Yes, I noticed that worrying anomaly. I believe it comes from here:

Number of Deaths = The number of enemy units firing * (Their accuracy / (0.05 * The Distance)) * (The enemie's killing power / Your unit's defence) * The Enemy's rate of fire.

That part of the equation determines what percentage of the units hit die. Under the current system (Using Marinus' suggested stats again) there's an 86% death ratio, not quite right is it?

That's relatively easy to fix though. I simply need to put a +1 after your units defense. That would bring the death ratio down to 35%, which is much more accurate. That will be included in the next update.

Given that alteration, the numbers would be altered to... 4588 wounded, 2500 deaths (current Rate-of-Fire calculations), or 2292 wounded, 1250 dead (possible alternated Rate of Fire calculations). Which of those figures sounds more realistic?

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Strategic bonuses for defending are inherent in the system (or will be, in the form of elevation, endurance, and fortifications). The moral issue is a bit more complex.

Remember that the system is supposed to be a framework, not an all-encompassing solution. I don't really have a problem with someone stating before a battle that their units are fighting for their lives and should get a 20% bonus to discipline (which would make them harder to break and increase their melee fighting). THAT is a lot easier to decide upon and factor into account then a literary argument.

The same could be said of, ohhh, a general who is present. That would be something that's stated before an engagement as a modifier to the units baseline stats.

It's time for update 1.1 of the battle system. Here are the new developments in the update:

- A new endurance variable which will add an element of realism and a new layer of tactics to the system has been added.

- The moral system has been revamped. Moral is now attributed on a per-unit bases. This means that larger forces get more collective moral.

- The static multiples in the moral equation have been exchanged for exponents. This means that massed fire or casualties will be more detrimental to morale then the same amount of damage over time.

- The factor of elevation has been added to the system. Units on high ground will now have an advantage in both melee combat and range.

- Fixed a bug in the calculation of deaths. The number of wounded should now be far more then the number of deaths.

- The rate-of-fire calculation has been changed to a shot-per-minute calculation. This should weaken ranged units somewhat.

- I'm adding the unit stats thread. This will be where the fighting stats for military units will be posted.

-Fixed a bug that made discipline have a negative effect on combat effectiveness instead of a positive one.

________________________________________________________________________________

First, players will fill in information on any units they may use in combat. That information will be based off a number of variables, ALL the variables should be based off of the stats a single unit would have, not the collective.

Speed- Expressed as kilometers per hour (metric is easier on the math). Note that this should be the maximum your unit can go, not their average.

Killing Power- Expressed as 0.00-1.00 chance that a unit's attack will kill its target.

Defense- A 1.00 or higher rating of how hard your unit is to kill. Ratings above 2 should be reserved for armored vehicles and such.

Discipline- A 0.01-1.00 rating of how much events will affect this unit's morale.

Area of Effect- Only include this if your unit has an area of effect attack. Express the area in meters.

Morale: Expressed as a 1-10 expression of how much punishment a unit can take before breaking.

Endurance: A 1.00-2.00 rating of how long your unit can last on the battlefield.

---

When going through calculations, each player will calculate the casualties and effects on his own side. That means that for each "round" the equations are used multiple times- once for each combatant player.

RANGE CALCULATIONS: The following calculations are only needed if your unit has a ranged attack.

Rate of Fire- Expressed as a function of how many times a unit can fire in one minute. If it takes longer then one minute for a unit to fire, express it as a decimal (For example: A unit that fires once every four minutes would have a .25 Rate of Fire).

Accuracy- Expressed as the % chance that your unit could hit a single opponent 15 meters away.

Range- Expressed as the maximum effective distance the unit can fire, in meters or kilometers.

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When an actual combat is declared, both combatants will state:

The number of units entering combat,

The types of units,

The terrain being fought upon and any units that are in an elevated position (express elevation in meters),

And any circumstantial modifiers to original stats.

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Any action a unit does will have an effect on endurance.

Marching at 1/2 maximum speed has no effect on endurance.

When moving at 3/4 maximum speed:

Endurance = Current Endurance * 0.9

When moving at maximum speed:

Endurance = Current Endurance * 0.85

When fighting in melee combat:

Endurance = Current Endurance * .8

-

When going uphill, all modifiers for endurance increase by .5

When going downhill, all modifiers for endurance decrease by .5

-

IF your unit is inactive, AND has less endurance then the unit's maximum:

Endurance = Current Endurace + .5

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The first Calculation to run through is to modify morale for numbers:

Your Unit's Morale = your soldier's morale rating * the number of units

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Next are ranged combat calculations:

Number of Deaths = The number of enemy units firing * (Their accuracy / (0.05 * The Distance)) * (The enemie's killing power / (Your unit's defence) * The Enemy's rate of fire.

