Medieval 2 Total War: RealCombat 1.8

IntroductionRealCombat is an attempt to create a more realistic M2TW combat experience via the modification of a number of crucial stats for all units, using a consistent and detailed framework.

Armor SystemThe following new armor system is implemented in RC:

Type Level Smith Armor Heat Estimated Joules to Penetrate

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Leather 1 1 2 0 25

Gambeson 2 1 2+1def 1 40

Leather Lamellar 3 1 3 1

Light Lamellar 4 2 5 3 70

Mail Shirt 5 2 4 2

Light Mail 6 2 4+1def 2 70/55 vs missiles

Light Brigandine 7 2 5+1def 3

Lamellar 8 3 7 5 100

Mail 9 3 6 4

Heavy Mail 10 3 6+1def 4 100/85 vs missiles

Brigandine 11 3 7+1def 5

Buff Coat 12 3 5+1 2

Heavy Lamellar 13 4 9 6 125

Splint, Coat of Plates 14 4 8+1def 5

Heavy Brigandine 15 4 9+1def 6

Partial Plate 16 4 11 6 100-160

Breastplate 17 4 7 2

Kataphract, Late Lamellar 18 5 Special Special

Heavy Splint 19 5 10+1def 6

Full Plate 20 5 13 6 160

Renaissance Half Plate 21 5 9 3

Improved Metallurgy 22 5 +2 -

Gothic Plate 23 6 15 7 185

Renaissance 3Q Plate 24 6 11 4

Advanced Metallurgy 25 6 +2 -

Increased Armor Thickness 26 6 +2 -

For All Mounted Units:Add the following Armor Defense depending on the mount:Barded Horse: 2Mongol Armored Horse: 3Mailed Horse: 4Eastern Armored Horse: 4Cataphract Armored Horse: 5Armored Horse: 6

An example of the kind of data used to generate the above:

Energy to defeat, in Joules:Arrowhead vs. Buff Leather 30 JLance vs. Cuir-boulli 30-20 JLance vs. Padding (16 layers linen, 60g for 16 x 21 cm) 50 JArrowheads vs:Modern Mail (mild steel) alone 80 JModern Mail & Jack Penetration 100 JModern Mail and Tailor's Dummy 100 J (Soar et al)Modern Mail, Jack Penetration, and 35 mm penetration of Plastilene behind 120 J15th c. Mail (low carbon steel hardened by quenching) two links broken and jack behind completely penetrated: 120 J1 mm mild steel plate (perpendicular impact) 55 J for 45mm penetration1. 5 mm mild steel plate 110 J2 mm mild steel plate 175 J 1.9 mm “Swedish” Wrought Iron 80-75 J

Energy delivered:Stabbing:Underarm: up to 63 JOverarm: up to 115 J2-Handed weapon: 150JEnglish bows:70 lb bow: 52-55 J (Hardy)70 lb bow: 46-47 J at 10 m80 lb bow: 70-83 J (61 J at 50 m)140 lb bow: 99-104 J (Calculated from Soar et al)

Weapon SystemWeapon values for every unit in the game have been re-worked based on the above sort of information, to yield the most realistic combat results possible. Weapon Base Attack Valuesnow primarily reflect what level of protection as detailed above that weapon might reliably penetrate under inconsistent combat conditions (and at close range in the case of missile weapons), bearing in mind the armor piercing attribute also. Weapons have been balanced as far as possible so there are no 'super weapons'.Example: a longsword might generate anywhere between 60-110J, so its attack has

reasonably been set to 5. A 2H sword might be 90-150J, so attack is 8.Example: a polearm has a lower attack value than a 2H sword and attacks more slowly, so the 2H sword is more effective against lightly armoured opponents.

The weapon Base Defense Value fills in the defense value in the armor line, being the ability of the unit to defend itself from attacks from the front and right.

The Base attack Delay is an indication of how long it will take to get into position for another attack with the weapon. Armor penetrating weapons are typically unbalanced towards the head to effect striking power, whereas swords (for example) are better balanced for faster attack but less penetration.

