A depressing prognosis. Means we're probably never going to get mounted ops, I guess. At least, not if it requires all those complicated prerequisites. But if this is the prognosis, I wonder can there really not be some quick and dirty solution which does not involve NAIs and seq Tasking? That would be better than nothing, surely? It would mean that dismounting and mounting would always have to be done manually - not part of a sequence of moves/orders. I think it would even be ok if using it meant losing entirely the heavy weapons on the mounts for the duration of the dismount (converting a mobile counter to an infantry counter). It would be harder to cater for soldiers riding on tanks, perhaps? I'm not sure. Not if you accepted it all had to be done manually, perhaps. But mostly what I would feel the need of in current scenarios is the ability to send dismounted mobile infantry a short distance through terrain (or across water) that has a 0% mobile rating. It's not everything that a full mounted ops code would address, but it would be something very useful. Other far inferior games model this in one way or another. Even having different classes for tanks and carriers/trucks would help pretend we had something like mounted ops, because then you could just change the map values to let troop carriers only across certain terrain classes (albeit at a heavily penalised rate). Just thinking....
Very interesting thoughts. Actually what you discuss is pretty much along the line I had in mind, when the new movement classes were introduced in COTA. Thing is, Dave is a perfectionist (that's what I think, at least). If I am right, then he doesn't like makeshift solutions for something that could be perfectly fleshed out, otherwise. While his perfectionism makes the game so awesome, it may also be the reason for never seeing dismounted ops, and that's what I am scared of, here.
The introduction of 1 more class and a function that enables motorized INF units to switch to that new class ("motorized Inf on foot") when on the attack (and only when using the attack order), would probably do it already. The infantry would be able to enter woods or unfavorable terrain, while it is abstracted that the transport vehicles are parked somewhere. The time to reorg and start the attack could be seen as dismounting and getting their weapons ready.
A routine in the code could then block the trucks so that they can't get destroyed/deducted during engagements, as motorized INF didn't bring their trucks to the battle. If then a move order is given (to get out of the woods) a check routine could check the underlying terrain (oh heck, woods!) and another routine could then use the attack code (with the "right" to move as foot unit in woods) to pick the nearest road, attack that point (the time needed for completion would simulate that the inf unit gets its shyte together, picks up weapons and ammo), and switch back to the wheeled class/mode again, once the road network has been reached.
That would be sufficient. No fancy sequential tasking, no auto-something-luxury thing, "just" a class switch (I am not a programmer, so whatever routine or object class would be needed). Dave mentioned in 2011 (over at Matrix), during a discussion about the East Front game, the following, though:
Dave said:
"As to Cav, well I'm still pondering that one. I am reluctant to add yet another move class and consequent sets of move tables. But the worst of it is the code changes I will need to make to implement them. Stay tuned...."
So, I guess it's quite some work, not sure if such makeshift solution would be feasable (or satisfying for Dave). But I am convinced that the players would be happy.
Personally, I don't need a luxury version of dismounted ops, and I think many other players wouldn't need it either. I just wish for something that lets me enter woods with INF, light woods with tanks. No need for sequential tasking if you just implement the ability to enter woods, and aside from real dismounted ops.
I still play HTTR here and there, as I can tweak the maps, giving Wood terrain very low movement modifiers, so that it takes tanks hrs and hrs to cross woods. This way, I can still access woods in HTTR, but with halfway realistic speeds (tanks had to use tracks and small paths, they had to avoid very soft terrain in woods, and they could get stuck, etc.), and motorized Inf gets the same effect: Their movement is like movement of foot units (or even worse), in such modified woods.
In "my" HTTR woods, tanks move either with the same speed or even a tick slower than infantry (would have to check, can't remember atm) in dense woods, as well as all wheeled units.
For the Battle of the Bulge, the initial German operational plan orded tank units to move at night and on particular pre-defined roads (which was one reason for the various traffic jams), only. Despite the very flexible leadership during early stages of the war, Model/Rundstedt then indeed tried to detail each and everything, due to their fear that Allied tactical bombers could trash their tanks. Some units then actually waited followed these orders (when the weather cleared up, and when Allied Air Power kicked in again) in light and dense woods (frozen ground), near road networks, until nightfall and then redeployed or dashed forward. In the game, you have to park your tank groups in the open, basically.
The introduction of wheeled and foot (and horse-drawn? is that an independent class, or just a tweaked foot class?) classes made some aspects more realistic, but they reduce the realism when it comes to motorized INF units and to the players (in)ability to flank through or defend in woods, or to rush in with wheeled units in an attempt to confine groups of stragglers.
Such mot. units are then just destined to wait at the edges of the woods, praying that the enemy comes out and presents himself on a silver plate.
@ Dave: is such a stripped "dismount-simulator"-makeshift solution feasable, and how much work would that involve?