LAca's Byzantine Heavy Spearmen released

[Rammstein]

That's because sword and spear are both short range melee weapon. The engine has some difficulty to distinguish them. To solve this, I myself add the "long_pike" attribute to this unit(I cannot remember exactly the attribute name. Check noble_pikemen anyway). Then the engine will recognize their spear as a long range melee weapon and switch to sword only in short range.

your right the unit only works correct with long_pike and phanlanx formation. Its still good against infantry with swords, but its loses so hard against cavalry I have to make it a pike unit. Cause what do I need a spear unit which is weak against cavalry?


type Byzantine Heavy Spearmen
dictionary byzantine_heavy_spear ; Byzantine Pikemen
category infantry
class spearmen
voice_type Light
banner faction main_spear
banner holy crusade
soldier byzantine_heavy_spear, 60, 0, 1
officer Dismounted_Byzantine_Lancers_ug2
officer Pronoia_Infantry_ug1
attributes sea_faring, hide_forest, hardy, can_withdraw, pike
formation 1.2, 1.2, 2.4, 2.4, 8, square, phalanx
stat_health 1, 0
stat_pri 9, 4, no, 0, 0, melee, melee_blade, piercing, spear, 25, 1
;stat_pri_ex 0, 0, 0
stat_pri_attr spear, long_pike, spear_bonus_8
stat_sec 7, 2, no, 0, 0, melee, melee_blade, piercing, sword, 25, 1
;stat_sec_ex 0, 0, 0
stat_sec_attr no
stat_pri_armour 6, 5, 7, metal
;stat_armour_ex 0, 5, 7, 0, 3, 0, 0, flesh
stat_sec_armour 0, 0, flesh
stat_heat 2
stat_ground 1, -2, 3, 2
stat_mental 13, normal, highly_trained
stat_charge_dist 40
stat_fire_delay 0
stat_food 60, 300
stat_cost 1, 690, 190, 85, 65, 690, 4, 60
armour_ug_levels 2, 3
armour_ug_models byzantine_heavy_spear, byzantine_heavy_spear_ug1
ownership byzantium
era 2 byzantium
;unit_info 9, 0, 3
recruit_priority_offset 25

[LAca]

The "spearmen" name is only for the ai (how to use them tactically). In game their current weapons make the difference (if they fight with spears, will have penalties against infantry, if they fight with swords, they lose the anti cav bonus. At least as far as i know it.

Keep them in schiltrom and you ll see (they can beat even the dismounted feudal knights that way).
If u order them to attack with swords (alt+click,) they will fight with swords. Or, if charged by cavalry, order them to attack normally and will fight with their spears.

[Basileios]

I didn't play with them too often using the schitron, but I had the impression that the phalanx ability is the only formation that makes proper use of both swords and pikes!:hmmm:
In other formations I often had to see spear- & pikemen switch to swords in order to receive a cavalry charge....

@LAca

Btw would it be possible to create a double-handed model fighting with shield and pike at the same time?

[LAca]

Btw would it be possible to create a double-handed model fighting with shield and pike at the same time?

Yes, it is possible. It can be done, i already tried it, but the problem is with the animations - is some instances, the shield is in weird position - for example when they march, their left elbow is held high and the shield (which has the correct position during fighting and bracing positions) stands at about 90 degrees to the body, horizontally. It looks really weird. The problem can be solved by editing those animations and defining a new animation pack ("skeleton"), but thats not that simple although it was done for RTW (the 2 h pike anim).
If some1 has the time and knows how to do it, i would be glad to help him with the testing.

[Basileios]

Yes, I guess so...

Anyway, really great work of yours! Especially the skins almost perfectly reflect the apearance of Byzantine heavy armed infantrymen in the Komnenian era. Only thing missing would be a padded-garment-only-skin for standart Hoplitai but as you wrote: you designed them as élite...

Btw did the pictures I posted at your Byzantine flamethrower thread help, or did you already knew them? or the link?

[LAca]

I will use the padded only skin for the lighter spearmen (spear militia and/or the byzantine spearmen) and light infantry.

I have those pics for a long time, the lamellar armour and the helmet made of metal strips is based on those pics. But the description is really helpful. Thank you.

[hellbard]

great work!! do continue.. but i think u should dim the colours a bit.. they are to bright.. they stand out to much.. that aside,, great work!!

[88cali]

is it possible to embed this unit into Kingdoms/crusades campaign? what shall we do about the modeldb? it is now "22 serialization::archive 3 0 0 0 0 790 0 0".

anyway,I'm trying to figure it out following trajan's instructions. great model btw thanks

EDIT: nvm..figured it needs to add 2.. so 790+2 right?

[88cali]

hmm..got it working..but there's a problem with the text says "unlocalised placement text" (see pic). I copied the export_unit.txt to the mod/data/text folder although there wasn't really an original txt there to be replaced. did I miss out something? thx.

[Basileios]

Yes, you'll need an original export_unit.txt, I'm afraid. Unless of course you can live with the spearmen working and all new units having the same text probleme, too...
So you'll have to unpack the original textfiles first. If we are lucky the MTW2 unpacker works with the addon as well - since I don't have the addon I can't give it a try...
After editing the export_unit.txt you'll either have to repack it or have to use some sort of mod-switcher that tells the game to use the unpacked files first!

[88cali]

ya using the bin/text converter did the trick. thanks.

[Basileios]

You're welcome!

[CharlesMarkley]

ya using the bin/text converter did the trick. thanks.

Hey! Could you put that text file up here? I tried unpacking the crusades (it says that it is doing so, but no export_unit.txt. Thanks!

[88cali]

Hey! Could you put that text file up here? I tried unpacking the crusades (it says that it is doing so, but no export_unit.txt. Thanks!

sure...attached is the crusades export_unit.txt with LAca's addon. just copy and paste to your crusades/data/text and run the game with crusades.bat, the unit description should show up.

[CharlesMarkley]

Thank you!!!

[Kaelic]

I followed the instructions, used an extracted Crusades to apply it over like Trajan describes and yet they just don't turn up. Is it a unit limit to the buildings? I decided to keep Varangian Guard where they were, could that be it? I got no errors or anything, and my skin mod works fine (One Faction At A Time).

[lordyu]

how do you add the heavy spearman to the battle_models file. can anyone help ? Its all I realy need to know.

no need to help I already found it.

[CharlesMarkley]

how do you add the heavy spearman to the battle_models file. can anyone help ? Its all I realy need to know.

no need to help I already found it.

I used this thread:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=74945

and then the earlier parts of this very thread to add it into mine. I did notice that Stainless Steel has them in phalanx, but directly from here they do schiltron.

[lordyu]

is it better to give them the phalanx? would i be more historically accurate.

[Basileios]

is it better to give them the phalanx? would i be more historically accurate.

Yes, though not perfectly the same type of phalanx later known in the west! Obviously the Byzantines found a way to use both large shield and pike (very long spear or lance) at the same time. So unlike western pikemen they were protected by the shield!
Pictures of reanactment seen in Ospreys Byzantine Infantrymen c. 900-1204 sugests that hoplitai and menavlatoi indeed formed a formation very similar to the phalanx to be seen in MTW2. At least when receiving a cavalry charge. The knee-down first line would be made up of menavlatoi with a shorter but thicker and stronger spear while the second and third line directed their pikes towards the enemy in the same way as the 2nd line pikemen do in MTW2...