A $100 Fan’s Plea: Stop Turning History into a "Shallow Sport" – Total Overhaul Requested

Age of Empires IV IV - Discussion
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A $100 Fan’s Plea: Stop Turning History into a “Shallow Sport” – Total Overhaul Requested

I have invested over $100 in Age of Empires IV, including the base game and all DLCs. However, the current state of the game, especially with the “Yue Fei’s Legacy” DLC, is a deep insult to history. AoE was never meant to be just a “numbers game” or an “e-sport.” It was a historical simulation.

World’s Edge, it is time to stop making “balanced puzzles” and start making a True RTS. I demand a total overhaul based on historical reality:

1. Abolish Universal Gold Mining (Historical Economies)
It is absurd to see a Mongol Khan’s people digging in a gold pit like it’s 1997.

  • Mongols: Remove mining. They should earn gold through “Looting” and “Tribute” from conquered lands.

  • China (Song/Jin): They should earn wealth through “Taxation” and “Bureaucracy” reflecting their massive population.

  • Byzantines: Stop the “Olive Oil for Food” nonsense. Armies don’t drink oil. Make it a luxury trade resource.

2. Asymmetrical Population Limits (Strategic Reality)
A flat 200-cap for everyone kills the soul of history.

  • China/Jin: Increase the cap to 400 to represent their overwhelming demographic and defensive power.

  • Mongols: Limit the cap to 100, but make each unit 4x stronger with superior stats. Genghis Khan crushed 400,000 Jin soldiers with 100,000 men not because he had high APM, but because of the terrifying quality of his cavalry.

3. Correct the “Range Lies” and Western Bias

  • The Bow Inversion: A Mongol Composite Bow had a range of 600m. Why does the English Longbow (300m) outrange it in-game? This is blatant Western revisionism.

  • Siege Tech: Mongols should not “research” cannons. They should “Capture” them from enemies or kidnap engineers to produce them.

4. Reject “Pro-Gamer” Logic over “Civilization Soul”
Pro players only care about numbers and harassment. By listening only to them, you have turned AoE into a “Harassment Simulator.” Why is Joan of Arc a standalone civilization while the man who shaped the modern world—Genghis Khan—is sidelined?

Conclusion:
We didn’t pay $100 for a balanced sport; we paid for a Historical Romance. Stop the Western favoritism and the lazy “copy-paste” DLCs. Give us back a game where history dictates the strategy, not the other way around.

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And during the war of Svyatoslav Igorevich (Rus), they shot arrows at 1 km, we need to make changes to the game.:sweat_smile:

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“Our priority is to create a fun and engaging game. Realism and historical information are resources or ‘props’ that we use to add interest… but they are not the highest priority” - Bruce Shelley, co-founder of ES and lead designer of AoE.

The same person who said years later that in this modern market, competitiveness is also a fundamental aspect for ensuring the franchise’s longevity.

The idea that AoE is a historical simulator is something you made up. It’s easier to admit that you want the Mongols to be OP.

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good bait, I like you come from a new angle. But it’s a bit late for april 1st

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This is funny lol, AoE has just never been as faithful to history as you want - not in AoE 1, or 2, or 3, or 4. So I don’t know where you get the idea that its meant to be a historical simulation.

What you are asking for is a different game altogether. A historical simulation game sounds pretty cool, I would play that, but AoE is not that game. Maybe you could try something like Europa Universalis or Manor Lords?