Advise for New Eastern Crossbow and Other Improvements of Unit's Weapon Issue

[SamuelWallace17]

I wanna discuss this in two parts:
First, by giving suggestions for adding new weapon models or animations, then by offering up some existing visual bugs that need to be fixed.

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Part One: Suggestions to Adding new Weapon Model or Animation

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China and Mongol Should Get Their Own Crossbow Models.

The Far East was the earliest region to use crossbows, and since the next DLC includes the Golden Horde, I think this would be a great addition. It’s a real pity this game doesn’t show the major visual differences between Eastern and European crossbow designs. I’ll list the main points below:

1.The most representative Eastern Crossbows looked more like their Bows, they may had a Recurve Shape and their Frontal Arms were Made from stuff like Wood, Horn, and Sinew, but Never Use Steel.
And in many cases, it could be wider than European crossbows.

2.The Trigger was Placed Further Back, which meant a Longer Draw.
That helped Eastern crossbows shoot farther, which was useful when fighting against horse archers. They also fired longer arrows (similar to normal bows), not the short thick bolts European crossbows used.

3.No Cranequins or Windlasses.
European crossbows sometimes used fancy hand-cranked tools to pull the string back. But in the East, they just used their feet and both hands, with a stirrup or string.
Right now, Chinese and Mongol Crossbowmen use the same European-style weapon and reload animation, which looks pretty off.
It is Necessary to Restore the Old Reloading Animation for the Eastern Crossbowman if they got new characteristic weapon.

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I’ve noticed those Arquebus Units use the old hand cannon animation, which makes them lifting their weapon awkwardly high. They may need a more Fitting Animation.

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Lancaster Spearmen get a Shorter Spear after the Billmen upgrade. Since it’s named for the Billmen, you should at least give a new Bill which is way more aggressive. For this shorter spear looks so…cute?

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Part Two: Existing Visual Bugs

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Most of Civs’ Archers will shift their weapon to Longbow when attacking building after Incendiary Arrows being upgraded.

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Veteran Limitanei’s Texture is Broken, maybe you needs to rebuild it.

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Chinese and Mongol Baochuan Missing their Front Sail.
I’ve noticed that Baochuan still had its front sail in the early versions of the game. Since the current version no longer requires visual differentiation for upgradation, the Baochuan’s sail should be restored. A bare mast looks really odd.

↓↓These are how they should look like, based on the older versions.↓↓

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The Mounted Samurai is incorrectly Attacking with the Blunt Side of his Katana.

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So yeah, that’s all I’ve got now, if you have any related suggestions in this thread, just put them below, and I will also note them down for follow-up later.

[MadMax8915]

I hope the developers take note of these requests, although most of them have already been requested at some point.

It’s time for them to fix it. It’s getting ugly…

[SamuelWallace17]

Please note that the last Katana issue has been fixed, and here’s how it looks now.

It seems I can no longer edit the original post, so the old content remains as it was.

In a way, this makes it easier for everyone to see the effort the Devs put into the details. Personally, I’d also thanks for this.

[SamuelWallace17]

And the developers have also added new spear models for the Middle Eastern and Far Eastern regions which are AWESOME!

However, I’m not sure if the Japanese spearmen should be equipped with the same spears as the Chinese. Perhaps shortening the distinctive spears from the Imper would be more suitable.

[SamuelWallace17]

I still want to emphasize that this type of Hand‑Crossbow (not Springald) reloaded with a Windlass did not exist in China.

Therefore, I suggest redesigning the crossbow model for the Chinese Crossbowmen and adjusting their reload animation. And I also recommend making similar adjustments to Mongols.

Be advise, the new DLC for Crusader Kings III has already set a great example.

[SamuelWallace17]

And I also noticed that Devs equipped Mounted Samurai and Yari Cavalry with new wooden shields, which is great. But I’m not sure why they missed the Horseman.

[GoldenArmorX]

Since we’re on the topic of crossbows, I had another suggestion:

Replace the Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese Springald crossbows with Bed Crossbows.

Similar al hecho que existSimilar to the fact that Knights and Lancers exist depending on whether a civilization is Christian or not, the same applies to ballistae. The Chinese had a special ballista called the Bed Crossbow, which in Age of Mythology Retold is called the Siege Crossbow.

Considering they’re going to launch a Chinese campaign and want to appeal to that audience, it would be ideal to consider that the Springald was a European invention. China had its own ballista model, and technically it served the same function, albeit with a different appearance.

And the model exists; you can order it from the Age of Mythology Retold sets, anyway the devs works for the same producers (Microsoft).

[路人555]

在这个游戏里日本骑兵居然能碾压中国骑兵了 真是搞笑 古代日本就没有正经的骑兵部队 马只是作为载具而已 你还指望他们注意历史细节吗

[Mórannon]

Been saying the same thing for a while. Why Japan is got such a good cav units? They should be more something like glass-cannon units.

