It just looks so utterly ridiculous to have 11th century crusaders in chainmail among riflemen and cannons. Maybe he could start out looking like that, but by age 3 or 4 why can’t they look like the guy on the DLC’s box art? He looks so awesome and much more period-appropriate.
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Yep, I agree - it’s a shame as the Sentinel models are spot on. Hospitallers were wealthy, noble guys that would have the latest plate armour, not incredibly outdated garb. As you mention, the ‘serving suggestion’ artwork is more in line with how they actually looked.
The most accurate thing currently with their model is the upgrade (Dignitaries?) that gives them their black ‘top hat’ - which people often think is the silliest thing, funnily enough.
Bonus touchpoint:
Would be nice if Order units got the Maltese cross tabbard as their Order signifier.
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Yeah order tabards would be cool too. But it’s mmainly the hospitaller thing that really bugs me, like these guys’ gear would look quite old-school in the lategame of AoE 2 and here they are in AoE 3 it’s absurd.
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They have cylinders if you send an age 4 card. Will that help?
But seriously, the developers need them to be different from the armored pistoler.
And the arbalesters also wear chain mail.
By cylinders you mean top hats? If so, yeah that is slightly more accurate, though the chainmail is the eyesore. One the upgrades gives a Great Helm which is another step in the wrong direction.
I am in complete agreement with this request; the Knights of Malta should generally have unique models for all their military units. By default, Malta should feature visual updates for the Hospitallers as the ages advance; the Hussars and Dragoons should also sport the Order’s unique attire, and the Pikemen ought to have their own Order-specific outfits as well. I find it rather odd that the Livonia Revolution addresses these changes via Home City cards, yet the Maltese civilization itself fails to tackle this important aspect regarding its Order units.
I’ll sum up the hat from the “Dignitaries” card in one word: horrendous. I have no idea whose bright idea it was to simply slap a colonial hat onto a medieval unit and call it a “modernized” unit. Good heavens, no—absolutely not. That card shouldn’t even include such a ridiculous hat; it makes you want to skip the card entirely just to avoid making a unit as important as the Hospitaller look absurd. The card’s ability is fine, but they should get rid of the hat and instead opt to give all Maltese units new outfits as they advance through the ages, making the Order’s army feel more iconic.
P.S. The military unit models in the photos you uploaded are excellent; that is how Maltese units should be represented.
I don’t know about the necessity of making every one of their units have a unique skin, I think pikemen for example are fine. The problem with the hospitaller is that their gear is SO outdated that even in age 1 they would be off by several hundred years.
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The issue stems from the fact that, historically, all soldiers in the Maltese army wore the Order’s attire and bore its iconic cross. Put simply, this is something hard to overlook; we all know what the Knights of the Order of Malta actually look like. It isn’t something we can ignore—or pretend doesn’t exist while claiming everything is fine—because, sadly, that isn’t the case. The developers were actually aware of this, but I imagine they chose to overlook it due to time constraints regarding the release of the Knights of the Mediterranean DLC, especially since the Age of Mythology remake was just around the corner. In fact, this is underscored by the fact that, during the Baltic DLC beta, they reworked the Maltese civilization’s Commandery and added the Livonian Revolution, referencing those missing Order units.
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I agree with the sentiment regarding more unique and better looks for the Maltese units (and buildings). Here’s some ideas…
Hospitallers - I’m fine with the current chainmail look for these guys… up to Age 4 max. By Imperial Age the Hospitallers should be rocking fancy plate armor.
Maltese Pikemen - These guys should be another royal guard unit for the Maltese, mostly for a new unique skin. They would combo nicely with the Arbalester. I’m going to take a page from AoE3 civ mods and call the RG upgrade Ranseur. They get 10%+ extra hit points and damage for to their RG upgrade, nothing crazy.
(Picture below could work as a visual look for the Ranseur, just change the weapon to the actual Ranseur polearm and maybe the change the helmet/shield if appropriate).
