The battlefield is full of mysteries waiting to be uncovered. This section explores how fog of war and radio intelligence turn the unknown into a thrilling challenge, making every discovery a meaningful victory.

Quatrefoils for What!?

Many players might be surprised to learn this game even has a “fog of war.” Ironbeard’s Director’s Cut of Conflict captures this better by making enemy bases outside radio coverage invisible rather than showing pointless quatrefoil icons. Radio coverage should be increased, and new enemy bases created within enemy radio range should not be automatically revealed. Instead, detection should require radio direction finding (see this #ARGF-530 about RDF), a reconnaissance task, and/or an eventual capture.

Quatrefoil icons would make sense if there were non-combatant civilians and a real need to follow Rules of Engagement (RoE), which I cover in other feedback here: #ARGF-528. Currently, only FIA should see these archaic icons because their “home field advantage” comes from sleeper cells reporting base locations outside radio range; where they must remain hidden, making contact confirmation difficult.

“Away teams” should only see quatrefoils on bases that are not objectives at the start of the match. This better simulates reconnaissance planes providing more accurate and recent intelligence on key objectives.

Enemy Radios: Salvage and Repair Requirements for Translation

Enemy radios recovered from casualties should appear broken and unusable until returned to a Command Tent and combined with other broken radios in a dedicated crate that could be placed on a desk near the Combat Support Station. Enemy radios pulled from arsenals should be workable, but come across as garbled nonsense unless in the proximity of a friendly command tent or near a civilian player (who could be a mobile translator, see the earlier feedback link). Interacting with the crate where they are stored should take some time to repair them and grant XP to those involved. Simply returning a radio should also award XP. Having fixed enemy radios at bases will also be necessary for radio direction finding (RDF), and fog of war clearing.

Event-driven fog of war updates and radio intelligence minimize constant polling, optimizing bandwidth and server processing while preserving tactical depth and immersion.