I was disappointed with AoE4 Beta/stress test specially with small scale (small maps and small pop) and horrible camera where the max zoom out lets you see about 3 buildings it is so close to the ground!
So, I decided to give AoE3-DE a shot since I love the zoom out but I cannot get to create a 2 player game with a huge map such as the ludicrous size in AoE2-DE but I always get small maps even when it says something like “Large Texas”. Am I missing something? How do I play on a largest 8x8 map but only with 2 players?
When I created a game against AI (single player) and choose “Large Texas” map and select 8 players, the map is about the size of ludicrous map in AoE2-DE where even 2 players could play on. But when I create a game using the same “Large Texas” map with only 2 players, I get a much smaller map.
I want a very large map for a 1x1 (2 players) game. It was possible to do in AoE2-DE but it is not possible to do in AoE3-DE??
This is indeed not currently possible in AoE3. All maps scale dynamically based on the number of players in the game, so a 2-player match will be played on the smallest map size.
We are currently discussing these types of settings in the forums. I would hope that they will eventually implement it. For now you cannot customize the size of the maps.
That is a shame. Why would they prevent players from playing on larger maps. Me and my friend have high end PCs and can easily handle the game at any pop limit and highest graphics settings so why do they limit the game play so statically and without reason. Make it a choice. Players are technically savvy enough to know if their hardware spec cannot handle the game at a specific setting and they can always adjust the settings or pick a smaller map or smaller pop limit. Why kill the game for those who prefer grander games on larger maps. It is “Age of Empires” and not “Age of tribes” with these tiny maps and small scale where the game can handle larger maps and larger scale. It just makes no sense that developers think that way. The wrong way.
The game is still in development. This is one of the complaints from AOE-2 players regarding AOE-3. I’d also like to be able to play custom games on huge maps.
It’s not about performance (the game does create large maps for larger player count as you saw), I believe it’s about preventing the player from choosing an inappropriate map size on accident. The drawback is of course that you can’t choose an unusual map size for a casual game intentionally.
A possible workaround I can think of would be to fill the remaining player slots with enemy AI players and immediately kill them at the start of the match using cheat units (such as monster truck “tuck tuck tuck” cheat). That would result in a larger map being generated while ending up as 2 players only.
