I’d say if a new ancient AOE is made, its unit composition for Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse/Germanics would be very similar to the human units in AOMR.
I wonder if they would choose a very extended timeline (like from prehistory to the end of Roman Empire in AOE1) or a more focused one (like AOE4). If the latter then we might get Ptolemaic Egypt. 0AD is a good reference for the unit composition design of classical civs.
Hopefully on Age 5 they will use a engine capable of this groundbreaking feature called making the chickens move
AOE-1 covers a huge amount of time, and that is why we see Sumerians coexisting with Romans, which is absurd.
The general consensus is that classical antiquity dates from the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD, a huge period of more than a thousand years and which came after the end of the Bronze Age (3300 to 1200 BC). So with this in mind, classical antiquity alone would potentially have enough material to provide 2 different games. One from 8th century BC until just before the rise of the Roman Empire (27 BC), And another from the rise of the Roman Empire until its fall in the 5th century AD.
The Bronze Age itself is also a very long period, and I think it could also be divided into at least a couple of individual games, since it is a period of more than 2000 years. The most appropriate representation would be the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC), which culminates with the famous and mysterious Sea Peoples.
Now my question is, in case it is possible to make several separate games representing these various periods, what would the ages of each period be called, assuming they must be divided into at least 4 different ages. For example the late Bronze Age being subdivided to represent 4 ages and technological progress as you advance to a new age.
I know I sound very picky, but people tend to generalize these periods as if there were no radical differences over the centuries. There are fewer years between the existence of Cleopatra (69 BC – 10 August 30 BC) and our time, than between Cleopatra and the construction of the pyramids (2630–2610), and there are those who theorize that it could be much older.
It’s like when someone talks about fossils and the first thing that comes to mind is dinosaurs, which although they prospered for 135 million years, life on Earth already existed billions of years before, and it was radically different before the emergence of the dinosaurs.
Well, it makes sense… I was expecting an AoE Online DE for 2026, but it makes sense that they are developing an AoE 5 for 2027…
Nah, it would be like AoE 4 with AoE 2, which instead of being an AoE 5 would be an AoE 3 2.0 with all the comparisons between both games… I prefer that they get out of their comfort zone and focus on the 20th century…
Yes, for me Relic continues the “new” restarted chronology of the saga, post AoE 3:
AoEO: Ancient Age
AoE 4: Middle Ages
AoE 5: Early Modern Age
AoE 6: 20th Century or restart the saga again (Ancient Age again)
Well, there you have the example of AoE 3, which has Renaissance units and those from the Pike and Shot era with ninjas, pirates and cowboys…
Yes, in short, the gameplay of AoE 3…
No, because they’re going to sell you the whole definitive saga again…
AoE Online: Am I painted or what? xd…
Of course, as you have in Total War, where you have Pharaoh (which chronologically is the first, being in the late Bronze Age), Troy (which with Dynasties update already seems like a Pharaoh DLC), Rome 1 and 2 (which include everything from Alexander the Great in the first game to the Crisis of the Third Century and Barbarian invasions in both games) and Attila (which even includes the Carolingian Empire)…
It’s not considered as a “main AOE title”. The most of people think to It like a sort of experiment which failed rapidly. Of course the lack of contents at launch not help but ita cartoonish graphic alieneted many many people. It was called “Age of Farmville”.
So, not, we have not a good AOE set in the ancient times.
Imagine a new RTS with new next generation graphic (Essence Engine could be improved a lot in this way) where you are able to lead Athen or Sparta or Rome or Gallia to conquer the ancient world into a Dynamic Campaign with different missions.
All of this with great graphic effects, cinematic zoom (similar to AOMRE or COH3) and real formations: a Battle between phalanx and Roman legion would be amazing.
Imagine this (Civilization 7)
Well it was an “á la AoM” spinoff so to speak (although it was originally conceived as an AoE 4 but the graphic design would have put off classic fans, which ended up happening) made to fight against Farmville and WoW… if it died it’s because it came out with 2 civs and didn’t even have PVP and when they solved the lack of civs and pvp the game didn’t recover and they closed it (until Project Celeste reopened it years later)… but yes, a main game with realistic graphics, that’s something else… I don’t rule out that Relic wants to visit antiquity at some point (something it can’t do with CoH) with AoE 5 or 6…
I’m not convinced they’d give it to Relic. For AoM they specifically hired and built a team within Forgotten Empires. They could have just gave it to Relic, but they didn’t.
I think one of the reasons we have mixtures in games is because (from a modern, popular perspective) the progression of technology is slower the earlier we get.
