Many of the old campaign scenarios require slight tweaking to make them consistent with the content on offer in the Definitive Edition. In addition, there are issues and details that were never addressed during the original game’s support cycle.
NOTE: this list doesn’t include game-breaking glitches, as addressing them should be on a higher priority.
The proposed solutions are things I know won’t require excessive effort to address or a redesign of the narrative already in place.
This list is not exhaustive, and some points may have been addressed with recent patches. Please let me know if there are any additions or corrections to be made to this list.
GENERAL
Issues:
- The Knights of Saint John flag is ahistorical.
- Several cutscenes feature Exploration Age buildings, even though their subsequent scenarios start in the Commerce or Fortress Age.
- Galleons and Forts are unable to train Hoop Throwers, despite other Civs being able to train Grenadiers (which the Hoop Thrower is analogous of).
- Hoop Thrower attacks make no sound when targeting buildings.
- The Aztec Jaguar Warriors available for recruitment at the Trading Post and Boneguards have not been updated with the attack modifiers introduced with any of the Expansions.
- The Inca Warrior’s name isn’t revealed, despite having a given name.
- Paris Burning (Lizzie’s Flagship) flies the Knights of Saint John Flag after she joins Morgan, even if it’s still her ship.
Proposed Solutions:
- Change the Knights of Saint John flag to the red flag with white cross they actually used.
- Change the ages of the buildings featured in the cutscenes from Exploration Age to Commerce or Fortress Age, for consistency in between scenarios.
- Enable Hoop Thrower training for Galleons and Forts.
- Fix the Hoop Thrower sound effects when attacking buildings.
- Update the Aztec Jaguar Warriors you can recruit at the Trading Post and Boneguards with attack modifiers appropriate to their unit type.
- Have the Inca Warrior’s name (Chilche) appear during his dialogues instead of his generic title.
- Have Paris Burning fly the Pirate flag regardless of ownership, just like Privateers do.
BREAKOUT
Issues:
- Settlers are able to build Town Centers. This doesn’t seem fitting for this scenario, given the urgency of keeping your Villagers alive.
- The Ottomans’ Civ is set as British. This is especially apparent when the flanking Galley flies the British flag.
Proposed Solutions:
- Disable the ability to build TCs.
- Set the Ottomans’ Civ as Ottomans.
THE NEW WORLD
Issues:
In this cutscene, the St. Elmo (Morgan’s Flagship) is accompanied by a Caravel, despite appearing alone the subsequent scenario.
Proposed Solutions:
Remove the Caravel from the cutscene.
TEMPLES OF THE AZTEC
Issues:
- The Aztecs (cyan) are set as “Native Americans”, which is a placeholder Civ. This ignores the fact that there is a proper Aztec Civ introduced with the first expansion.
- The Aztec defenders are represented by Aztec Jaguar Warriors, Aztec Eagle Warriors, Carib Blowgunners, and the Aztec Chief (a Jaguar Warrior with different stats). Now that a fully fleshed out Aztec roster exists, these units are effectively placeholders that should be replaced.
- The large Aztec army that appears as the timer runs out is similarly composed of obsolete versions of Jaguar and Eagle Warriors, along with Inca Bola Warriors that were most likely there to compensate for the lack of variety in the Aztec units at the time before TWC was released.
Proposed Solutions:
- Have the Aztecs appear as the appropriate Aztec Civ instead of “Native Americans”.
- Replace the patrolling and spawning Aztec allied units with basic Aztec units (Macehualtins, Puma Spearmen, and Coyote Runners). The Chief can be replaced by a proper Aztec Warchief with base stats. Their AI and behavior doesn’t need to be altered.
- Replace the units provided in the large Aztec army with an assortment of advanced Aztec units (Jaguar Prowl Knights, Eagle Runner Knights, Arrow Knights, or Skull Knights).
I truly hope the developers can dedicate some time to addressing these issues before this game’s support ends. They don’t have to be according to my proposed solutions, just show some care and love for the game’s campaign on par with the previous DEs (there are plenty of examples I can draw from).
Let me know if there are other tweaks these scenarios could get that make sense thematically.
I plan on doing similar lists for the other campaigns as well.