Comment 9 for bug 794483

My experience (Build-16) is that scouts all head west, time after time. That's useless. I'd be happy with almost anything else. Currently, the only way to scout easterly is to send out hunters -- sometimes they chase game.

I have no problem with random walk scouts; I don't care if they've explored a spot or not, let them cross it again. A scout may well have explored an enemy Sentry when it was empty; if he walks there again, I may be ready to attack. No, I don't want to tell them where to go... not unless I can command my soldiers to go somewhere useful. No sophisticated algorithm is required. If you want to scout in a certain direction, build the Scout's House in that direction. Over time, the scouted area *should* assume the form of a rough circle.

Scouts *should* prefer never-explored land to fogged; and fogged to completely visible; and avoid player's own roads but use enemy roads freely to gain range. With that, and an honest pseudo-random walk, it's done.

Intelligence is expensive.