Battle Replays

[Rabbit]

I hate sitting through the artillery barrages, but otherwise I find it invaluable in figuring out my opponent's strategy. It might seem subtle, but there is a ton of information one can pick up by watching the replays. How much is your enemy firing; where is he concentrating his efforts; etc.

From a gaming perspective, the replays help refresh me as to where I had left off. I often am playing multiple PBEMs and the replays help me remember what was happening from my previous turn. Another big thing is that enemy units can disappear from view if they aren't in your LOS to start your turn even though they had been in your LOS during the previous turn. Replaying the move helps remind me about those units. Similarly, some of your enemy's units might move into your LOS and then out of it again within a turn, and only through the replays do you become aware of them.

And perhaps most important - watching the replays helps me learn the game much better. I learn new tactics by watching the steps my opponent uses to execute a particular maneuver within a turn (just for example, the sequence of steps he uses to assault a particular position), as opposed to the overall strategy that he uses for the scenario. And even if I am not learning something new, watching my opponent's moves often reinforces concepts I have already learned.

I will say that how enjoyable it is to watch the replays generally goes hand in hand to how I am doing in a scenario. It can be fun to watch my opponent struggle against a particular strategy I've employed, but the replays can also be depressing when I am getting crushed. But I usually learn the most from games in which I do get crushed, but from watching the replays up until the point where I am getting crushed.