you cannot determine information about their income, army size, or spendings without inferring from the map.

Ambush

An Ambush occurs when a unit walks into the fog, but is interrupted by an enemy on their path. This can also happen if a building is occupied when attempting to Capture it.

A unit that is Ambushed will immediately stop moving, and perform no action. If the tile they stop on is invalid or occupied, such as when crossing through a neutral village or when a Water unit stops on a Bridge, the unit will go back along its movement path to the last available space.

Audio Cues

Fog of War has no effect on the audio of the game.

Every unit type has a distinctly unique movement sound, with the exception of some Commanders sharing sounds with certain unit types. This means a player can identify the army composition of an enemy based on the number of times each walking sound plays.

Units make no movement sound from inside a transport unit, allowing a player to move units without giving an audible indicator to having bought one.

When audio is played in stero mode, the strength of the sound from the left or right channel will depend on the unit's relative position to the player's cursor. This means a player can position the cursor identify which direction moving units are in, but will be unable to tell the distance of the sound.

As mentioned previously, some Commanders share sound effects with other units. For example Koji sounds identical to a Giant. This can allow Commanders to potentially mask the number of a unit type by alternating movements.

Vision Types

Normal Vision

The standard vision type. Units of this type cannot see areas behind a Wall, Mountain, Forest, or Reef terrain. Additionally standard vision cannot see into Forest or Reef unless directly adjacent to them.

Aerial Vision

Vision used by all Air units. Units of this type can 'see over' obstructing terrain, able to see areas behind Wall, Mountain, Forest, and Reef. However, they are still incapable of 'seeing into' Forest and Reef unless directly adjacent to it.

Strong Sight

Exclusive to Dogs and Turtles. This type has perfect vision, unimpeded by any terrain from any distance.

Vision Stats

Unit Type	Vision Type	Sight Range
Commander	Normal	3
Villager	Normal	2
Soldier	Normal	2
Dog	Strong	3
Spearman	Normal	2
Wagon	Normal	2
Archer	Normal	2
Mage	Normal	2
Cavalry	Normal	2
Ballista	Normal	2
Trebuchet	Normal	2
Giant	Normal	2
Thief	Normal	3
Rifleman	Normal	3
Balloon	Aerial	3
Aeronaut	Aerial	3
Sky Rider	Aerial	4
Dragon	Aerial	3
Barge	Normal	3
Amphibian	Normal	2
Turtle	Strong	4
Harpoon Ship	Normal	3
Warship	Normal	2
Sparrow Bomb	Aerial	3
Vine	Normal	2
Crystal	Normal	3
Shadow Sister	Normal	4

Vision calculation

As standard and Air unit visions cannot see behind certain tiles, the game performs calculations to determine their line-of-sight. This is complex and thus can lead to unexpected results.