The remade units of 0.5

2022-06-16 · Tarnholm

Hello everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? The team has been busy working on the next release (0.5) for quite some time now, and finally, we can show some of what's coming. We have been working on many remade units as part of the RIS 0.5 update. Using new features that Feral has provided has allowed for unprecedented unit detail and fidelity. It's not hyperbole to call the new units revolutionary. Long gone are soldiers that all look the same. Instead, each soldier has different facial characteristics using Feral's new hair, facial hair and skin tones, and we didn't stop there. We use up to 7 distinctly different models per unit. That means up to 7 other shields, armours, etcetera, allowing for a battlefield unseen in the Rome 1 community. With that said, let us present the new Antigonid army, reforged by our growing graphics department under the watchful eyes of our outstanding historians.

Psiloi:

Slingers:

Archers:

Above are three examples of lower-tier Hellenistic units, but as you can see, that doesn't mean lesser quality from our art department. Notice the details such as different shoes and hats, multiple colours per unit and the different faces and skin tones.

Agrianian infantry:

Euzonoi:

Moving on to heavier units, one can spot different shields, capes, and helmets. All done with an exquisite level of detail. Notice how heavier boots replace sandals on these units.

Thureophoroi:

Hoplites:

Hoplites and Thureophoroi can either be used as the main body of your army or as detachments protecting your flanks. Whatever you choose, they will always look stellar in their dashing display of colour. Also, notice the level of detail put into the helmets, shields and linthorax and how the PBR textures allow reflections in the metal parts.

Ephebes:

Cretan archers:

Higher-tier archer units have more dashing colours and even small shields for the Cretans. Also, look for details like straps on the linthorax and the quiver.

Leukaspides:

Chalkaspides:

Agema of the peltasts:

Royal peltast:

Royal peltast spearmen:

At the time of our mods start, Macedon is no longer the centre of the world, but that doesn't mean its military might is not at the absolute top with units that can hold their own against the absolute best of the world. This is, of course, shown in the lavish armour worn by their elite troops, such as the Agema of the peltasts.

Thracian infantry:

Trallian infantry:

The Antigonids did, of course, not only use their own people when heading for wars. They employed mercenaries from neighbouring peoples, just as most other states at the time to fill out the ranks. Our Thracian infantry and Trallian infantry are two such units. If you look closely, you will notice that the Trallian unit uses both two-handed and one-handed weapons. Being part of the same unit, they have the same stats, but it adds flavour to the battlefield.

Prodromoi:

Thureophoroi cavalry:

Tarantine cavalry:

Aspidophoroi

Paionian cavalry:

Thracian noble cavalry:

Thessalian cavalry:

Xystophoroi:

Hetairoi:

General's bodyguard:

No, we did not forget about the famous hammer component in the Macedonian army. There is a wide range of units, just as when it came to the infantry. The lower tier units have more muted colours and lighter armours, while the more expensive units have bold colours, large plumes, glistering armours and decorated horses.

Here are some more shots highlighting various details.

Here are a few Blender renders showing some of the units: 1) One of the Agema of Peltast model variants: 2) A Hellenistic bodyguard variant: 3) PBR only render of a Thessalian cavalry model showing the metalness, roughness and normal map information in the PBR texture which adds a lot to the overall unit rendering - note the 3D details baked into the helmet as well as the additional 3D detail added into clothing, scabbard and pteryges during the unit texturing 4) some other new model elements created specifically for RIS - new weapons including sicas, chitons (tunics) and helmets, shown here in this Agrianian infantry unit model: 5-6)Thracian cavalry unit with fine scale armour and a PBR only view in Blender:

RIS 0.5 will be a significant update with plenty more additions, and more of what that means will be shown this summer, so make sure to follow our developer diaries!

We plan to eventually remake each state to the level of quality shown above. How fast that happens largely depends on how many people we have in our growing graphics team. If you think you either have the time or skill, please have a look here:a channel

Before we finish, we would like to show this little nugget from 2007:

These Cretan archers were one of the first units that were previewed for RTR7. It really shows how long we have come since!

With that, I leave the word to Andy from Andy's Take and his video preview of the new units. Make sure to like the video if you enjoyed the moving content. Happy Summer, and see you all soon!

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