Musopticon?

Try the Vandals if you get the change. Funny folks, and the Roman Spain is interesting.

That made my day.

This thread just reminds me of how far back I am in my exercises. arghhh I keep getting bigger and bigger for my trousers.

The phalanx did include shields (heavy round shields) not just long spears. Likewise the Romans also used spears and round shields at points in their history. The romans altered their tactics and equipment over time-the most 'common' visual image of a roman soldier with a long rectangular shield and a throwing spear comes from the later periods, long after the Spartians were gone. My guess is that the Roman fasination for the Spartains probably stems from having their backsides kicked by them in battle. The Romans didn't win every battle against the Greeks, I think the Spartains were one of the hardest of the greek city states to subjue. Plus the Romans had a general interest in Greek culture and history that wasn't just confined to the Spartains-Athens was also held in high regard, but for different reasons. lol, what? Romans didn't build their tactics on phalanx, they built them on the weak points of phalanx warfare, which were the lack of mobility, archaic equipment, the inability to accept King Phillip's(of Makedonia) phalanx reform(hammer and anvil), bad adaptability and that it was almost strictly a defensive tactics. Phalanx tactics were supposed to the most powerful form of warfare after Alexander's conquest of almost all known civilized world(330 bc), but the truth was that once Romans reached Greece(around 120 bc IIRC), the role of cavalry had been vastly underestimated and almost dropped, so a regular tactic was to just roll out and spike the enemy to death while the odd cannon fodder ranged infantry(I think they were called pyloi) did what they could. Romans used a heavily ordered manipula formation to force hoplitai and phalangitai formations to broke ranks and superior technology to crush the poor lamellar-encased supposed "heavy troops", sweltering in their archaic hoplite gear. When Rome reached Sparta, the conquest didn't differ all that much. Although the exact history passages escape me. Before actually entering Greece, Rome had been under Greek influence ever since the city was built, long before they formed an actual identity or conquered anything. Italy had several Hellenic city states(like Tarento and Croton for instance) and it was from their influetic trade and culture that Rome gained their first vestiges of power. Sparta and Athens weren't nearly as influental as those Italian states, but they did play a part in arts and such. Not to mention being important as trendsetters after a while. Of course Romans idolised Spartans for their rigour, everyone did, but they saw them like immortal heroes, inspired by thei discipline, but unamoured by their tactics. First Roman armies actually resembled phalanx warfare very much, however, and Italian phalanx wasn't a rare sight. It was as ubiquitous there as in Megale Hellas, but it didn't take that long for Romans to form their own tactics and equipment. Philip's reform did reach Italia as well, but the actual battles, or accounts of them, between Roman and strict Successor(of Alexander) armies in Italy were almost nonexistant. Pyrrhus, king of Epeiros, did use Successor tactics(bolstered with his elephants) and he did really well, considering everyone else had bitten the dust in Italy, but he only won that one infamous battle. Then it was all a downfall for the Hellenic states. And the rest of the world, hehhee. You mentioned the "roman soldier with a long rectangular shield and a throwing spear", and that was actually not such a late invention, they just didn't form all of the base infantry until the Marian reforms around 1st century bc. Testudo on the other hand is almost a misconception, it wasn't nearly as overused as everyone seems to think and it wasn't even devised until near 1st century ad. The roman manipuli however, did resemble phalanx in the way that it was formed of ordered ranks of infantry side by side, advancing shields in front. That's where the similarities end, however, since the manipuli was a construction of mobile cohorts in checkerboard formation that could step back from the frontline and do all kinds of nasty maneuvers, while the phalanx was locked in combat the second they hit the enemy. The later form of shieldwall used widely in all of Roman Europe is actually what most people are after when they think Roman warfare. This was actually nicely portrayed in 300 too. The basic principle was that the frontlines would lock shields and stab each other to death over them. Very powerful, but the Romans had no need for it until nearly the end of the empire. Manipula was just too good, although it was dependent on the discipline of the armies in Republican and Imperial eras, discipline that the later imitations of those famous legions(Ceasar, Trajanus and Aurelius anyone?) lacked. Cue the Gothic horde in Rome. To not base this whole thing on a strawhouse about to burst in flames(I haven't actually checked this stuff in ages), I suggest reading up on all this, it's interesting and gives you a nice perspective to ancient legends and mythic battles as well. Man, can I ramble.

