Wilson's Creek terrain

[Capitaine]

To me, there is some confusing terrain on the Wilson's Creek map. There is "Tall Grass 1" that looks like tall grass. And then there is "Tall Grass 1" that looks like small trees or shrubs -- see (93,98) (94,99) (94,98) and (108,111) (107, 111) as examples; there are more like this.

I guess that as long as both types are consistent, I'll know what I'm dealing with. But the second, dark green shrub-like hexes look more substantial than grass and can be confused with forest or light forest.

[Gil R.]

I'm about to head out and don't have time to fire up the game and look at those hexes, but I suspect you have found what is called "savannah." The area of the battlefield was filled not only with woods and meadows, but a particular kind of combined vegetation that goes by that label, and consisted mainly of high grass and scattered trees. This botanical fact was discovered long after the map-editor had been created, so we could not add a "savannah" type, instead having our artist draw something meant to be visually distinct and then using "tall grass" hexes, but with slight modifiers (light defense and movement) so that it functions differently from ordinary tall grass. But it really is just tall grass with a few trees and bushes invading.

If my explanation doesn't fit what you're seeing please let me know and I'll look at those hexes later.

[Capitaine]

Yes, not sure from your description that it's savannah, but it could be. If you would check out the hexes I listed when you can and confirm I'd appreciate it. [:)]

[Gil R.]

Okay, it took a bit of time, but I've now check those particular hexes, and come up with a key to Wilson's Creek's vegetation types. In the attached image,
A: Dense thickets/growth
B: Savannah (= tall grass with lone scrub oaks -- i.e. small, scrubby oaks -- and occasional thickets dotting the hex)
C: Mid-height grass (= meadow, not blocking line-of-sight because just knee-high)
D: Tall grass
E: Light forest
F: Forest

The hexes you noted are 'A'.

One of the interesting things about this particular battlefield is the combination of elevations -- which greatly affect line-of-sight -- with various types of vegetation that can also block line of sight. Not to mention the ravines, which can hide units as they approach the enemy's position.

[Gil R.]

(I should have noted when I posted this image that D, E, and F are basic terrain types in the map-editor, but A, B, and C required my using a movement and/or defense override in the map editor to change it a bit. Savannah, for example, has a bit more defensive value than tall grass, so mousing over a savannah hex will show that an override was used.)