Sneak Peek: Light Unit Armor Progression

[Seether]

Here is a sneak peek at the armor progression of the lowest tier of standard units, otherwise known as "Light" units.


First we have swordsmen with a simple leather lamellar vest, a wooden shield, and a single-edged dao sword. In general note the new variety in faces, caps, leather color, and shield design, thanks to The Blade That Was Broken.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Next, we have spearmen, armed with either a ji or a ge, with the first armor upgrade for the light units. Essentially this upgrade adds an extension to the vest down the front of the body, places armor on the shoulder connector, and represents generally harder and thicker leather. Units will also do away with their wooden shields (if they have them) and adopt much sturdier bronze shields.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Finally, we once again have swordsmen, with the second and final armor upgrade for the light units. This armor is, in design, the same as the previous upgrade, however what makes this armor different is that it is composed of iron lamellar. Units with this upgrade also upgrade their shields to iron, giving them good quality arms and armor for a low tier unit.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This sneak peek is only the tip of the iceberg. The mod team has a bunch of new additions for the upcoming patch, including scripts, units, models, and graphical enhancements. Release date is TBA, so keep your eyes on the forum for any further information on a release date.

[againster]

Better than Hanzhishang

[Gongsunzan]

good work guys. This is one of my favorite mods. Did you guys ever figure out a way to do custom settlements and make huge cities Chinese as well as gate settlements?
a

[Seether]

Honestly, we haven't paid much attention to them for this patch. It is on the list for a future patch.

[The Computer Illiterate]

It's a bit difficult to see the armor in the second picture, I recommend taking the screenshot directly from the front. Either way, this is really cool.

[Point_Man]

I wish you guys would use the model from the unit "Energetic Tigers" for all elites for the Cao clan. The shield and armor looks amazing!!!

[The Blade That Was Broken]

I wish you guys would use the model from the unit "Energetic Tigers" for all elites for the Cao clan. The shield and armor looks amazing!!!

Actually, those armors would be something used during the Ming era (14th to 17th century), since most of the artwork of Three Kingdoms flourished during that period (as Romance of Three Kingdoms was written during the start of the Ming dynasty).

[Point_Man]

Actually, those armors would be something used during the Ming era (14th to 17th century), since most of the artwork of Three Kingdoms flourished during that period (as Romance of Three Kingdoms was written during the start of the Ming dynasty).

Those armors and shields still look awesome. I love the tiger face on the shields. Must be intimidating to see something like that.

[Seether]

Those will be replaced as well, as we are going for historical accuracy with everything in our mod. Since our mod is based on the ported RTW mod, most units have either fantasy armaments or armaments from the Qin era.

[Yue Fei]

Those will be replaced as well, as we are going for historical accuracy with everything in our mod. Since our mod is based on the ported RTW mod, most units have either fantasy armaments or armaments from the Qin era.

Really glad your plan is to go for historical accuracy. I'm hoping this means you're going to re-work the cavalry as well so that there is no barding on the horses.

[The Blade That Was Broken]

Really glad your plan is to go for historical accuracy. I'm hoping this means you're going to re-work the cavalry as well so that there is no barding on the horses.

Actually there was some horse armor that started to appear during this era, but not as much as the current models have. The horses definitely will be reworked and is one of the top priorities for the following patch(es) (after the new patch that is coming out in a few weeks)

[Yue Fei]

Actually there was some horse armor that started to appear during this era, but not as much as the current models have. The horses definitely will be reworked and is one of the top priorities for the following patch(es) (after the new patch that is coming out in a few weeks)

That is only true to some extent. Cao Cao for example had 12 sets of horse armour used by his bodyguards, and that was considered a lot at this period. But most military historians figure this to not be horse armour proper, but simply padded chest protectors from textile materials. Horse barding does not appear to have come into large use until around the Age of Fragmentation period where there are large uses of cataphract style cavalry. The barding appearing during the late Three Kingdoms would have probably been very rudimentary.

During the Han and Three Kingdoms period, most cavalry was used as light cavalry and not in the typical shock action that one would normally think of for cavalry. The majority of them being delegated as horse archers.

[Seether]

There is precedent for such images to be on shields, although such material evidence is rather scarce. I can definitely see such things being maintained, but reworked, when we get to overhauling the unique units.

[disorder]

Damn, this looks amazing! my hat goes off to you guys.

[Seether]

It'll look better once the normal map gets smoothed out a little bit

[Nelduin]

Great work !

[john duca]

Omg this is getting closer
The alpha version was unplayable for me because of the infinite stack but now i feel it will be better.

[Seether]

Yue Fei is exactly right. There was limited horse armor/barding during the Late Han and Three Kingdoms periods, however sources indicate that it became a bit more popular at the end of the 3rd century (but was still not widely used). Cavalry (mostly because of the lack of stirrups, although they could have had single-stirrups) was limited to roles in which their mobility could be exploited, such as reconnaissance and skirmishing. In battle, they were not used as shock troops and were considerably lightly armored. They would typically attack light and vulnerable foot troops, engage other cavalry, attack flanks and rear, and exploit exposed portions of an enemy's line. It wasn't until the Age of Fragmentation, after the Jin fell, that widespread use of cavalry barding and shock tactics (brought in by the northern 'barbarians' who came to rule northern China) took hold and became a fixture of Chinese military culture.

As far as them being delegated mostly as horse archers, I can confirm this is true in regard to the various Han wars with the Xiongnu in the centuries prior to the Three Kingdoms era. But, as far as during the civil war of the Three Kingdoms (in which the armies were Chinese and not heavily influenced by cavalry tactics like the Xiongnu), I can't confirm whether this is true or not.

[Yayattasa]

Though Cao Cao brought lots of Wuhuan and Xiongnu heavy cavalry and horse archers into his armies, under a similar regime of the roman auxilia in Europe, granting them lands to crop.

[Seether]

That is correct but, as you alluded to, those weren't native Han Chinese soldiers. In addition to that, I have never found anything that explains exactly where those Hunnic cavalry were stationed or where they fought. For all we know, Cao Cao kept them on the northern frontier and they never engage other Chinese warlords.