[Enhancement] Hero Path And Fog Of War

Version 0.8 fheroes2_windows_x64_SDL2
Map: 0Test11.MP2

Select the wood stack as destination with the mouse cursor.
The program displays a default path for the hero.



However this is not the path I would choose because at the same time I would like to remove as much fog of war as possible when moving the hero.
The ideal path for this would be to pick up the wood pile, arriving from the position just north of the wood pile.
However this is not possible and you must first select the desired destination just north of the wood pile.



But here again, the displayed path does not allow to reveal the maximum amount of land under the fog of war and it remains fairly close to the previously displayed path.

The only solution is therefore to break down the hero's movement into several consecutive actions.
First, three moves southwest.
And then, three moves south to reach the stack of wood.





In the end, the hero has the same number of movement points in reserve (250 points).
The only difference is that the hero is not located in the same square.
But it can be observed that a larger part of the adventure map has been revealed.





This enhancement would be welcome in my opinion, it could possibly be an option to be selected:

"Optimize the hero's path to reveal as much terrain as possible under the fog of war."

Note: the mouse cursor is displayed larger than it actually is in the game when a screenshot is taken.
Look at the helmet mouse cursor distortion when the mouse cursor is positioned over the selected hero.

Files: Hero Path And Fog Of War.7z
Files: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GK1YvTXkgw2AxiaMhMKTeXjvzES5BKL7/view?usp=sharing

I could say that it's very disputable. On one hand, it might make sense to uncovered fog of war. On other hand, the amount of movements is the same.
The problem with this method will be that there is no guarantee that the uncovered area will be passable or requires the same amount of movement points. On top of this, in your situation the player might need to meet the current hero by another hero exactly at the location which was specified at the beginning because the second hero might have movement points only to meet the first hero on the right side.

Hello ihhub,

I don't quite understand your reference to the uncovered area, is it the area already discovered or the one that will be discovered when the hero moves?
The path where the hero will move is already revealed on the adventure map, it is not possible to choose a destination located under the fog of war, and any passabilities and terrain penalties are therefore already known.
And the best path according to the penalties and passabilities will be the one proposed.

Knowledge of the adventure map is a significant advantage in a strategy game.

Yes, the movement is the same with the final destination square different, but with more squares revealed on the adventure map and that's why I'm proposing this enhancement.

About meeting another hero.
If the second hero for the meeting is located southwest of the woodpile, so on the left side of the destination square, that's an advantage.

For me, choosing the path is a part of the gameplay, kind of a little strategy.

GodRage wrote:

For me, choosing the path is a part of the gameplay, kind of a little strategy.

Yes, it is part of the strategy to choose the path of the hero.
And in my case I would like the hero to reveal as many squares as possible on the adventure map when possible.

I know my choice and I just want to say to the computer:
"Hey, when I move my hero, choose the shortest path that reveals the most squares on the adventure map. That's my strategy."
So I activate the option:
"Optimize the hero's path to reveal as much terrain as possible under the fog of war."

And there you go, the rest is just a matter of calculations.
This is also the case for the hero's movement.
It's a bit boring to have to optimize the hero's movement when it's just calculations to do.

The computer is specialized in making calculations, that is its job.
So the computer takes care of the calculations, and I can enjoy the game and have fun.

Currently path is created over neither the closest nor the farthest distance from the fog. Just somewhere in the middle. I think it's the most optimal decision. I don't think hero should always choose the most extreme path. What if approaching hero discovers forests or mountains, water or even comes closely to the edges of a world map? Final position of a hero, which will be closer to the revealed terrain will cause him a loss of movement points, to step back.

Hello sirDranik,

sirDranik wrote:

Currently path is created over neither the closest nor the farthest distance from the fog. Just somewhere in the middle. I think it's the most optimal decision. I don't think hero should always choose the most extreme path.

I hope the default path is created to reach the destination by the shortest path.

sirDranik wrote:

What if approaching hero discovers forests or mountains, water or even comes closely to the edges of a world map? Final position of a hero, which will be closer to the revealed terrain will cause him a loss of movement points, to step back.

If during the hero's movement, forests, mountains, ocean, etc., are discovered, they will be located at the end of the hero's vision radius not in the squares where the hero will move, these squares are already revealed.
In the example where I splited the hero's movement, all the squares through which the hero will pass are already revealed, the passability and the penalty of these squares are already known.

The path should not be lengthened to discover more squares, this is not the goal.
The goal is to reach the destination, in the example the wood stack, by the shortest path, and, if there is an alternative path to the default path with the same number of movement points spent and that this path reveals more squares, then the hero must take this path.
Nothing complicated.

In the example where I splited the hero's movement, in the end the hero's field of vision revealed seven more squares than if the hero had taken the default path and this for a displacement of five squares, this brings a certain advantage, it is more information to decide on future actions.

Unknown_Hero wrote:

The only difference is that the hero is not located in the same square.

That's the point, I'm not sure will be ok...
Between, comparing to H3 - path in h2 is made much more optimal. Playing H3 in the same situation, as in your screenshot, hero would move down first, and after makes diagonal steps. I think here was made such solution to make hero waste as much less points in the beginning of a movement, as he can. So, if something happens, and player would decide to change movement direction - he would have some extra saved points... In your screenshot path is created on the closest+1 to the fog cells. And i think it is ok....
Also creating the whole path close to the fog won't look so accurate...
And surely, PC will never know, where exactly You want a path be created. So i think it's quite normal, if player creates short paths to make hero move, as player wants in a current moment....

sirDranik wrote:

Unknown_Hero wrote:

The only difference is that the hero is not located in the same square.

That's the point, I'm not sure will be ok...

The user is aware of this when activating the option that reveals as many squares as possible when the hero moves.
It is a voluntary choice.
It's a strategy game and this brings more advantages than disadvantages from his point of view.

sirDranik wrote:

And surely, PC will never know, where exactly You want a path be created.

The computer will never understand anything anyway, it's up to the programmer to tell it how to act.
It seems clear and understandable to me.
If for a given action, in the example picking up the woodpile, the hero will spend the same number of movement points as the default path and a larger portion of the adventure map will be discovered, then this is the path the hero must take.

sirDranik wrote:

So i think it's quite normal, if player creates short paths to make hero move, as player wants in a current moment....

Yes, but it's so annoying having to do this when the computer could do it.

Revealing as many hidden territory, as possible always goes with a risk of a player's hero stay too close to the enemy, hiding in a fog... So not all players would like to risk. Nevertheless, we should hear more opinions from other users.

Personally, if an opposing hero is nearby and hidden under the fog of war, I would prefer to know it.
And this is also the goal of choosing the path that reveals as much land as possible.
And in addition, with the option "The hero stops moving..." selected, it's all good.

As for taking risks, I often use the View Heroes spell before moving my heroes.
Adventure spells are often neglected by players, for my part I find their uses really very interesting.

Unknown_Hero wrote:

As for taking risks, I often use the View Heroes spell before moving my heroes.
Adventure spells are often neglected by players, for my part I find their uses really very interesting. Wink

Completely agree with you!

Regarding the auto-revealing-fog mechanics... I don't think people would use it. Because the most of skilled players would still prefer to act on their own, and this option wouldn't help so much.
But it still can be implemented in future projects. While talking about current development - we are going leave original movement mechanics till the 1.0 released version.

Yes, it's okay if it's for "Beyond 1.0".
At least, I will use it, and still act on my own with full knowledge of the effects and consequences.
But be careful, if you try it, you won't be able to do without it.