Kynes said:
It's worth noting tho that considering that all the battlefields are randomly generated I haven't once come across one that screwed up the gameplay. That's remarkable- the levels are almost allways varied and interesting and seem to have natural formations of gulleys and hills etc.
I've often been put in areas which have made the battle rather unfun.
Full calvary army + hills (in the middle of the plains?) = no fun.
It would be nice to have it so that the external world was graded in a way, and that the random generation of the battle field was then restricted by the grading.
EG:
Grading 1: Plain
Random Generation: few trees, no water, hardly much change in elevation over the map.
Gradind 2: Foothills
Random Generation: some trees, none-small water, moderate hills.
Grading 3: Forest
Random Generation: many trees, random water, few changes in elevation.
etc.
This would also add some strategy to choosing the battle field. Infantry army with horsemen chasing after you? Run to the forest then battle them there! Archer army with knights after you? Run to the mountains.
I don't know anything about the implementation, but hopfully it wouldn't be too hard to break the 'world map' up in to grading sectors and then limit the random generation according to the sector the battle takes place in.