Because the historical battle of Gaza, as included in EB 2.01, does not come with a description or picture, I've made a small submod to deal with these issues. What this mod does, is:
Add the picture of the battle as previewed on Twitter in .tga format and adds it to the historical battle selection screen.
Add a description of my own making to the battle, detailing the immediate events before it, the troops, a short summary of the battle and the immediate aftermath. I'll add my sources down below soon, but please keep in mind that I'm no historian. Any corrections would be appreciated.
Add paragraphs to the desciption of the battle of Sentinum. Whereas previously it was one big wall of text, It's now somewhat reasonably structured, I hope.
This submod was made for EB 2.01, but I assume it can also be used to add the battle of Gaza to any version 2.0 games that're still around. No guarantees on this, though. I'm pretty sure this submod is savegame compatible, since I haven't touched any of the campaign or AI files, but due to my ignorance in modding I won't give any guarantees on this as well. It is adviced to backup the EBII\data\world\maps\battle\custom folder, so you can restore it to its original state should you run into trouble.
Installation instructions:
Download the zip file attached to this post.
Either extract this into your 'whereever you've installed M2TW\mods\EBII\data\world\maps\battle' or first extract the contents of the zip file and then manually copy them into the right spot.
Would you mind letting me know what the army list is in the released version? It may not match what is currently in the build, which itself won't be the final version as I still have not done any of the intro scripting for it.
09-14-2014, 20:44
Adalingum
Re: Battle of Gaza submod
Quote:
Originally Posted by abou
Would you mind letting me know what the army list is in the released version? It may not match what is currently in the build, which itself won't be the final version as I still have not done any of the intro scripting for it.
Yeah, looks like my last minute changes didn't make it in. We're waiting to concept a few units as well. Try replacing all the contents of the descr_battle with this and let me know what you thinkg.
Code:
; Custom battle script generated by Romans Battle Editor
battle Battle_of_Gaza
playable
f_makedonia
end
nonplayable
f_ptolemaioi
end
start_date -312 summer
end_date -312 summer
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of factions section <<<<
faction f_makedonia
character DemetriosB, general, male, age 25, x 257, y 101
traits CommandExperience 1 , BadLeader 1
army
unit hellenistic cavalry general bodyguard soldiers 20 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hetairoi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry xystophoroi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern cavalry asitaikoi hippeis soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry hoplitai mercenary soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry uazali soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis mercenary soldiers 75 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern cavalry asitaikoi hippakontistai soldiers 75 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry slinger soldiers 50 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry nizagan eranshahr soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit indian elephant standard soldiers 36 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit indian elephant standard soldiers 12 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
faction f_ptolemaioi
character Ptolemaios, general, male, age 30, x 257, y 101
traits CommandExperience 10 , GoodDefender 16
army
unit hellenistic cavalry general bodyguard soldiers 20 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hetairoi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry xystophoroi soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry toxotai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry akontistai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry akontistai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of battle section <<<<
unit 0, 1.500, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.250
unit 1, 12.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 36.000
unit 2, 49.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 45.000
unit 3, 94.500, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 50.000
unit 4, -12.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.000
unit 5, -23.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.000
unit 6, -34.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.000
unit 7, -45.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.000
unit 8, -56.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 11.000
unit 9, -67.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 10.000
unit 10, -78.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 10.000
unit 11, -89.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 10.000
unit 12, -100.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 10.000
unit 13, -111.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 10.000
unit 14, -142.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 30.000
unit 15, -173.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 30.000
unit 16, -224.000, -75.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 50.000
unit 17, 0.000, -50.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 46.500
unit 18, 47.000, -50.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 46.500
unit 19, 95.000, -50.000, 0, formation_type square, formation_width 46.500
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of objectives scripting section <<<<
objectives
alliance 0
condition destroy_or_rout_enemy
alliance 1
condition destroy_or_rout_enemy
09-15-2014, 15:27
Adalingum
Re: Battle of Gaza submod
Quote:
Originally Posted by abou
Yeah, looks like my last minute changes didn't make it in. We're waiting to concept a few units as well. Try replacing all the contents of the descr_battle with this and let me know what you thinkg.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Code:
; Custom battle script generated by Romans Battle Editor
battle Battle_of_Gaza
playable
f_makedonia
end
nonplayable
f_ptolemaioi
end
start_date -312 summer
end_date -312 summer
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of factions section <<<<
faction f_makedonia
character DemetriosB, general, male, age 25, x 257, y 101
traits CommandExperience 1 , BadLeader 1
army
unit hellenistic cavalry general bodyguard soldiers 20 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hetairoi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry xystophoroi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern cavalry asitaikoi hippeis soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry pantodapoi phalangitai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry hoplitai mercenary soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry uazali soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis mercenary soldiers 75 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern cavalry asitaikoi hippakontistai soldiers 75 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry slinger soldiers 50 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit eastern infantry nizagan eranshahr soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit indian elephant standard soldiers 36 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit indian elephant standard soldiers 12 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
faction f_ptolemaioi
character Ptolemaios, general, male, age 30, x 257, y 101
traits CommandExperience 10 , GoodDefender 16
army
unit hellenistic cavalry general bodyguard soldiers 20 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hetairoi soldiers 80 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry xystophoroi soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi phalangitai soldiers 120 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit african infantry machimoi soldiers 150 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic cavalry hippeis mercenary soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry toxotai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry akontistai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
unit hellenistic infantry akontistai soldiers 100 exp 0 armour 0 weapon_lvl 0
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; >>>> start of battle section <<<<
Since I saw no mention of 'native' phalanx units in the Antigonid army, apart from the Lycian and Pamphilian contigents, and since Diodorus mentions the rest of the phalanx was made up of mercenaries, I removed the Pandatapoi Phalangitai units and replaced them with Mistophoroi Phalangitai and Mistophoroi Hoplitai.