Weapon Type Base Attack Value

Base Defense Value

Base Attack Delay

Charge / Heat

Typical Special Attributes

light sword 3 5 15 2 / -1 0.35 unit x-radiussword 4 5 30 3 / 0 -long sword 5 5 45 3 / 0 -2H sword 8 6 60 7 / 1 +1 vs cavalrylight spear 3 3 30 2 / -1 light_spear, 0.3 x-radiusspear 3 3 45 3 / 0 light_spear, +4 vs

cavalry, 0.3 x-radiusknife 1 1 0 1 / -1archer’s mallet 1 2 45 1 / 0 apclub 3 3 45 2 / 0 -war hammer 1 4 30 3 / 0 apmace 2 4 60 2 / 0 apaxe 3 3 60 2 / 0 ap2H club 6 3 75 4 / 1 +1 vs cavalrypike 2 2 90 4 / 2 long_pike, +4 versus cavshort pike 3 3 75 4 / 1 long_pikemounted spear 2 - 30 7non-couched light lance 3 - 45 8 good charge bonuslight couched lance 1 - 75 12 high charge bonuscouched lance 0 - 90 14 / 1 very high charge bonus heavy couched lance, brace0 - 90 15 /1heavy couched lance 1 - 105 16 /1 highest charge bonus2H axe 7 4 90 5 / 1 ap, +1 vs cavalry2H hammer 5 5 75 6 / 1 ap, +2 vs cavalrypoleaxe 6 5 90 6 / 1 ap, +2 vs cavalrybillhook 6 4 105 6 / 1 ap, +6 vs cavalryhalberd 6 5 120 6 / 1 ap, +6 vs cavalrypartisan 6 4 105 6 / 1 ap, +4 vs cavalryswordstaff 5 4 90 6 / 1 ap, +4 vs cavalryvoulge 6 4 105 6 / 1 ap, +4 vs cavalryall phalanx polearms above -1as above -1 as above 5 / 1 as above + light_spear

mounted bow 1 - - / -2 Range 120/60 Skirmishbow 2 - - / -2 Range 140/120 Skirmishmounted composite bow 3 - - / -1 Range 160/60 Skirmishmongol/turk/hungarian/mamluk mounted composite

3 - - / -1 Range 180/60 Skirmish

composite bow 4 - - / -1 Range 200/140 Skirmishmounted longbow 3 - - / -1 Range 140/60 Skirmishlongbow 4 - - / -1 Range 180/130 Skirmishlight / wooden crossbow 6 - - / -3 Range 100composite crossbow 8 - - / -2 Range 120heavy composite crossbow 10 - - / -2 Range 140steel crossbow 13 - - 1 / -1 Range 180horse javelin 11 - - / -1 Range 50foot javelin 11 - - / -1 Range 50handgun 11 - - / -4 Range 55pistol 8 - - / -4 Range 45, apearly arquebus 14 - - / -4 Range 90late arquebus 18 - - / -4 Range 110turkish musket 26 / -4 Range 125heavy musket 32 - - / -3 Range 140late musket 22 - - / -4 Range 1251H weapon, no shield +1 -15 Except for knife

To the Charge Value, add 1 if Superior or above quality, and subtract 1 if Militia or below quality.

To the above Base Values, add the following modifiers based on the unit class and unit type, the modifier format being: Attack Value/Value/Attack Delay

Unit Type->Unit Quality

Foot Melee Mounted Melee Foot Missile Mounted Missile

Exceptional +5(+3)/+3/-45 +7+1/-30 +2/+1/-15 +4/-1/0Elite +4(+2)/+2/-30 +6/0/-15 0/0/0 +2/-2/+15Superior +2(+1)/+1/-15 +4/-1/0 -1/-1/+15 +1/-3/+30Average 0/0/0 +2/-2/+15 -2/-2/+30 0/-4/+45Militia -1/-1/+15 +1/-3/+30 -3/-3/+45 -1/-5/+60Peasant Militia -2/-2/+30 - -3/-3/+60 -Levy Peasant -3/-3/+45 - -3/-3/+60 -Bracketed values are attack bonuses for pikes and short pikes.

Multi-Layer Armor: -1 attack, -1 defense, +15 attack delay

For example, Superior Foot Melee shows +2(+1)/+1/-15. This means that +2 is added to the Base Attack Value of the weapon used by the unit, +1 to the Base Defense Value and -15 to the Base Attack Delay.

