===[COMMITTED]=== Persian Unit Texture Upgrade

[Sundiata]

Sparabara with shield:

Spoiler

 

Sassanid reed and leather shields:

 

 

[LordGood]

The larger shield looks nice, why not

[Alexandermb]

@stanislas69 @wackyserious this is committable?

[Stan`]

Do you have textures for it ,?

[wackyserious]

Attempting to recreate the existing textures.

[wackyserious]

S O G D I A N    A R C H E R S

[wackyserious]

Archers. Ready to commit if there are no objections on these.

[Nescio]

For what's worth it, Herodotus gives a detailed description of the various elements in the Persian army, which might be useful:

XerxesArmyAndFleet.txt

[wackyserious]

I am reading the material that Nescio provided. According to the comparison of Herodotus, the Sogdian had similar equipment to the Medes. I could not properly comprehend if when Herodotus told us that they were alike in that manner, that also includes their clothing.

Also, what are your thoughts on brightly painted linothorax? (The first two in the right in the image below)

[Stan`]

I think it's looking nice but still missing relief like dropshadows and whatnot

[Sundiata]

5 hours ago, wackyserious said:

According to the comparison of Herodotus, the Sogdian had similar equipment to the Medes. I could not properly comprehend if when Herodotus told us that they were alike in that manner, that also includes their clothing.

Well, they were neighbours and at it's maximum extent, I believe at least parts of Sogdiana was incorporated in the Median Empire. Apparently even their language is related (according to Strabo). That having said, I'm certain that Sogdians were heavily influenced by the Scythians (Scythians lived/ruled in Sogdiana among other places), but the Scythians also influenced the Medes and even ruled them for a while... More or less the same cultural sphere as Bactria, which also had strong Scythian, Median and Achaemenid Iranian influence. In general terms Bactria was home to larger urbanised populations and Sogdiana was home to more nomadic peoples, but many of the specific peoples living in these regions seemed to live in both Bactria and Sogdiana. They practiced Zoroastrian religion, again, Iranian similarities, and they also had direct contact with China... (to clarify, Sogdiana is a geographic term, not necessarily an ethnic or cultural one, so it can refer to a number different people inhabiting the region)   

Sogdians and Bactrians:

Spoiler

"338 BCE, tomb of Artaxerxes III Sogdian soldier"

 

"Sogdians on an Achaemenid Persian relief from the Apadana of Persepolis, offering tributary gifts to the Persian king Darius I, 5th century BC"

 

"A grey pottery figurine of a Sogdian groom, Chinese Tang Dynasty, 7th century AD"

 

Sogdian dancers 6th century AD, An Jia Tomb, Shaanxi, China 

 

Reconstructions from the (Northern) Bactrian tomb of Tillya Tepe, Scythian influenced people on the border region of Bactria and Sogdiana, 1st century BC - 1st century AD. Check out that long sword! Drool... Note that the dagger hanging from the waist of the prince seems to be the same type as the one depicted on the Sogdian warrior on tomb of Artaxerxes III, in the first image!

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Sundiata

[wackyserious]

1 hour ago, stanislas69 said:

I think it's looking nice but still missing relief like dropshadows and whatnot

Thanks. Added a quite few on the edges.
 

I am about to commit some of the Persian infantry textures.

[LordGood]

I would make sure the saturations on anything that isn't playercolor is low enough to distinguish different troops, the Persian army should look like a fruit salad but that might hinder gameplay if we stick to it.

speaking only on the bright linothorax, the archers are looking good

[Genava55]

About the Sogdians, here some short accounts of their interaction against Alexander's armies.

Spoiler

 

Ethnic background (useful description pages 442 to 444)

Spoiler

 

 

Increasing nomads later in the region

Spoiler

 

[wackyserious]

@LordGood This is how it currently looks like in game. For player 2 (Red) and player 1 (Blue)

This is the most saturated that I would go, applying what I have read and observed about natural dyes. Does it stand out too much at its current state?

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

10 minutes ago, wackyserious said:

@LordGood This is how it currently looks like in game. For player 2 (Red) and player 1 (Blue)

This is the most saturated that I would go, applying what I have read and observed about natural dyes. Does it stand out too much at its current state?

 

orange vs black and yellow vs green.

looks very good but I want see if blue can be distinguish from ble.(dark colors)  and green from blue.

[wackyserious]

@Lion.Kanzen Player 3 (Green) and Player 7 (Orange)

[Lion.Kanzen]

Just now, wackyserious said:

@Lion.Kanzen Player 3 (Green) and Player 7 (Orange)

yes.. is different ....   ----time to test with non art guy. see good quality. look better than Rome II more accurate persians. more diverse.

[LordGood]

The yellows and reds are sticking out a bit too much between players, it could lead to gameplay confusion

[wackyserious]

I tried to reduce the saturation, I might not include it in the commit then.

Here are the current ones. In the middle is the current texture available in the game for the advanced rank.

[wackyserious]

I was also wondering if we could put player color on the kidaris/tiara headdress? Does anyone have a supporting information or a counter statement to it?

[Stan`]

1 minute ago, wackyserious said:

I was also wondering if we could put player color on the kidaris/tiara headdress? Does anyone have a supporting information or a counter statement to it?

You can

[wackyserious]

Off topic, seeing that yellow hue padded cloth tickles the devil in me to make unit textures for a Dornish warrior from ASoIaF. Not a good idea though.

[wackyserious]

Just now, stanislas69 said:

You can

We might get in to trouble if community history buffs attest to it haha. But I think I might

[Stan`]

Oh I thought you meant from a technical standpoint