LOSt in Translation: Partial Hillocks

So I had written a much longer version of this LOSt in Translation bit, with a long comical introduction full of literary and linguistic devices, all to “entertain” you ATSers. Then I realized, that’s dumb, people think Partial Hillocks are complicated, and my long-winded article is doing nothing to disabuse them of that notion. So here you are, leading with the lead, this is what Partial Hillocks do:

• LOS – if you’re Up on a Hillock looking out across it, you can see over any +5 Obscuring/Blocking terrain.
• LOS part two – Partial Hillocks have no other effect on LOS, neither Obscuring nor Blocking.
• Cover – if you’re UP on a Hillock, non-vehicle units get Good cover against units firing from a lower level up across it. If you’re DOWN from a Full Hillock, non-vehicle units also get Good cover for fire crossing the Hillock
• Hull Defilade – a little trickier, see 8.12.51 for full details
• Movement – if you cross a Hillock moving upward, it’s +1 MP unless using a Road or Path.

And that’s it. Simple, right?

LOSt in Translation: Bocage

Today we’re here to take a look at Bocage, every Allied grunt’s favorite terrain type. It’s not the most complex of terrain, but neither is it the simplest, so let’s review the relevant rules whilst peppering some tactical considerations throughout to keep it spicy.

LOSt in Translation: Cave Dugouts

There was some spirited debate amongst the ATSFE moguls as to whether this should be a Tactitorial or a LOSt in Translation article. Arguably, it’s not really either. It’s just a chance to dig deep and get down and dirty on how Cave Dugouts work (see what I did there?). Cave Dugouts, at their core, aren’t really all that complex, but many players tend to feel like they’ve missed something, and, to be fair, there are some interesting quirks that a little discussion might uncover.

As always (at least for now), I’ll be using the 4.42 rules for all interpretations and references. You can find the main Cave Dugout rules in 9.6.6.

LOSt in Translation: Orchards

Welcome to the first article in what might be a series of such articles briefly discussing a few of the more troubling terrain types in ATS, particularly with respect to Line of Sight. For this discussion, I will be using the 4.x rules (specifically 4.42).

As can be seen by multiple discussions on the CHMB*, and more recently, the ATS Discord Server (ask for an invite!), there’s been a lot of confusion over the years of how exactly to handle Orchard terrain.