Maltese Priests - For a religiously influenced order, the priests are fairly normal outside the HP buff for all Maltese units. Let’s change that. They are renamed to Hospitaller Priests, given a unique skin, and increased stats across the board, particularly +10% increased hand and ranged resistance. You can add Hospitaller Nuns for variety, they would do increased healing but have train limit of 5 and don’t cost population space.
Order Hussar and Order Dragoons - Just make them look cooler. Add some red color and the Maltese cross.
For Order units gained from shipments (Order Cassadors, etc.) they can wear a red sash with the Maltese cross over the top of their chests or something like that to differentiate them from their regular versions. Order units from less “modern” times could like the Order Longbowmen get red-marked tabards with the Maltese cross. Settler wagons gotten from the German Tongue card also get the red sash.
Also please, please, please give Malta a unique church skin. Also change the one at the Maltese home city to something like this instead of the Lisbon Cathedral. This can also be an example for unique Maltese church skin. They changed the Maltese *Commandery and Depot to have unique look, which is nice, so the church should also get a unique look.
I got other ideas for Maltese, but these would really help give some flavor to the current Malta civ.
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At least is historical accurate.
I would replace the last upgrade for one like @GwentMaster2163 did. Also I would change Livonian knights, both mounted and dismounted skins.
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Personally I just find it very funny that people make a huge fuss about the fact that every single last european unit doesn’t have regional variations or aren’t wearing the correct hat or don’t have the correct emblem if you zoom all the way in…
Yet nobody cares that the entire Lakota unit roster is completely made up lmao.
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If the Hospitaller knight were wearing the full outfit from the photograph—hat included—I might buy into the idea; but wearing that hat with the medieval chainmail outfit is a total insult to the unit itself—I say this with all due respect.
We certainly know that, but we’ll save that discussion for another post dedicated entirely to the topic of Native Americans and their poor representation in the game. I also detest the made-up units—like those of the Lakota, and especially the Iroquois—which bear absolutely no resemblance to the real-life warriors. And let’s not even get started on the Aztecs, who are poorly represented right down to their buildings.
Lakota:
Haudenosaunee:
Azteca:
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The naming is kind of hilarious. They’ve got “thunderbird” rifleman, so obviously the more primitive version should be “hawk” bowman.
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This is all interesting but I’m going to bring back the topic towards the Maltese and their visual look. If there some Native American or other cultural groups that the Maltese could have as HCC “ally” shipments, feel free to suggest them…
Oh yeah, the Dignitaries HCC gives a top hat to the Hospitaller unit looks rather silly. Especially when they are charging into battle like that. The Teutonic Knights technology gives a great helm instead and overrides the Dignitaries hat. I had to choose between them; I’d pick the helm honestly.
It’s true that the Maltese “dignitaries” were essentially people with important ranks and/or those who contributed to various projects. You could call them politicians too. The HCC card art is fitting. The nobles/knights wearing fancy hats, wigs, and all that makes sense for them in the appropiate context.
However, the hat doesn’t fit with the AoE3 Hospitaller unit itself when it’s in combat. Their top hat sticks out like a Green Bay Packers cheesehead hat.
I did want to acknowledge what the card was going for so I thought up for a new unique Age Up politician for the Maltese civ. It would replace the El Presidente politician for the Maltese. It can have the same effect for now: delivering 4 Huge Chests of Coin.
The Hospitaller Dignitary
That picture could be a good look to draw inspiration for the unique portrait.
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A unique priest and church for the Maltese would go incredibly hard, no denying that. I do also like these suggestions for their pikemen and hussars, it would look absolutely awesome.
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All good ideas. The changes to Order units would also help differentiate them from the original units they are based on.
Update 14.43676 changed the visuals for Russian Halberdiers and Musketeers, changing them into Poruchiks and Rekruts respectively. These were the developers notes regarding the change:
These units always had lower combat values than other Musketeers and Halberdiers. In an effort to make these unique values more visible these units are now unique units.
Order units are considered “consulate units”, meaning they are automatically improving and are more expensive. Their combat stat and cost increases could justify new visuals to compare and differentiate them from the original unit.
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That’s a good point, they’re not identical to their regular counterparts so they really shouldn’t look identical.
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That is indeed how it should be.
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