===[TASK]=== Kushite Units, Unit Textures, and Unit Props

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

1 hour ago, elexis said:

But then there were no surprise effect when we would announce to implement Kushites for alpha 23 rather than just randomly committing that on a tuesday night after months of preparation with the best contributors for the job at hand.

HL3 confirmed 

[Lion.Kanzen]

7 minutes ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

HL3 confirmed 

[wackyserious]

On 2/7/2018 at 7:35 AM, elexis said:

But then there were no surprise effect when we would announce to implement Kushites for alpha 23 rather than just randomly committing that on a tuesday night after months of preparation with the best contributors for the job at hand.

Maybe a separate announcement here in the forums and in the social networking site accounts was the lacking factor. A simultaneous announcement would have more effect, since only those familiar with the trac timeline will know of the implementation of the Kushite faction. @Lion.Kanzen Indeed sensed it. Congratulations to @Sundiata and to the fellow contributors.

[wackyserious]

@Sundiata What would be the color of Harsiotef's horse?

[Sundiata]

Just now, wackyserious said:

What would be the color of Harsiotef's horse?

I love specific questions like that, even if I don't have the answer...  

I haven't seen any specific mentions of horse colours during 0AD's timeframe, but in the later post-Meroitic and Christian periods, a black horse with white socks was specifically mentioned as the preferred type. So I coincidentally used an appropriate type in my example...

Spoiler

 

Christian Nubia:

 

[wackyserious]

@Sundiata Lordgood's wicker shield textures (two new recolor variants)

[LordGood]

oof, those normals are looking rough. Totally my fault, but still.

Guys think it might be time for more true 3D rimmed shields?

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

8 hours ago, LordGood said:

Guys think it might be time for more true 3D rimmed shields?

You mean shields with a thickness instead of flat billboards?

[Sundiata]

9 hours ago, LordGood said:

Guys think it might be time for more true 3D rimmed shields?

I'm not stopping you 

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

There needs to be a bigger version of the Beja rhino shield. I have seen many references showing a larger shield.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited February 11, 2018 by wowgetoffyourcellphone

[wackyserious]

The mesh can be plain round too, and let the alpha channels in the texture handle the two small holes on both sides.

[Stan`]

1 hour ago, wackyserious said:

The mesh can be plain round too, and let the alpha channels in the texture handle the two small holes on both sides.

It's already the case...

[wackyserious]

Ahh, I thought the mesh was modified, variants can be made, if that is the case. Did you already uploaded the .psd somewhere?

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

You could just.... scale up the mesh and be done with it...

[Stan`]

True I'll add that to my list.

[wackyserious]

@stanislas69 Should I commit these textures to the repo? Or will you guys be making a new mesh for the round shields? As suggested by @LordGood

On 2/11/2018 at 2:58 PM, wackyserious said:

@Sundiata Lordgood's wicker shield textures (two new recolor variants)

 

[Stan`]

@wackyserious Do you have a reference for such a shield using your textures, I could make one that fits so you can commit textures as is.

[wackyserious]

17 minutes ago, stanislas69 said:

@wackyserious Do you have a reference for such a shield using your textures, I could make one that fits so you can commit textures as is.

@Sundiata

[Sundiata]

@wackyserious & @stanislas69, I can't find any good Sudanese references of round wicker shields, only the "hexagonal" ones (wicker really doesn't preserve well), but I'm guessing it would look similar to these Oriental and Ottoman examples?

Spoiler

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

Egyptian uses wicker shields too.

[Sundiata]

@stanislas69 And these are the pointy wicker shield references from Sudan, if you're feeling for an improved pointy shield mesh..

[Skhorn]

I don't know if this is offtopic, but i would like to suggest a new cattle for the game: Cows. Given the cows hide shield

Spoiler

 

Edited February 18, 2018 by Skhorn

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

29 minutes ago, Skhorn said:

I don't know if this is offtopic, but i would like to suggest a new cattle for the game: Cows. Given the cows hide shield

  Reveal hidden contents

 

In DE, Kushites can train Sanga cattle.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

On 15/02/2018 at 5:13 AM, Sundiata said:

@stanislas69 And these are the pointy wicker shield references from Sudan, if you're feeling for an improved pointy shield mesh..

This would be awesome for the Kushites/Noba^ Maybe use the octagon shields for one of the Noba units (Maceman?), and these for the other (javelineer?).

 

I made these from the Xiongnu shields from TM:

They seem to fit the references, where the shield is more toward the shoulder.

[Sundiata]

On 6/6/2021 at 4:50 AM, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

This would be awesome for the Kushites/Noba^ Maybe use the octagon shields for one of the Noba units (Maceman?), and these for the other (javelineer?).

Go for it!

By the way, those type of shields were used as far south as Uganda. There was a Kingdom called Buganda, referred to as Waganda in the older literature (not making this up), who used similar shields (slightly larger):

 

Nubian merc 2000 years earlier with a similarly shaped shield:

On 6/6/2021 at 4:50 AM, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

I made these from the Xiongnu shields from TM:

They seem to fit the references, where the shield is more toward the shoulder.

Those look really great man! 

The shields remind me a little of another Ptolemaic figurine of a southern mercenary (or police or something), clearly mounted. Almost exactly the same as another such figure I've shared here before: