A way to do surprise attacks...

Not really. It's really defined tech that doesn't allow it. Like watchtowers.

What is a scout troop spots the army?

I rather like the idea of "standing orders" that I thought of before, but the best version of it (in my opinion) would require a mod who wouldn't participate in the game, at least in whatever version this would be in. Essentially how it'd work is each army would send this mod a private message detailing their plans should they be attacked (this would be updated whenever something major was finished, like the construction of a new defense). So, initially, nobody would know what anyone else would do when out on the defensive, but once you've attacked them, you can plan for that (and of course, they can change their plans as well). It just seems more realistic than armies getting to plan for every new Attack right as its happening.

Speaking of attacks, I'd like to suggest a new type; Sieges. These are somewhere around Assaults in intensity, except instead of just outright crushing then, you surround their base and starve them out. All of their projects halt, they don't get any new Petals or troops, and the only way out is to surrender (if done right). I just don't understand the rule of "you don't have infinite ammo on the battlefield!", when really, either it's just something we forget about, or the troops just carry enough to not matter anyway. This would have a use for that, because your ammo would be limited, and if you run out, the defenders have a much easier time forcing you back.

If you guys want a non-player moderator, I don't mind sacrificing myself...

I know I'm gonna keep messing up the maths in V2 xd

Mal! We'er already losing Just. I don't really want to lose anymore players, especially looking at the difficulty of getting new ones.

I don't really want to do standing orders. It takes away the fun and is hard to keep track of, especially when you have to recreate it for every attack. A commander can still give orders, even in a surprise attack, they may come late, but he can still give orders.

In an ordinary raid or battle, you might not have a problem carrying enough ammo, but in larger scale battles, it might be a problem.

I don't like the idea of sieges. Not only do they take to long, but they won't be as exciting as normal battles, and it would put the army leading the assault at huge risk, as they would have to send enough troops to deter the army under siege from trying to push back.

I just don't think sieges are a good idea, you can try them if you want, as there are no set battle types.

( Why don't you focus on making those creature forms?)