Updated 12/12/2014 LAVRENTIVS ROMAN UNIT RE-SKINS

[dom385]

There's already an auxilia sword unit in the files, called heavy auxilia. Although I'm not sure how much stuff there is for them, I just looked at their variant mesh file.

[3enrique]

Hello again, I have a few more screens for you, but I'll answer your questions:


@3enrique, yes I can do that for you after I have released these historical ones. Do you want the eagles on the shield still? And shall I get rid of the thracian helms and just keep montefortinos to go with the HBO helmet look?


@Falco, yes I think that was mentioned before. I'll release this version first with the more accurate sword-armed veterans etc. Then I will have a look into it and put up a Radious compatible version. I think it will just be a matter of changing the weapons and attach_points on the VariantMeshDefinitions. I will then upload the veteran spearmen as a separate link. It shouldn't take long at all, so you can expect that tonight, I'd say.

Since each unit will come in a separate .pack, you can play about with the other ones while I'm making my radious compatible veteran re-skins.



Right, i've finished the units now. I'm going to organise the files....


The re-skin will come in one archive file, with two sub-folders. Each folder will contain the same units, but one folder will have soldiers with the colours you have seen in the preview (similar to my HBO Legionaries, where the individual units are coloured but don't affect your faction colours), the other folder with have soldiers that are coloured according to your Roman faction colour scheme.


I may also have to consider other comparability issues since I have also edited "_VariantModels" to make the shields uniform in colour (otherwise the legionaries would have beige shields mixed with red), and also change the first cohort shield into an early republican.

We'll see what happens, the units should run smoothly with most mods that don't re-skin the same unit.




EDIT:

(Screens) Tunics and shields now have accurate colours. The red tunics represent ones dyed in the popular Madder, most widely used in the Roman empire to dye clothing (including military tunics) red. The shields are in the proper shade of Kermes.

Iberian Auxilia, based on the relief at Osuna:




Once I learn to make new units, I will make them swordsmen....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

First cohort with right colours:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Okay, I will update you all soon, and the skins pack should be released......

Thanks that would be perfect just as you say it, eagle included. (You refer to all of the legionairy types no? Not only eagle cohort? )

I also wanted to thank you for your awesome work. Yo have made me want to play a second campaign with Rome!!

Greetings from Spain!! And keep it up!

[Lavrentivs]

Dom385: There's already an auxilia sword unit in the files, called heavy auxilia. Although I'm not sure how much stuff there is for them, I just looked at their variant mesh file.

I wonder why they weren't included in the vanilla roster :S

3enrique: Thanks that would be perfect just as you say it, eagle included. (You refer to all of the legionairy types no? Not only eagle cohort? )

I also wanted to thank you for your awesome work. Yo have made me want to play a second campaign with Rome!!

Greetings from Spain!! And keep it up!

Thanks, I'm glad I can make people happy with these skins

Yes, in these few weeks I will do do more HBO re-skins, but how long it will take depends on how much time I get because I am back at university next week.




Marian skins will be out soon. I'm just doing the readme and making copies that will be compatible with mods that change certain colours/models. I will also be including the radious compatible veterans (just testing them now) in the archive file instead of doing it separately as I said earlier.

[HUNK]

Release it already, i'm waiting all day

[Lavrentivs]

UPDATE 19/09/2013

- Marian units re-skin added to links. Single pack file re-skinning Legionaries, First Cohort and Veterans in authentic equipment and colours.

- File version containing separate unit .pack files soon (I ran into complications with their equipment colours not being recognised as individual units, I will have to sort this out tomorrow)

-Iberian auxilia re-skin added


Radious Battle Mod compatible veterans coming soon (having complications currently)


As always, let me know ASAP of any problems, and enjoy.

Feedback, criticism and suggestions are always welcome.


Compatibility:

My units should be compatible with any mod that makes tweaks to anything in the game. In theory, they will will not be compatible with any mods that alter the units they are supposed to re-skin e.g. Legionaries, Veterans, First Cohort.

If you have any problems with my units are you are running any particular mods, do be sure to tell me what they are so I can address the problem if possible and/or create a compatible version.

[GERMANICUS]

Hail Lavrentivs!

First I want to comment on the continued quality and evolution of your mod. Your skill is going from strength to strength.

Second you mention creating a new unit of auxilia armed with swords as a primary weapon. I often wonder if this was a reality. The creation of units of solely swordsmen and (hand)axemen seems to me to be a fanciful image driven by films and other artistically dubious genres. I have always thought from my study of this period that the spear and or javelin was the most practical and preferred primary weapon. You strike me as a fellow learned in Ancient warfare. I am interested in what are your thoughts on this are?

