Kimball
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Posts posted by Kimball
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If you are interested in contributing to 0 A.D., we only ask that you fill out an application form and post it in a new topic. Copy the code above and fill out the form here.
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You have no idea how long I've been looking for this. Finally, a DDS converter for Mac.
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Congrats on getting the game working! As far as technical issues like slow animations and pathfinding functionality, we're quite aware. This "release" of sorts is intended for developers, and is still VERY much incomplete.
As far as help, we could use a few more experienced programmers that are familiar with C++. The engine's learning curve often detracts a potential contributor's interest in joining.
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Guest votes only count in the event of a tie, which is quite rare.
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The 2009 Mod of the Year Awards are upon us! This year, ModDB has granted us a new award category: the Indie Game of the Year! In previous years, many full-game titles were recognized, but not quite to the extent that they will be next month.
We humbly ask for support from the loyal fans that have stuck with us through thick and thin for 8+ years now. Here's how you can help:
1. Register for an account with ModDB. Not only does this benefit us, but grants you access to one of the most active indie development communities on the internets.
Remember: Your vote doesn't count unless you have an account!
2. Visit the 0 A.D. Profile and scroll down to the giant "VOTE FOR GAME" button. If you have a heart, you'll know what to do.
This is Stage 1/3 of the awards process. You'll have to vote twice if you actually care about us. Stages are as follows:
STAGE 1: NominationsFrom December 20th to January 5th every indie game and mod on the site has a voting booth activated in their profile. It is now up to you, to find your favorites, play them and vote for them - so we can narrow thousands of contenders down to the players choice top 100...
STAGE 2: Top 100
On January 6th the Top 100 mods and indie games you voted for in phase 1 will be announced and a second round of voting will commence until February 21st. Again, it is up to you, to vote for your top 3 in this list - so we can narrow the top 100 down to a handful of winners...
STAGE 3: Winner's Showcase
Early February after thousands of votes have been tallied, we shall be announcing the 2009 Players and Editors Choice winners. These indie games and mods will be showcased in an exclusive video presentation and editorial writeup. Download links will be given so you can play the years best.
But, why?
If we win, not only do we receive a ton of attention and some cool prizes, but the projects that win these awards have proven to receive an increase in contributor applications. That means more developers working to finish the game you can't wait for, which means you get to play the game sooner! So for the hyper-selfish among you, this is for you.
We made it to the Top 100 (in the top 8 of our category) last year, let's shoot for the top 3 in 2009!
Thanks for voting, and Merry Christmas on behalf of WFG. We thank you for your continued support.
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Run by the same parent company as ModDB, and intends to be an online center for downloading and managing indie games and mods.
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Introducing, Desura.
Currently available by private beta, but hey, something to look forward to.
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The current state of the game may not be of much entertainment value in its present state to a non-developer. Personally I would advise waiting until the game is released publicly, else you may not find what you're looking for.
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Here's a WIP outline that I started a couple years ago in hopes of converting 0 A.D. into the dream AoM-remake. Here's a few mythical beasts that fit the current profile. Couldn't find any Iberians or Carthaginians though.
CarthaginiansCelts
Catt Siu
*Armament: Some form of firey touch.
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A small cat that walks on its hind legs.
*History: A common figure in Gaul's mythologies, a type of evil fairie. It was incited to help by burning cats to it; a cult even sprung up around a specific one named 'Big Ears'. The creature is highly intelligent and was believed to grant wishes if properly appeased with sacrifices of cats and wine. While in Gaelic myth, this became the Cait Sith, a slighty different creature, and more or less just a ghostly mountain lion in Scotland, to the Gauls they're depicted as being a small cat-like man who walks on his hind legs. In all, fire is associated with the being, and they were commonly blamed for starting unexplained fires.
*Reference: The Ile Cauldron is probably the best depiction of one.
Coun Siu
*Armament: Biting and slashing with claws.
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A large, black wolf/hound.
*History: A Coun Siu, Fairie Dog, also written in parts of southern Gaul on objects as Coun Dusi, or Demon Dog, was a werewolf-like creature feared by Gauls, but also revered to some extent. They were supposed to be the spirits of heroes killed ingloriously, such as by assassination or in an accident, infuriated they died without recieving proper recognition. They defend ther native tribe, but kill everyone else mercilessly. They were commonly put to blame for the theft of small children from villages.
