Tracks in the snow
Vehicles now leave tracks in the ground. In snow they are the first thing you notice: dark double lines that show where something drove - and which way it was heading.
Infantry leave something too, only finer: a row of single footprints instead of a continuous line. Read side by side, the snow tells you who came through here, and with what.
How long should a track last?
Tracks fade after a while. The question is how long. Too short, and they do nothing - if you never see them, they aren't there. Too long, and in a match against another player they give the enemy away: find a half-hour-old trail, and you still know where their base is.
So it isn't a question of looks. It is a question of information. A track is a message, and it should only hold for as long as it is true.
And on grassland
Snow takes an imprint from everything, however light. Grass doesn't - there, only vehicles press a trail into the ground. A soldier walking through grass leaves nothing behind.
On grass the trail is flattened green rather than a dark line. Wider, but just as readable. And when a vehicle turns on the spot, it leaves a ring in the ground instead of a kink in the line. You can see where someone stopped to think.
Not done yet
A few refinements are still ahead.
Iron Command is a classic base-building RTS in the spirit of Command & Conquer and Dune 2 - on your monitor, or from inside the battlefield in VR. Coming spring 2027. If this sounds like your thing, the wishlist button is right up there.