Patch 2.7 didn’t do justice to what the game really needed and what the community was requesting. Here is a list of things I think the game needs fixed/added/changed/upgraded:
KEY MAPPING
- This one is complex, so I’ll list some problems first, then some possible solutions.
- There is a file called DefaultKeyMap2.7.xml that contains all the default keys and is the source of most of the problems, and the forbidding of all solutions. Many times, even if you define a new hotkey to a command, the hotkey set on this file will still do this command (You’ll have two keys doing the same thing. Also the hotkey in the file won’t be free to another command). If you modify a single character of the file, you’ll get a conflict message when you try to play online;
- You won’t be able to map the same key to 2 commands on the same page, even if they are impossible to conflict in game. Ex: The Centaur and Minotaur are mutually exclusive (Age Advance choice) and would occupy the same spot on the Temple, but they are on the same page on the hotkey menu, so you can’t have them with the same key;
- Most hotkeys can’t be left unmapped, disallowing us to set the hotkeys by other means. The blank keys would just go back to the defaults from DefaultKeyMap2.7.xml;
- Some commands are lacking a hotkey field. You can create a file called user.con, add the commands and put it into the folder “startup”. It can solve this problem, but you would need to know all the console commands for the lacking functions and how to program it (or copy someone who did).
- Some hotkey combinations can’t be used. Ex: alt-click is impossible to be set. It would be a good key for flare map.
So if you want a more intuitive position-based hotkey configuration (qwe) just forget it. With (1), (2) and (3), the game won’t allow it. If you want peace of mind, avoid messing with the hotkeys. Some solutions:
- Allow DefaultKeyMap2.7.xml to be edited without conflicting online play or add a configuration button to ignore it completely.
- Allow commands to be left without a hotkey (fields left in blank).
- Allow mapping of overlapping hotkeys even on the same page.
- Allow mapping of unusual hotkey combinations (Alt-Mouse 3, for example).
- Or at least add a button that sets everything to a positional configuration. First command of the first row is “q”, second is “w”. First of the second row is “a”, second is “s”, etc.
- Add hotkey for each animal Set’s Pharaoh can spawn.
- Add hotkey for Phoenix Egg button (hatch Phoenix).
- Add hotkey for Hesperides Tree button (train Dryad).
- Add hotkey for Kronos Time Shift.
- Add hotkey for Fu Xi Blessed Construction.
- Add hotkey for Set Gather Point.
- Add hotkey for Age Advance without selecting a Town Center.
- Add hotkey for Titan Gate.
- Add hotkey to converge all workers to selected unit.
- Add hotkey to toggle Flash Hitpoint Bars On Damage.
- Add hotkey to toggle Easy Drag Military Selection.
- Add hotkey to toggle Foot Prints.
- Add hotkey to toggle Camera Limit (zoom).
PERFORMANCE
- Multiplayer stability (player sync, lag) needs serious improvements. It’s hard to find a veteran player not complaining about this.
- In multiplayer it seems that if one player has a weak connection and his game lags, the other players suffer with a freezing game or lag also (probably to keep the players’ games sync). This is probably due to the lack of dedicated servers. AoM’s multiplayer should work like modern games, where if one player lags, he lags alone and the game continues smooth for other players.
- For some reason multiplayer lags even in LAN mode at some moments. Offline games with pcs linked by cable. Probably sync issues;
- The overall performance of the game should be improved. Maybe add an option to use pre-EE settings.