*Reference: Tales of such creatures survived and changed over time, remaining common even now in Laurentian French areas, as well as in their diaspora, such as among rural Louisiana Cajuns. Figurines of the creature with the name written on them exist dating to about 300 BC up to around 150 AD.
Cavarillus
*Armament: Cudgel
-Upgrade: A large socket axe and shield, or a sword and shield
*Appearance
-Body: A very tall human. Should not seem savage, giants to the Gauls were held in high esteem, even if often depicted as enemies. Long hair, a tall, willowy but well-toned body.
-Clothing: Barechested, with a neck torc and plaid trousers like a normal Celtic warrior.
-Upgrades: Tunic and helmet for advanced, scale or mail armor for elite
*History: Giants in Celtic myth are extremely common, and vary widely. Some are great one-eyed beasts or many-headed ogrish creatures, but some were supposed to be friends of 'other' men, a recognition of giants being humans, simply massive in size. They would largely appear to be like other men, dressing like them, fighting similarly, but tall as two men, and often lean in appearance, different from the thick, huge juggernauts of many other myths. Truly monsterous giants were often quite a bit bigger, particularly in Gaelic and later Welsh myth, were giants could stand as tall as a hill. However, in Gallic myth, they appear to have simply been notably big men, and took for them normal wives.
*Reference: Giants figure in Celtic myths heavily. Figures of giants are extremely common in Celtic gravesites or religious sites. Giants vary in myths from monsters, like the one-eyed primordial god Balor of Ireland who killed with his great eye, to heroes like Find mac Cumail. In Arthurian legend, Arthur defeats a giant on the continent. Sucellos and the Dagda were depicted as naked giants with a hammer or cudgel when they took human forms. Giants were thought to have created various things, such as Stonehenge, or the Giant's Causeway.
Tavisi
*Armament: Ancient Celtic axe, spear, or sword and shield, Hallstatt era.
-Upgrade: A flaming weapon
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A ghostly, ashy-colored figure in armor and helmet, variants without either; the armor is irrelevant to their stats. Should appear wounded.
*History: Phantoms in Celtic myth have many origins. These are specifically the souls of dead soldiers killed in battle. Celts regularly prayed to their ancestors, particularly warriors who had passed on, to request their aide in times of strife, though, probably not so literally. They were sometimes depicted with firey weapons of great power, but not always.
*Reference: Very common in Celtic myths all over the Celtic world. Bloody Bones is sometimes said to have once been a Cornish Celtic soldier betrayed in battle and slain by his own captain, for example. The Morrigu (Morrigan) in Gaelic myth and her rival, Donn, both deities of death, had armies of them. Dis Pater on the continent allowed dead soldiers to swear loyalty for him and serve in his army.
Betrix
*Armament: Biting, devouring men whole
*Appearance
-Body: A massive, four legged lizard-like beast, with a very long tail, and webbed toes. A wingless dragon with bronze, yellow, green, or red scales.
-Clothing: ...It's a dragon. Maybe upgrade to have wings?
*History: Dragons in Celtic myth typically do not have wings or breath fire, though some do expell a poisonous mist, and a few very particular ones do expell fire. Some do possess wings, but these mainly appear to have been deities, like Dewi of Cambria. Dragons are, to Celts, largely just enormous, somewhat intelligent serpents or lizards that live in the sea or under hills and mountains. They do not tend to trouble about the business of men unless properly motivated, usually by a chance at treasure, much like many Celtic mercenary warriors. They represented ferocity and loyalty to a tribe, being the children of Teutatis, the tribe-father.
*Reference: Figures of dragons are very common in Celtic art, though the most famous surviving image is probably that of Dewi, which is on the flag of Wales. Figurines of dragons for religious purposes are usually found without wings though. The names applied to them are also typically vague. The Gallic name 'betrix', means 'beast-king', which was also applied to other large monsters, and another common name, sevilis, simply means 'serpent' and was used the same as snake.
Helenes
Cyclops
*Armament: Large wooden club, strength
-Upgrade: Spiked club
*Appearance
-Body: Giant, one eye, small ears, horn varies
-Clothing: Loin cloth, uprgade to crossed belts and thick armbands
*History: A cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. Commonly, the term "Cyclops" refers to a particular son of Poseidon and Thoosa named Polyphemus who was a Cyclops. Another member of this group of Cyclopes was Telemus, a seer.
*Reference:
Cerberus
*Armament: Sharp teeth
*Appearance
-Body: Three-headed dog
-Upgrades: Add spiked collar and extra snake heads to the tail.
