EB-Twitter updates Discussion

[IGdood]

I actually have a question on the onager crewman. He looks like he's got....dirt on his hair and face or something.

[alex33]

Cohors Sociorum on the Twitter feed, looks like the Romans will be getting quite a lot of cool new units indeed!

What's their role, if I might ask? Are they the Marian equivalent of the Pedites Extraordinarii?

P.S. they're likely the fifth unit Anubis was referring to.

quoting qs from page 128

nazgool did a sneak preview of the Cohors Sociorum on the Twitter thread a couple of weeks ago (though not on the main feed) - they are the mainstay of the Italian allies in the Polybian era. They mostly replace the regional Italians in Roman armies with regards line infantry.

i think the 5th unit is most likely primas cohortes

[romanius24]

It is the Eagle Cohort. You can see it in that video.

[Cohors_Evocata]

quoting qs from page 128

i think the 5th unit is most likely primas cohortes

Ah thanks, my bad, must have missed that.

In that case, I think the 5 units are as follows: (had a bit of a brain fart before)

1. Cohors Reformata / Standard Cohort
2. Prima Cohors Reformata / First Cohort
3. Cohors Evocata / Veteran Cohort
4. Antesignani / light legionary infantry
5. Equites Auxiliarum / Auxiliary Cavalry

+ onagers.

[alin]

I actually have a question on the onager crewman. He looks like he's got....dirt on his hair and face or something.

It's from the game due to the weather, it's not actually textured like that.

Ah thanks, my bad, must have missed that.

In that case, I think the 5 units are as follows: (had a bit of a brain fart before)

1. Cohors Reformata / Standard Cohort
2. Prima Cohors Reformata / First Cohort
3. Cohors Evocata / Veteran Cohort
4. Antesignani / elite light legionary infantry
5. Equites Auxiliarum / Auxiliary Cavalry

+ onagers.

Exactly.

[QuintusSertorius]

Cohors Sociorum on the Twitter feed, looks like the Romans will be getting quite a lot of cool new units indeed!

What's their role, if I might ask? Are they the Marian equivalent of the Pedites Extraordinarii?

P.S. they're likely the fifth unit Anubis was referring to.

Cohors Sociorum aren't a Marian-era unit, they're Polybian-era. They're the mainstay of the Polybian roster, Paul even suggested they may have done most of the fighting. They're a bigger-than-usual unit, so have a lot of staying power.

As an added bonus, they're regional and mercenary, so other factions can get in on the action and even use them against the Romans.

[excubitor]

are there any historical evidence of the use of onagers b.c cause i dont remember any.
also any sources from battles that state they were used in the role of field artillery as stated in the video?

[alin]

are there any historical evidence of the use of onagers b.c cause i dont remember any.
also any sources from battles that state they were used in the role of field artillery as stated in the video?

That was just for show, they weren't used as artillery.
As for usage this will provide an answer:
http://www.mywizards.com/catapults/onager/

However the reason for the cup and wheels are due to engine limitations, difficult to animate a sling and we can't make them static.

[romanius24]

I believe the scorpions dont have any wheels right now. When i tested them they were being dragged on the ground.
Any plans to buff them? They were so bad when i tested them that they werent worth an army slot.

[alin]

I believe the scorpions dont have any wheels right now. When i tested them they were being dragged on the ground.
Any plans to buff them? They were so bad when i tested them that they werent worth an army slot.

Scorpions are small and I had the idea to make them appear like they would be carried.
Yes, some bug fixes were done and they should perform better.

[Roma_Victrix]

Cohors Sociorum aren't a Marian-era unit, they're Polybian-era. They're the mainstay of the Polybian roster, Paul even suggested they may have done most of the fighting. They're a bigger-than-usual unit, so have a lot of staying power.

As an added bonus, they're regional and mercenary, so other factions can get in on the action and even use them against the Romans.

Awesome! Yeah, I certainly thought some of them looked a bit archaic with those square bronze breastplates of theirs (I'm assuming they had fairly different arms and armor during the Social War of 90-88 BC). That's cool that any faction can recruit them, since I'll most likely be playing as Koinion Hellenon right off the bat before I get around to starting a Roman campaign.

Can you reveal to us the exact size of the unit (i.e. number of soldiers)?

Scorpions are small and I had the idea to make them appear like they would be carried.
Yes, some bug fixes were done and they should perform better.

Nice! I can't wait to use the lithobolos artillery as well. This update is going to be so different!

[QuintusSertorius]

Awesome! Yeah, I certainly thought some of them looked a bit archaic with those square bronze breastplates of theirs (I'm assuming they had fairly different arms and armor during the Social War of 90-88 BC). That's cool that any faction can recruit them, since I'll most likely be playing as Koinion Hellenon right off the bat before I get around to starting a Roman campaign.

Can you reveal to us the exact size of the unit (i.e. number of soldiers)?

120 men on Normal Unit Scale - where most line infantry have 80. They are going to be able to absorb a lot of punishment.

[Sar1n]

120 men on Normal Unit Scale - where most line infantry have 80. They are going to be able to absorb a lot of punishment.

Am I correct in assuming that they're supposed to be mostly meat shields, with attack somewhere ~3-5 and defense similar to Polybian Hastati?

[QuintusSertorius]

Am I correct in assuming that they're supposed to be mostly meat shields, with attack somewhere ~3-5 and defense similar to Polybian Hastati?

Nope, they're overhand-using with 8/4, though defensive skill is 6 (generally only professional swordsmen get a 9). Think of them as broadly equivalent to Thureophoroi.

[Rad]

120 men on Normal Unit Scale - where most line infantry have 80. They are going to be able to absorb a lot of punishment.

As both a fan of Rome, and the "overwhelm with superior numbers" approach, I seriously love this!

[QuintusSertorius]

As both a fan of Rome, and the "overwhelm with superior numbers" approach, I seriously love this!

Bear in mind, though, that as a result of their size, they're not cheap. It's 2025 (507 upkeep), but good value if you're going to make active use of them. They might even be a reason to consider not upgrading to the Roman form of government everywhere in Italy during the Polybian era.

[Roma_Victrix]

120 men on Normal Unit Scale - where most line infantry have 80. They are going to be able to absorb a lot of punishment.

Nice. I usually play with huge unit sizes, so I think this translates as like 220 or 240 for the way I play, right? The largest units that I know of in the game at the moment are the "phalangitai" units, and with "huge unit" settings on (in my current campaign) each of those units has 240 soldiers.

[Sar1n]

-delete-

Damn, too many tabs open. Wrong topic

[Rad]

Bear in mind, though, that as a result of their size, they're not cheap. It's 2025 (507 upkeep), but good value if you're going to make active use of them. They might even be a reason to consider not upgrading to the Roman form of government everywhere in Italy during the Polybian era.

All the more reason to designate them as prime cannon fodder

[demagogos nicator]

With all my unit wishes satisfied or overcomed in the upcoming release there is one more queston which worries me: Will the eastern factions get unique battle map models for generals/captains, officers and standard bearers in the autumn release?