Tactical Movement Overhaul

This mod is a complete overhaul of the movement system in Gates of Hell, affecting both infantry and vehicles to create a more deliberate, terrain-driven gameplay experience.

Movement is now heavily influenced by the environment: forests, shallow water, and snow significantly slow units down. Swimming has been drastically reduced in speed, making it a last-resort option rather than a viable pathing choice.

An experimental sprint system has been introduced for infantry. Double-clicking now triggers a short burst of speed, after which soldiers deplete their stamina and must recover. Units carrying heavy equipment (MGs, AT weapons, etc.) fatigue faster, making movement planning more important. To compensate, stamina regenerates more quickly when resting.

Vehicles have been fully rebalanced across all terrain types. They are now slower in ground, forest, snow, swamp, and shallow water, with a slight speed reduction even on roads. This makes transport, route selection, and logistics more impactful, turning vehicles into a key strategic element rather than just a mobility boost.

Overall, the mod emphasizes planning, positioning, and terrain awareness, rewarding players who manage movement carefully instead of relying on rapid repositioning.

The sprint mechanic has been completely reworked. Double-click sprint now provides only a short burst of speed, after which soldiers must rest.

If a unit fully depletes its stamina during a sprint, it will not be able to sprint again until stamina has recovered to 90%. For this reason, it is more effective to use short sprints, pause to recover, then move again rather than exhausting units in a single push.

Sprint should be reserved for critical moments, such as crossing exposed ground or reacting to threats. Treat recovery time as part of your maneuver: plan movements in stages so units can rest before entering dangerous situations.

Pathing has been significantly altered. When issuing long-distance movement orders, units will now prioritize roads and routes that offer better speed and maneuverability.

This makes it unwise to simply click across the map from spawn, as units may follow predictable paths and risk ambushes. Instead, move in stages if you want more control or intend to avoid roads.

The AI now avoids difficult terrain such as swamps, snow, shallow water, forest, or obstacle-heavy areas unless necessary. However, it will still cross them if no better route is available. Roads are used much more frequently, increasing the likelihood of unit concentration—map awareness becomes essential.

This behavior reflects both engine limitations and an intentional design choice to simulate real battlefield decision-making: without detailed player input, units will favor safer and more efficient routes.

This mod performs best with smaller, well-managed squads supported by a few vehicles. It encourages careful planning and deliberate movement, which becomes increasingly difficult to maintain with very large armies.

• Full overhaul of infantry and vehicle movement systems
• Strong terrain impact on all unit types
• Slower movement across forests, ground, snow, shallow water, and swimming
• Experimental sprint system with stamina management (10s infantry, 15s veteran)
• Faster stamina regeneration, but higher fatigue for heavily equipped units
• Rebalanced vehicle speeds across all terrain types
• Greater importance of positioning, pathing, and logistics
• Effects apply to both player and AI

• Report any incompatibilities for possible patches

For full experience, you can also use my Foliage Physics Overhaul mod, which enhances vegetation by adding physical interaction, visual feedback when hit, and realistic line-of-sight blocking through actual volume-based foliage.

If you plan to use both mods together, make sure to load them in the following order:

• Foliage Physics Overhaul
• Tactical Movement Overhaul