I have made a short video on 5 things that I would love to see in AOE IV. Thank you for the feedback on the previous video. There are of course lots of things I haven’t listed that I will probably cover in a different video. I was just playing around with a list format for this one. Just like the last one I would love feedback 
Thanks everyone 
Hi,
I play Age of Empires 2 since 2004. Im still playing it on Voobly comunity. I also have played several hours of Age 3 and even more hours spent on Company of Heros 2 and Company of Heros Online.
YES for all the 5 points for sure, especially the 3 last ones.
I hope we got every toll we have in Age 2 in Age 4. The Micro and Macro game in Age 2 is awesome, complete and add more strategy to the game overall. We need Random maps in Age 4 as well. In my opinion Relic biggest mistake with CoH is the fact that you dont have random maps. In the long run it is HUGE.
Evidence of its existence!
at least we got the announcement trailer, the occasional tweets and the job contracts that relic looks for from time to time (example) as signs of life . Still more than aoe2:de. that is completely in darkness and supposedly expected to come out first.
If they’re hiring now for narrative leads then I truly worry for AoE IV. I suppose we could be optimistic and assume they’re now hiring for DLC campaigns… if they don’t already have the narrative in place and the campaign underway then this isn’t going to be released for years.
It’s very depressing to think AoE IV was announced in 2017 and may not be released until the early 2020s.
Games take a while to make.
This, plus a scenario editor loaded with objects is required first before campaigns can be created.
Since AoE IV like the other AoE games will be based on history, the source material for the narrative work is already in place.
To be completely honest I agree with both points, I want IV to come out this year but I also want the game to be of a high standard. I think in the long run it would be best to take their time and get it right to avoid it turning into a simple cash grab.
How is it depressing? It very clearly was just a “hey, we started working on this” announcement, not “coming soon”. And AoE 2 & 3 DE were announced with the clear implication that these would be released first. There wasn’t ever a reason to assume AoE IV would be out before 2020.
They announced aoe4 and then let us in the dark for 18 months. Not even a screenshot that proves it’s existence. Given that fact they don’t seem to care anything about the community. So nice video or not, they don’t care at all what we want. They most likely want a game with hundreds of microtransactions to suck you dry. To do that they will frustrate you so much that you will feel forced to buy the crap out of the game. That is where the industry is going anyway.
I would have this list:
I wouldn’t say they don’t care about what the community want.
I think they only work in secret, so they don’t have to make any promises they may cannot meet.
The first Definitive Edition was a good way to get feedback from the community.
Relic could use this to improve Aoe 4.
Of course it’s also possible they don’t care about the fans, maybe Microsoft only want to make much money.
But these are only speculations, we cannot prove.
I also don’'t like it, how Microsoft announced the game 1,5 years ago and said as good as nothing since then.
But at least I’m sure we get Aoe 4 because they farther make the Aoe Livestreams on Mixer and we heard about people working on Aoe 4 from time to time.
I see your point, but showing one small screenshot wouldn’t make any promise they cannot keep… They may also say things like: everything is subject to change.
They may also share their vision about aoe4, just to make sure that they have a vision that is apreciated by the community. Why else would they announce the game so early in the first place? If you don’t want to communicate, why not wait until it’s release?
It is true that they have not released any screenshots in the last 18 months, but it is false to say that we need screenshots to prove we know the game is being developed. They have repeatedly confirmed many, many times that the game is still being developed.
The question is why would anyone think the game is not being developed anymore? It’s like an out of the blue thought that makes absolutely no sense.
Your making a lot of work there.
There was news that relic games wasn’t doing well financially. But this is also about public relations. That is really important for a gaming company to do well. If they don’t care about what the fans have to say that isn’t good for any game. For instance, if there is a bug, exploit, glitch or severe inbalance after the release of aoe4, they need to be able to translate community input into action within a couple of weeks. That is the level of care gamers ask for nowadays. Especially in esports type of games. And otherwise gamers will go back to sc2 or aoe2 and exactly the same will happen as with aoe online…
Well, Relic will move to a new office in the spring of 2019:
Relic is set to occupy 47,000 sq. ft., about 66% of the building’s space, allowing the company to almost double its workforce from its current 180 employees to up to 350.
So they are expanding, which is enough proof to end these assumptions regarding financial problems.
Also, implying AOE4 is not developed any more also implies Microsoft has run out of money, which is absurd.
Yeah, I recall several developers doing the same with Duke Nukem Forever.