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View Full Version : Two questions regarding chariot and cavalry riders



Comrade Alexeo
06-29-2006, 13:46
While pondering units for Antiquity: Total War, I had these thoughts:

1) Can a chariot unit be given two different missile types? For example, it would have a driver, an archer, and a javelineer? I doubt this can work though...

1a) Can a chariot unit have a melee and a missile unit simulataneously? For example, it would have a driver, and archer, and a spearman? What's key here is that the archer never enters melee, but instead keeps firing, leaving the spearman to handle the melee. According to an episode of Decisive Battles (Rameses II), this seems theoretically possible (one could see spearmen on some of the chariots) but we never actually saw them fighting...

2) Can a horse-cavalry unit feature two riders? For example, once guy with the reins in front, and one guy sitting behind him throwing spears? Early cavalry were often used in this manner (for a variety of reasons; Keegan called it "charioteering without the chariot"). Does this only work for elephants (the mahout and the archers)?

Many thanks :)

Lusted
06-29-2006, 14:14
All of the above = hardcoded.

Comrade Alexeo
06-29-2006, 14:30
:furious3:

Woad Warrior
06-29-2006, 22:03
Misread post

Woad Warrior
06-29-2006, 22:04
Perhaps, for no.2, just make a new horse model with a driver stuck onto the front.

Comrade Alexeo
06-30-2006, 04:25
Perhaps, for no.2, just make a new horse model with a driver stuck onto the front.

Now there's a thought. :idea2:

I imagine that the animating might be the most complex part - because it has to look like its actually "driving" the horse (what is the correct word for that anyway? Anyone an equestrian?) and not just a featureless blob.

Since in any case the horses will need to be fiddled with, for the purposes of

onagers/donkeys

http://danny.oz.au/travel/2004-central-NSW/p/7155c-persian-onager.jpg

and early horses

http://www.kostich.com/Przewalski's%20wild%20horse.JPG

(which I'll try and experiment with myself, unless someone better at model-tweaking wants to try), then we might as well add a rider once we get to the Assyrians...

wlesmana
06-30-2006, 05:15
1. Hardcoded
2. Possible. Just make the unit a chariot type with only one horse and 2 riders. Edit the chariot model to make ot practically invisible. Positioned the 2 riders to sit on the horses by their xyz coordinates. Now you have one guy ALWAYS holding the reins and another guy throwing/shooting/attacking. Of course, you'll need to modify the animations to show them properly "sitting" on the horse. For the riders, just swap the entries with the entries of a regular horse rider's anims. No need to create custom anims unless you're really picky and want the first rider to be more animated.

Note, however, that if the unit has a general/captain present, he'd take over the second rider's spot.