*History: Cerberus or Kerberos was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) called a hellhound. Other hell hounds included Orthus, his two headed brother. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
*Reference:
Centaur
*Armament: Bow/Sword/Spear/Axe
*Appearance
-Body: Horse body with a human torso
-Clothing: None until advanced, then gains crossed belts and finally a sash and armbands
*History: Centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted as the torso of a human joined at the (human's) waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be. This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.
*Reference:
Gorgons/Medusa
*Armament: Eyes that turn men to stone, sharp talons and tusks
*Appearance
-Body: Wings of gold, a human head with hair of snakes, brazen claws and the tusks of boars
*History: Gorgon was a vicious female monster with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes.Gorgons are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. According to the myths, seeing the face of a Gorgon turned the viewer to stone. Homer speaks of only one Gorgon (Medusa, the only mortal gorgon who could not fly), whose head is represented in the Iliad as fixed in the center of the aegis of Zeus.
*Reference:
Pegasus
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: A winged horse, but everyone knows what Pegasus is.
*History: Pegasus was a winged horse that was the son of Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the Gorgon Medusa. Athena caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the Muses at Mount Parnassus. After he became the horse of the Muses, he was at the service of the poets. Pegasus aided the hero Bellerophon (or in later versions Perseus) in his fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons.
*Reference:
Iberians
Persians
Manticore
*Armament: Ranged scorpion spines, thundering voice and lion head can attack.
*Appearance
-Body: Although legend says that the manticore possesses a human head, we will use a lion head because it doesn't look weird.
*History: The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian Sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth, and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned or not. The tail is either of a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims.
*Reference:
Roc
*Armament: Wings, talons.
*Appearance
-Body: A huge beautiful bird. But not too huge. You could compare the size of 0 A.D.'s ships to their full-size components for a good ratio.
*Notes: This unit will not transport units or carry that stupid tent around in its talons like it does in Age of Mythology. ES was just trying to create an interesting advantage for the Egyptians.
*History: A roc or rukh is an enormous mythical bird of prey in Persian Mythology (that's right, AoM stole from the Persians), often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants.
*Reference:
Angha/Simorgh
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: A colorful flying peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion.
*History: Simorgh also known as Angha is the modern Persian name for a fabulous, benevolent, mythical flying creature. The figure can be found in all periods of Greater Iranian art and literature, and is evident also in the iconography of medieval Armenia, Byzantium and other regions that were within the sphere of Iranian cultural influence.
*Reference:
Karkadann
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: The literal translation to English is rhinoceros, so I'm assuming that it's just a rhino, and we'll decorate it.
*History: The Karkadann was a mythical unicorn-like creature said to live on the grassy plains of India, Persia and North Africa. The karkadann was an extremely ferocious beast, driving away from its territory animals as big as the elephant. It is said it would fight an elephant and kill it. It would then hoist it above its head in triumph using its horn, before going blind as the elephant's fat flowed into its eyes as it melted in the sun.
*Reference:
Huma
*Armament: Healing abilities
*Appearance
-Body: A phoenix-like bird that joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg.
*History: The Huma, also known as the "bird of paradise," is a Persian mythological bird, similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It is considered to be a compassionate bird. The touch of the huma bird is said to bring great fortune. The huma joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma's shadow falls.
*Reference:
Romans
Harpy
*Armament: breathes fire and has lion/snake attacks.
*Appearance
-Body from Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest literary reference: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire"; from Hesiod's Theogony following the Homeric description: "a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Although some myths tell us that it was the serphant or either the third head which in some descriptions is a dragon would breath a most dreadful blaze of fire. Here did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay."
*History: Harpies were mainly winged death-spirits (Harrison 1903, p 176ff), best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which grabs" which means to grab.The Harpy could also bring life. A Harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles (Iliad xvi. 160). In this context Jane Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say.
*Reference:
Chimera
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: The head of a lion, the tail of snakes and a goat in the middle.
*History: The Chimera is a monstrous creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, which was made of the parts of multiple animals. Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and sister of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.
*Reference:
Griffin
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle
*History: The Griffon (alternate spellings include griffin and gryphon) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.[3] In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.
*Reference:
Basilisk
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: body and head of a chicken, tail of a snake and the wings of a dragon or eagle (mixed sources).
*History: A basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power of causing death by a single glance. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk is a small snake that is so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. The rooster's crow is deadly to the Basilisk.
