Are Pikes too long

[Colovion]

I wish sarrisas could be wielded with two hands in this game.

They will in the EB mod

[Watchman]

Between five and six meters seems to have been something of an international standard for pike lenghts. Macedonians, medieval Europeans, the Japanese, all ended up averaging about five and half meters. Longer ones past that "critical mass" apparently proved to be excessively heavy and unwieldy and, so I've been told, started sagging too much under their own weight and lenght.

And you know, it does look kinda silly when the little RTW soldiers wave theirs with one hand...

[BeeSting]

They will in the EB mod

Cool!

How were you able to achieve this? I heard it was impossible.

And, are they going to have their shields slung to the left shoulder?

Also, what’s an EB mod?

[lars573]

I found some images of hoplites that show their spear length in relation to their bodies

Hoplite 6th and 5th century BCE respectivly.


Just from eyeballing it they look like they have shorter spears than the hoplites in RTW.

Also for shits and giggles 5th century peltasts greek and thracian

[The Stranger]

take a levy and a phalanx pikemen and compare their shields, levy's have bigger shields.

[Kraxis]

take a levy and a phalanx pikemen and compare their shields, levy's have bigger shields.

Don't you think about the Militia Hoplites and the Phalanx Pikemen? For I get the impression that the Levy Pikemen have actually smaller shields than the Phalanx Pikemen.

lars, the hoplites in RTW have indeed too long spears, but if you want to change it, just give them the short_pike, right now they have the spear. That should really cut back on th length, making only two ranks possible at fighting the enemy at once.

I get the feeling you would have like to see a thracian peltast with a foxskin cap and boots, and a real pelte. Well you are not alone.

[The Stranger]

oh that could also be, but one of those two have a different size of shields and it definitly wasn't militia hoplites.

[lars573]

Don't you think about the Militia Hoplites and the Phalanx Pikemen? For I get the impression that the Levy Pikemen have actually smaller shields than the Phalanx Pikemen.

lars, the hoplites in RTW have indeed too long spears, but if you want to change it, just give them the short_pike, right now they have the spear. That should really cut back on th length, making only two ranks possible at fighting the enemy at once.

I get the feeling you would have like to see a thracian peltast with a foxskin cap and boots, and a real pelte. Well you are not alone.

You think wrong, I'm perfectly willing to accept genericus unitus from a total war game. Also all those pictures I posted were from the wrong era. 1 is from the 6th century BCE, the other 3 from the 5th century BCE. Now as rigidly traditionalist as the southern greeks were you can't sit there and try to tell me that the spear of a 6th or 5th century BCE hoplite is exactly the same as a hellenistic era hoplite. I won't accept it, I can't accept that.

[Fridge]

A bit OT, and don't laugh, but what's the etymology of Peltast? I always assumed it shared a root with whatever word gave the English 'pelt' as in 'throw violently', but now you show these pictures of peltasts wearing 'pelts' as in animal skins. Or did Peltasts get their name from the animal pelts they wore, which then gave the English the word 'pelt' as in to throw - or vice versa?

Or, indeed, neither?

[conon394]

Lars 573

Well I am not quite sure I follow you, are advocating the spears being the same length or changing?

In any case your hoplite pictures have spears that are too short for either 500 B.C. or 300 B.C.
A hoplite spear should be about one and half times (or perhaps a bit more) the hoplites height, thus the typical 8-9 ft estimate.
The length pictured would be more appropriate for the Persians.

[Colovion]

Cool!

How were you able to achieve this? I heard it was impossible.

And, are they going to have their shields slung to the left shoulder?

Also, what’s an EB mod?

The Europa Barbarorum Mod

new animations, new skins