About Makedon, Greece and the Release

[Nero666]

In this final preview before the release of the long awaited Rise of Persia v2.2. we would like to show the Makedonian army, and the changes we made to the Greek army and warfare. Also, we would like to announce the release date!

Makedon
The Makedonoi are not major players on the world stage, nor are they the home to the powerful armies that might one day rule the world. They live a peaceful life in northern Greece with only minimal conflict with the barbaric Thrakians. To maintain their independence and prosper, will be a severely tough challenge for any commander in this critical stage of history. The Makedones army of sheep could do spectacularly well if led by the right Lion.

Situated in northern Greece the Makedones have ample land for agriculture and the practice of horsemanship. With strong ties to the nobles in Thessaly they can train horsemen alongside some of the best in Greece. They do not form a solid battle lines of a phalanx with the same strength and skill of their southern Hellenic counterparts, but with a stronger cavalry the Makedones could adapt to disrupt the enemy and snatch victory.

The armies of all the major empires are coming together for one great clash of arms, can Makedonia ride the storm and survive independent? Or better still subdue their haughty neighbors and reign supreme in the west!

Army
Most work for this faction has been done by the Hegemonia team, though some units have received partial reskins, weapon changes etc to match our timeframe more accurately. Therefore many thanks to the Hegemonia team!

(Hippeis Agroikoi with in the background some other units)


(In the back: Hetairoi; second row Akontistai and Toxotai, first row Aichmetai and Aspiditai)

New Hoplite Warfare
After many discussions and suggestions, we have been able to restyle the way the Hoplite units fight in battles and how to maintain their phalanx formation while still being highly maneuverable. Here are screenshots of the new behaviour:

Marching


Charging


Fighting


New Hippikoi
We have also restyled our Hippikoi unit, which is part of the Ionian and Dorian greek AOR, making it more accurate and realistic. Here's a screenshot:


Release Date
And now what everybody's been waiting for...
The release date of Rise of Persia v2.2 is Sunday the 11'th of May 2008, expected around 6 PM GMT!

Credits:
Historical Research - Zenith Darksea
Texts - Zenith Darksea
Graphics - Hegemonia CS (main units), Nero666 (reskinning/remoddeling)
Coding - Nero666

Special thanks to the Hegemonia team for letting ROP use the Makedonian units!

And of course a massive thank you to all the fans who keep us working hard with your helpful comments and praise!

[misplacedgeneral]

Good! Right now I'm on Book 2 of Herodotus, afterwards I shall hit Thukydides once more. By time this comes out, I'll be singing a paean and setting up trophies of victory.

Excellent stuff, and I like the new hoplite movements, seem many Mods are adopting it. Good stuff, it is.

I'll hold you to the date, by the way :p

EDIT: Too late by now, I'm sure, and not trying to be to critical, but the cavalry for the Dorians should be a little different than the Ionians. But it is of small importance, and I'd hate to slow you down at such a time.

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

Wow, it looks better and better! Very keen to give it a go.

Keep up the great work, guys.

[Knight of Judgment]

what is the time difference betwwen europe and america ? i can't wait .

[Keravnos]

Congratulations on an excellent mod!
I would love to play this.

[Ephialtes The Dog]

Shibby! This is going to be totally awesome!

[Ramesses the Great]

I will have to wait until there, can't wait to play the new improved Rise of Persia.

[Gen.jamesWolfe]

looking forward to the Mada and makedonians. but I must confess, I don't like the change to the hoplites...it looks... dodgy (well, at least that can be fixed). Its a nice mod, and I'll be looking forward to this update. may 11.

[Nergal1610]

The hoplites look awesome. The upward pointing spears create a daunting image of the phalanx, much more impressive than the previous formation the mod used.

Me like it

I think I'll try the Medians in my first campaign. They just look so awesome

[Ephialtes The Dog]

Yes, I like the new phalanx too.

[Titus]

Sounds great! Maybe this has been asked before but I didnt see it, will 2.2 use the mod switch?

[Nero666]

Oh yeah it will use the mod switch, don't worry

[noobcakes]

So you chose the hoplite technique highlighted in biohakers 'greece which invented phalanx cannot form phalanx' thread? Interesting it is good but does have one pitfall, namely the guys towards the rear attacking the enemy with their spears pointing in the air due to the short_pike phalanx animation That said I do find it preferable to them just being boring spearman... which raises another point. Are the Eastern (not counting Lydia and her hoplite infantry) and bessoi spearman given this treatment as well or is it just the Greek nations? From what I recall the short_pike no phalanx trick gives them an unfair advantage in a fight... tho that being said they ARE hoplites and are meant to be the toughest infantrymen of their era. Will the Bessoi still have their armour penetration bonus? I always found that a little unusual as they just have spears too I am surprised you took this direction (tho the hoplites did need something to make them interesting without phalanx and shield wall) as you stated that hoplite armies of the era wouldn't have this kind of discipline, I think in Biohakers thread. Anyway rambling aside I look forward to the new release, ROP is in need of more depth on the campaign map and I think religion and other stuff (hopefully) will give it the depth it needs to be a great mod, as well as the completed factions and hopefully balanced rebel towns (some of them are lightly defended and can be blitzed through EZ mode) ofc :3

[salaminomaxos79]

these are great news Nero. 2 days left

[Uranos]

Only 2 days till the release - congrats

[Nergal1610]

Can't wait for tomorrow

[Jingles]

lol, I was about to redownload ROP, but then I saw this thread. Can't believe 2.2's out tommorow, the tension is killing me!

[Paul d]

damn, right after I deleted my copy of the RTW folder too...

i notice a problem though. i was experimenting with that formation myself- problem is, the men in back rows- when they get in combat- they still hold spear like they are in back row, rather than lowering it to face the enemy. this makes them look like they are punching the enemy, rather than stabbing.
EDIT: looks like noobcakes beat me to it.

[Grythius Avalorius]

As long as the hoplites dont spread out like they do in the current version, Im happy

[Jingles]

I think using these animations is a good idea, It looks better than before, and although there are a couple of minor drawbacks, When in a tough melee they really do fight like part of a phalanx, they close in together, and their shields tend to connect an lock like a phalanx.