Minotaur
*Armament: An axe
*Appearance
-Body: A human with the head, legs and tail of a bull
-Clothing: A loin cloth or the lower half of a tunic, very minimal
-Upgrades: Greaves, armbands, waistbands, light armor similar to gladiators are all upgrading indicators that we'll decide on later.
*Reference:
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Mar 19 2004, 11:47 AM
Golf claps for MuseofLife.
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Nice find, Erik. Great site. All they need to do now is to connect it to an online degree system that allows you to take the tests and earn the degree just like you were taking the class. That and add some more courses, of course.
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That's the great thing about 0 A.D.; modding is open ended. Instead of limiting the community by controlling what content can be modified, we intend to allow the community to forge nearly anything in our custom-built design environment that is not only beginner-friendly, but allows experienced modders to let their creativity flourish.
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It's a pity that we did not make it to the "top 5 best indie games", but they lumped released indies with the upcoming ones. How can we compare to Mount and Blade, which has a community of hundreds...
This is good news though. Because we didn't win, we now remain eligible for the following year.
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We didn't win but we got a lot of attention. We're also one of the nominees in the voter's choice awards coming up this Saturday (Feb. 28th), so be sure to watch the video and support ⊕ A.D.!
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Hate to burst that bubble, but 1.0 won't be out by next January, even if the beta release was out right now. We plan to spend some time weeding out as many bugs as possible before making that jump.
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I had noticed this. I mentioned it to Michael but I don't think he noticed it.
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Well, as long as we're still posting in this thread, I'll update to say that PDS is no longer devloping the mytholgy mod (considering we were only in the planning phases), but has begun development on Rise of the East, a mod featuring 3 new factions from the East: China, Japan and India. If you're interested in helping out, don't hesistate to PM or email me.
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Voice recognition would definitely be the next innovative shaker of the gaming world. It's possible but it would be incredibly tedious to implement.
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Thanks to everyone for your continued support. Let's hope for the best!
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Wow, not that many Mac users.. still more than Linux though.
OS: Mac OS X 10.5.6
Processor: 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Do
Memory: 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics: ATY Radeon X1600
I'm hoping to get this sucker repaired and or upgraded. Unfortunately, Apple insists on doing complete repairs; nothing partial. That means I'd be having to pay about $1200. Yeah, maybe not. I'd rather save up and get the latest and greatest Mac of 2010/11.
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Maybe you should just ask all of your questions in one topic. Seems like you've got quite a few.
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By all means, we encourage you to make a mod for 0 A.D. that demonstrates everything that you wish you had in AoM. Perhaps some sort of Mythology Mod to our current factions. Here's an outline of a projected 'Mythology Mod' that I originally intended to be my first 0 A.D. release. I've got other plans now though..
Units
CarthaginiansCelts
Catt Siu
*Armament: Some form of firey touch.
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A small cat that walks on its hind legs.
*History: A common figure in Gaul's mythologies, a type of evil fairie. It was incited to help by burning cats to it; a cult even sprung up around a specific one named 'Big Ears'. The creature is highly intelligent and was believed to grant wishes if properly appeased with sacrifices of cats and wine. While in Gaelic myth, this became the Cait Sith, a slighty different creature, and more or less just a ghostly mountain lion in Scotland, to the Gauls they're depicted as being a small cat-like man who walks on his hind legs. In all, fire is associated with the being, and they were commonly blamed for starting unexplained fires.
*Reference: The Ile Cauldron is probably the best depiction of one.
Coun Siu
*Armament: Biting and slashing with claws.
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A large, black wolf/hound.
*History: A Coun Siu, Fairie Dog, also written in parts of southern Gaul on objects as Coun Dusi, or Demon Dog, was a werewolf-like creature feared by Gauls, but also revered to some extent. They were supposed to be the spirits of heroes killed ingloriously, such as by assassination or in an accident, infuriated they died without recieving proper recognition. They defend ther native tribe, but kill everyone else mercilessly. They were commonly put to blame for the theft of small children from villages.
*Reference: Tales of such creatures survived and changed over time, remaining common even now in Laurentian French areas, as well as in their diaspora, such as among rural Louisiana Cajuns. Figurines of the creature with the name written on them exist dating to about 300 BC up to around 150 AD.
Cavarillus
*Armament: Cudgel
-Upgrade: A large socket axe and shield, or a sword and shield
*Appearance
-Body: A very tall human. Should not seem savage, giants to the Gauls were held in high esteem, even if often depicted as enemies. Long hair, a tall, willowy but well-toned body.
