AOE IV has been in development much longer than COH 3. When we were playing the closed beta for AOE IV the pre-alpha was announced after the release date for AOE IV. As for actual programming both games began at the same time since it was built off Relic’s new engine.
Interview with World’s Edge video production team Lion TV:
Capturing a Moment in Time
Interestingly, all of these videos were shot years ago; they were filmed well before Age of Empires 4 was ready to be seen – much less played – by the public. As such, the production of these videos was spared from the devastating effects of Covid. Because “Hands on History” was finished while the game was very much in development, Smith and Boulle offered some interesting anecdotes about this.
Source:The Story Behind Age of Empire 4's 'Hands on History' | TechRaptor
“One of those people”?
You’re right boss, over half of medieval Mongolian man-at-arms and heavy cavalry were girls. Great khan too.
Yeah, yeah, everything is as should be, you win! Keep up the good work!
Neither existed in medieval Mongolia so yeah. If you start with nonsense, everything makes sense.
There are no ‘warriors’, let alone ‘man-at-arms’, ‘mangudai’, ‘poo-flingers’ ,‘villagers’, what-have-you in Mongol society. Everyone, boy or girl, is taught to ride a horse, shoot a bow, because that’s how they live their normal life. And when this group goes on the offensive or comes under attack, you just grab people (depending on which nomadic group and time we’re talking about, girls allowed) and tell them that instead of hunting food, they’ll be hunting people in a few days.
This is exactly my sentiment as well and you are right in that it’s worse than disgust.
Had they (Microsoft, WE, Relic) really committed, it would have been a very polarizing game, either loved or hated. Take Supreme Commander with its lack of minimap, massive scale, long matches, etc. That wasn’t an RTS for everybody and I knew a lot of people who hated it, but at least they respected that the game wasn’t trying to appeal to everybody just to have commercial success.
That’s why I have a newfound respect for AoE 3. I didn’t like the game, the home cities, the cards system… but you can tell it was made by folks who adore RTS games. The attention to detail is second-to-none.
The problem with AoE 4 is that it’s neither one thing nor another. It’s a game for everyone and nobody all at once. It’s a game made by a committee and not by following a single vision, therefore is a forgettable product. The equivalent of a Toyota Corolla.
This is exactly what was done with AoE 4 and it didn’t work. Using the AoE gameplay mechanics as your foundation does not guarantee success, as clearly proven here.
This is not true and you know it. Several basic mechanics in the game do not function like classic Age of Empires and it’s quite frustrating to be honest.
Alright, I got you now. In that sense, of course I agree. That’s the reason it feels like something is off about the game.
Man, I remember when I first picked up AoE 3 I hated that game. I was awestruck by the visuals and the physics but I hated the game, even though I loved AoE 2 and AoM. As I said, now my perception of AoE 3 has changed. But with AoE 4 I can’t force myself to love nor hate it and like someone said above, that’s probably worse.
It’s weird, but the effect AoE 4 had on me is that it has made me yearn for older RTSs, so I’ve been reinstalling a few like Tiberium Wars, SupCom, BfME (the first), even CoH 2 and they all have their “thing”. That something that makes them special, faults and all. It’s like I’m subconsciously trying to understand what went wrong with AoE 4.
Well put. AoE4 feels to me like what someone not that familiar with the entirety of the franchise would think a sequel to only AoE2 should feel like. It’s fine if people dig it, but it completely misses the mark for me. I loved each of the first five Age games. The sixth is a huge aberration to me.
core of the issue is, game companies dont care. they pump out these games as the next “new, big game” to get players. once they made enough money they can rinse repeat.
Keep up the good work!