OrganicHallucinosis

By doing that your whitewashing one culture for the other. It would be similiar to merging the Iberians with the Gauls. The Britons and Gauls of the time where very different. As different as the Skythians from the Persians.

Kinda hoping that this is still being considered. I really like the idea of a more in-depth combat system. I'm not sure if this is the area to discuss this, but how are you planning on implementing Javelins and Throwing spears to the melee troops of the Celts, Iberians and Romans? If so, will it be a unit ability with a cooldown ability? This is kind of an important thing for the Celts and Germans, since almost every man carried some kind of throwing weapon into battle. Edit: Posted this really late last night.

I would love to see Pontus as a faction, Or Baktria. Saba, Axum or Pyu city states might exotic and unique choices.

They(Armenians) where certainly unique enough. The Hayasdan would have the mounted power of the Sarmatians and Skythians, but with all the perks of a settled nation too. Hayasdan would have Light Cavalry Archers, Armoured Cavalry Archers, Cataphracts, Spearmen, Armoured Spearmen and competent bowmen. The thing is though, why would they include a relatively minor nation like Armenia when they can include heavy hitters like Skythia, Odrysia(or Dacia), Germania, Ptolemaioi, or the Seleucids?

This makes alot of sense considering Maurya India had one of the largest armies in the world and the second largest city next to Beijing in Han China.

Do you have anything to back this claim? Virtually everything i've read on the topic says the Lion at Sarnath. I'm not saying your wrong, I'm just curious as to why you claim that.

Bhaje cave (200 BC) Buddha statue in the Ajanta Caves Carbondated to 200 BC Pandu Lena Caves Udayagiri Jain Caves All I can seem to find is caves. I think it might be time to hit up my local library. Found a map of the Maurya Empire with names of cities. Taxila Sarnath Ruins

I think Kurdish Javelin might make more sense, since i don't think the Seleucids ever occupied the Arabic peninsula. I really think you guys should add the Odrysian Kingdoms. You have the Getic, Thracian and early Dacian tribes all packed into 1 incredibly hard hitting Civ. Dacian Phalanx and Falxmen, Thracian Peltasts and Rhomphilia, Gretic Horsemen and Horse Archers.

The Europa Barbarorum guys are insane. They originally did research for Rome: Total War and i knew one of the researchers. The books in my first post are in that list in the bottom. Everything is sourced, and i'm pretty sure you can pull anything from that page. Edit: This is the unit roster from the original mod: http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions_eleutheroi_units8.html#india

Yup, there is also evidence of poison arrows too. I humbly purpose a champion on a chariot, too. pictures from the mahabharata Murals & Architecture Ahsoka(Devanagari) the Great needs to be a champion methinks.

I should point out that the Longbowmen should be the most common unit. Indian Archers where the primary troops in a Mauryan Kings Army. What about Macemen or Clubmen? The only PDF books i have i sent you, but i can post more books here that i've been told to look at. Gokhale, B.G. Ancient India: History and Culture. Keay, J. India – A History. Majumdar, B.K. The Military System in Ancient India Singh, S.D. Ancient Indian Warfare with Special Reference to the Vedic Age. Smith, V.A. Aşoka, the Buddhist emperor of India. Gonna look into sanskrit names and see if i can find more Miniature books on India. These are fantastic ideas, I was looking through some books to see if there was evidence of cavalry archers, but couldn't find anything.

Ugh i feel dumb, i admit i don't know much about Ptolemies or, really Roman egypt. That tree looks almost identical to the Macedonian trees, with the exception of the Elephants. Seleucids at the very least would be different because of the wide variety of levy troops they will have access to. Baktria, Iran, and Armenia could all contribute.

You mean The Old Kingdom? You realise that the kingdom takes place 3,000 years before 0 AD takes place? Even the New Kingdom takes place 1,500 years before the game, which is the height of Egypts power. I'd love to see Egypt, It might be out of place considering the time and technology is extremely different(Bronze age, Iron age). Although this could mean that Egypt is extremely unique. On the other hand, are you guys planning on doing to the Celts like you did with the Hellenistic factions? Britons and Gauls? Both are extremely different, and fought differently.

Email sent.

I saw that you guys needed help with the Indian faction. I paint wargaming models and have a few pdf books that would suit you guys well, who would i go about contacting?

Oh i know, this isn't the first alpha i've been a part of. Just posting things that come to mind.

Are you guys going to look at the balancing of troops? Hastati or really Caetrati should not have bonuses against hoplites, Gaereo or Sahir Hanit, they should be equal, not better. Hastati in particular where never used to win battles. I don't think you should make them weaker, just equal. To balance out the levy spearmens bonus against cavalrymen, I think both Hastati and Caetrati(Hastati in particular) should be cheaper in regards to resources. At the very least, this change would make the hastati more historically realistic. Have you thought about giving Hastati and Gaeroa 1 or 2 throwing spears(an ability with a minute or so cooldown)? Maybe to supplant this ability you should give Caetrati a charge bonus.

AI Pathfinding Methinks. The game is completely fine up until the point where the enemy army marches out of thier base. It gets really bad when 2 armies engage(usually more then 100 units).

Welp, that's disappointing.

Here is hoping that games do not lag nearly as much as it did before. I really like the 3 hellenistic factions.

