Indeed, this sounds like a great idea, however, it would require a morale system - something that i am pretty sure was not present in the opendev, with only "combat" being simulated through HP rather than morale.

There is a morale system, but it affects things on a larger scale like the war itself rather than individual units.

Eulogos wrote:
I can't directly comment on your post since how contemporary units function in battle has not been revealed yet. I will say that it is a good idea, and I think you might like how contemporary units work.

Ah thanks for letting us know that. I guess I have to wait for another OpenDev or Feature Focus videos in Youtube.

Histotoon wrote:

Indeed, this sounds like a great idea, however, it would require a morale system - something that i am pretty sure was not present in the opendev, with only "combat" being simulated through HP rather than morale.Instead of morale of each individual unit, giving combat strength penalty would be simpler, just like when attacking an enemy unit standing 

As Eulogos already said, there is a morale system in Humankind. However, instead of possessing morale gauge for each individual unit, it is more like a combination of "war score", "casus belli", and "war support" in games from Paradox Interactive. Simply put, Morale in Humankind increases as you stand victorious in numerous battles, as other factions have done something bad for you, or as your population supports the ongoing war.

And giving a combat strength penalty to affected units would be much simpler way to implement it. Just like those penalties you receive, when your unit is attacking an enemy unit standing on a higher ground or on a fortified structure (such as castle or city center with walls). In real life, psychologically affected troops would not perform nearly as good as fully inspired troops, so executing the effect of smokescreen in this way in Humankind also makes sense.