 And we are live! So a few people asked in my last Advanced War stream about Fog of War and how different that makes the game. So I figured I'd do a little bit of Fog of War play to show you guys what it's like. Now Fog of War gets you into some really dicey territory, advanced wars wise. And hold off, my video card seems to have stopped doing stuff. Give me a second. I'm using software encoding because for whatever reason my video card decided not to allow anything else. So let's just continue from there. Let me turn off this broadcast alert. We're live. I assume we're live. I'm sure you guys will tell me in that stupid chat if we're live. Oh look, there's actually people in there. Awesome. Alright, well let me know if anything goes weird. So yeah, like I said, it is time to talk about Fog of War. So let's just start up some advanced wars. So as before I'm going to use the free battle area just because that's a convenient place to show these things off. And we probably want to pick a relatively straightforward map. Something very simple to start with. So here's one of these little tiny ones. So we don't want cross paths because that's actually just a completely broken map. Let's go full on here. Use a tiny guy just to sort of explain how this works. No COs or anything like that. I will make one of them the CPU though because playing against myself in Fog of War is just an exercise in memory. Not going to change any other factors here. Leave the AI normal. So look at this tiny little map. Now I can see a ton already because I've got a tower over here that he's going to capture. He can see a ton because I've got it. So when you play this map non-Fog of War it's actually completely stupid. But with Fog of War you can see I can do something cleverer so look at what's going on. He can pretty easily if he wants attack my guy here if I start capturing that. So I don't actually want to start capturing it even though it might be useful. I do want to be moving into this safe area down here. So the best thing I could do to start is pay attention to where this tank can go because I can see it. And he can't get me if I just start moving up. Now for my tank, same deal, I don't want to actually get attacked. So I'm just going to get right in here and let's just put this guy right here. So I can cover everything. Really, really simple. Now watch what happens. He's going to go and capture that thing stupidly. I'm going to move into the weeds where now I can't be seen at all. And I'm going to let him capture it because I don't care if he captures it. I'm just setting up a trap to slow him down long enough to get my dudes in here. So none of these guys are visible to him. And if he moves the tank next to them, he'll get caught. So now I can't see anymore. Now see, he's right here. He could get me. I'm just going to move this guy here. And I'm going to move out of his frame of reference entirely. So if he moves nearby, see, look at this. If he tries to move this tank here to get me. Oops, now I fucked up. Oh well. Normally if I put this guy back here and he moves this tank past this guy to try to catch me, this guy will actually stop him in his tracks. But I move to the wrong spot. Not that it matters because it drew the guy away and it's an AI map. So I can start capturing anyway. And frankly, I don't care if these guys go after me. I don't care if I lose units and it's over. There's nothing the guy can do. It's a completely stupid map. You can kind of see how information appears or disappears and how now where I move a unit like the path I take can actually be very important. So you really want to pay attention to that blue arrow there. That blue arrow is telling you where you're going to move. So you'll be using units that have long range to scout for enemy units to then attack. Like that. Now it doesn't matter because again, this was a stupid map. And I just win. So let's do something a little more complex. Let me check on the stream and I'll hit some streaming problems earlier. Alright. Let's use a somewhat real map here. So the map we're going to use, zero wood, has a bunch of woods in the middle and a bunch of open areas around it. So it's an okay example of a more realistic fog of war battle. So you can see I can only see this little bit here. Don't exactly know where he's going to go. But looking at this map, the key to winning is to have the majority of these three cities. So you either need to get both of these cities and tank it out or you need to capture this middle factory here and one of the cities. Now because it's fog of war, I actually want to send some scouts out pretty early. I'm using infantry units to do that. Now he did something. Let's just go straight out. Notice I'm hiding in the brush there on the wood. Now we can predict where he's going to go because if he did the same thing I did, he's got two infantry and he's going to move the infantry like there and this guy, I don't know where the AI will move it but there's a limited number of places it can be. He's going to move it into this zone. The furthest it can get is like there so I don't have to worry about it too much. Now because I'm orange and I went first I could probably just spam infantry right up in there but I'm not going to. I'm actually going to build... Now I am going to build a bunch of infantry because the mech's not going to make it in time. So you can't really hear it too well but you can hear where the units move in terms of... You'll hear like what kind of units is moving and the order they move them and that'll give you some clues. Like if you play against someone a lot you can guess which units he moved where by the order he moves them in because they tend to move the screening units first and then the artillery to follow them, things like that. I can capture the city safely. He is going to be able to capture this city safely. I'm going to ignore that city and I'm going to move within capturing range of that factory while still hiding and keeping an eye out for enemy units. This guy I'm moving up here to be insurance in case he comes after the city right away. Not going to build anything because I would like to build a bigger unit next turn. Oh hey! Coming