All features showcased in the following previews are work in progress and are subject to change.
| - An Editorial Note On Native Unit Names by Knonfoda - |
An Editorial Note On Native Unit Names:
From the outset, I want to say these names are in some cases conjecture, and in those cases where conjecture is not involved, they are probably not 100% grammatically and linguistically correct. This isn't to say these names have been arrived at from thin air - a great deal of research and consultation has taken place to try and give some sense into these tactical groupings we call "units", a word which is in itself extremely vague and which ancient peoples baring those with only the most sophisticated tactical and organisational hierarchies (such as the Romans) had no notion of, preferring instead to call such "groups" simply as bands, levies, "men" and other terms. Given that a lot of the factions and units portrayed belong to peoples whose language is either long lost and extinct and of which only tiny glimpses and fragments survive, excluding those (such as the Persians or Germanics) for which we have a relatively sophisticated surviving vocabulary, it should be said from the outset the aim here isn't for complete accuracy (which is impossible under such limiting circumstances) but rather "authenticity". I want players to feel they are playing with a completely different culture when they pick say a Germanic or Steppe faction, and part of that is being immersed in the language - having the words "warbands" or "horsemen" or "swordsmen/warriors" strewn about different factions and cultures quickly breaks that spell, and as such I've worked to do away with them for factions which we can with some certainty attribute terms which convey the same or similar adjectives.
So for example, for German factions, "swordsmen" can easily become "Sweršan Šruχtiz" or "sword bands" because enough of proto-Germanic survives for us to be able to make this connection. Note usually more than not, not enough of it survives for us to conjugate the words appropriately, and this is especially so with languages for which even less survives. Another example is "Carpi Heavy Warbands" which can be interpreted as "Balos Šruχtiz Carpiani" - here is it rendered multi-lingually in both Dacian and proto-Germanic meaning loosely "strong/great warbands of the Carpi" - highlighting the difficulties in rendering names for languages of which very little survives, here Dacian. Given that the Carpi were a non-homogenous tribe of disputed ancestry and language (arguments range from Dacian to Germanic to even proto-Slav) where I was not able to find an equivalent in one language (such as men, bands, or warbands) in Dacian, I resorted to a plausible other regional language (here proto-Germanic) to fill in the gap, in this case with "Šruχtiz" - warband. So while the name "Balos Šruχtiz Carpiani" sounds appropriately "foreign" and native for a barbarian unit, accomplishing the task of immersing the player and giving a certain uniqueness to a faction unit, it must be borne in mind certain units have been rendered multi-lingually and again, conjugation is nigh on impossible. Balos Šruχtiz Carpiani translates less as "Strong Warband of the Carpi" more than it does "strong warband carpi" but the point gets across and for obvious aesthetic and gameplay reasons they have not been rendered as such in the unit descriptions, but as such they must be taken with a grain of salt.
For languages of which we know even less, such as Primitive Irish, Common Brittonic and Scytho-Sarmatian, such problematic naming conventions should be borne in mind, but in particular any inaccuracies and outright errors that may arise because not only of the distinct problems in dealing with such poorly documented languages, but our status as hobbyist modders (and our limited time and paychecks  ) too. So please bear with us in that while we are aiming for historical accuracy (of a sort) with the unit names, errors, omissions and inaccuracies for anybody versed or well-read in these languages are likely to be more apparent than for others and that we are always glad to receive feedback and suggestions for improvement in this area. With that said, I hope you enjoy the new native unit names and the IBRO mod! 
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- The Previews of RESTITVTOR ORBIS -
