I think partly the problem arrises in putting Psychology aside. Orcs, Undead, Trolls, Halflings can all be a complete nightmare to keep under control, and once routing begins it all just goes to pot.
To my mind many of the solutions provided by other games are too abstract. Most activation systems just seem random, why should that unit go first rather than some other one? Activation tests (I'd suggest using Initiative rather than Ld) almost turn everything Stupid or having constantly jamming weapons, and when added to tests for complex manoeuvres, animosity tests and the suchlike, things get very bogged dow . Have also tried activating units in reverse-initiative order (regardless of which player), so the 'slowest' are forced to move / fight first, but found tracking it was effort.
The Fog of War concept tries to simulate a Generals imperfect knowledge of the tactical situation and how communication occurs on the battlefield. The most direct method of achieving this is to just use written orders. One example is the players simultaneously write orders for each of their units for the turn at the beginning of a turn (before movement), then each player, resolves the actions as per the orders in each round. So all movement, then all shooting, combat ect. I'd like to try having written battle orders at the start of the game, that would set the entire strategy, and then having Ld tests to act counter to those orders, or react to the tactical situation if the player wishes, as that's what most medieval combat would be like.
And while I do like written orders, it just doesn't feel very Orcish.
