tech up

[Hax]

Luckily, the M2TW engine allows us to limit recruitment without having to worry about astronomical prizes to deter players from recruiting too much. When playing as say the Seleucids, don't expect to be able to have three standing full-stacks with six units of elite phalangitai.

[Ichon]

IMO- the recruitment pools along with diplomacy and some better graphics are the best improvements to EB2 from EB.

It does make sense to have some of the elite units able to be recruited for all the fully realized civilizations at the start of EB. Of course in very limited numbers... perhaps only in the Capitol with 1 or 2 max available and very slow pool replenishment.

To get more would require new territories and larger population to draw from. That should probably most of the civilizations actually. Only a few reached their heights during this era. More often than not they bumped into Rome and fell into decline though even Rome obviously between the reforms and the Republic vs the Imperium had different sorts of "elite" troops.

The thing is I doubt there will be very many- "what if" type of units imagining some civilization which had defeated Rome and what sort of reforms their military might have undergone. Still it would be a vast improvement to expand the pool of recruitable elites from 2 to 8 as your culture and faction expands.

It should be a bit of a tough decision to keep those 8 elites gathered in 1 invasion/response army or scattered along the frontiers stiffing the regular troops. Benefits both ways.

[Ludens]

You reminded me, I wonder if it is possible to change the AOR system into something more flexible and creative.

To answer the OP: the poor starting-infrastructure of EB1 was a gameplay decision, not a historical one. I don't know whether this will be different in EB2, but the government/recruitment system will be very different.

I don't believe that Spartiate Hoplitai will cost much more than the average Hoplitai, after all Spartiates are just Hoplitai that come from Sparta.

Spartan Hoplites in EB1 carry the best hoplite armour that money can buy (well, apart from the helmet): these are not common footsloggers, but the regional equivalent of Epilektoi Hoplitai.

[FinnishedBarbarian]

One thing that raises questions (atleast for myself) is the numbers of the recruitable elit units. Social/warrior elite rarely witnessed significant growth unlike commoners. even after years of succesfull conquests the aristocratic classes did not experience growth, sometimes conquest followed by settling period seemed more counterproducing for military. During EB2's time period hellenistic world experienced slow but, sure stagnation even brilliant men like Pyrrhos and Antiochos III could do only a little to try to keep eventuality from happening. After third punic war Rome experienced something of a similar decline which was stopped after the cimbri invasion allowed Marius reform and drill the troops.

What I'm trying to say that team will probably have tough time in deciding the way to make recruitment as realistic as possible, lots of research would be needed to calculate the growth rate of sosial groups so
that increases in manpower pool would be as close as possible to the historical examples. ideas about colonies affecting recruitment may sound intresting and simple way to affect recruitment of factional troops, but one has to take into account that establishing colony that draws settlers to it also takes those people away from some other area (for example you build colony in seleukeia and you receive more hellenic troops there for recruiting those troops would then be taken from pellas recruitment pools).

OFFTOPIC

I am throwing suggestion that "barbarian" units recruitment costs would be significantly reduced compared to eb1's. Most of the barbarian units were irregulars who fought for plunder so what loot they aqquired after the battle was their reward. To balance reduced recruitment costs their upkeep should be raised so to simulate them being not working on farms or other commoner jobs. Elites/professionals not included on suggestion.

[Arjos]

About the off topic, I've read that non-professional units will have 0 upkeep in towns thanks to the garrison slots, so no need to increase the upkeep I think...

[FinnishedBarbarian]

About the off topic, I've read that non-professional units will have 0 upkeep in towns thanks to the garrison slots, so no need to increase the upkeep I think...

yes I am aware of the free upkeep in towns say for klerochoi phalangitai, but I proposed the raising of upkeep for non- professionals because levying 1000 famers could in longterm become as expensive as fielding professionals whose only output to a nation is their fighting skills. Losing those farmers could cause great economic losses and starvation whereas losing some nobles would mean re-distribution of their lands.

[Arjos]

mmmm I don't know, farmers were simply available for limited time, while professionals all-round...

[Horatius Flaccus]

yes I am aware of the free upkeep in towns say for klerochoi phalangitai

Apparently that info is outdated (according to Bobbin).