AoE 4 game Ideas

Age of Empires IV IV - Discussion
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Age Of Empires IV is in development at Microsoft

This is what I would like to see in the next age of empires.

Age of Empires (AoE) Online was the best AoE game ever. I played in religiously until Microsoft (MS) shut it down. You have so many different religions, civilizations, the multiplayer aspects were amazing.

MS should take everything from that and put it in AoE 4.

While I am not a die hard AoE fan, I do enjoy the series. AoE was a feeble attempt from MS to combat Warcraft, starcraft, and other Realtime strategy (RTS) games.

Below is a feature list that I would like to see in AoE 4:

Fishing - you can have boats go out and fish. In all AoE games, you have set locations where you fish. I would like to see it where there are no set locations, and the fishing boats just go and fish where ever, and then return when full.

Storage - There are several types of resources you have to harvest: gold, wood, food, and rock. You have to have 2 different storage areas for everything. Just one storage building for everything.

Upgrades - In some AoE games, upgrades for building A are done at a granary. Building A are defensive structures. I would like to see all upgrades centralized in one location, at the town center, or a science/research center. This is something that other RTS games do well, and also the Civilization series.

Town Centers - In some AoE games, you can only build town centers at certain locations, and only have so many. This is what Warcraft and starcraft do well. You can build as many bases as you want where ever you want. It would be nice if MS removed this limitation.

Population - There is a population cap. This should be removed. It takes more management from the players, but it is player choice.

But Most of All, resource and Unit Management - I would like to see AoE move from micro management on some stuff, such as resource gathering, to macro management.

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Everybody has his/her personal opinion on this regard. I personally like AOE2 the most.

So far we know that there will be more different civs in AOE4 which might indicate inspiration from AOE3 and maybe even some of AOM/AOEO with mostly a AOE2 base it seems

Not true. The Age of Empires franchise started under Ensemble Studios, which was an independent studio right before the purchase by Microsoft. They were forced to dissolve in 2008 because as far as I know Microsoft saw no future in PC Gaming and wanted to focus on the console market with their then brand new XBox. A one of a kind RTS studio was forced to dissolve. It still makes me sad nowadays. What could have been and what didn’t happen :sob:

They were even forced to put the Age of Empires name on Age of Empires 3 which they thought didn’t really fit the AOE style.

This would make fishing either completely overpowered or useless. Fishing is a common booming strategy in AOE2 at least. If you can do it everywhere without risk, it would either have to be pretty useless or it would risk to be completely OP.

Why even do that in the first place?

Why though? As civ bonus it might be interesting like the Chinese in AOM but if every civ has that, it dumbs down completely the economy aspect. Farms around a lumbercamp would look weird and unnatural too.

Why again? If you remove that, you risk to remove certain risk aspects. Building a university in AOE2 instead of going for a town center is a risk which has to pay off.

Building limitations and fixed are stupid. This is one of the aspects I really disliked about AOM and AOE3. The older titles AOE2 and AOE1 don’t have this issue.

Would risk to make Spammer civs completely overpowered. Why go for very expensive and slow to train units if you can simply overwhelm them with mass?

A balance between the two is important. I prefer the Macro aspect but some prefer the micro. I think AOE2 hits the right balance on this regard.

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You are saying “make less complex this game”
lmfao
are you remember other rts games tried “a less complex rts”
Dawn of War 3
Forged Batralion
Conan Unconquered
Tiberian Twilight
Act of Agression

Then?All of them is flopped
A rts game have to be complex
Want a simple rts game is like to want a easy souls-borne game.what is the souls without challenge.

1-AoE created by Ensemble Studios.they were independent.
AoE1 released in 1997
AoE2 in 1999
Microsoft acquired studio in 2001
AoM in 2002
AoE3 in 2005

And how aoe was feeble?
1,5 months after release of aoe2
game sold over 3 millions.

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Em, those ideas already do exist in one game

Cossacks 3, I do really recommend it for people who like AoE2 and AoE3,

-the resources are infinite like fish
-you have one central building for upgrades
-and by storage building can be stored anything

On the other hand the game does compensate those “simplifications”,
with some deep and complex mechanics.

-you have food upkeep, or units die
-you can capture enemy workers
-you have coal upkeep or your units can’t fire
-you have gold upkeep or your mercenaries do revolt
-you have wood upkeep or your archers can’t shoot

-units can be in squads for extra buffs

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You can still play it, just get the

celeste fan project for age of empires online

check this out
download age of empires online from steam and install the mod

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Well some of what you said are subjective and a matter of opinion, and some are objectively 10 steps backwards. Here it is:
I think AoE online was the worst of the lot and it wouldnt even be called AoE if it wasn’t for marketing reasons, i am glad that it was closed down as it shows the overwhelming disappointment and disinterest that it caused to the community. Which game is better is subjective to what each of us want to play, but the disappointment and eventual close down is objective measure.

