Introducing the Official community mod for 0 A.D. Empires Ascendant

[Genava55]

5 minutes ago, Fabius said:

I recently came across this video on Lanciarii, link below for interested parties, and I was curious as to whether this fell within the scope of the current 0 AD time frame.

Probably not, currently because 0 A.D. - Empires Ascendant is focusing on 500 BC - 1 BC.

6 minutes ago, Fabius said:

I have two ideas for a Lanciari unit type, both assume a link with Marian Reforms. Eg unlocked by it and having the legionary keyword.

Have you watched the video? Nothing suggest a link to Marius. The first account of the Lanciarii is from the 1st century AD.

By the way, the Marian reforms are the result of a misconception. Qualified scholars generally don't support the existence of a huge reform enacted by Marius.

Quote

The Reforms That Weren’t

We can then return to our list at the beginning:

• Cohorts: Experimented with before Marius, especially in Spain. Marius uses cohorts, but there’s no evidence he systematized or standardized this or was particularly new or unusual in doing so. Probably the actual breakpoint here is the Social War.
• Poor Volunteers Instead of Conscripted Assidui: Marius does not represent a break in the normal function of the Roman dilectus but a continuation of the Roman tradition of taking volunteers or dipping into the capite censi in a crisis. The traditional Roman conscription system functions for decades after Marius and a full professional army doesn’t emerge until Augustus.
• Discharge bonuses or land as a regular feature of Roman service: Once again, this isn’t Marius but Imperator Caesar Augustus who does this. Rewarding soldiers with loot and using conquered lands to form colonies wasn’t new and Marius doesn’t standardize it, Augustus does.
• No More equites and velites: No reason in the source to suppose Marius does this and plenty of reasons to suppose he doesn’t. Both velites and equites seem to continue at least a little bit into the first century. Fully replacing these roles with auxilia is once again a job for our man, Imperator Caesar Augustus, divi filius, pater patriae, reformer of armies, gestae of res, and all the rest.
• State-Supplied Equipment: No evidence in the sources. This shift is happening but is not associated with Marius. In any event, the conformity of imperial pay records with Polybius’ system of deductions for the second century BC suggests no major, clean break in the system.
• A New Sort of Pilum: No evidence, probably didn’t exist, made up by Plutarch or his sources. Roman pilum design is shifting, but not in the ways Plutarch suggests. If a Marian pilum did exist, the idea didn’t stick.
• Aquila Standards: Eagle standards pre-date Marius and non-eagle standards post-date him, but this may be one thing he actually does do, amplifying the importance of the eagle as the primary standard of the legion.
• The sarcina and furca and making Roman soldiers carry things: By no means new to Marius. This is a topos of Roman commanders before and after Marius. There is no reason to suppose he was unusual in this regard.

https://acoup.blog/2023/06/30/collections-the-marian-reforms-werent-a-thing/

Quote

Moving to the body of the text, Chapter 1 responds to Sallust’s statement (Iug. 86.2) that, in 107, Marius recruited volunteers from the capite censi; this has been central to most scholarly accounts of the first-century army. Cadiou is not the first to downplay the significance of these reforms, as he concedes, pointing especially to Rich.[2] In the first chapter, Cadiou reinforces these existing arguments against the Marian reform, presenting it rather in the context of Marius’s immediate need for haste. But if the “Marian reform” is no longer seen by specialists as the revolutionary act which ushered in the proletarian army, this does not seem to have diminished the scholarly consensus that a revolution took place. But that is precisely what Cadiou is arguing against.

https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2021/2021.06.02/

Quote

"He admitted for the first time to his army capite censi, men who failed to meet the normal property qualification for ser­vice. The numbers were small but, in later periods of crisis, Marius's imitators recruited from this area on a grand scale. [...] His enrolment in the army of capite censi was imitated by later com­manders in the civil wars, which destroyed the Republic" - Yann Le Bohec, The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, p.636

"The 2nd century BCE also saw the transition from the maniple to the cohort as the basic tacti­cal unit. This change has often been attributed by modern scholars (Dobson 2008: 58) to Caius Marius, who is said to have introduced cohorts in order to counter the tactics of the Germans who were invading northern Italy toward the end of the 2nd century BCE. However, the sources, which do not explicitly refer to the change, sug­gest a change in the form of a long transitional process in which the Romans may have copied this formation from their allies (Livy 10.33.1 ; 23.17.11). The earliest reliable references to the Roman cohort date back to the Second Punic War (e.g., Livy 25.39.1 ; Polyb. 1 1.23.1-2), while mani­ples are last mentioned in field operation in the war against Jugurtha in 109 BCE (Sall. lug. 49.6). The fact that the sources frequently mention cohorts in war contexts in Spain also suggests that the change originated there and may have been due to a combination of factors peculiar to Spain." - Yann Le Bohec, The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army, p.525.