From the bronze age to antiquity, the biggest advances that most people know is probably “chariots turned into horses” and nothing more (and considering how many games place chariots and horses in the same stage, I’d say “most” is an exaggeration). Spears are the same spears, bows are the same bows, etc. Things like advances in metallurgy, etc. are too trivial for modern people to perceive.
Say for a bronze age-only game, you’re likely to start with spears and bows and slings and end up with spears and bows and slings and chariots. You probably need to make “fast infantry” like Total War Troy and Pharaoh to fill the role of common cavalry but they still have the same weaponry. Imagine a game where all civs are like Aztecs and Inca in AOE3.
Antiquity is better documented than bronze age and would be more exciting (to people) so it could be its own game.
That’s why AOE1 and AOM mixes things that are 3000 years apart into the same stage, and in many civilization-like games (including Rise of Nations) the whole Bronze Age is one age and the whole antiquity is another age, and the units have little difference, while later periods are much finer separates with more noticeable differences.
They did so because OG AoM was programmed on Bang engine and AoE 3 using a modified version of it. Relic has no knowledge of that engine whereas the Forgotten and Tantalus devs already know that engine from working on 3 DE.
So you’re saying the were able to port a lot of it by remaking it in the same engine, which was cheaper than remaking it in Essence engine.
Essence Engine is also owned by Relic and I think they would much more prefer to use their engine, then using Relic one and be forced to share profit and deal with licensing
I would like it if they returned to AoE’s roots. start in the late paleolithic and build an empire from a small tribe of hunter gatherers.
Time frame could be Late Paleolithic-end of middle ages
The ages could be
Stone age
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Classical Age
Medieval Age
If Empire Age 5 is the Stone Age. That would be the best. I am looking forward to it
That still doesn’t answer the question, as graphics engines evolve over the years. If you like the art and gameplay of a past game, it doesn’t mean those same elements can’t be recreated in more current software.
A non biased big streamer comparasion between aom and aoe4 graphics:
https://www.twitch.tv/lirik/clip/BigTardyPeanutPastaThat-lweq-sd5MJ3H1YkE
Just shows how Aoe4 could be much bigger if they had made a better looking game and how the graphics are important for the general audience…
He’s been sponsored in the past to promote AoE4, and I imagine he is now sponsored to promote AoMR. He said “in a way this looks better…which is weird”. I wish he said why. I personally think the units are more carefully modeled, and their textures are higher definition, and the colors are more saturated. AoM has more of a indie, warm game feel, while AoE4 has more of a colder, corporate feel.
Yes, I’m not saying that Forgotten Empires can’t do an AoE 5 using the Bang Engine, but Relic is a much more professional team to make new installments of the saga…
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Essence Engine is also owned by Relic and I think they would much more prefer to use their engine, then using Relic one and be forced to share profit and deal with licensing
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Of course, and AoM Retold wouldn’t look like the original AoM if it had been remade in the Essence Engine… that’s why they should leave it for AoM 2…
Difficult considering that they want to make games more focused on certain historical periods, AoE 1 covered all of Antiquity while AoEO the Bronze and Iron Ages, AoE 2 covers the entire Middle Ages while AoE 4 covers the Middle and Late Middle Ages…
Yes, I couldn’t have said it better… AoM feels like a classic game, whereas AoE 4 feels like a modern game without a soul, like what happened with DoW 1 and 3 and Tiberian Sun with CNC 4…
Without a soul definitely, but I’d also say that AoM feels a more modern Age game. Its 2002 design is ages ahead of AoEIV. I just can’t find anything of value in that game to spend my time with and anything that does better than the other games. It’s an AoEII frankestein that plays, feels and looks outdated, not modern.
I really like the style of Age of Empires 4, I feel like it is a fairy tale world in my heart. Especially the walls. Especially the wall in the promo when it was first released. Let me see the fairy tale in my heart as a child. Age of Empires 4 screen is very OK. The game is too aggressive at the moment, but I’ve adapted to it. Actually, my idea is that all the versions in the Age of Empires series. Especially in Imperial Age 4, the initial town center should have supported the rapid ######## of a fence. After entering Age 3, it is possible to quickly build a circle of walls around the home, rather than a wall across the map. The upper wall can become the mainstream defense method, in order to conform to the medieval battlefield style, it will be more interesting and more soul.
I think games should be more cute. In particular, it gave medieval swordsmen cute behaviors such as climbing walls and digging tunnels. This will enrich the game and make it feel epic. Instead of focusing on a quick invasion. The era of rapid aggression, born of fear of the opponent, evolved too quickly. If there is still Age of Empires 5, I firmly believe that the progress of times and technology needs war to provide. The only way to enter the next era is to keep fighting. Instead of gathering food and gold, you leap into Age 2, Age 3, Age 4. There’s no soul in that.
