What source material do you guys use for making EB II units? Paintings like this?

[Roma_Victrix]

I love all the super colorful hypaspistai and hetairoi units for the Hellenistic factions, plus the epilektoi hoplitai for Koinon Hellenon, of course. I wonder, though, where you guys in the EB II development team got the inspiration for the look and feel of these units. From Osprey illustrated books on the history of warfare? Or did you go straight to the primary source material, like accounts of soldiers in historical works like that of Polybius, or even ancient sculptures and paintings? I swear some units in the game look like they've been ripped straight out of these paintings from the 4th century BC royal tombs of Macedonia (Agios Athanasios and Vergina), unearthed outside what is modern-day Thessaloniki, Greece.

[Josh Mahurin]

When you look at the unit concept threads the historians put together you see they know of probably every source imaginable it's overwhelming to read through but also amazing. Text sources, art, archaeological finds, they know too much

[Roma_Victrix]

When you look at the unit concept threads the historians put together you see they know of probably every source imaginable it's overwhelming to read through but also amazing. Text sources, art, archaeological finds, they know too much

Hmm, I'd like to believe that, but given the general silence thus far in this thread I'm starting to think it is out of guilt, and that the EB II team are just a bunch of charlatans who made up more than half their stuff out of thin air!

(Roma_Victrix waits to see if someone angrily takes the bait.)

[Cohors_Evocata]

Hmm, I'd like to believe that, but given the general silence thus far in this thread I'm starting to think it is out of guilt, and that the EB II team are just a bunch of charlatans who made up more than half their stuff out of thin air!

(Roma_Victrix waits to see if someone angrily takes the bait.)

I'm getting the distinct impression you'd like to see one of these unit concept threads posted here as an example.

[Roma_Victrix]

I'm getting the distinct impression you'd like to see one of these unit concept threads posted here as an example.

How, good sir, did you ever gain that impression!

Seriously, though, if someone has a link, that would be cool. I'd like to know if paintings like the ones above proved to be any sort of inspiration for skinning the units.

[k/t]

There's more than one way to skin a unit.

[Roma_Victrix]

There's more than one way to skin a unit.

Kind of like more than one way to skin a cat?

[Cohors_Evocata]

The following thread is not a full unit concept thread, but Brennus' final response can provide some clues about how it is done. It's also a very nice coincidence (I assume) that what is outlined in this thread on goidelic warriors can be compared to the recently produced units previewed in the Twitter feed...

http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=144756

It's also interesting to note the thread relies (AFAIK) solely on archeological evidence, with no pictoral evidence like Roma_Victrix provided above.

Also, I hope my posting this here won't decrease the chances of a real unit concept thread being posted here, since I'd be interested in seeing one of those as well.

EDIT: Seems a few of the pictures (including one page from a book describing an Irish shield find) in it are sadly no longer functional. Hopefully, it still has some value, though.

[Roma_Victrix]

Thank you, Cohors Evocata, for the link.

By the way, doesn't your forum name translate to cohort of veterans, or something? I remember that from the first EB.

[Cohors_Evocata]

Thank you, Cohors Evocata, for the link.

By the way, doesn't your forum name translate to cohort of veterans, or something? I remember that from the first EB.

Apperantly it was a cohort of re-enlisted veterans who had finished their years of service and volunteered to join in with some special exemptions... At least that's what my dictionary says. But yes, I originally got the term from EB, though that was not my only reason for picking it.

EDIT: The book page seems to be up again. Dunno why it wouldn't show before.