FUNCIONALITY
- The menu music should play once and not loop. Causes many to turn down the sound until the match starts;
- Aren’t the current key config used to scroll the screen (the arrow keys) dated? Wouldn’t it be better if they were changed to WASD?;
- A button to Reset Map Rotation would be a handy addition to the User Interface (some modders made their workarounds). A more convenient solution would be changing it’s default hotkey to something more intuitive, such as Alt-Mouse 3 or Ctrl-Mouse 3 (Mouse 3 is the mouse wheel pressed. It’s intuitive because the map is rotated with it) which are impossible to be assigned by players. The current default is Alt-Shift-Home;
- The keys to rotate buildings are mouse wheel up and down. When making multiple buildings by holding shift, if I try to rotate the building the camera zooms instead, so I have to release shift and select the building again. If I’m making many houses or farms and want to rotate every one, this behavior is inconvenient. The zooming shouldn’t happen when holding shift and a building is selected;
- In multiplayer, the Allies Only box should be checked by default;
- Chat should display who the player is speaking to. It can show something like “Millisar (all): text” and “Millisar (allies): text”
TOOLTIPS
- The game tells that Armory upgrades make human soldiers stronger, but doesn’t tell how much. Set’s Slingers are stronger, but I don’t know how much. It’s currently impossible to properly compare units and upgrades. If we want to know, we have to do tests, research online or use mods nobody knows how much can be trusted.
The Request is to add numbers to the descriptions. How faster does a Villager collect food than a Laborer, how long does it take to build a Temple, how much extra damage the Jarls do to Myth units, and how faster the Hersirs will be with Hall of Thanes. This information is so useful that the community is making mods to cover this since before EE (sadly with some errors). The addition could be made based on those mods, so nothing very original needs be done (it’s only a text addition, one that makes huge difference, especially to new players).
There is at least one precedent, as the display of villager count on each resource was previously only possible with mods, then was implemented officially on EE. I think the game and the community deserve this. The current best workshop mod is called Advanced Tooltips.
VISUAL
- The icon artwork of Thor currently doesn’t match his portrait in game;
- Walls sometimes becomes invisible (but still clickable). I think it’s after getting hit.
REPLAYS
- Replays run very slowly. Normal gameplay isn’t like this. This renders replays unbearable in many ocasions.
- Replays should have means of going back on a certain time to watch it again (clicking the green bar on the part I want to see?) without having to watch the whole thing again.
UNITS STUCK INSIDE BUILDINGS
- When there are many villagers working, sometimes one gets stuck inside a building (not garrisoned, but passed through the walls). This also happens with military units, as I’ve seen a couple stuck inside Settlements or Town Centers.
WORKERS ODD BEHAVIOR
- When Peasants finish building a Storage Pit near passive hunt animals (i.e. Deers), they go work on the nearest gold mine, even if the Pit is closer to the animals.
- When a designated resource ends, villagers are going to the nearest resource of WHERE THEY ARE instead of the nearest of WHERE THE PREVIOUS RESOURCE WAS. For example: if 2 villagers are working on a tree and one goes deliver the wood to a Town Center, and the other finishes the tree, the deliverer goes to a tree near where he is, instead of near the finished one.
- A combination of the previous two cases happened and, after a Peasant finished a deer, another (that delivered food) went to a gold mine instead of a deer.
- Similar to the previous cases, I’ve seen the rally point of buildings change if the designated target vanished.
EARTH DRAGON
- Earth Dragon should have counters to show how many uses we have;
WALKING BERRY BUSHES
- Walking Woods makes controllable trees. By analogy, shouldn’t Walking Berry Bushes (cheat FEAR THE FORAGE) make controllable berry bushes?;
WALKING TREES
- Should Walking Trees, being wood, be so weak against pierce damage? (We know it’s like this for balance, but there are other ways);
PORTABLE RAMS
- Should Portable Rams, being 2 semi-naked guys, be so resistant against pierce damage? (We know it’s like this for balance, but there are other ways);
FIRE LANCE
- Fire Lance’s attack animation currently is: aims forward; projectile goes almost upwards. They should point the lance at a degree before shooting.
- Fire Lance’s attacks doesn’t have a launching sound effect. Also, when it hits, sounds like arrows, when it should sound like a siege weapon attack.
GARDEN
- Previously, the construction animation of the Garden had 2 stages like all others, but the second stage was incompatible with the finished building. As a fix (I think), the second stage was removed, but now the Garden is left with only 1 stage of building. The downside is (aside of being different than the rest) that it removes the intuitive factor that allows us to know when the building is about to be finished. Making a new animation is the correct answer to this.
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That’s it. I’ll post in this topic if I find more issues.
I hope for the time a robust patch will be made and the game gets what it deserves.
Don’t abandon the game to sell a Definitive Edition!