I looked at this but to be honest without a command and controll description the rest is not that interesting. I have to agree that chanceless is a viable approach but really its command and control that decides battles. "Getting there the fastest with the Mostest" is the issue.
Sure. There are are two mechanisms for C&C:
1. More complicated
Each commander receives orders arrows, up to a maximum depending on his command rating which varies from 1 to 5 or so. At the beginning of the game each player assigns orders arrows to his commander (not to the general). Each arrow is orientated to face forwards, backwards or sideways and has a number, chosen by the player. The arrows and numbers tell the commander which direction he may move and for how many squares. Once he has completed one order arrow he executes the next, and so on.
The orders arrows apply to the commander, not to the units he is commanding. So a battleline may advance diagonally for example whilst the commander advances straight ahead, ending his move with a different unit of that battleline.
Once a commander has completed all his orders an Out-Of-Command counter of the colour of his command is placed in the square his last order took him to. If he is a foot commander he may range a maximum of 2 squares from that square; if he is a mounted commander he may range 4 squares (his units can conceivable range further). This simulates his lack of overall battlefield awareness, limiting his action to his local area.
Commanders may abandon their orders for several reasons, e.g. if one of their commanded units is adjacent to enemy, at which point an OOC counter is placed in his square as described above.
2. Simpler
A square counter with numbers on each side from 1 – 4 on one side and 5 – 8 on the other is placed with the commander's counter, and the counter is set so the number corresponding to his command rating is facing the commander. The command may advance as many squares as he chooses, but each time he changes direction the counter is rotated one number down. When the counter drops below 1 it is removed and the commander is OOC as described above.
This mechanism ensures that the player devises a grand tactical plan for the commander and that he goes somewhere definite. If the player keeps changing his mind in the course of the battle the commander rapidly runs out of command points and ends up tied to a limited movement range.
My overriding consideration with C&C is to give the player as much control as possible whilst staying within historical limits. In Optio he has more control than in, say, DBA, where poor pip dice can immobilise large sections of the army.
I'll post a couple of photos to show how this looks.