modding out units

[Vincent Butler]

I like my games to be a bit more realistic, so if I wanted to mod out units in RTW like Pharoah's Bowmen/Guards, Chariots, or other units, how will that affect the campaigns I have going on? Would I want to clear out all my old campaigns and start everything new?

[Ludens]

I like my games to be a bit more realistic, so if I wanted to mod out units in RTW like Pharoah's Bowmen/Guards, Chariots, or other units, how will that affect the campaigns I have going on? Would I want to clear out all my old campaigns and start everything new?

If you remove these units from the export_descr_unit file, then yes, all your old campaigns will become unusable. If you just remove their recruitment lines from the export_descr_building (i.e. the units will remain in the game, but the computer can no longer build them), I think your old campaigns should remain playable. Make a back-up before changing anything, though, just in case.

[Vincent Butler]

All right, thanks. Just to be on the safe side, though, I will wait until I tire of my current campaign. None of my campaigns really excite me except for this one anyway, so if I lose those, I don't care. None of them went too well, though for the first time I saw one of the other Roman factions initiate the civil war, Scipii started everything, and the Senate outlawed all of us.

So somebody correct me if I am missing or have one wrong. Unrealistic units (time period or authenticity) are:

Arcani, Pharoah's Guard/Bowmen, Egyptian Chariots/Chariot Archers, Legionary Cohort, Urban Cohort, Screeching Women, Druids, Bull Warriors, Legionary Cavalry.

Questionable units are Praetorian Cav, Pontic Chariot Archers. Anybody know about Cataphract Camels? I never see them anyway, but in case I get adventurous and try Parthia...

I would leave Praetorian Cohort in, it was realistic for them to be on a campaign. Praetorian Cav, while they were a real unit, were probably not really that common a unit, so I might mod them out. Macedon needs a Hypaspist unit, but I am not too concerned about that, if I get that worried about it I will play Europa Barbarorum.

[ReluctantSamurai]

So somebody correct me if I am missing or have one wrong.

Head Hurlers Naked Fanatics Head Hunting Maidens and Scythian Noble Women are a bit of a stretch, but there were female warriors in Scythian culture. Bull Warriors are also a stretch.

Anybody know about Cataphract Camels?

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/1...phract-camels/

An interesting discussion at TWH:

http://rtw.heavengames.com/history/g...Truth_Fantasy/

[Ludens]

I would leave Praetorian Cohort in, it was realistic for them to be on a campaign. Praetorian Cav, while they were a real unit, were probably not really that common a unit, so I might mod them out. Macedon needs a Hypaspist unit, but I am not too concerned about that, if I get that worried about it I will play Europa Barbarorum.

If you really want to get rid of ahistoric units, you need to replace Egypt entirely. At this point in history, Egypt was a successor kingdom like the Seleucid Empire.

Maybe you should consider trying Europa Barbarorum (or it's rival, Rome: Total Realism) for your next campaign? Both mods spice up the game, in addition to making it more accurate. I've only played EB, but I liked it very much. It's more complicated than vanilla R:TW, though.

[Vincent Butler]

If you really want to get rid of ahistoric units, you need to replace Egypt entirely. At this point in history, Egypt was a successor kingdom like the Seleucid Empire.

Maybe you should consider trying Europa Barbarorum (or it's rival, Rome: Total Realism) for your next campaign? Both mods spice up the game, in addition to making it more accurate. I've only played EB, but I liked it very much. It's more complicated than vanilla R:TW, though.

I actually have both, and love EB, but RTR has a lot of bugs, and a tendency to crash. Not to mention if you are Greek and want to build even standard infantry, you need a high level barracks. Vanilla RTW is a lot simpler, and since I don't have as much time to game right now, I go with what is simple. It doesn't stop me, but EB will always get to a point in the campaign where it decides to crash, and I won't be able to resolve it. I always have two save files with each campaign, but don't use them both at every save, usually just when I exit. Usually I use one or the other before going into a battle (in case the game crashes), or before an autoresolve.

Head Hurlers Naked Fanatics Head Hunting Maidens and Scythian Noble Women are a bit of a stretch, but there were female warriors in Scythian culture. Bull Warriors are also a stretch.

Good point about Head Hurlers, I was under the impression that Naked Fanatics were realistic (EB has the Teicetos, I know I got the spelling wrong). Bull Warriors I don't think are realistic, and certainly should not be as good as they are. Spain really should have a spear unit other than Town Militia. The female units I don't have any idea about.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I would leave Praetorian Cohort in, it was realistic for them to be on a campaign.

Letting the SPQR have them makes sense; they were personal bodyguards and the only cohorts allowed into Rome The Urban Cohorts were factual, but unlike their RTW "uber-status", they were more like upgraded Town Watch and their primary purpose was as a paramilitary police force.

If you really want to get rid of ahistoric units, you need to replace Egypt entirely

The naming, yes, the faction itself, probably not. So Egypt becomes the Ptolemaic's, yes?

I was under the impression that Naked Fanatics were realistic

Based loosely on the Gaesatae, apparent mercs hired by the Gallic tribes. So having them as a merc spear unit available in the CisAlpine region would be at least in the ballpark

[Vincent Butler]

Based loosely on the Gaesatae, apparent mercs hired by the Gallic tribes. So having them as a merc spear unit available in the CisAlpine region would be at least in the ballpark

I doubt they were all that effective against Rome, guys wearing nothing with either spear or sword, maybe carrying a shield, against heavily armoured troops, ends badly for the guys with nothing. I agree, probably better as mercs. Certainly not the result of a specific temple, and not what you want as frontline troops for sure.

Note on the Urban Cohort, I believe you see them in the movie Quo Vadis, when Rome is burning. It has been a while since I saw the movie, but if I remember correctly, they were there. I guess they may have been Praetorian, but I don't think they were. A word like Praetorian would have stuck with me, this was before I was into Roman stuff.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I doubt they were all that effective against Rome, guys wearing nothing with either spear or sword, maybe carrying a shield, against heavily armoured troops, ends badly for the guys with nothing

Yep:

http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingLi...anGaesatae.htm

Note on the Urban Cohort

Many of the men in Urban Cohorts weren't even Roman citizens. From The Imperial Roman Army by Yann Le Bohec:

https://books.google.com/books?id=r2...um=2&ct=result

[Vincent Butler]

Interesting. Anyway, Gaesatae is what I was thinking about instead of Teceitos.

The Silver Shield Pikemen from the game were not the Silver Shields of Macedon. I was reading about them, granted it was Wikipedia, and the original Silver Shields were Hypaspists, though there was a similarly-named unit of Pikemen in Seleucia, and the Silver Shield Legionaries are realistic as well. I just need to borrow my brother's book on the Hellenistic armies, I guess.