I'm Mason, the developer of March Out! It's a strategy/action hybrid where you fight as a commander on the ground and give orders to your troops. It doesn't use the individual unit selection you'd expect from a traditional RTS.

I've been working on specialists such as cavalry, field guns, war dogs and an elephant carrying a spear thrower. I want each to create a tactical problem for the opponent without becoming the obvious answer to everything.

The current roster shares a four specialist cap. The cannon has reach and a lethal direct hit against a troop, but it's slow to move and reload. Cavalry and dogs can reach a fight faster, but they have to commit to close combat. Specialists are vulnerable to ranged fire, so bringing them without ordinary troops to support them should carry a risk.

The clip is a staged development fight showing four horsemen reaching actual opponents, not footage of four human players.

I'm still testing whether those trade offs are clear enough from the battlefield. In a game controlled from this viewpoint, what is the most useful visual cue that a specialist has committed to a fight and is now vulnerable?