Modern historians have often assumed that Gaius Marius introduced wide ranging and long - lasting reforms that greatly transformed the Roman army and had a profound impact on Roman politics as well. The so - called Marian reforms supposedly involved both tactical innovations and significant reorganization of military recruitment and financing. These included: the elimination of the Roman cavalry (to be replaced entirely by foreign auxiliary cavalry), the disbandment of light - armed troops and the standardization of the weapons and kit of heavy infantry, the reorganization of legions into cohorts (replacing the earlier, manipular structure), and perhaps most significantly, the recruitment of landless soldiers who previously would not have met minimum property qualifications. These new recruits would be mostly volunteers and receive grants of land upon release. Lastly, it is often assumed that these reforms were permanent. Thus, according to the communis opinio, Marius permanently transformed the Roman military into a professional army that was mostly composed of landless citizens equipped uniformly. Yet, despite the widespread acceptance of this view, there is actually very little evidence for the “Marian Reforms.” - François Gauthier, The Changing Composition of the Roman Army in the Late Republic and the So-Called Marian-Reforms.

"The old view that Marius gave Rome a professional army can no longer be maintained (Brunt 1971, 406–11; Rich 1983). His enrolment of men without the property qualification in 107 was in all probability an isolated episode: the hostility which it aroused makes it unlikely that his successors followed suit. The traditional procedures of the levy, including the property qualification, probably ceased to operate in the chaotic conditions of the eighties." - John Rich & Graham Shipley, War and Society in the Roman World, p.4.

 

[Fabius]

24 minutes ago, Genava55 said:

Have you watched the video? Nothing suggest a link to Marius. The first account of the Lanciarii is from the 1st century AD.

By the way, the Marian reforms are the result of a misconception. Qualified scholars generally don't support the existence of a huge reform enacted by Marius.

I did watch it and thought it cool hence why I brought it up. There was a mention of something akin to them in Caesar's time, and the so called Marian reforms that we currently have would be inclusive of that era, which is a stretch given the lack of info. Hence why I asked first if it was within the scope of 0 AD. Which as you have mentioned is not.

I am aware that Marian reforms was a misconception, I was just working within the context of what is currently present in the Roman civ. Out of interest why do we have a tech labelled as such if it isn't really a major change as it suggests?

Also thanks for sharing the historical information, I have been recently realising my Roman knowledge is much less than I thought it was  

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Fabius said:

Out of interest why do we have a tech labelled as such if it isn't really a major change as it suggests?

To make the cool Romans even cooler, of course.

I love suddenly having 150 elite units on the map.

[Fabius]

So based on what I just read in that very Inciteful article we should really be calling them the Augustan Reforms  

[Fabius]

What is the precedent for incorporating the Onager in Marian reforms? They seem to have already been in use prior to Marius. With that in mind why not just have them already available like all the other siege?

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, Fabius said:

What is the precedent for incorporating the Onager in Marian reforms?

The game balance. The Romans already have a Siege Catapult, giving them the Onager for free as well would be too imbalanced.

[Fabius]

1 minute ago, Deicide4u said:

The game balance. The Romans already have a Siege Catapult, giving them the Onager for free as well would be too imbalanced.

I see, fair point

[BeTe]

Hi. Guys.

I didn't follow this forum for a while. What's new in this Mod in 2025? And is it still alive at all?

[Stan`]

16 hours ago, BeTe said:

Hi. Guys.

I didn't follow this forum for a while. What's new in this Mod in 2025? And is it still alive at all?

The mod is still alive and being developped on Gitea by  @real_tabasco_sauce and others.

[BeTe]

On 21/05/2025 at 9:34 AM, Stan` said:

The mod is still alive and being developped on Gitea by  @real_tabasco_sauce and others.

any link to Gitea?

[Stan`]

You can download the community mod from inside the game

But here you go gitea.wildfiregames.com

[real_tabasco_sauce]

We will be able to do a new release soonish but I would love to see more testing and feedback on the current changes.

[Arup]

5 hours ago, real_tabasco_sauce said:

We will be able to do a new release soonish but I would love to see more testing and feedback on the current changes.

I played 3 games booming with the comm mod, alone with no enemy. no problems occured. I tried your wall cheapening with the athens cheapening hero and it could certainly change a wee bit about how you play athens, since you could theoretically spam out palisades in about 3 seconds

[BeTe]

On 21/05/2025 at 9:34 AM, Stan` said:

The mod is still alive and being developped on Gitea by  @real_tabasco_sauce and others.

@real_tabasco_sauceThese are up-to-date commits, right?

https://gitea.wildfiregames.com/0ad/0ad-community-mod/commits/branch/main

[Guest]

On 22/05/2025 at 11:47 PM, real_tabasco_sauce said:

I would love to see more testing

I will try to test a couple games using the Roman heavy infantry tonight. I might even try making a sim-city with walls.

