at the .COM
Looks good to me - I'll wait for the inevitable feedback.
at the .COM
Looks good to me - I'll wait for the inevitable feedback.
"Après moi le déluge"
So they can pick up stones on the battlefield. Looks good imo
Hopefully they CAN pick up stones (and therefore have a way to replenish ammo on rocky terrain). But it just might be one of those things that is said to make the unit sound good and realistic, but is never implemented.Originally Posted by [b
As a unit, it looks fine to me (though I am no expert).
You could be right there. It would be a nice touch though but would the unit run out of ammo? Say in the desert you would get less rocks than a more mountainous area. They could do it though
cool a slinger
makes me think of David vs Goliath
Common Unreflected Drinking Only Smartens
I wonder if these are dumbed down version of Balearic slingers (outstanding Iberian slingers recruited by Carthage and later Rome), or if Balearic slingers are another, more elite unit.
In TC the balearic slingers looked quite a bit different appearance wise so hopefully they will be totally different. I reckon they will be atleast 5 or 6 different slinger types. I hope they don't overload on them though and waste the chance of some really diverse and different units and bifs we can mess about with
Was archery not invented at that time? Why throw a stone 5 feet when you can shoot an arrow 200?
Common Unreflected Drinking Only Smartens
Maybe they couldn't be bothered to make a bow
The key word in the Unit description is SLING. This contraption allowed it's (well trained) user to deliver a lead shot over quite a long distance.
The weight of this shot would often do damage to armored men that could just shrug off an arrow strike.
Barkhorn.
"Après moi le déluge"
Well it looks good, hopefully it will do good.
Sling throw whatever, Im just saying that it cant be as long, precise and effective as a bow.
Well, I'm no expert, but it would just surprise me if it was better to throw stones at each other, instead of raining arrows. Also I imagine that the rate of fire for an arrow is much better, you dont need a lot of time working up momentum, just pull and fire.
Common Unreflected Drinking Only Smartens
I'm with you Sjakihata, but if they used real ammo, not just pebbles it could do some damage, especailly against unarmoured troops.
"But if you should fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then who's to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home."
Grateful Dead, "Ripple"
actually slingers at the time could accuratly hit targets 100+ft away with terrific power which was much better than the average bow of the time (tho the Easern Bows were better)
a blow from a Sling shot would break bones with ease
very nice unit, i like it and at last we got to see something diffrent besides pikes and inf units...a cav next would be sweet
A Cataphract
About bows vs. slings, I should think slings would be cheaper to make (sling = leather + rocks; bow = wood + string + fletching + more time ).
And slings might have been more popular among the commoners in some places, like balearic slingers. And maybe, if slingers can replenish ammo with rocks, they could be better than archers in some circumstances even when both are availible. Who can say (besides CA, of course)?
Looks good.
So they can pick up stones huh? Could come in handy if they do...
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."
Slingers of good quality, which were tough and had good morale, were very dangerous, especially to tightly packed heavy infantry.
The sling pellets they fired came on hard, disrupted formations, and were very dangerous to both the loose formations of archers (including horse archers) and the heavy armor of, for instance, cataphracts and legionaries.
Balearic slingers, as well as Anatolian ones, were not mofo's you should mess with.
~Wiz
"It ain't where you're from / it's where you're at."
Eric B. & Rakim, I Know You Got Soul
Anatolian slingers could also melee i hear...
Texas is Gods country! - SFTS
SFTS =The rest =
A sling beats a bow 90% of the time. Look at it this way- What would you rather get hit with: an arrow, or a flying lead ball?
A flying lead ball...If my arm or some ribs break, chanses are its not going to get gangreene...
And what kind of speeds were these shot flung at? And what kind of weight? Im thinking a 3-5 pound lead shot going about 80mph could easily crack the skull, but an arrow could also go through...
To win without risk is to have victory without glory.
But remeber, they're very good against heavy armor. If a legionare is hit on the head with an arrow, it will most likely bounce off. But if a lead ball smashes on his head... Lets just say it won't be pretty.
Well I have never really examined a helmet from this era, but helmets in ww2 would often deflect bullets...
To win without risk is to have victory without glory.
it's nothing like 3 pounds of weight for slingshot. And though they used stones when it came down to it the best slings always used shot. The things are easy to make in a mass produced fashion. That's important because it's key to the accuaracy of the shot to have the same sive missile each time, and not just any old random pebble.
