Quote Originally Posted by Red Harvest
They also have the wrong shield. The unit graphic shows a hoplon aspis, while in game they have the tiny phalangite salad plate instead. They are getting +5 for the little shield...me thinks CA ran out of time and failed to make a specific model for them so they got stuck with the greek_pike_phalanx. There are quite a few units deserving unique skins/models who didn't get them. I originally didn't feel that the game was a complete rush job, but the more I look at the stats and graphics, the more I see how wrong I was.

Some of the same is probably true for some of the various units such as Bastarnae and some peltasts which are said to be unarmoured, but have greaves and helmets.

And let's not forget the Pharaoh's guard with +5 shield, but no shield. Incidentally, I'm relatively certain that the Desert Axemen were originally intended to use this same skin--hence the high armour stat in 1.0.
I'm tolly in line with your thoughts... It seems that there are more than a lot of units that seems to have been rushed, especially the Desert Axemen (their description doesn't even fit). At least the pontic pikemen have the correct description, but there are a number of other problems with them.
This might also explain why the barbarian units are the same (not in names per se, but in stats). I have made an effort to make the factions bettern in certain departments. For instance the Gauls have better armour than the others. The Germans are mixed in good attacks and stronger charges, the same is true for the Britons while the Dacians are the best defenders (in general, their Falxmen are better than the Thracians), while the Scythians have the best light cavalry (barbarians cavalry) by far.