Number of Wounded = The number of enemy units firing * (Their accuracy / (0.05 * The Distance) * The Enemy's rate of fire - The number of Deaths.

If area of Effect weapons are used, add a 1.7^Area of Effect multiple to the range equations.

If you are firing from a height advantage then

Range = Your previous range + (1.5 * Your elevation advantage)

You cannot fire at an enemy if they are beyond your range.

After every engagement where there are dead or wounded, recalculate morale:

Morale = Your previous morale - (( 1- Your discipline) * Your number of deaths)^1.15 - (( 1 - Your discipline) * Your number of wounded)^1.08

And recalculate your number of troops:

Number of troops = Previous number - Deaths - 1/2 * wounded

If your units are advancing towards each other, run through a distance and an calculation:

Distance = Original Distance - Your speed - Your enemy's speed.

Then Calculate Endurance

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When units first come into melee contact run through the shock equation:

Wounded = Number of enemy units *( 1 + your unit's discipline) * (the enemy's speed / 10) * Your unit's endurance - Your deaths.

Deaths = Number of enemy units * ( 1 + your unit's discipline) * (the enemy's speed / 10) * Your unit's endurance * (The enemy unit's killing power / your defense)

-

When Charging downhill, multiply both results by 1.2

When charging uphill, multiply both results by 0.8

-

After every engagement where there are dead or wounded, recalculate morale:

Morale = Your previous morale - (( 1- Your discipline) * Your number of deaths)^1.15 - (( 1 - Your discipline) * Your number of wounded)^1.08

And recalculate your number of troops:

Number of troops = Previous number - Deaths - 1/2 * wounded

Then calculate endurance

---

And Finally, whenever units are in melee combat, use these equations:

Wounded = Number of attacking enemies * ( 1 + your discipline) * Your unit's endurance - Deaths.

Deaths = Number of attacking enemies * ( 1 + your discipline) * Your unit's endurance * (Enemy unit's attack power / Your unit's defense)

-

When fighting uphill, multiply both results by 0.8

When fighting downhill, multiply both results by 1.2

-

After every engagement where there are dead or wounded, recalculate morale:

Morale = Your previous morale - (( 1- Your discipline) * Your number of deaths)^1.15 - (( 1 - Your discipline) * Your number of wounded)^1.08

And recalculate your number of troops:

Number of troops = Previous number - Deaths - 1/2 * wounded

Then calculate Endurance

______________________________________________________________________________

You'll notice I haven't put formations, fortifications, or naval combat down yet. I can assure you I'm working on them. These are a bit harder to model with equations.

I'd like to run through a mock battle with someone to see how the system works and flush out any flaws. If anyone's interested it could be fun.

This is just a point I thought I should raise: this battle system is very good when you're using conventional weaponry. However, we do have magic, sorcery, whatever you want to call it thrown into the mix.

So, I was simply wondering how we factor this in; if we're going for as much realism as possible, then it is difficult to envisage precisely how we can state that a fairly large fireball thrown at a plate-armoured man (no anti-magic whatevers) will not kill him, or at the least seriously wound him. He'd be broiled alive, and his armour soldered to his skin.

And how do we factor in Rakarskia's anti-magic Inquisitorial devices?

Would we have a specific magical damage oriented equation, or simply state a % bonus to defense against sorcerous attacks of X type?

Just a niggling thought I had. Sorry, Mindwarp.

That's a legitimate concern, and one I only partially have the answer too.

A lot of spells could be in the form of modifiers stated in battle. For example, a shielding spell might reduce the opponent's accuracy in that round; magic that strengthens units might increase their endurance. It provides a lot of flexibility within the established system, and the only argument would be on the numerical effects, not on the entire situation.

There's still a bit of a problem in Rakarskia's anti-magic devices and such specialized magical effects as fireballs. I'll have to think about this a bit more before providing a solution. From the looks of it, a magic and a magic resistance variable may be necessary, but I can see flaws in that as well.

Made a minor edit, upping this to version 1.11.

-The ranged equation now has an area of effect factor (1.7^Area of Effect) for when that variable is used.

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