Do the weather effects really affect the battles?
Yes, the weather effects do affect the battles. For example, Archers and Riflemen are more likely to kill their own troops at night or under heavy fog. Also, a battalion’s reacting range will be affected by visibility if it is dark or foggy, battalions will not automatically charge at enemies until they are quite close. Even if the environment and weather effects have been disabled in the options menu (and therefore are not visible), the battlefield conditions are still tracked by the game, and they still affect the battles. The on/off switch in the options menu only affects what the player sees, not how the weather conditions are processed by the game.
