I should likely call this a bug because the turn based system is clearly broken. Shifting between combat and movement modes should be sequential and not ever skip any active mech/vehicle. Yet I consistently notice that this seldom happens. It should always complete the sequence except when the mission is completed and the enemy no longer exists on the battlefield, be it visible or not.
To give a clear example of this, during a mission today the first mech I had in the turn sequence destroyed a Jenner, which was the only visible enemy mech on the battlefield, although there was an orange detection flag for another mech at the edge of detection range. My Centurion destroyed the enemy Jenner with my remaining 3 mechs not having had a turn yet, and the last enemy mech having already had its turn, which is how it came into detection range. What happened next is that the combat phase immediately ended and the enemy side began a movement phase with the last mech in the enemy lance. The enemy mech was a Panther, which moved into visual range. Then the movement phase ended and combat phase began with the enemy Panther getting first move, which it jumped and attacked my Centurion. I then destroyed the Panther with my Centurion (AC20, SRM6++, SRM4++).
What SHOULD happen is that the combat phase should cycle through completely allowing all mech's and vehicles (plus fixed defenses such as turrets) to have their turn so that TIME is consistent and preserved. The turn based system represents simultaneous motion of all entities on the map, and when it is short cut like it does now that causes entities on the map to fail to get their time slice for action/movement.
In my example this was not a major issue as a single enemy mech against 4 Heavy mechs with no significant damage was a no lose situation. However, had their been more enemy mechs at the edge of detection range instead of just a single little Panther, the lack of the other 3 mechs being able to bring their enhanced large lasers, AC10's and AC20's, and the many SRM's and LRM15 into play makes a massive difference.
My suggestion is thus that time be preserved and always follow through every step in the turn phase until one side has been completely eliminated. It should also eliminate the need to check on every step in the turn if an opponent is visible to the other side or not for combat/movement mode change by using a simple unit count. Less system resources used that way because all it needs to look for is if the count on each side is greater than 0. It also improves unit cohesion by allowing all units to move in a turn, instead of ended the turn early and ending up with units spread out because some units never got their turn.
On convoy missions this is important because it can allow an enemy unit to get away that shouldn't. I have seen this happen on one map where the convoy route turns back on itself so an enemy unit is able to get out of range (visible and detection) while you are destroying the middle and end of the convoy. If you are unlucky enough to destroy the last visible enemy in the convoy, the lead convoy unit gets an early shift to movement mode and gets a significant distance while you are stuck waiting on the broken turn shift. If it had followed through the trailing units that would have missed their turn are able to use run mode and still cut the lead convoy unit off before it escapes past the point in the hill where the mechs must climb in order to reach the roadway. (lunar environment map) Note that once I discovered the flaw, I would select the two fastest mechs in my lance and start them running back towards the road behind us where it curves around 180 degrees and heads for the escape point, which allows them to intercept the enemy vehicle before it gets past the point where the mechs can climb up to the roadway without jump jets. That tends to be important on the more difficult convoy missions involving the PPC, SRM, and LRM carriers that have all heavy vehicles. Even with fully trained up mechwarriors it isn't possible to complete that mission using light and medium mechs that have jump jets. Using a pair of heavy mechs and a pair of assault mechs is viable as long as you use good strategy in where you place your units. The lead vehicle almost always gets out of range before your mechs are able to engage it, but you need to break off the two fastest mechs, usually the pair of heavies, in order to catch the lead vehicle before it escapes. Heat exchanges allow those two mechs to cool down enough on the race to catch the lead vehicle in order to be able to destroy it.
I point this out because while good planning can allow you to get around the flaw in the turn system, it is still an aggravating "joy-kill" for the game. The enemy does not have a little red button that says "STOP TIME", and the game should not behave like it does.
To give a clear example of this, during a mission today the first mech I had in the turn sequence destroyed a Jenner, which was the only visible enemy mech on the battlefield, although there was an orange detection flag for another mech at the edge of detection range. My Centurion destroyed the enemy Jenner with my remaining 3 mechs not having had a turn yet, and the last enemy mech having already had its turn, which is how it came into detection range. What happened next is that the combat phase immediately ended and the enemy side began a movement phase with the last mech in the enemy lance. The enemy mech was a Panther, which moved into visual range. Then the movement phase ended and combat phase began with the enemy Panther getting first move, which it jumped and attacked my Centurion. I then destroyed the Panther with my Centurion (AC20, SRM6++, SRM4++).
What SHOULD happen is that the combat phase should cycle through completely allowing all mech's and vehicles (plus fixed defenses such as turrets) to have their turn so that TIME is consistent and preserved. The turn based system represents simultaneous motion of all entities on the map, and when it is short cut like it does now that causes entities on the map to fail to get their time slice for action/movement.
In my example this was not a major issue as a single enemy mech against 4 Heavy mechs with no significant damage was a no lose situation. However, had their been more enemy mechs at the edge of detection range instead of just a single little Panther, the lack of the other 3 mechs being able to bring their enhanced large lasers, AC10's and AC20's, and the many SRM's and LRM15 into play makes a massive difference.
My suggestion is thus that time be preserved and always follow through every step in the turn phase until one side has been completely eliminated. It should also eliminate the need to check on every step in the turn if an opponent is visible to the other side or not for combat/movement mode change by using a simple unit count. Less system resources used that way because all it needs to look for is if the count on each side is greater than 0. It also improves unit cohesion by allowing all units to move in a turn, instead of ended the turn early and ending up with units spread out because some units never got their turn.
On convoy missions this is important because it can allow an enemy unit to get away that shouldn't. I have seen this happen on one map where the convoy route turns back on itself so an enemy unit is able to get out of range (visible and detection) while you are destroying the middle and end of the convoy. If you are unlucky enough to destroy the last visible enemy in the convoy, the lead convoy unit gets an early shift to movement mode and gets a significant distance while you are stuck waiting on the broken turn shift. If it had followed through the trailing units that would have missed their turn are able to use run mode and still cut the lead convoy unit off before it escapes past the point in the hill where the mechs must climb in order to reach the roadway. (lunar environment map) Note that once I discovered the flaw, I would select the two fastest mechs in my lance and start them running back towards the road behind us where it curves around 180 degrees and heads for the escape point, which allows them to intercept the enemy vehicle before it gets past the point where the mechs can climb up to the roadway without jump jets. That tends to be important on the more difficult convoy missions involving the PPC, SRM, and LRM carriers that have all heavy vehicles. Even with fully trained up mechwarriors it isn't possible to complete that mission using light and medium mechs that have jump jets. Using a pair of heavy mechs and a pair of assault mechs is viable as long as you use good strategy in where you place your units. The lead vehicle almost always gets out of range before your mechs are able to engage it, but you need to break off the two fastest mechs, usually the pair of heavies, in order to catch the lead vehicle before it escapes. Heat exchanges allow those two mechs to cool down enough on the race to catch the lead vehicle in order to be able to destroy it.
I point this out because while good planning can allow you to get around the flaw in the turn system, it is still an aggravating "joy-kill" for the game. The enemy does not have a little red button that says "STOP TIME", and the game should not behave like it does.
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