Question to Glenn S regarding AT units

[Volcano Man]

Well, is hard find a good and realistic solution... here my 2 cents.

For AT (and for light arty even) units is interesting create a new rule called "disengage" with a % controled in PDT you can try to move the unit one hex to reguard without change formation expending 1/3 or 1/2 of action points in the proces, if all goes well you lose 1/3 or 1/2 of action points but your unit is 1 hex behind the line and you safe then (the great evasion hehehe) if the retreat fail you lose 1/3 or 1/2 of action points and are in the same situation. Here can influe if is a night turn, unit quality and nation %... can control it... what do you think about this???.

Actually - not to bad of an idea at all really.

Anyone think this is a dumb idea or a great idea??

Let me just say I've no idea how feasible it would be from a programming POV, but it might work.

Glenn

Well, it is not a bad idea per se (call it "AT Gun Disengagement"), but there is a potential problem with this idea. Essentially it allows an AT gun unit to move (disengage) multiple times if each try is successful, since I think it would be difficult to restrict it to only the AT gun's first move. You also wouldn't want to restrict it to the AT gun's first action (ie. requiring that the unit must have full MPs to attempt the disengagement, because it makes it a one try thing, which of course leads to users most likely save/load until they are successful in the attempt).

It would probably be a better idea (if we are building upon that one) to instead say:

*PDT parameter "AT gun withdrawal" (%) determines probability of success
*Attempt to withdraw deployed AT guns costs 1/3 MPs
*If successful the AT gun moves into desired hex and is now in Travel Mode. and pays an additional MP cost for the terrain in the destination hex
*If the unit does not have enough MPs to enter the destination hex (or is incapable of entering the destination hex) then the move is prevented (the entire withdrawal attempt is not allowed)

All of this this ensures that the AT gun must now deploy out of Travel Mode again, by paying 1/3 of its movement value, if the user wants it to defend the hex it moved into, or it is stuck in that hex in T mode (very bad) on the opponents turn if it moved into a terrain type that caused an expense of a lot of MPs, or because the user expended a lot of MPs before the withdrawal. By having the AT gun in Travel Mode after the attempt, it also ensures that you can't just keep withdrawing again and again, thereby moving the AT gun unit two or three hexes while deployed -- it also creates a dilemma on when and where to do this. As an example of a dilemma, withdrawing into T mode and being stuck in the woods in T mode on the opponents turn is probably OK if it is a night turn, but not something you would want to do in a day turn.

Of course, this is essentially the same thing I said above in the second half of post #8 (see below the slashes), but with an added PDT probability of success value, which I am not sure if it is necessary as it just complicates things.

But anyway, if it is done any other way where the unit does not enter T mode once it withdraws, or if the unit does not pay the cost of the move into the new hex, then you have a gameplay problem wherein withdrawing the AT guns like this would actually be more efficient than doing a normal move (enter T mode, move away), that is if the AT gun unit is not paying for the cost of the move to the destination hex AND the AT gun unit is successful in the attempt.