after that factory in the middle I see. I'm not just going to capture straight away. I'm going to get within range to have a bunch of units here. I'm going to get on this tower so I can see a little bit more. I'm going to let him have this city. I don't care if he gets it or not. I'm just going to come in here and attack this guy because I know there's no way he has a guy on the factory. Now I can build an artillery. So he started capturing there. That much is apparent. Let's just get this guy in here in position and ready. I need to see what's going on here. So I'm going to have this guy. I'm actually going to have this guy do it. So watch this. I'm going to move here and plan to shoot that guy. Now I'm going to get interrupted most likely. Oh, there's nothing over here. Nice. Alright. So now I know what's going on. I saw a whole bunch of stuff. This guy is going to attack. And this guy is going to attack. And this guy is going to move in here where I know it's safe to be ready. Oh, and look, he's going to threaten my city here. That's kind of bad news bears. So in this case, because he's going to get that city, if I don't do something, I'll back this guy up, weaken him, get this guy. See how I want to be right there? Right in this spot. So I'm covering the city and I'm covering the factory. As long as he doesn't get the factory, I'm fine even if I don't get it immediately. This guy. I'm going to move up here and attack. The reason for this is because now by doing that, I can let his infantry move in here to start capturing. This will take that out. I've got two infantry here to deal with this guy. So he's not a factor. And this guy, who's currently in the woods, is going to stay in the woods. And now, because I haven't been building tanks or anything, I'm going to build another artillery because the AI is kind of stupid and I can trick it. So see, this guy's covering so I can ensure he doesn't get it. At this point, it's a war of attrition. I'll be hidden in there as long as I take that guy out. I can move this guy here safely because I already saw that area was exposed. I calculated right. See? So the city requires three more damage to be captured and he's only got a health of two. I honestly can't tell you the math of that anymore. At one point, I knew it in a way that I could describe it but I kind of just feel this stuff heuristically from playing this game so much at this point. Alright. So now I'm in a really strong position. I'm going to get this guy over here. In position to also be able to cover this. I'm going to let him come in. Oh, oh, I got trapped. By a flare. Interesting. Let's get ready to take that flare out. Flares are like recon. They do similar damage to infantry that recon might do. Let's get this recon. He's probably got a tank or something. I'm going to hide this guy here. Just kind of keep an eye on what's going on. I'm going to save my money to buy something good. This guy is going to continue to hide here because I can artillery the fuck out of whatever comes in. Now you have to be careful when you play heavy artillery when you're playing Fog of War because see how I can't see this guy anymore? I got to send someone in to see him before I can artillery him. Now if I go here, I know there's a guy around there. So the first thing I'm going to do is move in here just one. Fire on that guy. Now I can see he won't capture at this turn. That was some beautiful attrition. Let's just get this guy in close and also to trap anyone who tries to get by on the road. And let's expose this guy but eliminate that threat. Now I can afford a tank but let's see, I got 8,500. No one's going to heal next round. I'll have enough for a medium tank if I just don't buy anything. See I'm playing this attrition game in here. Uh-oh, some other microphone. And that recon is not a threat to me right now because it can't actually capture my base. It could attack like injury units coming up from behind but I don't care about them so much. So, I almost tried to use my mouse. Let's just take that guy out and let's get this guy. Let's leave him there so he doesn't get exposed to anything. This face is probably clear. Nope, it wasn't. Right, I didn't destroy that guy because I wasn't paying attention and I forgot. I'm still going to let that recon come by. I don't have anything to stop him other than the medium tank he's going to bump into. That guy retreated. Ooh, another recon. There's no mechs nearby. Oh, there isn't a mech nearby. Alright. Medium tank. Hang out there. Hang out there. And let's build infantry to spam now that I got a medium tank coming up because he's built a bunch of recon and he built that flare. It doesn't have enough artillery to take advantage of the flare. So, I'm still in an okay position. Now, he can't see this right now, most likely. You can figure that out by looking at this other unit. So, this unit has a vision of five. One, two, three, four, five. He can't see where this guy is right now. So, I can move this guy with impunity. If I move him up here, he'll see. But if I move him through the woods, he's slow. But coming in over here is not significantly... I'm basically losing two squares of movement and I'm closer to where I actually want and need to be. So, guys, I'm going to leave here right now and I'm going to build more infantry. So, watch this. Infantry number one is just going to move here and hang out. Oh, look, there's someone trying to capture. Oh, that's a shame. Oh, that's a shame right there. Oh, that really sucks. You stay in the woods. So, now I've been winning the unit attrition long enough to where I probably have supremacy. He has more units than me, but it's probably mostly infantry. Now he knows where my medium tank is. Only because it is next to this recon. If he didn't have the recon there, he wouldn't know because your own cities provide cover. And I'm going to build yet another artillery. Oh, you got trapped! Oh, shit, son. Now, the recon is actually going to be a little bit annoying while it's there because I can't do anything about it and it's going to see all my movements. But I can take it out easily with just about anything. Now, these guys are out of ammo now. I got one shot left with