Thing is, in game so far I never encountered what you said.. Infact, I find that my horse in game would slow down and get stuck on a hill it would normally be able to go up on in real life, especially as infantry have no problem walking up it. I do however see horses slide up vertical hills after they die a lot AND NPC's tend to get less physics restrictions. Even a 75degree may be too much in my oppinion, but its just that I haven't seen such in game.
Another thing I would like to mention, is that horses would not really slow down when travelling up-hill, and infact sometimes would speed up (I'm talking about the current speeds of canter and such in game - not flat out gallop) since it is easier to go faster up hill. Its easier, (same as humans - try walking up a long hill, then try running up the same hill) although in the horse would get tired a lot faster. Infact, some hills would be impossible to walk up, since the horse would have to jump / leap upwards (I know its hard to explain what it looks like lol)
To make it simple I would take into consideration:
- horses can go up hills as steep as footmen can (without the use of hands)
- VERY steep hills, would be tackable only by footmen, but they would not be able to use their weapons or shields (since they are climbing with the use of their hands)
- realistic landscape, is normally more spread out (in terms of mountains / hills). I know it has to do with game engine, but it would help if angles which are larger than 60degrees can become 'cliffs (90degrees) and angles which are less than 60degrees can be 'smoother'.
- spawn points are not on top of a mountain, where you can't get up and where some enemies (and allies) get stuck
- AI slightly tweaked so they don't attempt to exit water at the most impossible place.
- Horses are still able to trot / slow canter up hills, and the movement speed is 'locked' on steeper hills (eg35+ degrees) at a specific speed, which is similar to trot (the horse can stop, or go forward at that speed. Its like a separate gait if you want to put it that way)
- PC's and NPC's speeds on hills are the same.
Thing is, I didn't yet experience this glitch.. So far if the hill is very steep the horse won't be able to go up ::\
Bigwig, regarding the horse's agility etc. I completely support it, but it brings us to the topic of 'horses having their own statistics, trainable horses etc'. To be honest, big does not mean agility, although a smaller horse would definately be able to squeeze between trees / caves etc easier and would be more difficult to spot amongst mountains. Mountain horses are smaller because it makes them evade mountain predators, develop balance and be able to climb mountains at an earlier age (too long to explain too much in detail). However, ultimately, size doesn't exactly mean agility. I have seen (and rode) thoroughbreds who could do a 180 turn on the spot at fast canter (and suddenly the rider realises that they no longer have a horse under them lol) so like I said, it actually brings us back to the 'stats/training for horses' topic which in my oppinion should be looked into :
