Gladihoppers: The Iliad.

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Started work on characters from the Iliad that take from their descriptions, bronze age finds and in some cases artistic liscense (Total War Saga: Troy).

Top left to right:
Odysseus, king of Ithaca.
Achilles, leader of the Myrmidons.
Menelaus, king of Sparta.

Bottom left to right:
Paris, second prince of Troy.
Hector, first prince of Troy.
Rhesus, King of Thrace.

Will be making Agamemnon, Ajax the Great, Nestor, Sarpedon, Aeneas and Penthesilea in the future.

Assets used are these.

Yes, I am using the old Greek faction I made as a base because I am lazy (I am also retroactively making the gear older by doing so lol).

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Four new additions have joined the roster.

Achean side:
Ajax the Great, prince of Salamis.
Nestor, Argonaut and king of Pylos.

Trojan side:
Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons.
Sarpedon, king of Lycia.

[violet tendon]

Man, your designs alongside your coloring skills have improved a lot over the course of those years, and it looks awesome! I'm glad there's still some people who make concept ideas for Gladhoppers

[rough dome]

this is amazing

[soft pewter]

"this is amazing" gladihoppers uldate with all this?

[faint stream]

fr

[loud dust]

Why do I think that this characters can be used in Spartacus wars and expand the map a little towards (the balkans) just to add them as playable basically an expansion illyrians/trojans/greeks/macedons/spartans/acheans
(like in the final update for gladihoppers) since it won’t be updated anymore
You can call it(Achilles wars)

[loud dust]

Ong fr fr it would be epic

[smoky birch]

Might as well expand the map into the entire current Hellenistic world with the Diadochi kingdoms; Gaul, Iberia and Northern Africa.

[loud dust]

Bruh we are not joking look at this characters it is a full army for the acheans and trojans that this guy made it would be such a waste for his ch.models to go to waste

[smoky birch]

The problem is, is that gladihoppers takes place a thousand years after the Trojan war.

[rough dome]

no

gladihoppers takes place in morrowind during dagoth ur's lucid dreaming

[soft pewter]

Oh man, how didn't we see that

[loud dust]

We can’t see that coming bc aNtlers has the last say in his own games

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All the characters planned for now are complete. From left to right the list follows:

Achean side:
Agamemnon, king of Mycenea.
("Agamemnon's mask" is not his)
Ajax the Great, prince of Salamis.
(died trying to get Achilles' stuff)
Nestor, Argonaut and king of Pylos.
(Irl Pylos burned the same year as Troy)
Odysseus, king of Ithaca.
(Never brought his cool bow to war)
Achilles, captain of the Myrmidons.
(Pure skill and no def+ buff in the Iliad)
Menelaus, king of Sparta.
(The only Achean with a happy ending)

Trojan side:
Aeneas, prince of Dardania.
(Rewritten later as founder of Rome)
Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons.
(Likely inspired by nomadic people)
Sarpedon, king of Lycia.
(He's a son of Zeus, enough said)
Paris, second prince of Troy.
(Shot in PP with poison arrow and dies)
Hector, first prince of Troy.
(A really good guy in a bad spot)
Rhesus, king of Thrace.
(Killed asleep by Ody and Diomedes)

This was the most fun I've had with designing individual gladihoppers characters because the era's gear is so up in the air that you could do a lot with it that's fun. Horned helmets are cool, scale and plate armour is almost everywhere and regular clothing is also an option.

I may try and add more characters like Memnon, Diomedes, Teucer and two Eurypylus (Mysia and Thessaly) when I get more of an idea of how to make them stand-out more.

Here's a few of the references and art I used as inspiration. Not everything I used is from the correct bronze age period (Penthesilea is modeled after a Sarmatian noble) but I avoided using anything with iron.

[sage portal]

I want this man's drip fr

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Added four new characters, two of whom are lesser known.

Diomedes, king of Argos.
(Underrated as hell)
Patroclus, Myrmidon warrior.
(And possibly lover of Achilles)

Epistrophus, leader of the Halizones
(Halizones in Vinnytsia or Thrace)
Memnon, King of Aethiopia.
(Got closest to beating Achilles)

Mostlikely I'll make a few more "unique" characters from Troy who were likely from far away lands. Aside from that I still have Ajax the lesser, Teucer, Neoptolemus and a few other options for the Acheans.

I also made a few edits to character hairs and faces. Also made a very basic female body because I wanted to initially add more Amazons, though it would be useful for Amazons in other myths like Hippolyta or even maybe Shieldmaidens from Sagas.

[idle zephyr]

Someone hire my boy 🗣️

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Redesigned Ajax, Nestor, Achilles, Sarpedon and Memnon with minor fixes to many others. Acheans felt a little too plain (which could make sense since Troy has more unique allies) so I gave them more archeaological stuff. Teucer, Ajax the lesser and more will likely have Minoan style clothing if it would make sense to give them.

Also organised the assets a little by grouping them as Acheans, Trojans and mixed/unused.

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I had a lot of fun designing Achilles' new look so I decided to give him his new armour forged by Hephaestus. While I can't pin down a good look for the shield yet it's mostly a more Classical Greek look for his mucle cuirass and an eastern scale skirt for the legs.

In this depiction it's more or less the masterwork of visionary smiths from all over Anatolia attributed to a god. Hence the later bronze age-early iron age style. The sword is also inspired by Mycenean and Minoan daggers inlaid with hunting scenes in gold.

Originally the muscle cuirass was already worn by him, but I changed that up because it looked to out of place without the lore. This is also the armour Odysseus and Great Ajax fought over when Achilles died.

[violet tendon]

Someone cooked here....

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Added the future Achilles to the roster. Also present are:

Neoptolemus/Pyrrhus. Son of Achilles.
(He kills/enslaves most of Hector's kin)

Eurypylus. Prince of Mysia.
(Grandson of Heracles, killed by Neo)

I decided not to give Neo the Myrmidon colours because he never lead them iirc, he more-or-less fought on his own terms. He is a very not nice person and is described as 'red-haired' or 'the red' so I gave him slightly darker hair than his dad.

Mysia is north-western Anatolian so I decided to give Eurypylus gear similar to the rest of the Trojan allies. I initially wanted to givs him a lion pelt to reference Heracles, but we already have a leopard pelt with Memnon (though I might still make it for the future).

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After maybe 4 more characters and alternate versions I may call it good for the Iliad. Contenders for the next series are:

Argonautica characters.
Jason, Heracles, Theseus, young Nestor, etc with Medea and the other nobility.

The Odyssey characters.
Odysseus and crew + family and some suitors, maybe some monsters if I get motivated.

Oresteia/Nostoi characters.
This is basically the return voyage version of the Acheans + kids.

Monster slayers.
Perseus, Cadmus, Bellorophon and others + supporting cast and monsters.

[faint stream]

this is getting goodd

[loud dust]

Yeah ik but sadly it will be only fan art they will never be playable

[faint stream]

who says that

😈

[loud dust]

Do you really think all of this art which this artist is making right now will be added to the last gladihoppers update?

[faint stream]

an update is not the only way to add stuff to the game...

do you know what's the acronym for "modification"?

[loud dust]

You will mod the game just to add this characters

[faint stream]

yes i could

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Not to get any hopes up but since I have no idea how to mod Gladihoppers (I still have to try and figure it out) I might use it for a different project.

My main goal so far for a mod is to add the barest forms of diplomacy, proper war/siege mechanics and NPC personalities to a Spartacus-like project with the fan arts I've done.

I look more to CK3 for inspiration in terms of the diplomacy and personalities. Currently most I have done is a fugly concept for an Iliad map that I refuse to show. Some mechanic ideas like mercs and off-map kingdoms too I want to try my hand at.

[loud dust]

If you pull this off it is going to be one big mod for this spartacus wars-like project it will be no easy feat to achieve

But i look forward to it for you to complete it

[faint stream]

i know how to mod the game but since i don't know shit abt coding (i know how to modify lines without making the game crashes, but i can't code a full code line) i don't know if even you can add stuff into it

we could be able to do such stuff if antlers makes it "mod friendly" and that. But he is not gonna do that

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That's sad to hear, but it makes me less hard on myself for not getting amything to work.