[HUNK]

I installed the mod but..Instead of looking like THIS ..my Legionaries look like THIS. Nothing's changed :'(

[Falco]

Thanks Lavrentivs! Really nice of you to try and make them compatible with radious's spear legionaries! (wish I could change them back to having swords myself, but I don't know how).

[lesterthenerd]

Thanks Lavrentivs! Really nice of you to try and make them compatible with radious's spear legionaries! (wish I could change them back to having swords myself, but I don't know how).

if you want i can upload radious mod without the spear legionary infantry.

[dom385]

It would be good if you could, although what other changes would be lost?

Would it be possible to have a version of the mod without the colour changes? Or is there a way that I could intergrate the marian legionaries with natural dyes?

[KLAssurbanipal]

Hello my friend Lavrentivs.

Very good skins. Congratulations!

I have a small suggestion if you do not mind. I mean a port helmet.

In the game there are three port helmets:



You used all for Romans, but I think this is too much specific Celtic:



But I think this is more suitable for Marian Romans. Because there are cheekguards popular in Roman army and the lack of a cone at the top.

[KLAssurbanipal]

There is my second suggestion. You can use this Celtiberian helmets for Auxilia. This is very popular helmet in Iberia, inspired by Chalcidian helmet (from Greek colonies).

This helmet is in the game files!

There are examples, 4 other helmets in this Celtiberian style:


http://gerionhispania.files.wordpres...ltibericos.jpg

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/7...9md1ryohhx.jpg

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/04/04/...62_836416.html

[(Decoy)]

Lavrentivs, I just wanted to voice my support for what you're doing here.

And I have one small request:

Could you put up an "Editor's Choice" file containing what you (as the history expert here) consider to be all the most historically accurate unit variations that you've released combined in a single pack?

If it's too much work, don't worry about it. I just am a little confused by all the variations available and my mind would rest easier if you released such a pack.

[Entotz]

I installed the mod but..Instead of looking like THIS ..my Legionaries look like THIS. Nothing's changed :'(

happened to me once, may clash with other mod (radious skin mod), but what i do is delete all pack i had and place this mod first, check if its changed and then place the rest of my mods, edit the script too. voila.

[caprera]

Great work indeed but why so many Celtic mail armors in the legionaries ranks ? Wouldn't be better to switch for something less characteristic ?

[Lavrentivs]

@Germanicus,

Thanks for your compliments, I do try to make little improvements here and there with each re-skin, which is an approach that has helped my newbie techniques a lot


Yes the idea of a unit of dedicated to swordsmanship does seem like something out of Hollywood. In the context of European ancient warfare, I think this approach is mainly the product of romanticism. This comes hand in hand with the artistic portrayal of combat throughout the ages, and our very concept of what a "warrior" is.

For most, the one weapon that appears in a person's mind when we say "warrior" or "knight" is a sword. This has been the case in European culture for centuries, but a lot of us don't seem to question where this has come from.

Historically, it seems this phenomenon of idolising the sword as the symbol of the warrior has stemmed from the influence of Germanic culture (Saxons, and then through to the Middle Ages), where good swords were a prized possession and a sign of a warrior's status. This was something that carried on way into the Middle Ages, and is something that has remained within our perception of the warrior even with the passing of the "Age of Chivalry". The gentleman and the knight are almost always portrayed wielding the sword (though this was not the case in reality).


In ancient world, particularly in Europe, I don't think the sword was lent the symbolism we associate with it today. The spear was the primary weapon of warfare throughout ancient warfare, and this is prevalent in ancient art:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Indeed, there are certainly depictions of warriors utilising the sword, but it is apparent that in European ancient warfare, the sword almost always remained a secondary weapon for most troop types. The Roman legionary, however, seemed to be relatively unique, in that he would probably be using his sword throughout majority of combat.

The Tropaeum Traiani is probably one of the greatest artistic sources we could ever get on Roman warfare. No, it does not have the elegance and the splendour of Trajan's column, not the neat marching lines of Rome's legions. Instead, it seems to gives us a realistic glance of front-line warfare of the time. We see weapons being used in unique ways in Roman art. As far as I am aware, it also has one of the only depictions of what looks like a pilum being used as a spear rather than a missile weapon (we know that legionaries could also use pila as spears e.g. Pharsalos)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

To make this short, I would say that the spear was always the primary weapon in ancient warfare, but the Roman legionary was unique in terms of soldiery, since he was an expert at close-quarters killing with the sword, and utilised it often. The legionary's sword was not merely a side-arm to be drawn once his spear had been broken, but an effective tool for killing that was wielded with purpose.

