(This is a repost from Reddit, as I was told it was better to get it there)
Hi there! With Retold being out since some time now, and my hope for the game being at an all-time high, I decided to write a bit to share my opinion. Note that I’m not a pro or even good RTS player by any means, but I feel like AOM is in a unique position right now as a game that could potentially bring more people into the genre. Feel free to disagree with anything I will say ; I would be more than happy if people try and debate the issues I’ll bring up.
As a casual interested enough in the game to try and go competitive, I feel like voicing my opinion to contrast and discuss some of the well-known players takes (this post being partially inspired by IamMagic’s video Biggest Issues With Retold (which I encourage everyone to go watch, as I think it is great competitive-oriented feedback ).
AOMR : Kid me’s dream come true
First of all, let me say that I love the remake. I feel like the devs put a lot of effort in preserving what made AOM what it was while improving on many aspects of it. The Wonder age is a blast as far as fun goes, and the reusable god powers bring some more variety to gameplay all game long rather than being an (admittedly really cool) single moment.
I like most of the balance changes I’ve seen and felt like the vast majority of units have clear uses and counters. Overall, the game feels intuitive and less clunky while managing to keep the charm of the old games design and mechanics-wise.
AOMR : Unique opportunity?
While it is no secret that RTS are not the most popular game genre out there at the moment, I feel like AOMR is in an unique position. The mythological theme is a huge help, as it is most appealing and faily well-known around the world, requiring little in the way of explanation and lore to understand.
In terms of gameplay, Retold strikes me as an RTS-MOBA hybrid done right : keeping all of the strategy and complexity of a game of the genre, while allowing people to choose their “Heroes” (e.g gods) and make builds (units used, minor gods chosen, build orders…) specific to an encounter, enemy or situation. This not only allow players to develop their own game style, but also to balance civs and gods in relation to eachother more clearly while avoiding the trap of having “too-hard” counters , the skill-expression of an RTS and options allowed by the game keeping everything that in check.
This is of course amplified by the fact that ranked exist in a 3v3 format, making every little choice, synergy and strategy infinitely more complex and (poentially) fun to play and play against, especially with friends. What if AOMR had a draft pick phase as entertaining and intense to watch as the games themselves?
While I’d strongly advise to not take too much from MOBAs (see Dawn of War 3 for a failed “hybrid” imho), we all know that they are vastly easier to understand and get into than strategy games, which is a really strong point when it comes to build a dedicated community around the game and allow it to evolve and keep growing.
AOMR : What now?
From a popularity standpoint, I strongly feel like the emphasis in the near future should be put on casual-content. Crank the “wow factor” to 11, make people feel like legendary warlords, like their own god’s chosen. Make me, the casual player that loved AOM as a kid and bought it with nostalgia, want to show the game to friends, to share my best and worst moments with them. Make me want to bring them in, play and learn with me along the way!
Keep the Arena of the gods idea ; use co-op as the game main strength, but invest more resources in it, make it rewarding ; what if people could gain titles and unit skins to use (maybe make those optional for others to see for competitive play though, or make the skins co-op only)? Take risks, make gameplay more varied : Offense map, Defence map, Ground battles, Naval battles, Myth battles! Funny mechanics that change/restrict the way you play, the gods you choose? Maybe some banter between gods inbetween, as flavor? Give them real personalities! As for replayability, why not go with achievements rewards? Simple things to grind for, to strive for and get rewarded in a way that allow players to show-off!
My hope is that from that “casual” focus will come more popularity, and that popularity by itself will allow the game to grow bigger and better, making the competitive scene larger aswell. Following the advice of people invested in the highest levels of comp regarding balance between gods, maps and even units is the right call, and the feedback of people such as Boit or Magic is invaluable as they are not-only pro level players (to my understanding) but also huge voices in the community as content creators.
AOMR : Getting competitive
With all that said, and speaking with my own (aswell as friends) experience, one major obstacle to get over with in AOMR is the fear experiences by new players. By nature, RTS games are more complex than most, and many people feel like they are not worth the time invested in “getting good”, or straight up think they could never be good at such games.
AOMR is no stranger to these feelings, and I feel like some things could be done better about these issues. An extensive multiplayer tutorial comes to mind : teach people basics, that economy is everything with special scenarios requiring X resources by X minute, another one about raiding villagers, yet another where and AI makes one type of unit so the player has to build its counter…
All of it supported by a new feature, a compendium of sort but based around gameplay, describing the strength and weaknesses of each unit, insisting on their cost effectiveness use color coding at the game’s advantage in there as well as in tooltips so people can understand broadly what unit does what at a glance. Use bold font to highlight any special move or passive (such as the phoenix egg…). Do not make people seek the infos, deliver them straight to their eyes.
I don’t really know how to conclude that post, but I hope it will be able to spark discussion and debate. I want that game to succeed more than anything, And I felt like devs rarely get the casual player’s feedback in a meaningful and constructive way. I do not by any means think this feedback is worth more than anyone else’s. I just hope this gets to the devs (I heard they listen to feedback so eh, I’ll try).
Thanks for reading!