Discussion about vision. (if at all)

I don't think that the "cell" idea will work too well unless it's deeply hidden from the user. The algorithm is clean and I suspect that it produces reasonably interesting gameplay. However, displaying the cells to the user will be distracting: when you move a high-power sensor, it will produce visually-distracting regular patterns in the changes in the cell decomposition. Specifically, large concentric circles centered on moving sensor. Or, well, not concentric; they'll correspond to equipotential lines or surfaces in the sensor field which are at a sufficiently large angle from the unit's movement vector, which will be paired quarter-circles unless your sensor coverage is somewhat "lumpy". Either way, you'll have map-spanning wavefronts of cell collapses (on the leading edges) and cell merges (on the trailing edges) catching the user's eyes and attention. You get the same kind of effect on the edges of voronoi decompositions of continuously-varying point sets.

I am amazed by this concept. I'm a bit late (sorry) but, i find it is a really good idea, it is innovative, and it could bring very interesting game mechanism. I will be extremely interested by trying it out.

I quite agree, as long as there is the option to display it when you want it. Eg, holding down a hotkey reveals the cells. This would mean you could work out where to put a sensor to refine some of the cells. By default, the cells shouldn't appear unless a hotkey is held down to make said cells appear on the map.

Sure, not showing the cells at all would also work. They only improve the intelligence in distant regions and allows the detection of large crowds, but it would still work without.


Another possible variant would be, to take time into consideration when determining the intelligence. The basic idea:
You collect intelligence on the target over time. If you have sufficient intelligence, it becomes visible to "radar" or you get full vision. If you loose tracking, it becomes invisible again after a short time.
Long-range units like radar towers won't be able to push the "intelligence score" above "radar" levels.
Every unit has its very own decay rate for intelligence score, but EVERY unit which can track the unit adds more intelligence, depending on the distance.
A unit being smaller is represented by having a faster decay rate.

Implications?

• The grade and speed of intelligence scales with the invested resources - building multiple radar towers WILL improve intel, they not only become capable of tracking units faster, they can also track smaller units at longer range since multiple radar towers together can become capable of overcoming the decay rate. Same with scouts, multiple scouts can not only cover a larger area when spread far, they also become more efficient when moving in groups.
• Fly-by maneuvers with spy planes do no longer offer perfect information. You will be able to locate factories and alike, but in order to see the rest of the units, you would have to stay in place for a short while. Getting better (more complete) information requires even more resources.
• High grade intel units gain a real purpose in army composition. It's not enough to have the firepower, but you also need DETAILED intelligence on the target location for proper target selection. Given enough time, your artillery could spot targets itself, but the enemy could take the initiative before you even take your first shot.
• Gameplay evolves over time. As more units come into game, the range and quality of intelligence improves. This plays very well in combination with larger, heavier and slower units and tends to make the game more slow paced when it gets crowded. It also helps overcoming the issue that upgrading from T1 to T2 intelligence means a sudden boost in the grade and amount of intelligence gathered.
• No more dancing on the edge of vision. A unit at the (current) border between vision and invisibility no longer pops into vision and vanishes again. The time factor ensures, that such a unit will behave more constant. It might constantly switch between to adjacent states (hidden and radar, or radar and vision), but it will no longer be able to completely vanish from vision instantly just by moving outside the range.