Should be fun.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

Yes @BeTe what you see there is the same as what is currently released (version 27.1)

[real_tabasco_sauce]

Trying to make the maiden guard units for maury more interesting:

archer:

• 100 wood, 90 metal
• 1.75 sec fire rate
• 90 hp, higher pierce armor, lower hack armor
• faster move speed and accel
• less range
• less attack prepare time

swordswoman:

• 100 food, 90 metal
• lower hp
• less pierce armor
• higher hack armor
• faster move speed and accel

https://gitea.wildfiregames.com/0ad/0ad-community-mod/pulls/70

 

[Grautvornix]

@wraitiiNothing big, but, maybe it is time to change the title of this threat?  (I'd suggest to remove reference to A26 as people may believe this is outdated which is not true at all)

[Stan`]

Updated the title.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

4 hours ago, Dakara said:

#74 - Increase the default capture regen of structures - 0ad-community-mod - Wildfire Games

something is plan for the roman camp ?  or structures 0.5 to 5 is enough? 

The army camp is 10 already.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

Quote

Units attacking low-preference units like buildings without direct player instruction will check for higher preference units to attack.

Capture balance:
- Women gain a capture attack of 1.0.
- Default building capture regen is 5, with CCs at 30 and Fortresses at 45.

Fortress Buff:
- Fortresses are a bit better at defense, with damage 10->12p, spread 2->1.2, and fire rate 3.5 -> 3.0.

Maiden Guard Archers and Swordswomen:
- Archers: faster, weaker, cheaper archer, with much of its damage coming from poison. Cost 100 wood, 90 metal. Good versus armored units.
- Swordswomen: faster, weaker to ranged, stronger vs hack. Cost 100 food, 90 metal.

Longswords:
- Increased splash damage (4->6 hack) and range (2->2.5), decreased direct damage (-4 to -6 hack).

Elephants:
- Increased splash radius (2->3)

Infantry Spearmen and Pikemen:
- Cavalry counter damage multiplier (2.5x to 3x)

Carthaginians changes:
- Numidian Cavalry Civ Bonus: Ranged cavalry +10% movement speed.
- Mining Economy: Stone mining technologies are free and instant each age.
- Reworked Embassies:
    - Celtic embassy: Sword mercenaries, "Celtic Auxiliaries" technology saves 50% metal cost of mercenaries, but adds 50 food cost. 200 wood
    - Iberian embassy: Ranged infantry mercs, Fire skirmishers and longer-ranged balearic slingers, 75 metal cost. 100 wood, 100 stone.
    - Italic embassy: Spear mercenaries. 100 wood, 100 stone.
- Trade colony:
    - Available in p2, costing 100 wood, 100 stone, 100 metal.
    - fires arrows, but less effective than a CC.
    - functions as a trade destination and may barter resources.
    - Trains traders, women, mercenaries, and spearmen.
    - functions as a dropsite.
    - no territory influence or decay.

Han changes:
- Ministers:
    - Attack removed.
    - weaker armor, 75 health instead of 200.
    - aura range reduced to 20 meters.
    - garrison auras removed
    - building and gathering bonuses are 10% non-overlapping.
    - available in p1.
- Ministry:
    - Available in village phase.
    - Costs 50 wood, 200 stone, 50 metal, building in 160 seconds.
    - Technology pairs cost reduced.
    - Trickle removed from ministry.

27.2

[Guest]

Spoiler

Infantry Spearmen and Pikemen:
- Cavalry counter damage multiplier (2.5x to 3x)

Carthaginians changes:
- Numidian Cavalry Civ Bonus: Ranged cavalry +10% movement speed.
- Mining Economy: Stone mining technologies are free and instant each age.
- Reworked Embassies:
    - Celtic embassy: Sword mercenaries, "Celtic Auxiliaries" technology saves 50% metal cost of mercenaries, but adds 50 food cost. 200 wood
    - Iberian embassy: Ranged infantry mercs, Fire skirmishers and longer-ranged balearic slingers, 75 metal cost. 100 wood, 100 stone.
    - Italic embassy: Spear mercenaries. 100 wood, 100 stone.
- Trade colony:
    - Available in p2, costing 100 wood, 100 stone, 100 metal.
    - fires arrows, but less effective than a CC.
    - functions as a trade destination and may barter resources.
    - Trains traders, women, mercenaries, and spearmen.
    - functions as a dropsite.
    - no territory influence or decay.

Han changes:
- Ministers:
    - Attack removed.
    - weaker armor, 75 health instead of 200.
    - aura range reduced to 20 meters.
    - garrison auras removed
    - building and gathering bonuses are 10% non-overlapping.
    - available in p1.
- Ministry:
    - Available in village phase.
    - Costs 50 wood, 200 stone, 50 metal, building in 160 seconds.
    - Technology pairs cost reduced.
    - Trickle removed from ministry.

Testing in SP tonight and over the coming few days. I'll try to get some matches uploaded to the usual place

Thank you for these changes. Did you modify the AI to make use of Carthage and Han changes?

[real_tabasco_sauce]

32 minutes ago, Deicide4u said:

Did you modify the AI to make use of Carthage and Han changes?

Han should be fine, since the units and buildings already exist.

There might be issues with a couple of the carthage items, like the trade colony.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

hello com mod players, thanks to testing, I found and fixed an OOS. If a little more testing is error free, I'll release the mod 

 

[real_tabasco_sauce]

ok, the new version is released in the mod downloader!