If all else fails I still have the option of making a free fan-made game and I am learning how to code for my studies anyway. Main issue would be if Blades of Deceron would be better fit to get a reskin with my art by then.

[faint stream]

antlers said that probably BoD can be "mod friendly"

[loud dust]

Nah for GH your art is perfect

[loud dust]

Let’s see what antlers does about that when he updates gladihoppers for the last time

[sage portal]

Now we just need some crazed religious zealot to add a shitload of crusaders to it

[violet tendon]

This might be me

[faint stream]

Same

[sage portal]

2 crazed religious zealots?!

God has answered my prayers

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Sorry for the late update but I have stuff suddenly happen that I need to handle so eh.

Currently thinking about removing Rhesus raid/Trojan Horse Odysseus and replacing him with Teucer and lesser Ajax. I also have 3 unnamed Trojans in the works (one of them already in the roster) because I saw that there were other Thracians and semi-Greeks fighting for Troy and forgot to list their names.

Orange archer guy is Pandarus btw I may rework him a bit later on.

After this is all done I may actually try to make the Argonautica rather than the others just because I watched Jason and the Argonauts recently.

Although the plan to do the Argonautica after this is still my main goal, I am also starting to feel quite same-y with the Bronze age gear after a while. So I may start work on something else smaller to freshen stuff up.

I've been quite itching to update the 500 C.E set and just move it along to be mainly about Byzantine/Roman gear from 500 C.E - 1200 C.E so strangely enough I would still be making Greek armour anyway lol.

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Top to bottom, left to right:

Achean alliance:
Ajax, king of Locris.
Teucer, founder of Salamis.
Achilles, Hephaestus armour.
Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.
Diomedes, king of Argos.
Patroclus, prince of Opus.
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.
Ajax the Great, prince of Salamis.
Nestor, king of Pylos and Argonaut.
Odysseus, king of Ithaca.
Achilles, leader of the Myrmidons.
Menelaus, king of Sparta.

Trojan alliance:
Aeneas, prince of Dardania.
Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons.
Sarpedon, king of Lycia.
Paris, second prince of Troy.
Hector, first prince of Troy.
Rhesus, king of Thrace.
Pylaemenes, king of Paphlagonia.
Acamas, Thracian warlord.
Pandarus, son of Lycaon.
Eurypylus, prince of Mysia.
Epistrophus, leader of the Halizones.
Memnon, king of Aethiopia

Items

[violet tendon]

That's insane 🔥

[loud dust]

He finally completed it

That’s crazy🔥

He made em all🔥

[rough dome]

amazing work 😮

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I decided to finally finish the set because I know I'm gonna be otherwise busy for the week and there were only a few slots left already in the canvas I was using.

Here are also some fun facts about the design about each character in terms of historical aspects and Homer's descriptions.

Aeneas and Pylaemenes both end up in Italy. So I gave Aeneas a mixture of Roman and Anatolian gear, Pylaemenes is described as being north of Anatolia so I gave him a mix of a Slavic vibe and since he also ends up founding Venetia a heavy dose of Etruscan stuff.

Ajax of Salamis and Teucer are half-brothers and both mainly protect the camp. Ajax is said to have a large bronze shueld with seven cow hide layers. Teucer the archer usually hid behind Ajax before shooting arrows, and later founds Salamis in Cyprus. So I gave them more of a Minoan look because they did a lot of archery and colonisation and also had tower shields. (Fun fact, Teucer is also a nephew of Priam and cousin to Paris and Hector).

Acamas and Rhesus are both Thracian so I gave them Greek-ish gear. Since Acamas is just a warlord I gave him more practical ones.

Ajax of Locris is the only one depicted here with throwing spears even though Achilles and Hector are fanous for having duels with them. Blame Troy the movie for this decision.

Menelaus' and Agamemnon's armour is real, sort of, it's the Dendra Panoply and since they're brothers I figured they might as well wear versions of it. Helmets too are inspired by real finds.

Odysseus weas bright blue because Athena colours, and he has his described boar tusk helmet. The bow though he never actually brought to war with him.