Further examples: a knight with a longsword has attack value 5 for longsword, 4 for Elite Foot Melee=9, a defense value of 4+2=6 and attack delay of 45-30=15. A peasant who can even get his hands on a longsword would have attack value 5 for longsword -3 for Levy Peasant Foot Melee=2, a defense value of 4-3=1 and attack delay of 45+45=90.

The above table DOES NOT APPLY TO MISSILE WEAPONS. See below for those.

To the Base Charge Value, add 1 if Superior or Elite quality, and subtract 1 if Militia or Peasant quality.

Additional Notes:-Minimum Attack Delay is 0.-For all mounted units the minimum Attack Delay is 15.-Minimum Attack is 1.-Minimum Defense is 1.-Weapons with '+x vs cavalry' achieve that effect with mount_effect horse +x, camel +x. They are good in melee vs cavalry and suffer no anti-infantry penalty but are still vulnerable to cavalry charges.

Optional Unit TypesBodyguard: -2 attack, +2 defense, disciplined, highly_trained, morale boost: these men's task is to keep their general alive, hence their training and tactics favour the defensiveGuard: -1 attack, +1 defense, better-quality units are disciplined: this unit has a defensive roleImpetuous: +1 attack, -1 defense, impetuousReckless: +2 attack, -2 defense, impetuous, morale boostFanatic: +2 attack, -2 defense, impetuous, lock_moraleDesperate: +2 attack, -2 defense, lock_morale, morale penalty (even if lock_morale, morale level still affects AI behaviour) -attack bonuses and penalties are to non-missile weapons only

Horse Charge Values Note that mounted spears and lances have a base attack between 0 and 3, which is used in the middle of a melee if the horse is moving only a little. If the horse is charging however, the following charge bonus applies (same as in table above):Spear 7 (eg Mounted Sergeant), Charge Distance 20Non-couched Lance 8 (eg Mongol), C/D 30Light/Early Couched Lance 12 (eg Serbian Hussar, Mailed Knight), C/D 45Couched Lance 14 (eg Chivalric Knight), C/D 45Couched Lance + brace 15 (eg Broken Lance, unit wears Full Plate or better)Heavy/Late Couched Lance 16 (eg Gothic Knight, Demi Lancer; usually unit will not have a shield), C/D 45

Non-couched spears/lances receive a lower charge bonus because they cannot translate momentum into damage nearly as effectively, though note that their attack value is

higher. Their lower charge distance also makes them more tactically flexible.

Swords on horseback receive a charge bonus of 5, C/D 20.Axes, maces and light swords on horseback receive a charge bonus of 4, C/D 20.

Fast Pony, Eastern Horse: +1 Charge for secondary weapons and non-couched lances.Mailed, Eastern Armored, Armored Horse: -1 Charge for secondary weapons and non-couched lances.

Missile WeaponsTo the Missile Ranges in the ‘Typical Special Attributes’ column above, add the first value in the table below. Add the second value to the missile Base Attack Value.Missile Class Bow Crossbow Javelin GunExceptional +30/+2 +15 +15/+3 +15Elite +20/+1 +10/0 +10/+2 +10/0Superior +10/+1 +5/0 +5/+1 +5/0Average 0/0 0/0 0 0/0Militia -10/0 -5/0 -5/-1 -5/0Peasant Militia -20/-1 -10/0 -10/-2 -10/0Levy Peasant -30/-1 -15/0 -15/-3 -15

Eg: Elite longbowmen have range 180 +20 as shown above = total range 200. They have Attack Value 4 +1 as shown above = total Attack Value 5.

ShieldsShields have a shield value and also can boost defense value:

Shield Style/Type Shield Value Defense Bonus Heat Penaltystrapped to back 0, Armor +1archer’s/small buckler foot/mounted 1 1buckler 2 1small western mounted 2 1heater or small round mounted 3 1small round 3 1 1heater 3 1 1kite mounted 5 -1 2, Lances -1

attack alsokite 5 2pavise 7 -2 3spear unit +2

Appendix 1: Missile Weapon Accuracy

Bow Composite Longbow Crossbow Late ArquebusMusket Handgun Early Arquebus Pistol Javelin Peasant 0.08 - - 0.065 - - - - - -Pmilitia 0.07 - - 0.0625 0.06125 0.05875 0.0725 0.06375 0.07 0.1Militia 0.065 - - 0.06 0.06 0.0575 0.07125 0.0625 0.06875 0.09Average 0.06 0.0575 0.055 0.0575 0.05875 0.05625 0.07 0.06125 0.0675 0.08Superior 0.055 0.0525 0.05 0.055 0.0575 0.055 0.06875 0.06 0.06625 0.07Elite 0.05 0.0475 0.045 0.0525 0.05625 0.05375 0.0675 0.05875 0.065 0.06

Exceptional 0.04

See descr_projectiles.txt for updates to above.

