I am no expert, but hasn't a phalanx failed if units can actually fight a way through the pikes? I recall reading about Swiss pikemen and Spanish sword and buckler men. The latter tried to get under the pikes. It would be slaughter if they got through, but IIRC they failed more often than not.
yeah but in reality pikes would break off, and the longer the fight, the weaker the pike wall becomes. That should be simulated by units slowly getting closer.
And RTW's rediculous unit speeds allow units to avoid pikewalls so easily that they become useless. Why attack them head-on where they are invulnerable when it takes 2 seconds to outflank them ? And apparently CA didn't see the need to fix that speed in MTW2.