-Clothing: Barechested, with a neck torc and plaid trousers like a normal Celtic warrior.
-Upgrades: Tunic and helmet for advanced, scale or mail armor for elite
*History: Giants in Celtic myth are extremely common, and vary widely. Some are great one-eyed beasts or many-headed ogrish creatures, but some were supposed to be friends of 'other' men, a recognition of giants being humans, simply massive in size. They would largely appear to be like other men, dressing like them, fighting similarly, but tall as two men, and often lean in appearance, different from the thick, huge juggernauts of many other myths. Truly monsterous giants were often quite a bit bigger, particularly in Gaelic and later Welsh myth, were giants could stand as tall as a hill. However, in Gallic myth, they appear to have simply been notably big men, and took for them normal wives.
*Reference: Giants figure in Celtic myths heavily. Figures of giants are extremely common in Celtic gravesites or religious sites. Giants vary in myths from monsters, like the one-eyed primordial god Balor of Ireland who killed with his great eye, to heroes like Find mac Cumail. In Arthurian legend, Arthur defeats a giant on the continent. Sucellos and the Dagda were depicted as naked giants with a hammer or cudgel when they took human forms. Giants were thought to have created various things, such as Stonehenge, or the Giant's Causeway.
Tavisi
*Armament: Ancient Celtic axe, spear, or sword and shield, Hallstatt era.
-Upgrade: A flaming weapon
*Appearance
-Body & Clothing: A ghostly, ashy-colored figure in armor and helmet, variants without either; the armor is irrelevant to their stats. Should appear wounded.
*History: Phantoms in Celtic myth have many origins. These are specifically the souls of dead soldiers killed in battle. Celts regularly prayed to their ancestors, particularly warriors who had passed on, to request their aide in times of strife, though, probably not so literally. They were sometimes depicted with firey weapons of great power, but not always.
*Reference: Very common in Celtic myths all over the Celtic world. Bloody Bones is sometimes said to have once been a Cornish Celtic soldier betrayed in battle and slain by his own captain, for example. The Morrigu (Morrigan) in Gaelic myth and her rival, Donn, both deities of death, had armies of them. Dis Pater on the continent allowed dead soldiers to swear loyalty for him and serve in his army.
Betrix
*Armament: Biting, devouring men whole
*Appearance
-Body: A massive, four legged lizard-like beast, with a very long tail, and webbed toes. A wingless dragon with bronze, yellow, green, or red scales.
-Clothing: ...It's a dragon. Maybe upgrade to have wings?
*History: Dragons in Celtic myth typically do not have wings or breath fire, though some do expell a poisonous mist, and a few very particular ones do expell fire. Some do possess wings, but these mainly appear to have been deities, like Dewi of Cambria. Dragons are, to Celts, largely just enormous, somewhat intelligent serpents or lizards that live in the sea or under hills and mountains. They do not tend to trouble about the business of men unless properly motivated, usually by a chance at treasure, much like many Celtic mercenary warriors. They represented ferocity and loyalty to a tribe, being the children of Teutatis, the tribe-father.
*Reference: Figures of dragons are very common in Celtic art, though the most famous surviving image is probably that of Dewi, which is on the flag of Wales. Figurines of dragons for religious purposes are usually found without wings though. The names applied to them are also typically vague. The Gallic name 'betrix', means 'beast-king', which was also applied to other large monsters, and another common name, sevilis, simply means 'serpent' and was used the same as snake.
Helenes
Cyclops
*Armament: Large wooden club, strength
-Upgrade: Spiked club
*Appearance
-Body: Giant, one eye, small ears, horn varies
-Clothing: Loin cloth, uprgade to crossed belts and thick armbands
*History: A cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. Commonly, the term "Cyclops" refers to a particular son of Poseidon and Thoosa named Polyphemus who was a Cyclops. Another member of this group of Cyclopes was Telemus, a seer.
*Reference:
Cerberus
*Armament: Sharp teeth
*Appearance
-Body: Three-headed dog
-Upgrades: Add spiked collar and extra snake heads to the tail.
*History: Cerberus or Kerberos was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) called a hellhound. Other hell hounds included Orthus, his two headed brother. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
*Reference:
Centaur
*Armament: Bow/Sword/Spear/Axe
*Appearance
-Body: Horse body with a human torso
-Clothing: None until advanced, then gains crossed belts and finally a sash and armbands
*History: Centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted as the torso of a human joined at the (human's) waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be. This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.