Bows are very accurate for elite shooters but are a lot harder for an inexperienced person to use accurately, whereas crossbow/firearm accuracy is less affected by unit quality. The missile accuracy model rewards/penalises bows/composite bows/longbows with high/low accuracies at high/low skill levels to compensate for shooting skill and low rates of fire in M2TW, crossbows with less of a bonus/penalty at high/low skill levels, and firearms even less so.

Appendix 2: stat_heat Values

All values are cumulative.Base Heat Value (from the Armor Table on page 1)+2 for first additional layer, eg cataphract

+1 for second additional layer, eg super-heavy cataphract

+1 Heater/Round Shield

+2 Kite/Large Round Shield

+3 Pavise Shield

+1 2H weapon, Musket, Steel xbow

+2 Pike

-1 Bow

-2 Crossbow

-4 Firearm

-1 Knife, Light Sword or Light Spear

+1 Mounted Couched Lance

+3 Far Northern Europe

+2 Northern Europe, Cuman

+1 Northern Italy, European merc, Mongol

0 Southern Europe, Byzantine

-1 Turk, Kwarezm

-2 Egypt, Moor

+2 Peasant

+2 Militia Missile

+1 Average Missile

+1 Militia Melee

-1 Superior Melee

-1 Elite Missile

-2 Elite Melee

-2 Eastern Horse, Mongol Fast Pony

-1 Heavy Horse, Medium Horse, Fast Pony

0 Barded Horse, Pony

+1 Mailed, Eastern Armored Horse, Byzantine Barded Horse

+2 Armored Horse, Early Eastern Armored Horse

+3 Cataphract

Appendix 3: stat_ground Values

stat_ground scrub, sand, forest, snow

Origin / Type -> Light Cavalry Light InfantryFar Northern Europe 0, -1, -2, 2 1, -1, 3, 2

Northern Europe, Cuman 0, -1, -2, 1 1, -1, 3, 1

Northern Italy, European merc 0, -1, -2, 0 1, -1, 3, 0

Mongol 0, -1, -3, 0 1, 0, 2, 0

Southern Europe, Byzantine 0, 0, -3, -1 1, 0, 2, -1

Turk, Kwarezm 0, 1, -4, -1 1, 1, 1, -1

Egypt, Moor -1, 1, -4, -2 0, 1, 1, -2

Origin / Type -> Medium Cavalry Medium InfantryFar Northern Europe -1, -2, -3, 1 0, -2, 2, 1

Northern Europe, Cuman -1, -2, -3, 0 0, -2, 2, 0

Northern Italy, European merc -1, -2, -3, -1 0, -2, 2, -1

Mongol -1, -2, -4, -1 0, -1, 1, -1

Southern Europe, Byzantine -1, -1, -4, -2 0, -1, 1, -2

Turk, Kwarezm -1, 0, -5, -2 0, 0, 0, -2

Egypt, Moor -2, 0, -5, -3 -1, 0, 0, -3

Origin / Type -> Heavy Cavalry Heavy InfantryFar Northern Europe -2, -3, -4, 0 -1, -3, 1, 0

Northern Europe, Cuman -2, -3, -4, -1 -1, -3, 1, -1

Northern Italy, European merc -2, -3, -4, -2 -1, -3, 1, -2

Mongol -2, -3, -5, -2 -1, -2, 0, -2

Southern Europe, Byzantine -2, -2, -5, -3 -1, -2, 0, -3

Turk, Kwarezm -2, -1, -6, -3 -1, -1, -1, -3

Egypt, Moor -3, -1, -6, -4 -2, -1, -1, -4

Pikes an additional -1 in scrub.

Pikes an additional -2 in forests, other 2H weapons an additional -1 in forests.

Terrain specialists +1 in their chosen terrain, eg woodsmen, desert units.