yes, of course. Thats logical. There is a tech that reduces the poly count/detail of all on the screen if zoomed to a certain level. And such a tech would be useful.
Also I am sure that the graphical annyoances would be less indeed. Only “problem” is that you need low poly / less detailed version of everything the game has to show. This doesnt double the game size, but at least it enlarges it.
I am szre there is a technical possibility for farther zoom, and I certainly hope they will implement it.
BUT as I know (if only a bit) programming, engines etc, sometimes something seemingly easy is hard to achieve.
Still they are a huge company, they should be able to find a good solution.
1 Like
Right, it sounds like they made a fundamental mistake in designing the game if they failed to take ‘zoom level’ into account when they began. Although the guy interviewed did say he was used to hearing and ignoring requests for zooming out in the RTSes he has made!!! So that’s a VERY bad sign.
4 Likes
I don’t know why you would assume they didn’t take zoom level into account? They obviously did and chose a zoom level (which personally I think is a little too close). Also, he did not say he was used to hearing and ignoring requests, you are twisting those words. We don’t even have the full context of that quote from the interview or the tone in which it was said.
We also don’t have any sort of clarification about it in this “official” forum.
None.
Nothing.
Visit website get’s you here (not that there is any doubt this is the official web).
Maybe they had some issue and don’t have CM’s since before this was posted.
Mmm… weird, not even looking for.
“They want to zoom out more. But that’s every [RTS game] I’ve ever made. People are literally like, ‘I want to zoom the camera out more’, and we’re like, ‘you can’t play the game like that’!”
I understand the same. Don’t want to, but is what it is.
Maybe some CM can add context or clarify?
Isn’t community interaction supposed to be a thing?
What’s up?
3 Likes
I know from making graphical mods for AOE2 DE (you can try them out by searching for my username in the mods section of AOE 2 DE) that in that game there are different versions of each unit which are used depending on whether or not the user has the enhanced graphics pack installed or not. That would be a bit of extra work to make additional versions of every unit in the game, so it might be that zooming out and using the same unit models would tax the computers resources a lot. Unless there is something built into the graphics engine which allows for the scaling, as Heinrich mentions. I’m sure AOE4 is using a completely different engine than AOE2 DE, we just don’t know what the capabilities of that engine are, and whether adding massive zooming capabilities is possible at this point or not. I guess we will have to wait and see.
4 Likes
I think he may have been misunderstood a bit, but in general he is right. ususally the requests of users are ofterntimes not a good thing for the game.
If an RTS he worked on was CoH for example, ignoring the wishes for further zoom there was ok.
but regarding an age of empires game, where zoom ans especially overview zoom out is a thing, these should NOT be ignored.
2 Likes
As someone else wrote- its entirely possible that they made the engine to support only the zoom level they deemed necessary. But making it technically impossible to zoom out more would mean it was programmed very short sightedly indeed.
even for debugging an extremely far zoom out should be helpful imo. And that also shouldnt kill the machines of QA 
I think that zoom level of this screenshot would suit me well as maximum possible zoom. I would call it false advertising if I would not be able to zoom that far in game. Also I would like to view more directly down instead of sideways.
10 Likes
this zoomlevel would work pretty well for me 
1 Like
This is too much for devs to accept 
1 Like
Omg, all the building is so spaced.
It is like saying to me:
“Please come invade me, nothing can stop you from killing every one”
The game will be dull to play.
One trebuchet and full heavy cavalery.
The wall will be paper to break.
Maybe set 6 production stable just outside of his wall, for a none stop attack.
Game clearely broken and will lack of imagination.
Haven’t you played the beta? lol
You do know that screenshot is just a glamour shot.
7 Likes
Don’t worry, i played the beta.
And i know it is a "publicity " picture.
Sad i can’t talk about beta…
But, i can still picture my self attacking this picture city whit ease, every thing is spaced.
AHH ok, I thought you mean Aoe IV will be dull lol.
1 Like
By publishing videos and screenshots done at zoom levels which are inaccessible to the players the developers are indirectly accepting, that official maximum zoom level is too restricting. They can only make their videos/screenshots cinematic enough by using officially restricted zoom levels.
They will use these in order to get players to play the game, before the players will notice that they won’t ever see such magnificent views in their games. To me this is clearly false advertising and also accepting, that they have really screwed up their zoom level range.
7 Likes
We tried the beta. Zoom is also a well know topic in the community.
Top it of the lead designer has literally referenced zoom levels. So I can hardly say its false advertising.
Its fine to criticise the dev’s decision for zoom but i think its wrong to say they are “falsely advertising” and lying.
4 Likes
Here’s some context form the same article:
“Isgreen also mentions that the development team has had a lot of useful feedback from the recent beta period, with one of the main stand outs being players wanting to manipulate the camera more.”
Seems clear to me that “players wanting to manipulate the camera more” is considered to be “useful feedback” by Isgreen. Not only useful feedback, but the most outstanding piece of useful feedback.
Doesn’t sound like feedback they will just ignore.
To me, the whole “you can’t play like that” thing looks like a (bad) joke taken out of context, that people are overreacting to.
4 Likes
Well, to me seeing videos and screenshots of gameplay done with far away zoom leaves impression that I can also zoom as far in game, so if I can’t do it, I feel cheated.
7 Likes
I said it before and I’ll say it now, 75% of the gameplay shown is with a zoom level that is not available for the game. At the point of making a trailer, even they recognize that the actual zoom level is crap. It wasn’t just for mere aesthetics that those videos are mostly really zoomed out really far.
Adam said that everything that we saw in the videos was real and it was in the game, seems he forgot to zoom in more xD
10 Likes
Player can cheat and he will be a cheater. but if company does same - “wrong to say”. May be my English poor so give us the definition of “lying in the trailer” , how u can name it overwise?
My suggestion to name it fraud.
4 Likes