New Ground Transport Unit

Kaison5817 · July 6, 2026, 3:16pm

Just like we already have transport ships to move units across water, I think it could be interesting, useful, and historically believable to introduce a new land-based transport unit: a Transport Cart or Wagon.

The basic idea would be simple: a non-combat land vehicle that can carry a small group of infantry units, monks or villagers and move them faster across the map. It could work in a similar way to naval transport ships, but balanced for land gameplay.

Possible uses:

Saving groups of villagers during raids if a transport cart is nearby.
Moving infantry more quickly toward active combat areas.
Creating more tactical options for reinforcement, retreat, and map control.
Adding a more realistic logistical layer to large-scale armies.

Suggested Wagon stats

Name: Transport Cart / Transport Wagon
Available from: Feudal Age or Castle Age
Cost: 75 wood + 25 gold, or alternatively 100 wood
Hit points: 220-280 HP
Armor: 0/0 or 1/1
Movement speed when empty: 1.5
Movement speed when loaded: 1.4
Capacity: 8 units
Attack: None
Animals: 2 horses, mules, or oxen
Allowed units: Villagers, infantry, monks, and other foot units
Not allowed units: Cavalry, siege units, and other wagons
Combat restrictions: Units inside the wagon should not be able to attack while transported
Main role: Mobility, evacuation, reinforcement, and tactical repositioning

Balance idea: The wagon should be useful, but fragile. It should help players move or save units, but it should not become a combat unit or a way to bypass normal army positioning too easily.

To keep it balanced, the unit should probably be fragile, have no attack, and be vulnerable to cavalry, ranged fire, and siege damage. Units inside should not be able to attack while transported.

OUT OF THE BOX IDEA
A possible deeper version of this idea would be to use transport carts for internal resource logistics. For example, in a more advanced redesign of the economy, villagers could deposit resources into local drop-off buildings such as lumber camps, mining camps, and mills, but those resources would only be added to the player’s global stockpile once transported back to the Town Center.

This could be automated by selecting a transport cart and right-clicking a resource drop-off building, creating an internal delivery route between that storage point and the Town Center. It would create internal trade routes and add new battlefield value to raiding, intercepting, or defending supply lines.

I understand that this deeper resource system is probably unlikely to be implemented, since it would require a major redesign of the game’s economy. Still, I wanted to leave the idea here as a possible direction for future gameplay improvements.

What do you think? Would you like to see land transport units in Age of Empires IV?

How would you balance them?

For example:

How much health should they have?
How fast should they be?
Should they be available to all civilizations?
Should they carry villagers only, infantry only, or both?
Should they use horses, mules, or oxen?
Should cavalry be allowed inside, or only foot units?

GoldenArmorX · July 6, 2026, 9:20pm

About Baggage Trains

Before the Middle Ages, many European kingdoms originated from Germanic tribes, either nomadic or constantly migrating. To establish themselves in a Europe controlled by Rome, many of these cultures has to adapt, acquiring Roman technology, culture, religion, and the art of war, to counter the same Romans.

And in the art of war, what they learned most was how to use “logistics,” the art of keeping an army well-fed and transporting military and siege equipment in advance of a war, whether defensive or for conquest.

Similar to the Romans, most soldiers were required to have a minimum of equipment, often supplied by the nobles they represented. These nobles were also responsible for providing provisions for several months, clothing for half a year, and other supplies depending on the kingdom.

The circumstances varied between kingdoms:

Charlemagne established edicts to standardize the equipment and provisions that his men, or at least the nobles and their retinue, had to carry. Each nobleman had to transport enough food for at least three months of campaigning for himself and his retinue.
In England, where archers were plentiful, the baggage train had to carry a large quantity of arrows to resupply the army. At the Battle of Crécy, thanks to these reserves, nearly 500,000 arrows were launched.
In the Holy Roman Empire, they inherited Charlemagne’s system, but also added their own characteristics: During the 15th century, with the rise of the Landsknecht and mercenary troops, these had their own special retinue, the “Tross,” often consisting solely of women—sisters, cousins, or wives of the mercenary soldiers—who went to war with them, carrying their equipment, provisions, and weapons.
In the Inca Empire, the success of many campaigns was due to logistics: keeping the army well-fed, with storehouses along the roads, and large numbers of llamas transporting military supplies.

Capturing Supplies and the Baggage Train

Capturing the baggage train could sometimes define the battle:

The Mongols constantly tried to attack the enemy’s baggage train by completely surrounding it while attacking with horse archers.
During the Battle of Agincourt, French commanders repeatedly tried to attack English supplies; however, the dukes (high nobles) forbade this because they wanted a more “bookish” victory with a direct charge against the English. They confused the fantasy of chivalric romances with the reality of war, and France lost.
The Burgundian army was known for its ostentatious baggage train, where the duke could transport a large number of luxurious items to the battlefield to feel comfortable and powerful. During the war with the Swiss Confederation, the Swiss army often captured the Burgundy train’s baggage, which allowed them to acquire a large amount of artillery (hundreds of cannons) and luxury items as war booty.

GoldenArmorX · July 9, 2026, 7:34pm

Now that that’s cleared up, I’ll answer the post.

To be honest, NO, I don’t think it should be used to “garrison” units.

Spatially, there wasn’t enough space to garrison units; “they transported supplies and weapons there,” and they weren’t always covered by anything more than a piece of cloth.
In fact, if a soldier wanted to travel faster, he could ride his own horse. That’s why we talk about “Mounted Infantry,” who traveled on horseback but fought on foot. The baggage train was precisely where you left your horse.

However, it could easily be used for other support: “Heal units” (1 HP/3s), “Increase the movement speed of melee or ranged infantry (15% or 20%),” and all of this outside of combat.

They could also become a “Temporary Palisade” when the cart overturns. There are many scenarios where this use actually appears:

During the Mongol campaign, the Song army often protected itself behind overturned supply carts. It could very well be a unit in the game.

The carts could also have spikes to block cavalry.

Questions several

How much health should they have?
– Very few, at least in the normal mode. They were only for transport supplies, not protection. The horses of the baggage trains were usually unprotected. The baggage were simple carts with a donkey, horse, camel, it depends on the zone.
– In “Barricade mode” they could gain some HP and armor, but become static.

How fast should they be?
– If they are supposed to improve your infantry movement “Out of combat”, they have to be fast, but not so fast to don’t leave behind the light or heavy cavalry. Or 1.375 t/s, or 1.5 t/s
Should they be available to all civilizations?
– Maybe. Even the Aztecs and Mayans used human carriers as replacements for animals. Obviously, his bonus should be lower (+10%) and his stats lower.
They should carry villagers only, infantry only, or both?
– Nothing, they didn’t have Deffensive abilities, or were to carry villagers, but “The Equipment, siege, arrows, armors, etc”.
Should they use horses, mules, or oxen?
– Depends of the civ: Abbasid could have a unique Camel barrage train. Spanish use Donkeys for their mountain region. Chinese use Oxen. Maybe Delhi Sultanate could use Elephants.
Should cavalry be allowed inside, or only foot units?
– No garrison mode, please not.