I also had that idea (I even mentioned it in this forum a few years ago). This could be used to further develop the multiplayer aspect of the game. I even thought about more aggressive campaigns, such as:
Selling individual civilizations at ridiculously low prices.
Offering free civilizations to Steam players with a high multiplayer ranking in other massive games (like DOTA or CS).
Providing free civilizations to players who achieve a high ELO (ranking) in the game.
I am confident that if a good system to attract new players is added and an efficient rewards system is implemented, AoE 3 could become a very competitive and aggressive multiplayer game (with civilizations, mods, and even skins acting as lures).
But hey, itās my opinion based on my personal experience; DOTA 2 is played a lot in my country and it became popular due to the high competition and reward system.
I donāt think that SC2 is comparable.
SC2 was only supposed to get 2 expansions and the long term support was not planned but the Coop was more successful then expected so they added new stuff to it.
WC3 got a lot less long term support. It was never something that Blizzard planned for.
AoE3DE had a free weekend before but who knows.
With 18k we would get pretty close to AoE2DE.
I think people found some stuff in the game files of AoE2DE that hints to them planning a free game rotation there too.
AoE2HD had the same mechanic but only for DLC content.
Im sorry but I cant agree with that. In fact, competitive players are the most encouraged to purchase every DLC.
Equality between players is the best approach
Thatās what we meant when talking about publicity and promotions.
The game has already been made and updated. Manpower and funds are already invested. Now the question is how to make them pay off, which means to get as many people who play the game as possible.
Semi-free game with 10k new players (10% of which eventually purchased the game) is definitely better than none.
Of course the managers have more knowledge and experience than us for that, and this looks like a good move. The only thing I worried about is whether they have the motivation to do it.
It sounds really odd but I never thought Iād be happy when the business is trying to milk from its gameā¦(because it didnāt even try before).
Because they want to be updated to the day with new mechanichs, cards, units. And a new Civ for their roster is a good temptation. Also, we know how new ones are balanced at the beggining
Itās good they made it free because after years of DE being released theyāve already maximized sales of the original game so at least now if even 5% of those that try the game buy it theyāll still make more money and have a higher player base. Those that buy the game will then likely by dlc at some point too.
Butā¦ doesnāt it take a long time to have a good ranking?
As I understand it, AoE 3 will only offer as free civilizations the civilizations included in the release of AoE 3 DE (that excludes civilizations included in DLCs like The African Royals and Knights of the Mediterranean)
3 civs that rotate per week (this week they are French, Hauds and Russians), the Blood campaign with Morgan and the Historical Battle of Algiers with the Reis brothersā¦
The battle of Vienna already came out with KotM (which is the current expansion of the game)ā¦
Put it without fear, itās a masterpieceā¦ imagine that in Steam 3DE it went from 82 to 91ā¦
Yes, my 2013 i7-3770k (although with 2011 components) ran it tooā¦
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher
Processor: Intel i3-2105 @ 3.1GHz or AMD Phenom II X4 973 with an average CPU Passmark score of 1830 or better
Memory: 8GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GT 430, Radeon HD 5570, or Intel HD 4400 with an average Passmark G3D Mark of 570 or better @720p
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 42 GB of available space
Additional Notes: 2 GB VRAM
RECOMMENDED:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 version 18362.0 or higher
Processor: Intel i5-3300 @ 3.0GHz or AMD FX-8350 or equivalent with an average CPU Passmark score of 4100 or better
Memory: 16GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce GTX 980 or Radeon R9 Fury or equivalent with an average Passmark G3D Mark of 9500 or better @1080p
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 42 GB of available space
Additional Notes: 4 GB VRAM
If you comply with this, you could run itā¦
Yes, you should install it on a desktop PC to save yourself some other graphic problemā¦
You already have it but as a historical map xdā¦
A classic xdā¦
Me yesterday when I saw that they put the game for free:
āThe game diedā
Me today when I see that the number of Steam players almost tripled xd:
Now the one who died would be AoE4 xdā¦
Now itās at 91%ā¦they did itā¦they saved the game xd
Yes I choose to believeā¦
Yes, they did very wellā¦
It doesnāt change too much or maybe yes, all the cards are now unlocked from the beginning and the level points are now used to buy cosmetics and customizations in the homecity, which are now all customizable (the Asian and native ones too)ā¦
Yes, I hope they come with an open mind and enjoy the gameā¦
The United States was also a civ that they offered for free, but if you did the challenges of the 50 states to unlock itā¦
In other words, they will only be able to try the 16 civs of the base gameā¦ the 9 European ones (8 originals plus Sweden), the 4 native civs (3 from TWC plus Incas) and the 3 Asian onesā¦
Although it may seem obvious to some, imagine this scenario: a player starts trying AoE 3 DE with only the 3 rotating civilizations available for free, and over time, they start enjoying the game and want to try the Italian civilization. Obviously, the Italian civilization wonāt be one of the ārotating civilizations,ā so they would have to purchase the Knight of the Mediterranean DLC.
Will it be possible to buy the Knight of the Mediterranean DLC without the need to purchase the base game, right?
Will it be possible in the future to buy only the Italian civilization without the need to purchase the entire Knight of the Mediterranean DLC?
Either way, this could be a good incentive for a new player to acquire DLC or civilizations without having to buy the entire base game.
1.) Yes but without the Full Game DLC, you wonāt be able to access the content of KotM
2.) I donāt think theyāll sell individual civs apart from the already released US and Mexico civs
When I was 7 years old, I marveled at discovering the aoe2 map editor at my auntās boyfriendās house, I could recreate duels, skirmishes or great battles like the ones I imagined in my head or saw in movies, from that moment I knew that my favorite games would be the rts
