Tessarakonteres

[Magister Militum Titus Pullo]

I was watching this epsode of "Ancient Discoveries" on the History Channel the other day. It featured some very impressive shipping models that were in use 2000-3000 years prior. The one that caught my eye was dual-hulled "Forty", supposedly named for the number of oars at its banks, that was constructed during the reign of Ptolemy IV. It was also said to be the only ship of its type, and was only ever used as an exhibitionary piece, given how expensive it must have been to construct. I haven't been able to play E.B. in months, so my memory of ships in that game is a little hazy. So I was wondering if the fabled "Tessarakonteres" will be included in the game in the future. If the answers no, then fine. Just please don't jump down my throat in reply like quite a few people here have in the past.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I think such type of ship is represented by the Huge Polyremes. (Naui Megistoi I think)

[Tellos Athenaios]

Erm. Well.

Biggest of all was the 40 built by Ptolemaios IV at the end of 3rd century. It was probably a catamaran design as the ship was reported to have 2 prows, 2 sterns and 4 steering oars. It was 429 feet long, 58 feet wide, powered by 4000 oarsmen and could accommodate 2900 mariners (enough crew to man 12 Pentereis!) and a vast assortment of catapulta. The oaring arrangement is uncertain, with some claiming that oars were used on both sides of the hulls, others only the outer. The first would have meant 8-7-5 on each side while the second offers the possibility of either 16-14-10 or 8+8-7+7-5+5 (push+pull).

From some old copy of export_units_txt wasting its time on my hard drive.

-EDIT: Almost correct: Nees Megistai.

[Magister Militum Titus Pullo]

Yeah, I remember now. Nees Megistai.

[Thaatu]

Btw, about that unit. Wouldn't it be plausible that the unit didn't have 52 ships like most fleets do? The upkeep of 36,000 mnai per year makes it... uh... unique. But if it had only, let's say, 30 ships. the upkeep would be "only" about 5,000 a turn. If the player wanted more of those pieces he could just build more fleets.

[HFox]

IMHO...... this would be more of a wonder....than a unit when built. Exerting some influence on unrest and trade in the area local to its build.....and offsetting its running costs

also .... the number of oarsmen and crew (4000/2900) on a ship 400 feet long!

...doesn't this seem a little high? I would have thought 10 oarsman per foot of boat a little ambiguous? Octoreme maybe? :)

[CirdanDharix]

it had forty oarsmen per...horizontal oar-space? I really don't know how to describe it for somebody who doesn't get the basic concept of tri-/tetr-/pent-/hex-/hept-/etc-eres. So with forty oarsmen we get an average of about 1.2 metres horizontally between oars, which is reasonable (in practice there would have been slightly less space between oars, since the oars wouldn't have come up to the actual prow and stern).

[TWFanatic]

Btw, about that unit. Wouldn't it be plausible that the unit didn't have 52 ships like most fleets do? The upkeep of 36,000 mnai per year makes it... uh... unique. But if it had only, let's say, 30 ships. the upkeep would be "only" about 5,000 a turn. If the player wanted more of those pieces he could just build more fleets.

You don't understand. That would defeat the purpose of ships in EB, which is to be pointless lines on documents which slow down your computer and drain your coffers.

[Thaatu]

You don't understand. That would defeat the purpose of ships in EB, which is to be pointless lines on documents which slow down your computer and drain your coffers.

Ooh, we got a rebel.