The rest of your points sounds like you haven’t played an RTS ever, at least not out of single player or campaign setting. Most of these would cause major breaks in the game. Population uncapped is the worst idea, i could write an essay of different reasons but i think it is pointless. And in fact, IF population was removed it takes less management from the player, you are confusing basic concept of “management” with actions per minute and playing fast macro. If there is pop cap, you have to manage how many of units you will allocate to what economy and where and what army composition you will have. If there is no pop cap you are free to just spam the most of everything.
Fishing, is limited because AoE has limited food on the map generally, the infinite food of farms costs wood, so having infinite fishing food would cause major disruption in the economy. This is why fish are limited , just as boars and sheep are and you can then make traps that cost wood, just as farms are. This is obviously about AoE 2, we can’t know what type of economy AoE4 will have so both our points are irrelevant for that game.
AoE being a feeble attempt to copy other games is downright absurd and ridiculous, i have played extensively all these titles you mention, aoe has a different design from the get go, while warcraft and starcraft play on the same concepts. In addition aoe 2 had comparative success as far as sold units go with warcraft 3 which was released 3 years later. If we compare wc2 to aoe 2 which were released in 95-96, aoe 2 definitely wins the popularity/units sold race. And again, these 2 games are nothing alike, except for the fact they are both RTS genre.
And the rest of the points boil down to: make the game simpler. Now, this is again a subjective opinion, but i wouldn’t want it.

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In starcraft you have minerals and vespense gas.
You use minerals for every unit.
And stronger units need both mineral and gas.
It is same in warcraft

In c&c,u have only 1 resource:dollars

But in AoE you have 4 resources.you have to make resource management.
It is a big difference.

We rarely see medieval historical rts games.
Concept is unique.

AoE have “age” mechanics.you feel your empire is advancing.
Look at sc,wc,cnc or another rts game
SC2 marine in early game.
images (36)
SC2 marine in late game(if you make shield upgrade,not a very big difference)
images (40)

RA3 Guardian Tank in early game

RA3_Guardian_Tank
RA3_Guardian_Tank720Ă—720 96 KB

RA3 Guardian Tank in late game
RA3_Guardian_Tank
RA3_Guardian_Tank720Ă—720 96 KB

I mean you have same unit in early&late game.

But in aoe your militia is advancing
images (37)
There is a difference between early game infantry and late game infantry.

It is same for buildings.
You are starting with this ugly tc
images (38)
But in imperial age,you have this
20200806_014635

Of course both c&c,sc,wc and aoe is good rts games.but aoe isn’t a copy paste.it has very unique mechanics

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Unlimited Population would cause a lot of lag and FPS drops, especially on Team Games.

Not everybody can afford an elite gaming PC. Especially with the current COVID-19 crisis, the dollar conversion rates are affecting the purchasing power of many countries.

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I did like some things about AOEO - the quest system and decorative overworld city gave a reason to keep playing when solo and some RPG elements that didn’t affect multiplayer balance (though there were also cards and leveling trees that did affect balance in that game, which is something I wouldn’t want to see in ranked matches, which I feel should put everyone on an even starting point). I really enjoyed the more structured co-op mode offered in Defense of Crete, and the monthly leaderboards with point system rewards for more decorations. The crafting system also added more goals to shoot for at end game - something AOE2 DE has been adding with the holiday events that I think are great cosmetic, client-side mods to earn that don’t affect balance.

I prefer AOE2 personally and the more complex/traditional base building style of the first two games. I wouldn’t mind having some of these suggestions as options though (A game mode where resources don’t expire, a population drop-down menu that includes an unlimited option, etc). While I don’t think such options should be standard as they take away more strategy from the RTS (I remember playing the RoR demo on the MS Zone with unlimited pop mods, which almost always boiled down to out-producing the enemy to win. There was no way to come back once behind.). Having pop limits requires players to manage population space, adding depth to the game in the long run and making it easier on systems to run smoothly. As additional options though…I’m all in for more customization options. Everyone has their favorite way to play.

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I agree. Quests were a good idea, the customization of a home city was another idea (though I’d like it to be a bit more clear and easy to understand than AOEO).

But one thing I did not like was the equipment system giving bonuses to units. I don’t mind a person customizing units - like 10% attack speed vs. +5 armor and picking, choosing the bonuses they think are best but I feel like this should be completely open from the start. Balance the game around a set standard that everyone has access to when playing against AI and when playing against other people in PVP.

I’d also love some sort of living world/battle front mode where you somehow compete for territory but I’d imagine that’s a bit too big in terms of scale.