Psiclone

How about approaching the automatic control idea from a more "piecemeal" direction. Allow certain individuals to have a specific autonomy. The example I have thought of is a scout. Every army employs individuals to carry out reconaissance (sp?) ahead of the main force, offering commanders on the ground some much needed intelligence. This only works if a fog-of-war system is in place, preventing you observing enemy troop dispositions from a "god" perspective. Create a scout class individual and set him an area to move into and explore. He will move forward fairly slowly, moving from cover to cover, scouting for the enemy. He will not be a combat unit, and will run if spotted or engaged by any enemy forces. The information he sends back could be real time, but perhaps more interestingly could be block based (that is the terrain and troop information comes as the result of 5 minutes scouting and arrives as a single block) as if he had sent back a carrier pigeon. Troop positions recorded could be more of a "satellite" photo, showing what was there, not necessarily what is there. Knowing what you face and where it was is still valuable information. Other specialist units could offer their own autonomous functions, ones that you dont want to spend time on, but would benefit from. As an example your scout identifies a small infantry force moving with siege weapons towards you base. As a response to the threat a couple of squadrons of cavalry are sent out to carry out a "hit and fade" attack against the siege weapons and it's crew. The cavalry do not need to know the exact position of the target, a basic direction and an overview of the enemy a few minutes ago would be sufficient. They will adjust their course as they approach the target. It may add a level or realism that previous games have only tried to do with fast moving scout units. Caesar's previous post provides a good basis for "command" type self control . Ideas are easy, it's turning them into code that takes the skill.

I took latin at school, got a grade B at GCSE (exams taken in the UK when you are 16). Interestingly a remarkable amount has stayed with me, despite my not doing the course since the 80’s (Yes I am that old). How about some verb endings and the tenses they signify…. Present …o …s …t …mus …tis …unt Perfect …i …isti …it …imus …istis …erunt Imperfect …bam …bas …bat …bamus …batis …bant Pluperfect …eram …eras …erat …eramus …eratis …errant Glad I got that out of my system…..I think I will go and lie down in a darkened room to recover. Enjoy

Being able to turn off auto-command is a must. I can see it being very useful for holding a fortified position or stronghold, leaving you to get on with the more interesting action elsewhere. Personalities giving a bonus to troops is a good, especially in morale issues such as recovering from a rout. Speaking of which, how is moral dealt with in 0AD? (I'm a lazy newbee who hasn't read through all the areas yet). It seems in many (perhaps most) ancient wars that morale was the deciding factor. Still is today I guess. A respected commander or hero would be able to keep the unit together, an unknown wouldn't.

In my sordid dim and distant past I spent happy afternoons playing tabletop Napoloenic wargames, with dice, lead soldiers and sad little plastic trees and hills..... Anyway, the rules system said that regiments would follow written orders, for example advance in column formation to hill x, before deploying to line on the ridge, but retreat if threatened with overwhelming forces. Orders could only be changed if the overall commander despatched an ADC (aide de camp) with new written orders. Not sure how practical it would be to recreate, but by giving a commander a personality as well you could have some interesting battles. Imagine your forces are stationed on a hill and your left flank decides to attack without orders because the commander of that section "liked to good scrap"...... Local commanders who look after their forces and provide local orders could be a real good feature, but probably one you would want the option of turning off.

Some translatoins to help out (who said latin wasn't worth taking at school) Infantry Slinger - Funditor is a soldier armed with a sling (funda) Big Ship - Quintireme is not something I can find reference to, but quadrireme is a ship with 4 banks of oars. However a navis oneraria is a merchant or transport vessel. Ram - Aries means ram whether it is an animal, zodiac sign or battering ram Priest - Sacerdos is a priest Female Worker - servus means slave, serva means female slave, and servula means a young female slave...one for every occasion. Trader - mercator means merchant and is probably the best fit. I'm afraid I haven't been able to work out siege tower yet, but I'll see if I can sort it out. Enjoy