Unit: Hoplite :: 0 A.D. :: Wildfire Games

Unit: Hoplite

Posted by Mythos_Ruler on April 1 2007, 03:19 PM

Screenshots	Building Concepts	Unit Concepts
Movies	Audio	Desktops
Showcase Gallery

Click for larger image

First, the term Hoplite comes from the word "hoplon" which means weaponry, not "shield" as has become the myth. The term for shield is aspis. He carries a dory which is Greek for "spear" and wears a kranos, which is "helmet". His body armor is a thick linen linothorax or a heavy bronze cuirass. Lastly, on his shins he wears bronze greaves that wrap around the calf without straps.

All citizen-soldiers start life at the "Basic" XP level.

The rise of the Hoplite is tied to the rise of polis in Ancient Greece around approximately 700 B.C. The hoplite class was the middle class of Greek society and outside Sparta all hoplites where part time soldiers, and all of them (again outside Sparta) were farmers. Hoplites had to pay for their own weapons and armor, which was expensive. Their tactics were unique in ancient warfare, in that the hoplite phalanx fought as a single impenetrable unit - each man to the right protecting his comrade on his left with his shield, from thigh to neck.

A formidable warrior, the Hoplite will
be the strongest spearman in the game.

In the game the Hellenic Hoplite is an Infantry Spearman classed unit (the most widely used class of unit in the game). This means he is generally good against cavalry and has both a hack and pierce attack value. What makes the Hellenes' Spearman different than the other civilisation's spearmen is his higher armor and attack and his ability to form the Hellenic Phalanx formation (after researching the Poleis Branch special technology). The Hoplite will be the workhorse unit of the Hellenic army due to his high armor and attack and the Hellenes' generally lower selection of unit types.

Like all soldiers in 0AD, the Hoplite doubles as a
citizen and can perform tasks like farming and mining.

What will make the Hoplite a force to be reckoned with:

High Armor - His shield, helmet, and body armor are second to none, save perhaps the Roman Triarius.
High Attack - He is a master of the spear and Phalanx formation. He will have a pretty good charge bonus as well.
Early Availability - The Hoplite will be available from the start of the game, giving the Hellenes an early edge in heavy infantry over their rivals.

The Macedonian phalangites meet the Greek
Hoplite citizen-warriors in battle.

The fall of the Hoplite came with the invention of the professional pikeman or phalangite. The Battle of Chaeronea was the last full-scale battle utilizing citizen-hoplite armies. Philip of Macedon utilized his new phalangites to hold the enemy Hoplites in place, while his son Alexander used the Hetairoi royal shock cavalry to punch a hole in the seams of the Greek battle line. After Chaeronea, the Hellenes adopted the phalangite pikeman as their heavy infantry and utilized mercenary soldiers in greater numbers, marginalizing the citizen Hoplite to the pages of history.

User Comments:

Villi :: April 1 2007

Looking good.

TheCobra1 :: April 1 2007

Not bad, guys. Hoplites are cool. ;)

FirePowa8 :: April 2 2007

Very nice! I'm also liking the mining hoplite a lot. Great linothorax skins, Michael. :D

Mythos_Ruler :: April 2 2007

You can't tell very well in the screenshots, but the Advanced and Elite Hoplites have random helmets. On the Elite you can see crested Chalcidean, Attic, and Corinthian varieties. :)

FirePowa8 :: April 2 2007

Can we get any Illyrian helmets? They're always overlooked, but the Illyrian is one of my favourite designs. :)

Mythos_Ruler :: April 2 2007

Oh, sorry, yeah, Illyrians are in there too.

Petar Tasev :: April 2 2007

Wow! Everything looks very good! I like multi-tasking warriors!

HG-Alex :: April 2 2007

Sounds awesome. Good work, yet again!

illyrian :: April 5 2007

they are amazing. I love what you guys have done so far.

agrianian :: April 10 2007

Well, I ve stumbled on to this site looking for something else -- but this looks great.
A longtime tabletop wargamer, I've been longing for a computer game with some elements of realism. I'm impressed.

