I’ve made a fair bit of progress on Proof of Concept 4 of Armoured Commander II:
- expanded the base terrain map and edited terrain generation to handle maps of any size
- implemented a basic concealment/spotting system with a set of rules on when and how units are spotted depending on their unit type, current terrain, range to spotter, etc.
- implemented reloading and rate of fire rolls for ordinance weapons on the player tank
- added a new system for attacks, using modified to-hit and firepower calculations; this system is similar to that used in ArmCom1 but is steamlined and modified in a few ways
One major change from previously is that successful AP hits on armoured vehicles and small arms attacks on units are now applied only at the end of each phase. This means that the player (and other friendly and enemy AI units) will know when an attack has been successful / has penetrated the target armour, but will not know what the end result of these attacks will be until the end of the phase. For infantry/guns this ranges from a pin test to destruction, while armoured vehicles might only suffer minor damage or might be knocked out completely. This is a central mechanic of the game and it’s important to get it right. My goal with this system is to replicate a little of the fog of war, where the fate of an enemy platoon or vehicle after an attack isn’t always immediately evident, and firing units don’t have the luxury of taking attacks one at a time and seeing what final effect they have before proceeding to the next. It also allows multiple units to add their firepower in attacking a single target, the sum of which is resolved at the end of the shooting phase.