For the auxilia on the other hand, we usually see him wielding the spear in combat, keeping the sword as a side-arm:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In conclusion, although Roman combat tactics seemed to revolve around effective use of the sword in close-quaters killing, the auxilia would most appropriately be armed with spears. I do wish though, that the auxilia could use swords as a secondary weapon.

However, I think that a sword-armed auxilia unit would not hurt, and would serve well as an assault force of non-citizen troops. The picture of the auxilia that is bottom right, is taken from a section of T's Column where the auxilia are using swords to assault Dacian fortifications, so they probably did, at times, do away with their spears to serve such roles.






@ KLA, I will reply in a following post to break the subject up from spears/swords

[Jean-Roch Coignet]

if you want i can upload radious mod without the spear legionary infantry.

If you could upload radious battle mod without the veteran and first cohorts turned into spear infantry that would be awesome, I would really appreciate it.

[krazysigmarite]

Oh my god, HBO ROME Legionaries, so gorgeous.

[Lavrentivs]

@ Caprera,

Hi, the reason why I use celtic armour with my marian legionaries is mainly for 3 reasons:

1) I cannot bear to look at uniformed Roman soldiers, because (for me) it is a detestable image that is utterly false and a misrepresentation of the period. Therefore, celtic chain mail has been utilised within he unit give an alternative to the "Roman" hamata variation. Within rome 2's models files there is a nice 'caped' version of Roman hamata, but the military belt is unfinished, and would also be out of place in the Marian period. (I'll post a pic of it soon)


2) The second reason I am using celtic armour (and helmet variations) is to illustrate the immense cultural influence that the celtic peoples had on Roman equipment, particularly in this period. During the 1st Century BCE, the Roman soldiery would have been in more and more contact with Celtic peoples, through auxilia and other encounters. Their choice of equipment would have been heavily influenced by heavy celtic equipment. One example of this is the new coolus helmet which starts to appear in the gallic wars, again influenced by Celtic models like the Mannheim.


3) During the 1st Century, we all know one of the greatest events was Caesar's gallic wars, where legionaries adopted/looted/wore a lot of celtic clothing/equipment (at least for the duration of that campaign and even in the civil wars perhaps). Ceasar mentions himself in his commentaries, that legionaries started adopting celtic garments, which he refers to as "tegimenta".


People often forget that roman legionaries would have had regionalised equipment. My legionaries' equipment is regionalised for gallic frontier.



@dom385, I am putting up the units without the colour changes today.

As a note: all the colours I use on the coloured version of the legionaries are authentic and reflect colours produced by natural dyes such as those produced by madder and kermes, both used in the Roman army. I'll be presenting the historical context of these colours soon, it has all been carefully researched.


@ (Decoy), I plan to do that at some point, so keep a look out. I usually have my files separated for flexibility in cause some one prefers my version of one unit and somebody else's version of another.

[Lavrentivs]

@ KLA,

Hello sir, hope you are doing well! You're input is always appreciated


Here are close-up examples of some of the helmets I have used:


Legionaries

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

First Cohort

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Veterans

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Yeah I just realised that the horsehair rigid_model_v2 comes with a holder itself if I would have realised this, I would have put in the helmet you see with the veterans and mounted the horsehair seperately. I think the version I used was celtic_port_red, if I remember correctly.

It does look characteristically Celtic, but I was sort of going for that look since there was heavy celtic influence during the 1st Century BCE.

Also, a note on the other helmets e.g. attics and italo-corinthian. I have included them for several reasons:


1) There is still evidence to suggest they were used by officers and elite/senior troops in the 1st Century BCE

2) It is to make the reform more subtle. With vanilla Rome II it was just like hastati...principes...BANG! Have some late 1st Century legionaries!!!!!!!! I didn't like that. So, to give a more accurate representation of how the reform occurred (as a gradual process) I have still retained some old equipment. Also, I don't believe that old equipment was phased out so easily:

a) Rome had to be arming its troops all the time, so some legionaries were probably handed old armour if the latest equipment wasn't at hand.
b) In the ancient world, change in equipment would be long a process. I mean, scholars suggest that montefortinos were still being used well into the Augustan period/early Principate.
c) Equipment being handed down from father to son.



About the Iberian Chalcidian, I remembered toying with putting that helmet in with my socii, to represent the debate which is going on concerning that helmet at the moment. One theory is that that particular deposit of those chalcidians was left in Iberia by italic allies fighting with the Romans. I'll try and find the source for the argument if you are interested.

It is a gorgeous helmet though. I may include it in the auxilia now that you suggest it, but I'm not sure of the date fo the specimen, I will have to look it up.