*Okay people, get ready for a rather long post, please either read it all or don't respond :-)*
I was thinking about this the other day, and I came to a realization-- the way No-Dachi are handled in the game is completely wrong.
If you think about it, No-Dachi troops would have to keep a relatively very loose formation in order to be able to use their huge swords. For this reason they would always need to keep momentum when fighting. If anything were to happen that would close in the formation and push the guys closer together, they would at first have their effectiveness with their swords reduced, and eventually be forced to pull out a katana or some other smaller article and have a go with that.
//EDIT: Also note that their loose formation would also get them into trouble if they faced a pitched fighting situation. They would be caught between staying more fanned out and getting ganged up on, or closing in and either dying there or whipping out a secondary weapon. Neither is a desirable choice.//
This is at least one reason why No-Dachi troops were so rare in Japan, and why everyone went for mostly spears even when they could afford better (the other reasons for spears are ease of training and cost). But currently, No-Dachi are more cost-effective than spears, even if you throw them into battleline melee situations. This is entirely wrong. They should be like they say in the manual-- only useful in a charge.. flanking, breaking an enemy, stuff like that. For all of the reasons stated above, they would in real life die in large numbers if used as 'grunts'.
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The spear, on the other hand, makes for a more versatile troop type. These are though, of course, ALSO handled entirely wrong in the game, as there is no accounting for the weaknesses of a spear-- such as if it's not pointed in the right direction, not only is it going to take you a longer than usual while to wheel it round, you are in the meantime totally helpless. Same thing if an enemy makes it inside the reach of your spear. For these reasons Yaris fought effectively IN FORMATION. i.e.: Your flank is covered by your buddy next to you, and there are guys behind you sticking their spears out above yours, so that if an enemy pushes past the point of your spear, he still has at least 1 if not 2 or more layers of spears still to contend with.
But if Yaris were ever to get OUT of this good formation, they too would die in somewhat large numbers, ESPECIALLY vs. cavalry, who are quicker and more elevated than the foot, and would be able to easily jump into a gap and lop off heads. Yet there is no such factor in STW. Aside from the obvious disadvantage that all troop types in the game face of not having a guy beside you to back you up, they are just as effective even in a horribly loose formation, and they still kick the crud out of cavalry (except MHC and NC, obviously).
So in reality Yaris would be a troop type that is versatile and durable, but which would have to turn slower, move slower, and be well-formed up before entering melee. Anything, such as running or wild manuevering or the like, which would disrupt their formation, would be suicide if ample time was not elapsed for them to form up between the completion of such an act and their entrance into melee. Charging, except when facing much inferior troop types (such as musketeers), would be a great big no-no.
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Fix the above-mentioned things, and the melee role of a unit such as Samurai archers becomes more clear. They are essentially the equivalent of the short-swordsmen of European and Meditterranean battles, with the exception that they aren't as armored and their primary function is skirmish. They provide a unit in which each individual soldier is effective in melee (think legion vs. phalanx), without the problems caused by the longer swords of the No-Dachi troops. They will defeat Yari troops if the Yaris fall out of formation, and are much better suited to flanking, quick movement, and other more advanced maneuvers than are Yaris. In fact I would be surprised if the Japanese didn't make some use of Samurai, armed with medium-lenth swords and a good measure of armor, that would have served a role much similar to short-sword troops in other parts of the world.
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In such a realistic engine as I am dreaming of, Naginata-armed troops would also be more important, as the Naginata has a *few* of the Yari-associated disadvantages, but overall is more versatile than a Yari or a sword. These troops would now make more sense as a high-quality battle line trooptype.
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Then all you would have to do would be tone down the effectivness of the Naginata-armed Warrior Monks to more the level of Naginata Heavy Infantry (or just do away with the suckers altogether on the grounds that historically they are hard to justify anyway), and VOILA!! You have a much more balanced, much more historical and realistic game.
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Matt
[This message has been edited by Khan7 (edited 09-10-2001).]
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