PLEASE change the model of the Malta Hospitallers

[Soaring_Crow]

I was thinking up some unit skins for other Maltese units, when I examined the Maltese militiamen unit. They seem to get affected by the 2% HP increase per shipment bonus but then I noticed something.

The Fandom wiki says that all European civilizations currently in-game have the Conscription ability via following Home City Card (apart from Ottomans who have their own version of the card):

Town Militia: Town Centers get +50% attack and can use Town Militia

But that’s not entirely correct. The Maltese deck does not have access to that card, nor does it have any equivalent card to use the conscription ability. The Fandom wiki doesn’t list it in the Malta HCC page either.

So… might as well come up with a new card for the Maltese while giving their Militiamen a new skin to fit with the rest of the Hospitaller army.

Hospitaller Militia: Town Centers get +50% attack and can use the Town Militia ability.

The Maltese militiamen can get a new visual look like this. Just give them a rifle and add the Maltese cross to their uniform:

Also, why the heck not, let’s do the artillery. You could try giving the Falconet, Mortar, and Heavy Cannon crew Hospitaller uniforms. They all get 1% HP per shipment after all. But mostly, I just wanted to add this card.

Saluting Battery - Artillery, Fixed Gun, Siege Elephant, Flamethrower, Ram, Mantlet, and Haudenosaunee Mantlet train time -30%; Heavy Cannon, Great Bombard, Rocket, Flying Crow, and Gatling Camel train time -10%

New HCC referencing the artillery battery located by the Upper Barraka Gardens in Valletta. Malta doesn’t have the Engineering School card, so this seems like nice alternative HCC that references a Maltese location.

And another thing…

The Maltese should have Luzzu fishing boats! It would give them a unique visual flair.

The Schooners home city card could be renamed to Luzzu Boats

Effect: Fishing Boats cost -20% and train time -40%, sends 1 fishing boat.

The Fish Market card can be renamed to Marsaskala Fish Market. This references historic fishing villages in the Marsaskala area.

Effect: Fishing Boats gather 25% faster, sends 2 fishing boats.

The Rendering Plant card can be renamed to Marsaxlokk Fishing Villages. This also references famous fishing villages in the Marsaxlokk area, probably the largest fishing villages in Malta.

Effect: Fishing Boats gather 30% faster, sends 3 fishing boats.

And just for fun…

The Pioneers card can be renamed to Time of the Knights (Żmien il-Kavallieri)

Effect: Villagers get +70% hit points. Sends 1 Hospitaller per Town Center owned by the player.

And… that’s all for now. I’ll probably do a thread in the future.

[Tiberius]

Yeah I think this deserves its own thread because this is mainly a water rework. A nice one though, I’d support it. Always love to see civs get more visual flair and inspiration from real history and locations.

Really though, I maintain that the hospitaller unit takes first priority because its current look is just so utterly ridiculous and has absolutely no business being in the game to begin with. So I would much rather that get fixed before we start giving generic units that are okay as-is their own skins.

[pedrito1]

There are many units that have skins that are very outdated or too advanced for their era, like Hussars in the Second Age wearing 18th-century uniforms. Lancers, Rodeleros, Doppelsöldners, etc. I don’t think they would be interested in making skins for all of them, but it would be nice. Would it be very difficult to implement a system where you buy a unit skin but only you can see it, while your opponent still sees the standard version?

[Tiberius]

Well, doppelsöldners, hospitallers, rodeleros etc. all kinda have the problem of being utterly absurd by the time you get to age 3 or 4. Seeing a guy with a sword against gatlings guns and trains feels more like a fantasy setting than anything historical. I’ve actually always suspected this is part of why AoE3 is less popular, its choice of time period leads to a lot of these weird anachronisms. Like overall it feels like Germans or Spanish start in the middle ages while, say, USA start in like the 1700’s.

The reason I think the hospitaller’s look is especially egregious is that his gear looks outdated even for age ONE. Like his gear would look outdated in castle age if we were playing AoE2/4, much less the far later setting of AoE3. What really bugs me is that he feels like a case of false advertising. The knight we see on the promotional/box art for his DLC is far more period-appropriate so why couldn’t he just look like what the promotional material showed? What’s almost worse is that the sentinel unit actually looks appropriate, so why is it accompanied by a crusader from the 11th/12th century?

[Soaring_Crow]

Another problem with the current Hospitaller model is how much it doesn’t change armor even in the Imperial Age:

Base Hospitaller

Imperial Age Hospitaller

Only difference is the color and sword shape. They are still wearing the same outfits, chainmail and all.

Sentinels by contrast get some massive visual changes by the time they reach Imperial:

Base Sentinels

Imperial Sentinels

The Hospitaller should follow the Sentinel example of more decorative armor and visual changes.

[Tiberius]

Also a good point. The visuals of the hospitaller seem oddly lazy by comparison.

