Horse colour is important to recognise the unit, and this would be a major factor if introducing regional unit skins.
AOE is not Total War, you must recognise units visually very quickly instead of hovering the mouse over it to read what unit it is.
2 Likes
Yes possibly. But the knight for example always looks like a knight. Its a matter of adjustment. Some people are just obstinate mules.
That is unless you start introducing regional unit skins (there is a high demand for that), where knights will have different models based on the civ. You want to quickly identify which unit is what, without having to think too much such as looking at how much armour itās wearing, or clicking on it. There are pics of a mod for Middle Eastern & Meso styles where the result is stunning, units feel culturally right while being instantly recognisable.
While having varied models looks fantastic in TW, for AOE2 with much smaller army sizes itās less needed.
3 Likes
I donāt think we really need an āUltimate Editionā. That said.
This is a neat idea. It would give markets more utility for sessions without teams.
1 Like
More unique hero skins is another thing needed.
2 Likes
That is beyond question, every hero should look unique
3 Likes
Na, the Genie engine was fine for the 90s, but not even ES maintained it, for some reason they created the Bang Engine for the subsequent AoE installments (AoM, AoE 3, AoEO)ā¦ Relic doesnāt even know the Genie, thatās why they used its Essence Engineā¦
Of course, why change AoE 2 if you already have the most modern installments to appeal to that audience:
AoEO: 3D Remake of AoE 1
AoE 4: 3D remake of AoE 2
AoE 3 DE: Itās the same game from 2005 but updated for 2020ā¦
AoM Retold: Itās the same game from 2002 but updated for 2024ā¦
Na, for me in 2026-2027 they will be focused on other DE remasters like AoEO DE or RoN-RoL DEā¦ even, if Disney gives them the ok, SGWB DEā¦
Yes, my brother is generation Z and I made him play the entire saga (except 4 which had not yet been released)ā¦
Yeah, the AoE2 engine as well as its grid-based approach has a certain timeless charm about it that is appealing to me. I donāt like the graphics and camera angles/perspectives of the 3D games of Rise of Nations, AoE3, and AoE4 as much, and it also impacts gameplay a little. Makes an overall less enjoyable experience for me. I appreciated certain aspects of AoM being 3D (like the look of water), but Genie engine is the best so far, imo. I assume AoE2 DEās engine is still called Genie?.. because Iām cool with its graphics
4 Likes
3d strategy games make scales less believable, especially at low angles.
3 Likes
Can you explain what you mean with this?
Distances tend to feel much smaller in 3D RTS than in 2D. Especially when you zoom in, units look like they are firing at each other from a few metres away. It feels less awkward in 2D.
Proper distances like in TW simply cannot be done with a few hundred units max.
4 Likes
Another very nice thing to add would be a damage-model to buildings, maybe even to units. What does this mean?
Buildings always collapse the simmilar way, even if they have been destroyed by e.g. arrows only.
They could use a damage model based e.g. on BeamNG to get a collapse depending on damage type and direction. Of course, it needs to be coupled with some āforced collapseā, as the damage model would not predict any destruction of a castle by arrow fire. But it would be doable, and would enhance graphics
Nice idea but the AOK fundamentalists would make mincemeat with your suggestion.
i am not sure. AOE2 DE is already using 3D Models to generate the 2D images used in the AOE2 engines.
Like this, BeamNG could deliver the physis for the images used in AOE2. It would still look like AOE2, but the quality of the image will be high, dynamic. (Just like the ānewā building-destruction animations already were a leap forward)
Another nice option to add:
- Additional formation: single-line formation. All units will line up in a single line (if possible). This has many pros (higher initial firing rate), and in fact is the formation used in real war (check out old lineups from the 1700s)
1 Like
I am quite confused by this thread. @BibelLesenGibtLeben, if I understand correctly, you think itās a problem that people are discussing the graphics of DE:
But then almost all of your suggestions are graphical. Wonāt adding new/updated graphics (either to DE or in a new edition) lead to more discussion of the graphics, not less?
3 Likes
You forgot the most important suggest: a nun who eats trees!!!
3 Likes
My point was: every detail is now so well known, that quite unimportant details are highlighted. Thus: we need new content. So i formulated a basis and suggested a countermeasure in the same thought.
But if you think the graphics are unimportant, why are you suggesting so many changes to them?
3 Likes
I do not say graphics are unimportant. You are not getting the point I am trying to make.