The followup article lists a large number of concepts that should be included in tactical combat, yes. But it doesn't really discuss the posters determinism fetish. It also shows a distinct lack of understanding of D&D once again, which makes me roll my eyes a little. This guy needs to actually research what he's arguing against.
The "D&D combat system" (since he INSISTS on referring it to that even though he's talking about something else entirely, I will respond using his language and within his paradigm) contains: character specialization, use of terrain, specialized enemies, directional facing, resource management, multiple attack options, delayed attacks, numerous ranged and melee attacks. The other elements he's discussing are part of encounter design, a game creators task outside of the scope of the ruleset. Not every computer game with a D&D logo slapped on it implements these correctly or even adequately, and in some cases they don't implement any D&D mechanics at all, but there are two examples I can think of that did incorporate larger amounts of these options: KotC and ToEE. Both games have great turn based combat, even if they completely lack in every other area of gameplay. :/
Also, his examples don't add to the "clarity" of tactical combat. His continued referencing of "clarity" is something I have a bit of a problem with in this entire discussion. Let's imagine you are about to fight someone. You and him are standing there, both wearing chain mail, both holding a morning star, circling and planning your first strike. Before you actually engage him, do you get a popup that shows you the percentages of how many times you swing you'll hit? Do you get a marker that shows exactly how much damage you'll do each time you strike? No, you don't. I don't think the player should be given that either. Combat is chaos. It's not orderly, it's not deterministic and it shouldn't be treated as such (once again, IMO). Randomized events can lead to serious shifts in combat and completely unexpected outcomes- something that should be a goal for any game designer. Surprising the player is important, as important as giving freedom and tactical choices. If every combat is pre-scripted and has a deterministic outcome, why bother even playing the game? Why not just watch a video of the game playing itself?