both. This guy. Let's see what's going on up there. Oh, what's that? Yo, a mech. Mechs are no good. Mechs are no good at all. Now, if I move here and attack this, I want to actually destroy it. And simultaneously, it'll be visible in case he has another unit nearby that could do some dangerous damage to them. I've got enough units nearby to try to start capturing. It's a little bit of a risk. And I'm going to offset this by taking the risk with my medium tank. Take it a little bit of a risk here, but it's the AI. How smart could it be? All right, now I have some units nearby. Now I really need an APC up here because I've got one shot left with each of these. Let's just make sure he doesn't capture that city. Let's take out this slightly dangerous mech. Let's move this guy into a useful position. Let's destroy his visibility of these two units right here. So now my medium tank is a trap along the road. Let's get these guys in position. Let's let him... I should take that thing out. Protect these guys long enough because I can't build an APC this round. I'm actually going to wait. But you can see now he only has four units left. I can speculate as to what those units are based on how much money he has made and how much money he has spent. Let's scout over here. Oh, some shit. All right, let's do some damage to that shit. Because he only has a few other units. He probably builds him infantry right now. Oh look, you're capturing. I have a fresh one over here. And because now I know there's no units in the vicinity, you will fuel up in this city. You will stay right where you are. You will hide here. You will hide here. And while I really want to build that tank, I am going to build the tank and I'm going to give up my position with that artillery for a round. Yeah, it's pretty much over for him now. This guy is going to come in to see everything. This guy is going to ammo up. This guy is going to get into a nice position and fuck some things up. This guy is going to be a trap while simultaneously hiding my units. This guy is also going to hide here. Oh, there's a bunch of infantry. However, I think I'm covered pretty well. And let's just openly move this tank. Hopefully if he's got anything over here, it will draw it away. With my remaining, piddly amount of money, that's spam infantry. See, he was able to take out a bunch of my units, but he let me get the factory and it's game over. He couldn't get his units in to take the factory because of my unit positioning. Now, let's see what's hanging out in this city. Even though he'll see it, I'm perfectly visible, trying to draw him away. Let's just openly move all these units in. Get a little bit of economy going here now that it's over. I can move my trap out of the way because that guy can start capturing and this guy can stop it. And I'm not going to build anything because now I'd like to use this money I'm going to save up. He's only got seven units. He can't have much good hanging out back there. Yeah, it's over. Look, he didn't even start capturing the city. Let's just take him out from my position of healing. Let's actually move into the mountain to do extra damage. Let's be a trap here, hopefully. Let's just start capturing. He'll see me, but this is going to prevent any units from taking past on the road. And I know it doesn't have anything over here, so I'm probably going to get that city for free. Just in case if he does get anything nearby and I've got nine grand. Oh, you've got a bunch of infantry over here? Well, that's a shame. Let's start encroaching. Now, let's actually let's actually destroy all the visibility he's got and continue to encroach. It's over. Oh, you see what happened over here on the right? No one up here. Because I'm in the city, that attrition game between those two units didn't go well for him. I'll just let that keep fizzling. Anti-air is super strong against those guys. Oh, she had a Mac. Oh, nice and Mac. I don't need the city right now. So I'm going to let him move in on it. Because I can capture it quickly with another infantry unit in a little bit. I'll keep capturing for now because if he can see it, which I know he can because it's one of his own cities, he can always see everything in your own city, he's going to try to send something over there. Might draw his stupid eyebrain away. Oh, you attacked my artillery. And now I know where your few remaining units are and what they do. Now, this guy's going to take a while to capture. So let's join up because I know he doesn't have anything on the road. Get that Mac right up in there. Let's see if he's got anything hanging out in his HQ. Oh, Piddly little infantry unit. Nice. I'm in the economy and just build infantry units there for a little while. Spam it out there, have them ready to capture. And then I'll build one giant unit later to end it. He's only got three. I'll probably destroy his units and it'll be over. Now that I have economic supremacy as opposed to simply control, I know he doesn't have anything there because I can see. He's probably got a unit there, but now I can see what that unit is. All right, that guy. Let's just weaken everything. Go in for the kill. It's over. And the end. That's the most one unit. And he chose not to. It's just over. Wall blue has already lost to prolong the game. What he should have done is move that infantry out without attacking. Doesn't matter though. All right. So I'll stop for now because I'm using the software encoder and seeing recent issues with OBS right now. So I can figure out what's going on with that. But that's kind of a vague idea that OBS does to the game. Notice how I made a lot more mistakes because I have to play with a really fast and loose sort of model in my head of where the units are, where they're going. You could calculate based on every piece of information you see, everything, where it could possibly be and you could keep track of it. You could take notes or whatever. But that's not fun. You just play it enough and you start to get this heuristic sense of where to move units and when, where units are likely to be, and I'll do another stream once I get this set up a little bit better and figure out why my Nvidia encoder isn't working.