Overhand spear animation

Hi there. I'd like to change back all of the overhand spear-thrust animations in my copy of EB to underhand animations (due to how the models drag their spear points 2 feet into the ground when they run with the overhand look). I've tried editing the models_unit_battle file, chaning fs_o_f_spearman to fs_spearman, but then the spears are backwards and the models stab with the short, non-pointy end of the spear. I tried looking in descr_skeleton, but couldn't find fs_o_f_spearman. Now, I've figured out how to edit texture, but I dont have 3ds max to change the skeleton. Even if I did, I might not be able to figure out how to use it. So, is there a quick way to get the overhanded animations changed out? Thanks. :beam:

If you don't want to watch the troopers poke at the enemy with the butt-end and their mates behind them with the sharp end ? No. Same thing with the cavalry, incidentally. Which way the spear is held is part of the model.

Personally, I just ignore the burrowing spears. Like I do with the weird stuff that happens all the time with pike phalanxes ("Behold the feared Macedonian haystack!"). It's not like I bothered wondering where cataphract archers keep their four-meter lances when they're using their bows either, after all...

The spears were probably reversed from the Vanilla version. In the Vanilla version, I tried to change the hoplites and give them overhand animations with shorter spears. After a bunch of tweaking though, the spears were all backward but with overhand animations, the exact opposite of yours.:wall:

So there's no easy way to go back to the old models? They we're completely removed from the data folder?

What old models ? They were made to hold their spears tip down ("reversed" is the technical term, I think) to begin with AFAIK.

Well that answers my question then. I guess I can't substitute other homologous models for say, the Thureophori, because the skins wouldn't sit properly on the frame, yeah?

It is easier to add the "short_pike" attribute to all hoplite units in the EDU. That keeps them from dragging their spear through the ground.

If you try changing the way they use their spears (switching from overhand to underhand), you're bound to have problems.

In Vanilla Rome: Total War, there wasn't really an overhand animation. The closest thing was the one used by javilineers.

I tried to fix my hoplitai so that they used an overhand animation, so based on some of the ideas from the other forums, I did the following:


type greek_hoplite
skeleton fs_javelinman, fs_swordsman

Changning the skeleton from "fs_slow_spearman" to "fs_javelinman" made the units switch to using overhand animations, coupled with some other weird adjustments (I can't remember them off the top of my head), I had a hoplite unit with regular-length spears and could switch to a secondary weapon. But then I looked closely and all the spears were backward!

My guess is that the EB team used the similar skeleton to give the units the overhand animation, but built the models accordingly so that the spears WOULDN'T be in the opposite direction during play. That is my best guess on why the spears are reversed since you are in a sense, trying to revert back to the Vanilla animation that the EB team deemed unfit.:yes:

You know, I just had an idea. The spears don't drag when the unit is actually charging, only when walking and running. If I could change the descr_skeleton file such that when the fs_o_f_spearman skeleton is running it loops the charge animation, that would solve the problem. The problem is, as I said in my first post, the fs_o_f_spearman is not in the normal descr_skeleton file, with all the other fs_xxx skeletons. Anyone know where it is?

As for the short_pike attribute, I tried adding that, but the spears are only held level while walking. Running reverts back to the dragging animation. Perhaps this is because short_pike requires a phalanx attribute, and phalanx attributes by definition cannot have a run animation? So the skeleton adopts the phalanx animation while walking, but has to go back to the dragging animation while running?

Also, "short_pike" affects unit stats in ways that are poorly understood but AFAIK all kinds of screwy.

If you're looking for the animation skeles EB uses they're found in *\eb\data\animations.