---= Knights Templar Minimod =--- for SS 6.0 (in development)
pic by Prasa
Knights Templar Minimod
for Stainles Steel 6.1
Now that the SS 6.0 Preview is out, I've also decided to show a brief preview of KNIGHTS TEMPLAR MINIMOD. It will take some time, because most of work must be done after 6.0 is out.
Basically, I was not satisfied by the unit roster of a Templar faction in early era campaign. Most of the units were "stuck" in high-era, limited to mail/partial plate armour, and it lacked the professional and better equipped units from the late medieval/renaissance era. As this game is a game of changing history and what-ifs, I feel that the guys who established banking system and were outrageously wealthy, if they survived past 1314., would use the most advanced stuff available. Use of heavy knights, in heavy mail (at it's peak - 12/13th century) and reputation of one of the best mounted knights in known world, justified that notion.
To balance them, and also give them a bit of historical accuracy, I've increased their units' cost significantly, so they would field lower numbers, but superior quality, opposed to vast numbers, but somewhat lower quality of muslim armies.
Besides unit changes, I'm also working on new models & skins, which should better reflect the armour type, social status of the soldiers, and generally I'll try to make them feel more like a faction which not only relied on heavy knights in white surcoats, but also on various local & european mercenaries, volunteers and levies. My Knights Templar are not only a Templar faction, but more like a faction encompassing all christian Outremer, or Crusader States (they still start with only 1 castle - Tortosa - though, and will have a tough time in early game).
UPDATED, 6th June
Here's the final unit list that will make it into beta release. It's based on Point Blank's Real Recruitment.
For 1.0 final release, I'm also considering the reshuffling of missile units a bit, since Longbowmen (based on dism. French archers) seem a bit odd in the Middle East. Especially so when one considers that Templars almost exclusively used crossbow as a missile weapon.
One idea is to remove Longbowmen, reduce Templar Crossbowmen to normal crossbow (6 AP, range 145, unit quality remains Superior, reduced cost & increased availability), and add a new late era unit - Templar Arbalesters, which would use heavy steel crossbow (same as Aventurier, Hussites and Arbalesters) which is 8 AP, huge range of 205 for Superior quality unit. It would be made available at a later date, and for balancing reasons, not very heavily armoured. Tell me what you guys think.
Here's the list:
INFANTRY (att/def) - short description
- Southern Peasants - (1/1) basic peasant cheap unit
- Templar Spearmen - (4/12) light mail, light spear, militia unit
- Templar Light Swordsmen - (3/12) light mail, sword, militia unit
- Order Heavy Spearmen - (6/18) heavy mail, heavy spear
- Templar Sergeants - (3 AP/14) early melee unit, mace, mail
- Dism. Hospitallers - (7/19) heavy dism.knights, sword, heavy mail
- Dism. Knight Brethren - (8/18) heavy dism.Templars, sword, heavy mail
- Dism. St.Lazarus Knights - (7 AP/12) 2H axemen, heavy mail/plate
- Holy Sepulcher Knights - (10/11) 2H swords, heavy mail/plate
- Voulgier - (5 AP/8) light, early polearm, militia unit
- Pikemen - (2/4) light armour, long pikes, militia unit
- Rhodes Palace Guard - (7 AP/14) halberdiers, partial plate
- Solomon's Temple Guard - (7 AP/17) elite heavy inf, poleaxes, plate
MISSILE (miss dmg/def) - short description
- South Peasant Archers - (2/1) basic archers, cheap & useless
- Armenian Archers - (5/7) comp.bow, leather armour, long range
- Crossbow Militia - (6 AP/1) militia unit, light crossbow, no armour
- Templar Crossbowmen - (7 AP/11) heavy crossbow, heavy mail, able to deal with horse archers
- Outremer Longbowmen - (6/12) well armoured longbowmen, stakes
- Arquebusiers - (11 AP/3) standard European Arquebusiers
CAVALRY (att/chrg dmg/def) - short description
- Mounted Sergeants - (5/7/10) light mail, spear, fast cav
- Turcopoliers - (4/4/9) light horse archer, comp. bow, leather armour
- Templar Confanoniers - (4 AP/12/14) lightly armoured knights, mace, lance, mail
- Merchant Cav.Militia - (4/6/11) same as other cav militias, available from Merch.Guild
- Knights of St.Lazarus - (4 AP/14/17) leper knights, axe, lance, heavy mail
- Templar Knight Brethren - (9/14/18) heavy cav, lance, sword, heavy mail/plate
- Hospitaller Knights - (8/14/19) heavy cav, lance, sword, heavy mail/plate
- Templar Praeceptors - (6 AP/16/22) heavy late cav, warhammer, heavy lance, plate
- Lancers of St.John - (7/16/16) light & fast late cav, heavy lance, partial plate
Most of the coding work is done, and it should be fairly easy to adjust the values, once SS 6.0 is out. However, modelling and texturing will take some time. I'll post some unit previews once I'm done. Currently, no skins are ready, but if there's interest I can post few grey-shaded models of guys looking silly in Jesus-poses.
I also hope this mod can make AI controlled Templars last longer, at least until first crusader armies arrive.
Here's a few work-in-progress pics for you guys. I've only made 1 test texture, as you can see, and for now focus mainly on modeling. First, a few finished body armours (not final skin, obviously), then some "naked" models. Most of those are heavy mail/partial plate variety, but once I finish those, it's easy to just copy/paste various body parts. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I enjoyed creating them.
11.05.08. - Time for weapons update. First, 2Handed axes (for Outremer Axemen), then maces, followed by spears (late heavy spears on left - winged lance, or Flugellance, light spears on right) and 1-handed swords.
14.05.08. - Another weapon rack exhibition. Man, those took me insane amount of time to make. It's a tough life, being a perfectionist.
Mighty 2 handed swords, including the infamous Zweihanders, then voulges & glaives.
18.5.08. - Finally, fnished the weapons. In this latest issue of The Weapon Rack:
1. halberds. Left - early, right - late halberds,
2. poleaxes & war hammers. From left to right - bec de corbin, 2 poleaxes, lucerne hammer, 1H war hammer, spiked hammer, 1H bec de corbin, horsemen's pick.
Originally Posted by Fenix_120
