running with shield up

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Bearhugger

Sergeant at Arms
Old Guard
foot soldiers run at the same speed, no matter whether they "right-click (defend button)" to get their shield up and keep it up or not.
thats unrealistic. as you can see, when you run with your shield (not up) the character uses both hands to run, so that would only slow him down a bit compared to no shield (maybe reflected by the 2 or more encumbrance points a shield gives...).
BUT, when the character has his shield up, he/she only uses one hand to run, that should slow him down. try running with a heavy rucksack in one of your hands. you have to balance and that will eventually slow you down, apart from the weight.

so, in order not to be too lengghhhtyy here, ill give you just one more reason to make shield "up" slow down more:
its unfair otherwise, example: a crossbowman (yeh, we love them all) shoots at you, you run to mow him down, and as you are a true (1h) knight, your codex disallows you to use ranged weapons
:???: you run with your shield up, and given only one crossbowman, your shield should take all the hits - and also should not break - you reach that crossbowman, say, after 10 secs, mow him down in 0,1 secs.

so, lets say you are a true (2h) knight, your codex...(you know what im going to say dont you?).
so you have to get close to send him to nirvana.
but not matter, if you forget to put any (oops) cloth on, so nervous before your first true battle, or are dressed in so much plate as to allow to build a small house with it, you will not see your next sunrise.

so, summing up,
(light armoured) (2h) soldiers should remain more agile than others, that is: ones with shield. maybe even ones with longer weapons?
that would also make knives/daggers better, coz you could run like hell, hehe.

so, what are your views on this?
hey!
wake up!
:!:
 
That really is amazing because i was just thinking of this about 10 minutes ago while playing. I think you should run a little slower with your shield up. Certainly would give your archers a chance in hell against that lone river pirate with a shield. Well, either this, or have the shield only block the area the graphic suggests. So when your shield is up, you have to look the direction you want to block, so if you're looking straight, you can still be shot in the toe. I didn't really understand the last half of your suggestion though...but i do agree with the first part for sure.
 
This certainly shouldn't be done without a backpedal reduction, otherwise archers would be almost unbeatable for melee infantry.
 
For giving a example, in Warcraft 3 the footmen had their speed ''greatly'' lowered when shield was... I think it's pretty logical that you need to move slower than when lowered your shield or even having it on your back.
 
The Pope said:
This certainly shouldn't be done without a backpedal reduction, otherwise archers would be almost unbeatable for melee infantry.

The 2 changes would work well together :wink:
 
I think the greater issue is wind resistance. Greeks were said to have run with their shields held horizontally infront of them or over their heads to prevent this.
 
Eeeeeh, not exactly. It's true the greeks held the hoplon almost horizontally, but that's because of it's size and their fighting tactics.

First you have to realize how fugging HUGE the hoplon was. 36"-40" in diameter. Realize that full-grown men are usually no more than 18" wide, and you begin to see how big that is.
Now, when you have a shield that big, and when you hang cloth "shield curtains" from the bottom like the greeks did, it becomes PERFECT to use as a curtain to hide everything you're doing from your opponent. :twisted:
It also becomes a goddamn *workout*, because those things weigh 12 to 18 lbs! (that's like... three normal shields) Try holding 10lbs out in front of you and see how long you last! No wonder they look like gods in their statues. Hint: the greeks used a shoulder strap. :wink:

Even if you're using a spear, if you come in leading with your shieldside shoulder and keep the spear low, it's completely concieled behind that shield. And a sword? Forget it, no way in hell the other guy can see it. It also conceils your footwork, which is generally a giveaway to what you're about to do.
Suddenly you have a huge advantage over the other guy who's weapon and feet you can see. Now, this didn't matter at all in the Phalanx, and their pottery and statuary shows them using shields in the normal matter there. But in duels you *do* see this, and so they turned fighting into a mind-game where you read shoulder movements and shield position and try to react faster than the other guy. :wink:

On the other hand, it *is* true that great big sails like the Roman scutum will slow you the **** down. But smaller shields generally aren't too much of a problem. You don't need to run that fast anyway, you've got a shield and you've got armor on. Save your strength for the swordwork. :razz:
 
Hm. Interesting. I still fail to see how holding your shield horozontal really conceals anything from your opponant unless he is quite a bit taller than you. :wink:
 
Oh. because you're holding your weapon below/behind your shield where the other guy can't see it. Sorry. :lol:
I'll do a quick pic when I get home.
 
Haha! Alright then. I await your artwork. My first thought is that you can still conceal your movements behind your shield if you hold it the regular way.
 
either way, good ideas.
i was sure it was implemented, maybe because i played another game with shields recently and it slowed your character while moving.

also to note, troops would usually sheath their weapon to advance to the enemy faster, (and it looks sexy - ok, maybe i was laying to much gothic :razz:)
 
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/Destichado/Art/hoplite.jpg

There you go. Bad drawing, though, because the hoplon should be even bigger than I drew it, and the stance should be more crouched. But that's what you get for 5 minutes in Open Canvas. :razz: You can see, though, that between the large shield and the shield curtain, the legs and spear could be completely concealed.
 
Umm... Thanks! :grin: But why? It's a really crappy pic. :razz:

Go to my website or the official Art thread in Off Topics and look at art I'm *not* ashamed of. :lol:
 
We went away from the topic.

If you have the shield directly in front of you and keep your attention on the arrow (to block it with a shield), you will run much slower when you do not have the shield in front of you. Therefore, having a shield up should mean slower movement.

Moving backwards should also be much slower than running forward.
 
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