Crossbowmen

[Germanicus75]

Anyone noticed when playing a custom demo battle that the French crossbowmen sometimes fire their arrows high into the air and they come down like rain over the enemy? How realistic is this? It happened in Rome too (along with the insane javelin throwing heights and angles) with arrows and I didn't like it then.
I think I've seen the longbowmen doing it as well. Of course they were better known for firing high into the air, but to fire so the bolts land on the enemy almost at a vertical angle? :hmmm:

[Sitarus Originalus PM-30+]

maybe they are using wind to shoot better?? ... maybe...

[Germanicus75]

Hmmm...don't think so because at least 50% of the bolts from the crossbowmen are flying more or less parallel to the ground...they can fire like this when they want to

[jaklei]

"along with the insane javelin throwing heights and angles" - one of of my favorite moments from RTW was when an unit of legionares threw their javelins over an epic wall and landed it on the other side...

well what demoi version are you playing?

[Germanicus75]

Gold...try a custom battle with some crossbowmen

[Coor Blimey]

I have had that aswell but it only happens when my french troops where directly infront of my crossbowmen. as so:

c crossbowmen
f French (me)
s Spanish (AI)

sssss


ccccc
f f f f

Then the spanish come too close and the skirmish kicks in, my crossbows run behind

sssss
f f f f

ccccc

It is from this position that they fire up in the air for me. I just assume it was a nice detail added in by CA that they try to lob arrows into the spanish ranks rather than ram them through in a straight line, endangering my own troops.

At least that is my experience

Happy Posting

[Black Francis]

They are firing over the units ahead of them. This makes sense as otherwise they would hit them. However I did notice that some will fire directly at the enemy and some indirectly (over the heads of those ahead of them) which sometimes looks a bit messy.

[Coor Blimey]

:shrug: Not sure maybe some of the crossbowmen are in a panic and just firing off shots, to be honest never paid too much attention to the crossbowmen, I am too busy, running my cavalry all over the place. Of course by this time they have flanked.

But having a few crossbowmen firing into my own troops and some over them aint gonna put me off in any way so I can live with it. If the Culverins were firing on my own troops then there might be a difference

[shadyrome]

never happen to me, only an couple of times when my unit are at front or they are fighting