Same thing for Samurai inf, the should be faster, with more attack speed and less range armor, even less hp

[MadMax8915]

@GoldenArmorX

Replace the Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese Springald crossbows with Bed Crossbows.

And the model exists; you can order it from the Age of Mythology Retold sets, anyway the devs works for the same producers (Microsoft).

I remember watching a documentary a few years ago.

That documentary showed this “Siege Crossbow/Bed Crossbow,” they built a replica and tested it… In the documentary in question, they were talking about the Mongols, as far as I remember.

I sincerely hope they change it and make it as you suggested.

The closer to real life, the better… that way we learn something while playing at the same time. lol

[SamuelWallace17]

Great, I love it. That’s definitely a great idea!

But so far, as far as I remember, they’ve never ported models from other games in the same series before.

Let’s see if they’ll ever get the idea.

[SamuelWallace17]

Be cool, mate. Perhaps you forget the Imperial Guard.

If I were the one designing it, I’d definitely put more focus on Japan’s infantry and matchlock units.

[SamuelWallace17]

This is indeed a bit hard to pin down how cavalry combat in Japan itself compared to the civs of Eurasia. This design does come partly from a love of pop culture, but combined with the fact that cavalry is OP in this version, it’s led to the weird situation where Japanese can overpower French.

[SamuelWallace17]

I’ve noticed many people discussing the first China campaign, then mention the appearance of Chinese units.
Overall, I believe the Devs did a pretty good job capturing the look of ancient Chinese soldiers—the units in the game clearly reflect Ming Dynasty aesthetics (even though the Chinese faction in the Mongol campaign is supposed to be the Song Dynasty).
Since some folks have pointed out issues, I’d like to share a few minor inaccuracies I’ve spotted too.

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First, there’s the issue I mentioned earlier regarding crossbow design.
Traditional Chinese crossbows placed the trigger mechanism at the very rear—unlike European crossbows, which typically had it in the middle — allowing for a longer draw length.
Moreover, there’s no historical evidence that cranequins or windlasses were ever mounted on handheld crossbows in China during that era.

As a result, the standard crossbow models in the Castle and Imperial Ages aren’t historically appropriate for Chinese & Mongol units.
I understand that making the crossbow model significantly wider might not fit well with the current reloading animation, but at the very least, Chinese and Mongol crossbowmen shouldn’t be equipped with such distinctly European-style crossbows featuring prominent cranequins or windlasses.

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Second, the female Chinese Villager’s outfit is historically inaccurate — the game uses clothing based on Buryat Mongolian attire.

It’s true that after the 17th century, when China was conquered by nation from outside the Great Wall, hairstyles and clothing styles changed dramatically due to political mandates.
However, those changes never resulted in the Buryat-style look seen in the game. Below are examples of actual Qing Dynasty women’s clothing—you’ll notice clear differences, especially in the collar style.

Ming Dynasty Chinese women also wore garments with slanted collars which was not so obvious, which was differ significantly from Qing styles — but in any case, neither Ming nor Qing clothing resembles the in-game design.

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Third, the Imperial Official’s hat has an extra decorative element that shouldn’t be there.

This actually stems from decades of laxity in historical costume reconstruction — Ming Dynasty official hats did not have that central ornament. Recent research and reconstructions have repeatedly pointed this out.

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Fourth, this isn’t really a major issue, but the game’s depiction does clash with common Chinese historical understanding: Imperial Palace Guards are shown wearing Wenwu Robe (Not a specific garment, but a distinctive way of wearing the robe adopted by high-ranking Chinese military officers from the Song dynasty onward, characterized by leaving one sleeve off, as a gesture of respect toward civil officials) together with brigandine armor.

Historically, it’s true that brigandine armor (or coat of plates, whatever you wanna call it) was introduced during the Mongol Era and became widely used by lower and mid-ranking soldiers.
However, when it came to generals and elite palace guards, traditional lamellar armor remained the dominant choice.
The Wenwu Robe was typically worn by mid to high-ranking military officers. Officers of this status were usually outfitted in visibly metallic armors like lamellar, not brigandine. Moreover, the Wenwu Robe also carried on the tradition of wearing an outer garment over metal armor—protecting it from wear and sun, much like the robe worn by Crusader. Since brigandine armor didn’t have this need, Chinese rarely wore an extra robe over it.
Therefore, for many Chinese players, seeing Palace Guards depicted in Wenwu Robes paired with brigandine armor may feels a bit visually inconsistent. They should be more accustomed to this style.

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Alright, to be honest, I fully understand that this game contains many historical inaccuracies — I’m just pointing these out here for reference.
In my opinion, the most pressing issue that really needs fixing is the crossbow model used for both Chinese and Mongol units, those cranequins and windlasses are so weird, I mean it’s so visually prominent in gameplay.
As for the outfits of officials and female villagers, I’d also love to see those updated. Fortunately, these fixes wouldn’t require changing the 3D models at all — just adjust the textures would be enough.