If I may make any suggestion ... please try your hardest to get the skirmishers right!
I haven't seen a game that has done it yet.
They need to be able to delay the enemy without too much micromanagement (falling back on their own while shooting), operate effectively in rough ground, take down the elephants, and support the shock troops rather than get in the way.

Good luck. I'll check back every once in a while.

Mythos_Ruler :: April 11 2007

Skirmishers (infantry javelinists) will indeed retreat when the enemy comes too near. :)

FirePowa8 :: April 11 2007

The 'skirmish' option in R:TW was quite good, in that respect. That's probably the only time I've ever seen skirmishing units work even close to their historic counterparts. :) Unfortunately, that game made its mistakes, too.

Mythos_Ruler :: April 11 2007

Skirmishers in 'Age of Kings' acted properly as well.

In fact, in 0 A.D. - all ranged units (javelinists, archers, etc.) will have a "minimum range" to where if an enemy unit comes to within that range then the archer/skirmisher will retreat.

agrianian :: April 11 2007

Sounds good. Some thought is being put into it.

The troubles I found with playing AofK were the skirmishers scattering beyond recall, and not really delaying the enemy (unless the enemy took the time to kill them all). I also found that in a deffensive stance, they would't go far from their starting point -- ensuring their rapid demise.
There really was little terrain involvement either, so I found light troops were less useful than their historical counterparts.
---------------------------------------------
On another note: (I ask because I am excited)

The horse archers can shoot "while" retreating I assume? A Parthian shot?

Will you be dealing with rough terrain at all? Perhaps breaking up formations, offering concealment for light troops?

FirePowa8 :: April 13 2007

Just laying yet another question on you - if a skirmisher does happen to be caught, will he use a melee weapon to fight, or keep throwing projectiles?

Mythos_Ruler :: April 13 2007

Standard soldiers have only one weapon type - that's how they are classified. But really, in antiquity, when have we heard of peltasts in a real battle do anything but run when faced with a determined (and fast) foe? :) Peltasts will run in the game - think AOK. SUs (Super Units) on the other hand will be able to utilized 2 or more weapons in different ways. For instance, Ekdromoi will use a spear in formation, like a hoplite, but when out of formation they'll throw a spear like an uber skirmisher at range, and use a Kopis/Falcata up close for melee against specific targets. At least, that's how I have them spec'ed in the Hellenes civilization profile. ;) But again, to answer your question, simple skirmishers will only use a javelin.

Guardian :: April 16 2007

beauty!

The Muffin Man :: April 20 2007

Hey I know I haven't posted much before but I've been looking at this site for a few months now and I just want to say you guys are doing great work. I'm confident this game will put AoEIII to shame when you guys are done. I love the random helmets, the citizen functionality, and everything else you've done with it. Great work.

Impeached :: May 24 2007

Looks great!

Question: How exactly will the formation bonuses work?

Hurin :: May 30 2007

Most likely attack/armor bonuses

Mythos_Ruler :: May 31 2007

Certain formations get attack bonuses; others get armour bonuses; and still others get speed bonuses. Conversely, some of these traits are debonused as well. For instance, the Phalanx gets attack and armour bonuses, but is also debonused in movement speed.

Spartan1990 :: August 23 2007

sweet hope this game is up and running soon, cant wait to command a spartan army!

Trutch :: August 31 2007

Hello!! i am a Greek Hoplite and i cant wait for this game!!!!

SpartanWarrior1313 :: October 1 2007

hi everyone
has this game already come out?
if so where can i pick up a copy?
and if not, are there any game demos i could try?

Raziel :: March 17 2008

hoplite are 1 of my favourite warriors. i like there formation and coulour

patatkraam :: October 2 2008

SpartanWarrior1313,
The game didnt get out yet, doesnt have an official release date (but i hope soon :p)
And i think there would be demo's but not sure.

Jason :: August 26 2009

wait, why would hoplites be the strongest spear infantry? Aren't they just weekend warriors with little professional training?

Jason :: August 26 2009

they still look awesome, btw.

Mythos_Ruler :: August 26 2009

Yeah, but they have excellent arms and armor and at least have more training than ur average levy spearman.

Post a comment: Please log in or register to post comments.