[M00Z1LLA]

The Hospitaller visuals are typical of the extremely lazily made civ. What’s odd is the relatively higher quality of the Sentinels. At least they’re starting to improve it now with the new building skins.

[MantiKronk]

I would love if the Hospitaller got different voicelines rathen than the overused Doppelsoldner ones, I suggested that they could the have Sicillian voicelines from AoE2

[Soaring_Crow]

@Soaring_Crow

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.

Well, I wasn’t expecting them to actually do it so soon since it hadn’t changed in the beta but it’s true. Malta finally get a unique church skin and nice looking one at that. Well done devs.

The home city church is the same but it’s the in-game model that needed the update the most.

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Devs, if you happen to read this thread, consider bringing back these previously cut Maltese home city cards. I added some additional details so that they fit with other current HCCs. They would allow for some new strategies:

Tersenal - Depots improve the work rate of nearby Docks and enables Docks to do an area heal for nearby ships.

Booby Traps - Improves the blast radius of Depots.

Fougasse - Enables Depots to train Fire Throwers, Petards, and Mortars.

Bailiwicks - Ships 2 Commandry Wagons. Commandery build limit +2

Grand Priories - Ships 3 Commandry Wagons. Commandery build limit +3

Italian Tongue - Ships 13 Order Schiavoni and 1 Commandery Wagon; Commandery build limit +1; Commanderies can now train Order Schiavoni; costs 750 wood

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Also, I want something like the KotM promo art’s knight as an Hospitaler skin. The promo art appears to show a Maltese Hospitaler knight vs. an Italian Papal Guard, but the former doesn’t look like that in-game at all. Just give them the Maltese cross and it will look a lot better than the current version we have right now

[SirBarnzy1]

Yes please to the Hospitaller model and skin change. I always feel that the cover art dangled quite a cool design Infront of us, only to give an in-game Temu Hospitaller.

[zeppelino24]

Like my colleagues, I am also in favor of this petition

[RatcicleFan]

@SirBarnzy1

Temu Hospitaller.

Temu might be giving it too much credit, wasn’t it just a retexture of the Boneguard from the classic campaign?

[Soaring_Crow]

You’d be correct. Their models are way too similar. I’m fine with the combat animations but the outfit needs to be more distinct. They are a core unit.

Boneguard Swordsman

Maltese Hospitaller in Age 2

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Their Imperial look is a bit better but that top hat looks like a joke cosmetic, especially when compared to how sentinels look.

There been some attempts to reskin them via mods.

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@MantiKronk

I would love if the Hospitaller got different voicelines rathen than the overused Doppelsoldner ones, I suggested that they could the have Sicillian voicelines from AoE2

Yeah, I wish the Hospitaller unit had different voice lines. They are a unique unit for the Maltese. If the Sentinels and Fire Throwers speak Maltese (and sound awesome), the Hospitaller should too. I want to hear them say words like Gran Mastru and Għall-ordni. Makes me feel more immersed playing the civ.

[SirBarnzy1]

The ‘joke cosmetic’ top hat (tech/shipment enabled) is still the most historically accurate part of the the Hospitaller’s look, if we want to depict one from the 16th century onward.

[zeppelino24]

Yes, it is historically accurate, but that doesn’t change the fact that it looks somewhat inconsistent with the Hospitallers’ attire. Ideally, the Dignitaries metropolis card would unlock a complete new outfit for the Hospitallers; that way, the unit wouldn’t look so odd with that out-of-place historical hat.

[SirBarnzy1]

Of course. Chainmail (and the Sugar Loaf helmet) is, by far the biggest offender here.

[Soaring_Crow]

I know it’s actually historically accurate for hospitallers to wear hats. The top hat would look fine if a Hospitaller is going to a formal outing with a complimentary outfit. But a bunch of these posh guys charging into the front lines like that and engaging in sword play is going to look a bit silly.

The big issue is that the top hat doesn’t fit with the Hospitaller’s current look in AoE3 at all. The medieval crusader wearing that colonial-era top hat looks off. For Maltese nobility and high-ranking officials, it would work better.

This Hospitaller has plate armor underneath more ornate dress robes. Also has a plumed hat. Would still be better than the current look we got.

I wouldn’t mind a new Explorer skin for the Maltese Grand Master unit that has the fancy robes and top hat look though. It would be a better compromise.

I did recommend a new politician for the Maltese that would reference what the “Dignitaries” look was going for.

@Soaring_Crow

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.

[SirBarnzy1]

I know the hat is ceremonial - I’m just commenting that it’s literally the only correct piece of clothing for the Hospitaller for the time frame, so I always find it funny that people find the hat jarring.

Of course, as it’s for Ceremonial/non-combative times, it probably shouldn’t be there (I don’t actually mind as it’s just an optional upgrade), but hey ho.

I just want a full-plate armoured guy with an Armet helmet.

[H3LLGHA5T]

Schiavioni would be so nice for Malta