Hi Kinboat. And anyone else reading this nearly two-year-old thread.
No, this is not a bump. Well, ... if it is its a pretty big one.
My reasons for defibulating this dead thread are thrice:
1. !
2. !
3. !
(in case you're wondering, those "!" are a new type of punctuation I've recently invented; its called an Explanation Mark. They should explain away any justifications I need for posting here.)
Now, onto the matter at hand!
I never knew you made this unit, Kinboat, until quite recently. Marvelously animated, and exquisitely detailed. No other units fills its shoes, or well, attempts too. There's almost a total lack of swordsman units from the Renaissance. But there seems to have been some confusion as to the role of sword wielding foot soldiers during this period. I thought maybe I could clear that up, and then make a request of you, Kinboat. So...
Although he does look the part of a Spanish matador, I don't think their contributions to the military climate of the Middle Ages are significant, with the exception of their notable assistance in the suppression of the great Spanish Bull Rebellion of 1544.
In actuality, the last sword to see martial use was the "cut and thrust" sword, the predecessor of the rapier. Exceeding 40 inches in length, the cut and thrust sword had a narrow straight blade, tapering to a sharp point ideal for stabbing. Its development was the solution to articulated plate armor, which had previously made its wearer resistant, if not impervious, to most other swords of the day. It became very popular due to its light weight and speed, and evolved into many other forms; the rapier, the estoc, and later, strictly for civil purposes, the epee. These later swords were born into the world too late to be of practical use on the battlefield; guns had already become dominant by the time of their conception.
So, it makes the most sense for this swordsman to be wielding a cut and thrust sword, as he is not wearing any protection. But who is our warrior? At the same time of the sword's development, swordsmanship was emerging over Europe as an art form, and Italy and Spain were home to the most prestigious "schools of fence". Its here in the 1500's that such masters as Achille Marozzo, di Grassi, and Capo Ferro taught and published their techniques and methods of defense. Therefore, I'd propose that this graceful unit be a Renaissance swordmaster, possibly called something generic, like "Fencer", to leave it up to the player to decide whether he's a teacher or pupil. He would probably belong beside the longbowman in the tech tree, buildable with the discovery of Invention, just before the musket makes its appearance. Id also choose to make him civ specific to the Spanish and Romans.
Now ideally, I would suggest the stats slightly improved over the medieval infantry, say, 5/3/1, however, due to his inordinate size in game (about ten feet tall when compared to other infantry), I have no choice but to make him 10/6/2, so as to accurately represent his gargantuan proportions.
Although many, well most, homegrown units are on the big side, this one happens to be a personal favorite. I not exactly sure what shrinking Gigantor to a normal size entails, but if it is at all a reasonably easy process, I implore you Kinboat, that's right; IMPLORE you, to help make one of the best lookin' talented mother _s' and most talented units OF ALL TIME to scale, so he can fit in with the rest of the bunch.
Gracias, Bungus