You make them by pressing your thumb into the dirt up to the first knuckle. do that a few time and fill up the holes with molten lead. The lead sets pretty fast, and the you dig up your shot. Bingo, all pretty much the same size and shape ready to rain down on your enemies.
I can't remeber enough maths to work out the angular velocity they leave the sling at, but try seeing how fast a bit of string with a couple of ounces at one end will go spin round, then come back and tell me you'd not be worried about slingers.
As has been mentioned most bows were crap. Even (or especially) the good ones are useless in the wet, and the arrows are far more susceptible to wind than lead pelets or pebbles, making judgement of range and accuracy much harder.
Most soldiers of this period had plenty of flesh on show even if they had any sort of armour. You're just as likely to be pierced by a lead pellet at the sort of speeds they're travelling at, and the things don't make nice wounds (if only because leads malleable and flattens on impact - it's not the same shape when it goes in as it started.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra
it is, a sling a)outranges a bow b)is far more effective against a bow c) is cheaper but d) takes a lot more practice to masterQuote[/b] (Sjakihata @ June 25 2004,23:22)]Sling throw whatever, Im just saying that it cant be as long, precise and effective as a bow.
Well, I'm no expert, but it would just surprise me if it was better to throw stones at each other, instead of raining arrows. Also I imagine that the rate of fire for an arrow is much better, you dont need a lot of time working up momentum, just pull and fire.
Excellent posts.
The Sling is a highly misunderstood weapon.
Here is something I managed to dig up on a site...
The sling is very easy and cheap to make. Most in the past were made of leather, some being rush or twisted cord. The amount of material needed is minimal, and anyone who knows what a sling should look like could make one in a few minutes. Bows take far more materials, and rarer materials too. Bows take more maintenance, can break when you fall over, take far more time and skill to make, and are more cumbersome. A slinger could carry half a dozen spare slings easily, while an archer would worry about damage to his one bow.
A sling might be carried without ammunition, with the thought that some could be found when needed. Bows take very specialist ammunition which needs to be well-made in advance, and maintained. An archer would want to recover as many of his arrows as possible after use. Arrows are expensive, and can warp in damp weather. Arrows are long things need to be carried in an awkward quiver which flops about as the carrier runs. A pouch of sling stones can be a neat bundle, a more manageable load.
It is well known how bows are affected by weather. Battles have hinged on whether one side, with superior archers, has been able to make use of its bows effectively. Even quite light wind will blow arrows off course badly, and rain will spoil bow strings, and drag arrows down from the air. Slings, while still adversely affected by wind and rain, suffer not nearly so much from bad weather. This may explain why armies with archers often valued having slingers as well.
Slingers are generally more mobile than archers. They find it easier to shoot on the move and have the great advantage of needing only one hand to shoot, which allows them to use a shield in their free hand to protect themselves.
Arrows can be seen raining down upon an enemy, and even when they are flying on a fairly flat trajectory, are visible to an enemy expecting them. Sling stones are much more difficult to see in flight, especially from a distance. It is also more difficult to judge which way they are going, as they are seen as a dot rather than a line. Sling bullets, which are cast lead shot, are especially difficult to see. It has been speculated that this difficulty of seeing the stones in flight might be both advantageous and disadvantageous. A cavalry formation charging into a shower of arrows, might be broken up or slowed down when the riders look up to see the arrows and try and avoid them. Slings would not break up formations this way so readily, but might gain from allowing less evasion.
One advantage that the bow has over the sling is that bows can be used more easily in deep formations of troops. Archers could angle their bows to shoot safely over the heads of their fellows in front of them. While slinging over the heads of friendly troops is possible, it is much more dangerous and was seldom attempted.
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it."
Chinese Xbows are MUCH better than slingers
Although I like the unit, it seems strangelly similar to what would be expected from a Balearic Slinger, except for the lack of the Falcata and the Coetra. I'll just have to wait for other slinger units to comment on CA's depiction more accuratelly...
a sling is better then bow.
evidence: it's still being used today
look at a news coverage of a riot. Chance are you will see some pissed of rioter using a sling, you will never see some one take out a bow.
side note:
I think that we will see a lot of sling units in regions that rebel.
MILLER: I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.
MILLER: Now, that would be pretty good.
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