Manual:Fog of war

From AACWWiki

A player will only see enemy units if they are detected. The hide value of the enemy units is compared to the friendly detection value in the region: if your detection value equals the hide value of your opponent, you detect him. Extra detection points increase the accuracy of the intelligence gathered.

Detection value

Detection points in a region are generated by 3 sources (not cumulative, use only the highest value):

• At least 51% military control in your favor: 2 points
• At least 51% population loyalty in your favor: 2 points
• Troops: Highest detection rating present

Detection also extends to adjacent regions but with a –1 reduction. A region is grayed out if your detection level there is 0.

Hide value

If a group is in a region with a structure (friendly or enemy), its Hide Value is set to 1 unless in Passive Posture. Otherwise, a group possesses the Hide Value of its unit with the worst Hide Value, modified as follows:

• Only leaders present: +1
• Small force or passive: +1
• Large force: -1
• Sneaky terrain: +1
• Bad weather: +1
• Leader's traits (Deceiver, Screener): +1

See the glossary for a definition of a small or large force.

Hint: forces near enemy territory or troops are automatically detected, unless the region is completely wild (i.e. no structure present). Forces in your rear areas, however, usually remain unspotted. Some irregular units such as indians, rangers, etc., are good choices to recon and spot enemy units doing the same.

Examples of what an opponent might detect

• Equal detection value: "Union or CSA Force*, Led by General***, Artillery*, Regulars* (this varies, but in general will be vague). Forces below the top "detected" force are invisible. Also note the force image and forces present tag.

• +1: Force name, exact force leadership and sub-unit names. Units below the top "detected" force will show only force name and number of sub-units in paranthesis.

• +2 and above: The power of each force and sub-units will be displayed. Units below the top unit will display as "also here," power in parenthesis.

• Note: There is only one detection value for a stack of forces in a region. The "detected" force used is usually the most powerful force in the stack. However, if an Army HQ is present, its detection value takes precedence. If two HQs are present, the most powerful HQ's detection value takes precedence. If the HQ is invisible, however, detection defaults to the most powerful force in the region.