I added some mercenary hoplites since I reasoned that a lot of mercenaries in the Hellenistic world would not have adopted the Macedonian style of fighting at this point yet. If I'm incorrect in this, please correct me.
I kept the Lycian and Pamphilian units in the form of Uazali, rather than in the form of Pandatapoi Phalangitai, reasoning that 'phalanx' can be used to simply say 'battle-line', 'close body of troops' etc., and doesn't necessarily have to mean Macedonian phalanx. I also reasoned they would've been used as a 'hinge' in the Antigonid battle line. This reasoning is mostly based on the article I've linked to. More on this later.
I added some troops to two of the mercenary phalangites, to compensate for the removal of a third phalanx unit in favour of a unit of Eastern Skirmishers, hoping to represent
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diodorus Siculus
units of light-armed men, of whom a thousand were javelin-throwers and archers and five hundred were Persian slingers.
Sadly I've found myself unable to decrease the actual amount of archers, slingers and javelinmen on the battlefield to 50 per unit. If this could be edited, I'd be very grateful.
I altered the deployment of the Antigonid phalanx and right flank a little to represent that
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diodorus Siculus
This officer (Andronicus) was ordered to hold his line back at an angle and avoid fighting, awaiting the outcome of the conflict fought by Demetrius.
Now the phalanx is deployed at an angle to the Ptolemaic one and the right flank is denied in favour of the left one.
The Uazali have been placed between the 'regular' Antigonid pikemen and the mercenary ones. This is primarily based on the article I've linked to, which seems to have come up with the idea that the phrase
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diodorus Siculus
Next to it he drew up the infantry phalanx composed of eleven thousand men, of whom two thousand were Macedonians, one thousand were Lycians and Pamphylians, and eight thousand were mercenaries.
not only lists the composition of the Antigonid line, but also its order of battle. Given that Demetrius kept the 'regular' pikemen in Antigonid service on his offensive left flank and ordered the rest of his line to deploy at an angle, it's possible the more flexible Lycian and Pamphilian troops were to serve as a 'hinge' between the offensive left flank and the defensive main line.
In order to keep up with a scale of 1:10 between simulated troops and actual amount of troops in the battle, I've slightly increased the amount of troops in the Antigonid Xystophoroi and Asiatikoi Hippeis to 90 and 100 respectively, so that the amount of cavalry on the Antigonid left flank numbers 290 (one-tenth of the actual 2.900). The Xystophoroi represent the 'five hundred horsemen armed with the lance' and the Hellenic or Hellenized part of the 'fifteen hundred horsemen of all kinds'. The other parts of these fifteen hundred horsemen are represented by the Asiatikoi Hippeis. In the same spirit I decreased the amount of Uazali to 100 (in keeping with their actual amount of 1.000).
I've replaced most of the Ptolemaic Phalangitai with Mistophoroi Phalangitai and Machimoi Phalangitai, based on the article and this phrase:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Diodorus Siculus
Of his army some were Macedonians and some were mercenaries, but a great number were Egyptians, of whom some carried the missiles and the other baggage but some were armed and serviceable for battle
The amount of Egyptian phalangites in comparison to the 'normal' Egyptian troops is purely conjecture on my part (I did not add any Machimoi), although the article supposes that about 15.000 of the Ptolemaic infantry would've been line infantry and no more than around 2.400 of these would have been 'regular' Macedonian phalangites.
I've slightly increased the distance between the armies at the start of the battle, hopefully giving the Ptolemaic skirmishers more time to threaten the Antigonid elephants.
I haven't really tested this set-up and therefore can't really say in what way it affects the AI. Feedback on both my changes and the arguments above would be appreciated. I've found some mistakes in my description of the battle and its prelude, so I'll hopefully correct those sometime in the near future.
Regards,
Cohors_Evocata / Adalingum
09-15-2014, 19:07
abou
Re: Battle of Gaza submod
The reasoning for the choices made were:
1. Ease of deployment in terms of just a straight line. The computer has issues with anything that doesn't form a solid block. In the future I may make the Ptolemaic forces for play, but I haven't decided yet. If I do, deploying the Antigonids the way Diodoros describes is something the computer won't handle.
2. We debated what the Antigonid phalanx would be like and it was argued that many of the mercenary phalangites would have been from Asia Minor and Syria; therefore their equipment would be more like the native phalanx. Hence the mismatch. Many mercenaries were quickly adopting the Macedonian phalanx as their fighting style. Some of our historians argued that the whole line could easily have been phalangites. But then again, there is room for interpretation.
3. In regards to the skirmishers, I simply ran out of unit slots. I decided to combine two units rather than work with odd, uneven phalangites. By matching unit width between the Ptolemaic and Antigonid phalanxes, my hope was to get better unit behavior.
4. I have had issues with units appearing correctly in the battle vs. the descr_battle. The slingers should only be 50, but they keep showing up as 60. Same with the elephants. I still do not understand why.
5. We have at least one unit in development that I will use in the "final" version of the battle.
6. At some point, I'll have a scripted intro so the distance between armies will be not be a big factor in the future.
Hope that gives you some idea of our thought processes when creating the battle.
