Bataille Empire

Is it just me or have the rule change in the clarification regarding visibility thrown the baby out with the bathwater? Whilst deploring the inability to shoot troops in buildings unless you first get to 1UD of them or they fire or the ability for a unit to sit on an objective in the middle of a plateau ( > 1UD from edges) whilst being invulnerable to shooting or combat except if you manage to clamber onto the plateau. This has now been replaced with wood piecing rounds from artillery capable of firing through dense woods and lack of dead zones?

Suggested alternative
1. All troops on the table are known that is restrict actions that must be taken outside tactical or operation distance even though they are not visible, or you have line of sight to them.
2. Line of sight is stopped by buildings, hills, woods or marshes with cover.
3. Troops inside buildings are visible unless placed as hidden troops, troops on hills are visible unless behind a crestline, troops inside a dense wood are only visible 1UD from the edge, light woods 2UD? as are troops in a marsh with cover.
4. Hidden areas: - troops on a hill cannot see troops as originally stated in the rules (page 70) under hidden areas although distances may need tweaking, Troops on a gentle plateau hill cannot see troops within 2UD of the base of the hill nor can be seen by them unless the troops on the plateau are within 1UD of the plateau ridgeline in which case they count as defending the plateau and get a +1 height advantage in combat.

I am missing something. Using your "wood piercing" artillery phrase, makes me think you can fire deep inot woods, but line of sight still exists. So can you explain to me?

The intent in particular was to allow units to charge enemy that they knew were there, but unable to have LOS. I.E.your dude on the plateau could be charged from out of line of sight.

Woods don't stop line of sight only buildings or hills.
With regard to the guys on the plateau hill they are not behind a crestline and can be seen so long as you aren't in the hidden area.

It depends what the clarifications really mean. Is the intention to say 1UD of woods is the maximum that can be seen into the wood?
The clarification change being to change the visibility limit so that troops within 1UD of the edge of the wood can be seen from a distance.
This would make more sense than woods not obstructing visibility at all.

I thought the clarification said everything is visible on the battlefield unless the line of sight is blocked?

Yes, but did it mean line of sight is blocked after 1UD of woods etc. rather than not being visible until within 1UD of the wood?

Either way not thought through very well. If line of sight had been changes I would of expe Ted a clarification in the line of sight section not the visibility section.

Aren't line of sight and visibility the same thing?

Not in these rules although they seem to overlap in the definition. Line of sight mainly concerns direction a unit can fire from its formation/ situation but also details terrain that blocks it. Whereas visibility is how far you can see if that summarises it Ok. Hence my suggestion there should be three criteria :- Known, line of sight and visibility. Anyway this is all getting away from my original post.

I think I see what is tangled and you have some solid solutions. I have tipped the hat up the food chain to ask.