It bugs me that China is never included in any good RTS, AoE aside. But! There is already a mod being made that should be called an expansion, it looks fantastic. http://www.wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=14075 I hope they(the mod devs) add India, Khmer, Korea and Yayoi japan, maybe even the Diet Vet. If they 0 AD adds more factions, i hope that at the very least, they add the Odrysian Kingdom and German tribes.

Yeah i figured this, Its just something I've always wanted to see in an AOE styled RTS. I think more buildings and limits on buildings in particalur can add more of a unique feel to a civilisation, especially with the more powerful civs like Greece, Rome and Carthage. This is a great thing, and that topic you linked has me feeling better. Farms with infinite food makes using the market bartering system feasible in the late game.

I know there are RTS that pulled it off, and i think it would fit in nicely since it seems like you are trying to create a more in depth, Realistic RTS. Most of its common sense, Trees and vegetation hide units, Water slows them down.. It could also add another dimension to the Celts and Iberians, especially since The Iberians where known for thier guerrilla tactics and if you plan on adding any other factions later in the games development; Germans, Odyresian kingdoms(Particularly the Dacians) and Britons come to mind. I've seen it done by adding symbols above the health bar, waves for water, a plant for vegetation, etc. His call to arms thing might be a must i think, but i had serious problems with his post, particularly his problems with the Celts. For one thing, the only The Insular celts had any serious evidence of woman warriors(as far as i remember, so i could be wrong), historically speaking, the Romans should be the Meat-Wave nation. Celtic armour and swords during the time where extremely advanced, and if anything the Celtic Elite should be more expensive then what they are now, and more powerful. If you make War Dogs attack friendlies, Who is going to use them? This isn't like the Total War series where units retreat and the dogs can chase them. On a side note, Have you guys thought about using some of the research Europa Barbarorum has dug up on units?

Could it be possible to make some units(Obviously not phalangites) run into battle automatically? As in units run into battle when they are close enough to enemy units? Maybe have a different animation for running and another for charging into battle? Another suggestion is terrain modifiers. Units take more damage from arrows when in open water, forests provide a defense from arrows and cavalry take a speed and attack debuff, while Iberians and Celts get attack bonuses while in and around forests.

This is the best thing. Its already better then AOE was with the individual unit diversity(I love this, I can't even describe on how awesome this is.) Another aspect of siege warfare that would be something is if your archers could fire over walls, or if you could designate an area to volley or for at like in Stronghold; Crusader or LOTR: BFME. I specifically registered to post this suggestion, and seeing that it is planned is great. Ability to plant trees, especially since farms cost a bunch of trees and the farms themselves are finite. Maybe after researching a late era tech, or specific tree farm buildings. I only read back 2 pages and im sure this has been discussed before. Maybe have infinite resource buildings that can only be made available through expensive and late game tech. Tree farms, Crop rotation(or irrigation), Open pit(or hush) mines. These buildings provide a slower trickle(or gather rate) of resources then that of foraging and hunting. Trees and crops have to grow, Ore exposed, etc. Like farms, these buildings should be worked on by units, of course. No units, no income. Vineyards or more diversity in farms and the size of farms. Sometimes i just don't have the room to plant a gigantic farm. What would also be neat is different textures for the current farm: Grain, Vegetables, Rice, Barley, etc. Farm Variety produces small bonuses to Hitpoints of soldiers, and a bonus for gathering rates of gatherers. Different housing for the different castes of society. Elite population and housing for elite/bodyguard/noble Units. The housing is more expensive and only slightly increases the elite cap. The ability for ranged cavalry to move and fire at the same time. I'd also like to see more expensive cavalry. I don't think cavalry was significant in any army at the time. The Persians had significant cavalry corps, but i think the infantry eclipsed them. Standards, officers or heroes that provide a small boost to the units that they are attached to. When the unit is killed the units in that attachment take a significant hit to attack and defensive stats for a small time. What could be cool is if levy units could only group in formation if attached to an officer or standard. Decorations, statues, etc. that provides a small boost the defensive abilitys of troops within a towns limits. Might be something to add just because people enjoy adding decorations. I'd also like to see a greater diversity of buildings in general. Special buildings that have a limit. Baths provide a short boost to population caps of buildings, and can be a prerequisite for elite housing. Examples: You can only recruit elite hellenic units through a gymnasium, but you need to build a Blacksmith and parade ground to recruit elite phalangites, etc. All historically accurate of course. Something like 10 common houses + Baths + Temple + Library(or tech building) = Elite Housing. This might be alittle much, especially for older computers, but you could add Units that are part of the buildings(like the guy in celtic tower) or maybe something like unclickable(?) units that aimlessly wander around your town, or maybe something like Stronghold where each building provides a walker with a task. I remember reading that you guys are having a serious issue with pathfinding, so this might not be possible, but i think it would do wonders for he depth of the game. Units on ships that fire on the closest ships, and can fire on multiple ships. Look at Sins of a Solar Empire, or any major Space sim. When you target an enemy ship, your ship moves in to ram it, catapults fire, etc. But roving archers on your ship pick thier own targets. This can also be applied to Elephants and Siege towers. I think this would also add to the depth of the game and chaotic nature of a battle, Especially if you allow bigger ships(Quadquirime, Quinquiremes and maybe even Hexaremes). As for the slave suggestion, I personally think it should be a resource, although a resource with a cap that slowly regenerates. You could give the player bonuses in the regen rate when they kill enemy units. Could be a core gameplay mechanic. . I apologise if these have been suggested already, 90 pages is a lot..