Improvement suggestions

[Mowgli]

I think that a smoke system would be really interesting, immersive and beneficial for gameplay.

Totally hypothetical ideas:

1) Every time an infantry unit or artillery unit fires, there is a chance that a smoke cloud is generated (in the hex of the firing unit. The likelihood depends on a scenario parameter (wind/weather on that day).
2) A single smoke cloud acts like a skirmisher unit. You can see through it but fire effectiveness is reduced. This should apply even if you fire at a unit positioned directly in the smoke hex.
3) If there are two (?) or more smoke clouds in a single hex, the smoke is thick enough to block line of sight (smoke terrain height?). When firing at adjacent enemy units the fire effectiveness is still reduced.
4) At the beginning of each turn, there is a chance for a smoke cloud to dissolve or travel 1 hex in the direction of the wind. Again, both of these are linked to scenario parameters.

Admittedly, this system should be highly situational. In some scenarios, there is windy and clear weather, in others, there is no wind and the air is already humid. A smoke feature would strengthen melee oriented units like cavalry and weaken fire oriented units. But I think that this is not entirely unrealistic. Infantry could really get anxious about cavalry lurking around in the thick smoke. But most of all, a smoke would also make recon and intelligence harder once the battle is joined. This is something I'm missing in the current Napoleonic titles. Anything that makes recon harder is very welcome to me. As it is, the lack of information delay (enemy sightings are available for the player almost immediately, orders reach units immediately) hampers the immersion/simulation.