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Penthesilea is inspired by Sarmatians. Her gear is the only one NOT from the bronze age, while it is from the Sarmatian bronze age it is not entirely accurate as there was already Iron usage at that time. This is due to a lack of archaelogy, and also most other depictions show her in similar gear. Same goes for Episthrophus who is more or less Slavic/Celtic in design due to a lack of Black Sea warrior depictions.

Sarpedon and Eurypylus have similar gear because they're geographically close to each other but Sarpedon is less armoured due to being more of a commander than fighter iirc.

Pandarus and Paris initially had the same colours but then I found out Pandarus was not in fact related to the Trojan royal family at all, he was just a good archer onpar with Teucer. He also gets killed in Italy in some versions.

The Myrmidons are in red and yellow because Achilles is refered to as the golden haired, and I kinds liked the idea his soldiers would wear yellow 'cause of it. Red is just contrast, and they're all lightly armoured because they're described as a tribe rather than a kingdom.

Diomedes and Nestor are both underrated figures so I gave them unique gear. Diomedes is a great warrior and gets a cuirass inspired by the bell cuirass and lobster armour from Mycenae. Nestor is also wearing scale armour because those were more prevalent in the early bronze age and Nestor is old af.

Memnon is the person said to come closest to killing Achilles in some myths, he also kills Nestor's son Antilochus in a battle. Nestor tried to challenge him be Memnon declined because he was old so oldy sent Achilles instead. Memnon, unlime Hector, actually makes Achilles bleed but gets killed and his army runs home and its Indian contingent too. To show this fierceness somewhat I gave him a leopard pelt and a weapon Achilles wouldn't be familiar with, the Egyptian Kopesh (whom the Aethiopians bordered).

This is all just an elaborate scheme to get people to read about the bronze age world, the Iliad and its related books like the Cypria and to play Total War Troy tbh. I tried to avoid Vergil's Aeniad but tbh some of his ideas were just too cool.

[glad geyser]

Holy fucking shit Magni???

[humble mantle]

this is crazy

[loud dust]

@main gyro I appreciate the lore and dedication but this is way too much for me to read like goodamn even i myself don’t make this big of lores for my bod characters (it is literally like reading a book xd)

[humble mantle]

aNtlers you should add a minigame with this art

like sparticus war but different

gladdihoppers realy needs an update anyway

[loud dust]

I think Magni himself is working on a game/project but idk if it will ever come

[scarlet temple]

Ghoppers 2

[loud dust]

NotGhoppers 2 project moment when antlers started the working on the bod game

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This is less lore I made and more just an overall summary of fun facts I managed to read about the Iliad.

Btw for now I'm making basic maps, some roster concepts and a few religion icons for this Bronze Wars project, and that's about it for actual stuff (as I have not coded anything and I have no idea if Gladihoppers can be modded, if BoD can be modded I will likely just use that)

I'm currently reworking some unreleased units (mainly Hittite and Assyrians) because they look quite bad and not too unique from each other. Though to spice stuff up I will be making a few requested rosters like some Carthaginian guys.

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Tbh the main goal (if I ever actually do make a fan-game with this) would be to just remake Spartacus war with the Trojan war and have a lot, and I mean A LOT more heroic units.

The biggest difference would be that here I see sieges being represented as a mini-version of the career arena where winning one battle in a siege only wins say, the outskirts and villages, the outer walls, then the second and so-on.

Would represent the difficulty of sieging down cities and also could be a way to let heroes run around fighting other heroes while their armies target cities.

Oh, and I guess once a hero is defeated there's only a 20% chance or so the die depending on who they are and their position in combat. A hero in the front ranks is more likely to die than to escape, but it will be very easy for them to mow down normal troops until only the enemy hero is left in which case they are less likely to survive because there's nobody else to help (armies can flee if halved, but fleeing means many of the troops will suffer even if they haven't fought yet and heros are unusable for a time).

Not sure if any of this (aside from re-skins maybe) is be possible with modding so I'm gonna stick to just imitation and making it ground up if I can.

[humble mantle]

idk if you can convince aNtlers to add this if you can that would be amazing

[faint stream]

no he can't