Did someone say AoE V was a cooler version of the Classical Antiquity period of AoE I?
“Because that would be Mega Cool!”
One important thing to consider though, AoE 1 doesn’t really represent the Classical Antiquity period at all, but rather the ages before Classical Antiquity.
The ages are “Stone Age” (??? BC - 4500 BC), "Tools… Copper ( 4500-c. 3000 BC)), “Bronze” ( 3000-c. 1200 BC), “Iron” ( 1200-c. 700 BC).
In fact, that’s the reason why there are club-wielding cavemen, axemans, and chariots, or why there are no unique technologies or units, because civilizations were JUST forming.
However, since many cool ancient battles happened in the Classical Age, and they didn’t want to take out certain scenarios of legenday Battles of the Greek Campaign (Ej: Alexander the Great) the game tries to include the Classical Ancient Age (700 BC - 200 AD) within the Iron Age (IV) of the game.
This It’s also the reason why in the Rome expansion, there can be civs like Romans, Palmyra, Carthage, which should enter a V age, but let’s imagine this still happens in IV.
So, a new game that starts at the beginning of CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY and lets say ends with the FALL OF ROME and the Barbarians, would be pretty cool.
AoE-V as RTS in Classical Antiquity, comparison with other games:
The Age of Mythology, in fact, was the closest to that experience, with Greeks who are Greek from the 1st age, and have hoplites from the 2nd, no cavemen, or prehistoric infantry. Of course there is the issue of mythical units.
I would imagine a Classical Ancient Age AoE-V, like an Age of Mythology Retold but with the unique civilization mechanics like in AoE V, and several Landmarks to advance through the ages, as well as several unique buildings, technologies, and units per civilization.
Of course, the mythology factor would be lost, but well, in Mythology many human units are cannon fodder for the mythological ones, here instead we could see things where human troops shine like:
- “Greek Phalanxes”, “Achaemenid Persian Immortals”, “Testudo Formation of Legionaries”, “Elephant Crushes”, “Pilum of Legionaries”, “Celtic Chariots”, “Visigoth Barritus”, etc.
0 A.D (Zero A.D).- It would also be like an improved version of 0.AD, without its current defects, since it has many of the limitations of AoE2 that AoE IV already corrected:
- Almost all civs have the same roster, just with other names and models.
- Military units collecting in their free time with armor and everything, no please!
- There are no unique units with bonuses or special abilities, just varied stats to balance.
- The building capture mechanic is not fun, what people did in the past is the same as in AoE3 and AoE4, “set everything on fire with torches”, except obviously the stone walls. If you want to capture, it should be optional, not the main rule when you send your soldiers to raze cities.
- Captured buildings "are not fully captured", since if there is no captured urban center nearby, at the end the building reveals itself and becomes an enemy again (for that I would rather just burn it from the beginning, but be careful, there is no mechanic to attack buildings, nor torches).
- They limit the construction area very strongly, and expanding it is a nightmare.
- Resources often seem poorly placed.
- Lack of combat formations makes combats lack excitement.
Well, that was it, I got excited and wrote a lot. Anyway, there are many theories. As long as they make a good product, and it is entertaining, everything is normal.
