Line of Sight

Sorry if there is already a thread about this.
Some of the things that would make this an awesome game are:
1) if the magical radar could see units as blips over hills/mountains but normal units couldn't see over the hill/mountain and had to instead go around it to see what the blip was.
2) Instead of a units vision range suddenly ending, the chance of it spotting an enemy unit decreases the farther away they are.
3) If the enemy is in a forrest its chances of being seen is greately reduced.
4) Infantry units only have a certain visual range that would randomly turn like it would in real life. While airships/siege towers had a 360 degree vision due to having more people on board.
I understand that it might no be possible to implement all of these things yet.
Discuss.|||No magical radar and we are on the same page. Watch towers!|||1) Not sure about this one, but magic-enhanced sensory abilities would indeed be useful, yes. Think Radar but with a more refined detection system where its not just a grey square/dot but the size of the dot represents how big it actually is.
2)Agree, although radar sort of covers this. I would suggest a min vision radius and a max vision radius, min vision radius being that where the unit will see all non-cloaked units and max radius being the range at which it cannot detect anything at all. The interesting zone is in between these two defined limits. Smaller units would be capable of sneaking up to units more easily while larger legendary units would almost be instantly visible the instant they enter max vision radius. Unit size should determine when and where they transition from dots to units.
3) agreed but that would require terrain types, which this game would need regardless. Dense shrubbery, swamp, low water, deep water, cliffs, etc. to help define how units behave and interact with each other.
4) Probably feasible but i wouldn't recommend or desire it myself. the only game i recall that used it was commandos 2, and you only had 4 units at a time.
Extrapolation & imagination:
"Guard towers" would have "radar" in that they can detect units beyond max visible distance. but suffers from not being able to detect the smaller units in the game.
Magical spells that can detect life will only detect life, and hence mechanical units, or transports will not show up, or only as a single blob, giving rise to interesting scouting and attacking strategies. Zombies, skeletons, undead, and other golems would obviously not be detected by such spells.
Stealth units (magical) would be able to block the life signature of them and the units around them, mobile stealth field generator basically. not detectable by guard towers, or magic spells. cloak would work as it does now.|||Radar, unless by some magical power, is not feasible in this sort of game, assuming that it doesn't include high technology. But perhaps scouts could have "trained ears" which could give out an enemy's location by its movement sounds. This will only work on moving units, so that when a tracked unit stops, its blip on the "radar" will disappear. Perhaps footprints could play a role, as seeing the direction of footprints can give away the movement of an army.|||i don't mean radar technology wise but being able to detect units beyond the units max vision radius as a game mechanic. so listening to units is one such explanation for the mechanic. :)