Yes, that’s why…I see Liberia more for the future…first that the devs cover southern Africa, then east Africa and finally post-colonial African civs (which obviously existed in the 19th century)…
Moroccans were definitely considered for TAR, but they didn’t make it into the “final round” since there are so many overlaps with the European design culture (and history). It really sits at the crossroads between the two civ styles. That obviously didn’t make it a 100% fit for the African culture and for the DLC we really wanted the civs to be distinctively different from European civs. So due to this Moroccans were never cut or started.
With that said it is still a very interesting civ, however it’d be made, i.e. as a more African or European civ blend with elements from the respective other culture. If the game actually needs a Moroccan civ is a good question, since there is already so much there. Barbary Pirate scenario civ, revolution, African alliance, mercs, Berbers, etc. Thematically one could argue it’s notably covered already (though a main civ is always something else). Contrary to widespread belief existing content wouldn’t actually make the development of a Moroccan civ easier, since we can’t just rip all this content out of its embedded place within the live game. We’d actually need to come up with work-arounds, replacements, etc.
Hope that gave you some insights! 
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Thanks for sharing this information. It is very appreciated for many players to know this type of information.
It reminds me of the Paradox diaries where they explain the development process of their video games. It makes you empathize more with the people behind this.
Personally, I think that this DLC has been the best of AOE-3.
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Now that we have your attention I’m just going to go ahead and ask because we all want to know what the future holds: What are the plans for this game? communication has been nonexistent and this is the 2nd patch in a row with no much-needed hotfix. No WotH for the 3rd patch in a row. The way the F2P model has been handled is a real headscratcher that squandered any momentum that it should have provided.
There is plenty of interest in the game.
Still hope Asia will NOT be left behind before all is said and done.
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This is exactly what would make Morocco a great addition. The African civs are on the more complex side so there’s a bit of a learning curve to get into them. A civ with half African mechanics and half European ones would be less daunting to pick up and could be a stepping stone for moving onto the civs with fully African mechanics.
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Could you create a concept of Moroccan civilization?
Much appreciated all these insights. At some point would be cool to have interviews like those that had been done with Andy Petersen with all the development, but I guess that the game is so recent that it won’t be so easy to speak about everything.
As I said thank you!
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Yes, that makes sense when we consider that the African DLC with their civs are substantially different to other civs in terms of Alliances, reliance on livestock/Influence etc.
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The Moroccans appear in the The Battle of the Three Kings scenario. They are identical to the Barbary Pirates, minus the capability to train Barbary Corsairs. They also differ in the Home City Cards available to them. The unique units of the Moroccans speak the Kabyle language using the dialogue files of the Barbary Corsair, except for the Bedouin Horse Archer, who uses the dialogue files of the Mameluke. The Ottoman units speak Turkish, and the Artillery Foundry units speak Portuguese. They are led by the Morroccan Sultan Ahmad Al-Mansur (1549-1603).
Historical Battle-exclusive technologies are available in the The Battle of the Three Kings scenario. The “Berber Warfare” Home City Card enables Horse Breeding, Barb Horses, and Pillage at the Arsenal. The “TEAM Mosque Construction” Home City Card enables Moroccan Leather, Makhzan, Granadan Technology, and Saadian Madrasas at the Mosque.
Unique Units in the War Camp:
Berber Archer (II): Berber Archer who defeats heavy infantry.
Berber Spearman (II): Berber Pikeman who defeats cavalry.
Berber Arquebusier (III): Berber Skirmisher who defeats heavy infantry.
Tribal Horseman (II): Heavy Melee cavalry who defeats light infantry.
Bedouin Horse Archer (III): Light Ranged cavalry who defeats heavy cavalry.
I think the Moroccan civ could be a really interesting civilization - but it couldn’t be an “African” or “European” civ mechanically. It would be necessary to create a completely new category of civilizations - Islamic civilizations. I think that last year’s October rework of the Ottomans civ could be the ground for the creation of this new category of civilization.
- The Ottomans civ is very unique for a European civ. Virtually all of their units are now unique - something that other European civs, which share a lot of units, do not have. That’s what Asian civs have.
- They also have unique Villagers that spawn automatically for free - this could be a unique feature of Islamic civs.
- Ottomans civ have a Mosque instead of a Church and Imam instead of a Priest, an obvious feature that Islamic civs could have.
- Ottomans civ have Royal Guards, which could be modified for Islamic civs.
- Finally, I include Age Up and Revolutions. Age Up should of course be unique for Islamic civs - considering their achievements in science, I think they could have a unique building - House of Wisdom, where a field of Science would be chosen, which would give access to Unique Technologies, Units (mainly civilian) and Buildings. I think this could be a really cool and immersive feature. Revolutions could remain for Islamic civs, giving them the opportunity to represent nations from North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and even the Balkans - all areas that were under the rule of the greatest Islamic powers.
Of course, the Ottomans civ would then be an Islamic civ that all AoE 3 players could play, which could encourage them to purchase the Islamic-themed DLC. The price of such a DLC should include the costs of reworking Ottomans civ - to be fair to the creators. Islamic-themed DLC could add Persians, Egyptians (or Arabians) and Moroccans civs.
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I find it difficult to modify the Ottomans from being a European civ (because in fact they were a European civ by having the Balkans in their power)…Persia would be like the other Asian civs with wonders age-up and Morocco similar to the Hausa…
Yes, please we AOE 3 DE players need to know about what the future holds for our beloved game.
Clear and consistent information plus a roadmap would be very much appreciated
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Yes, however this isn’t the thread to do that. Let’s not jump hijack a topic created by someone doing a historry paper.
This is an interesting thread and it’s nice to hear from the Devs in regarding to civ choices made.
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Having an entire set of Civilizations sharing the Ottoman thing where Villagers spawn for free is a terrible decision designwise. It’d be extremely limiting in what kind of civilization you can create since the free villagers is an extremely strong feature.
I’m always iffy about the concept of Islamic Civilizations because it’s not geographical separation, why would Hausa not be Islamic? Would Afghans or Kazakhs be?
How Indian must a civ be for it to be or not be Islamic?
Oman should be for sure, how about the Swahili? Or Somalis for the matter.
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It could work well as more of a secondary characteristic for various civs. Just have a few shared features and unique buildings like Mosques, Bazaars, and Caravanserais, but with core mechanics based on the geographic location of the parent civ.
Now that you are here, you talked about Moroccans and Songhai as considerations, but what about Southern African civs like Kongolese (Kingdom of Kongo) or Zulu (Zulu Kingdom, and the famous King Shaka Zulu), or never were considered? Especially when there aren’t maps based on Southern Africa
Kongo doesn’t fit the livestock mechanic very well and civs further south would necessitate a lot more maps and minor civs to be added along with them.
It is a good idea,and they can be a rev of USA.
Strong support for Kongolese and Zimbabweans as the theme of the next African DLC. It’s wrong to say that livestock mechanic is not suitable for Kongolese. We know that livestock is still a symbol of wealth and status for them, even they raise a fewer cattle. The default livestock could be goats, while Cattle might be even more valuable because they were relatively less accessible.
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Goats make sense. I also like the idea of cows having better value but much harder to get (limited shipments?)
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