I am a bit anxious about the new feature regarding hull/turret turn triggering opfires. Don't be offended please, I'm sincerely asking since this is one of the most fundamental mechanics of the game that has been changed, thus the repercussions are going to be far and wide.
1. As someone already asked (on that thread discussing this topic): what about "harvesting" enemy opfires thus clearing the way for other units to advance? This is especially obvious since no Movement Points are expended for turret/hull turning (if I understand the feature correctly). Even more so because all players in the decades of playing SP have been conditioned to turn their units freely to look around the map (sometimes you can spot previously hidden enemy units too). They can't be easily held accountable when someone accuses "you're CHEATING!"
2. If I understand correctly, infantry units too may attract opfires when they're rotated/turned? Isn't this a bit too far? Standard military procedure for a single infantry squad is to establish 360 degree awareness. It's not too obvious to turn one's shoulder/neck/head (compared to turning a tank's hull/turret). Besides, infantry units are composed of individual man, so the unit's facing is very flexible, even multiple directions at once. Sure, there's a "general direction" that an infantry unit must face, but my bottom line is that infantry units are much more fluid & flexible & not too obvious when they're "turning around", compared to tanks and other such vehicles.
3. Why no movement points? As #1 suggests, giving MP penalty for turning/rotating around may discourage players to easily dry out the enemy's opfire. Besides, turning/rotating is indeed moving (even more so with tanks etc, it's quite a movement), so it's only normal that movement points should be expended. If Andy wants it KISS thus no MP penalty, I'd say, why bother with this feature at all? Without this feature everything already works good & fine. Inventing this feature may seem easy coding-wise (as Andy has said on that other thread), but the implication & repercussion isn't so easy since this is a fundamental mechanic of the game.
4. Right clicking an enemy unit now automatically orients both the turret & the hull toward that enemy unit. Right clicking on an empty hex just turns the turret. But what if I want to turn both the turret & the hull, when there's no enemy around? Say, if I want to set up the defence of my tanks before any enemy shows up?
5. Is the AI aware of this new feature also? In some way or the other this may handicap the AI even further, not to mention human exploitation for it.
Now, someone may unload his wrath upon me for being late in the discussion and take on the developer decision directly. But sire, do I have a really great apprehension about this new feature since it's so fundamental to the game mechanics! I am sincerely afraid that this may break my favorite game of all time
I am more than happy to be proven wrong regarding my apprehension.
I'm just expressing food for thought here guys, please place good discussion & arguments above emotions. If someone thinks he's too good to act decently on the forum, I'd suggest may we meet face to face as a gentleman, how'd he like that?
Cheers!