[Vanilla] Musketmen: Firaxis developmental concept before the final release

[Lonecat Nekophrodite]

An extensive research for modding purpose. i've found out that Firaxis earliest ideas regarding to musketmen was that they'll be main infantry in game from the beginning. but when someone in the team sprung up the rigid promotional lineage (class) system. any previous concepts like combined 'gunpowder' class has to be dropped.
Of course i'm intended to restore 'gunpowder' class under a new name 'Infantry' and intended to be combined class between melee and anticavalry which begins at Pike and Shot. many ideas regarding to what to do with Musketmen sprung up and this also included whether to include or exclude 'riflemen' as industrial era 'infantry' choice.

But this is what i've found while looking for the late Pike and Shots and transitions towards musket-and-bayonet 'line infantry' during early Louis XIV's days (Particularly after Conde's Death). These transitional troops were given plug bayonets and in some units, socket bayonets (Elite Foot Guards i think), both by French, English 'Redcoats' (second stage of evolutions after Parliaments goons in English Civil War), and Dutch also during the rise of Orange Family and the decline of Republic.

Look familiar? This is Second stage Redcoats musketeers... if you said 'Malburian' yes. this... I think also a concept arts and early interpretations of 'musketmen', including the last days of matchlock muskets. Is this one still pike and shot or the earliest 'Line Infantry' with plug bayonets?

^ Musketman concept art including 17th century hatmen and also those looking akin to either Louis XIV's Vieux Corps or Malburian Redcoats. shown to the right. before the final designs was chosen.

Did they indeed originally intended Musketmen to be a hybrid class with anticavalry ability?

 

[Haig]

I think it is just concept art woth different ideas, similar looking displays are for example Eleanor and Kupe, which show them in different hairstyles, clothing etc.

 

[AriochIV]

It would be nice in a future Civilization iteration if they had a more nuanced unit system, perhaps similar to Colonization in which units are just population points which have been outfitted to varying degrees with weapons of the available tech, horses, vehicles etc. Training and logistics could be more of an issue. I'm not sure whether this could be done in a streamlined enough way for Civilization's scope without excessive micromanagement, but I think it would be an interesting design task to try.