*Reference:
Gorgons/Medusa
*Armament: Eyes that turn men to stone, sharp talons and tusks
*Appearance
-Body: Wings of gold, a human head with hair of snakes, brazen claws and the tusks of boars
*History: Gorgon was a vicious female monster with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes.Gorgons are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. According to the myths, seeing the face of a Gorgon turned the viewer to stone. Homer speaks of only one Gorgon (Medusa, the only mortal gorgon who could not fly), whose head is represented in the Iliad as fixed in the center of the aegis of Zeus.
*Reference:
Pegasus
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: A winged horse, but everyone knows what Pegasus is.
*History: Pegasus was a winged horse that was the son of Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the Gorgon Medusa. Athena caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the Muses at Mount Parnassus. After he became the horse of the Muses, he was at the service of the poets. Pegasus aided the hero Bellerophon (or in later versions Perseus) in his fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons.
*Reference:
Iberians
Persians
Manticore
*Armament: Ranged scorpion spines, thundering voice and lion head can attack.
*Appearance
-Body: Although legend says that the manticore possesses a human head, we will use a lion head because it doesn't look weird.
*History: The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian Sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth, and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned or not. The tail is either of a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims.
*Reference:
Roc
*Armament: Wings, talons.
*Appearance
-Body: A huge beautiful bird. But not too huge. You could compare the size of 0 A.D.'s ships to their full-size components for a good ratio.
*Notes: This unit will not transport units or carry that stupid tent around in its talons like it does in Age of Mythology. ES was just trying to create an interesting advantage for the Egyptians.
*History: A roc or rukh is an enormous mythical bird of prey in Persian Mythology (that's right, AoM stole from the Persians), often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants.
*Reference:
Angha/Simorgh
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: A colorful flying peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion.
*History: Simorgh also known as Angha is the modern Persian name for a fabulous, benevolent, mythical flying creature. The figure can be found in all periods of Greater Iranian art and literature, and is evident also in the iconography of medieval Armenia, Byzantium and other regions that were within the sphere of Iranian cultural influence.
*Reference:
Karkadann
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: The literal translation to English is rhinoceros, so I'm assuming that it's just a rhino, and we'll decorate it.
*History: The Karkadann was a mythical unicorn-like creature said to live on the grassy plains of India, Persia and North Africa. The karkadann was an extremely ferocious beast, driving away from its territory animals as big as the elephant. It is said it would fight an elephant and kill it. It would then hoist it above its head in triumph using its horn, before going blind as the elephant's fat flowed into its eyes as it melted in the sun.
*Reference:
Huma
*Armament: Healing abilities
*Appearance
-Body: A phoenix-like bird that joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg.
*History: The Huma, also known as the "bird of paradise," is a Persian mythological bird, similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It is considered to be a compassionate bird. The touch of the huma bird is said to bring great fortune. The huma joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma's shadow falls.
*Reference:
Romans
Harpy
*Armament: breathes fire and has lion/snake attacks.
*Appearance
-Body from Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest literary reference: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire"; from Hesiod's Theogony following the Homeric description: "a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Although some myths tell us that it was the serphant or either the third head which in some descriptions is a dragon would breath a most dreadful blaze of fire. Here did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay."
*History: Harpies were mainly winged death-spirits (Harrison 1903, p 176ff), best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which grabs" which means to grab.The Harpy could also bring life. A Harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles (Iliad xvi. 160). In this context Jane Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say.
*Reference:
Chimera
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: The head of a lion, the tail of snakes and a goat in the middle.
*History: The Chimera is a monstrous creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, which was made of the parts of multiple animals. Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and sister of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.
*Reference:
Griffin
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle
*History: The Griffon (alternate spellings include griffin and gryphon) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.[3] In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.
*Reference:
Basilisk
*Armament:
*Appearance
-Body: body and head of a chicken, tail of a snake and the wings of a dragon or eagle (mixed sources).
*History: A basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power of causing death by a single glance. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk is a small snake that is so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. The rooster's crow is deadly to the Basilisk.
Minotaur
*Armament: An axe
*Appearance
-Body: A human with the head, legs and tail of a bull
-Clothing: A loin cloth or the lower half of a tunic, very minimal
-Upgrades: Greaves, armbands, waistbands, light armor similar to gladiators are all upgrading indicators that we'll decide on later.
*Reference:
There it is, 5 myth units per civilization. You'll have to do some research for the Carthaginians and Iberians, unfortunately.
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Thanks for posting this.