Summoning - Farewell

The full intro to Freelancer. Freaking majestic. Same goes for Freespace 2, it hits you like a hammer and the game just doesn't let go. The intro to Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction scores massively for the very end when all the demons rush Harrogath and the music turns full throttle: The intro to Another World also, because it still gives me huge doses of nostalgia: I also love the intro for Onimusha 3, where Samanosuke kills the demon tank, because it has the right feel of pacing and awesome cg:

tried it - didn't like it.. kudos for realism, but it's way too unbalanced.. You should get Europa Barbarorum There's nothing like charging Iberian Lancearii (Cataphracts) to crush Agripan Assault Infantry on Peloponnesus. That game takes ages, but the realism is so vividly present that what if-situations become superbly interesting.

Anyone remember Invictus?

Arkwright! bes me. Fun to watch, less fun to participate.

That place is shaping up to be awesome. That is, if you like explosions.

I sort of wish they'd use the Ultimate versions. Not that I think they are ultimately(hah) better, but because the backgrounds and templates would be better for movie audiences(=me).

Yes.

Criticals are fun. That's a good argument, right? Right?

Yes...and?

Oh, I might as well register. Edit: Done. What a name....

Get action boy, more luck and especially sneak. That is a build destined to failure.

If it gets hard, try and find a mega powerfist. That evens the odds quite a bit. Of course, that's not truly an "unarmed build", is it? Truth to be told, I used knuckledusters and such a lot about halfway(11 to 14) through my build. Some encounters are almost impossible without them before you have rounded out your skills enough to do more than just punch people in the face. Speaking, sneaking and sciencing help a long way. Not to mention you can spend much more points to them because you don't have to worry about losing points that could be put to gun skills. Superbly intelligent and knowledgeable asskicker is a very viable build. You don't need so much perception or strength with unarmed, so that means more points to go around as well. I just loved playing with that build: not my favorite character by far(that goes to the smooth-taking pistolero, a walking cliche I made), but very fun.

You've given it a lot of thought, I see. Hope it comes to fruition. As long as the steampunk doesn't feel forced, it'll be great.

G1 and G2 are on my top 10 list. Best mix of exploration, character creation, story and combat I've ever had. Not many can come close to the sheer feeling of accomplishment when scaling the Harpy Tower for the first time or getting accepted into Innos' Brotherhood. I serioulsy doubt one's perception and especially taste, if one labels the first two games as anything less than great experiences. The demo for 3 just felt like horrible crap.

I ran into a group of three of them while wandering around. I would have stayed to fight them, but the first hit was a fire breath that did about 40 damage. I only had 60HP. I ran as fast as I could. With a good unarmed build, you are invisible half the time and crushing skulls when not. My fondest memories is kicking the Modoc "big chicken" in the eyes, causing it to go permanently blind and then proceeding to hit it till it fell. The poor bastard tried to run away, but I blocked the only exit out of the shed. Another is sneaking to an enclave patrol and showing them what bloody mess really means. With an unarmed build, you won't get much variety to the fights, but it is damn powerful. Not to mention the fuzzy feeling of beating power-armored folks wielding military-grade assault weaponry with just your bare fists. Man, only in Fallout 2.

Tenhi - V

"/nerd" Yea.

I agree.

Do you mean that in the Middle-English way(prove=test) or the incorrect modern interpretation? This is just horrid. I'm not going to go blame people around, but this is one problem, no not a problem, an issue that deserves a solution.