I have been a devoted fan of Age of Empires since it first came out almost 25 years ago. It sparked many of my passions and resulted in a lifelong obsession with Ancient History and taking a university major in Ancient History & Classics. I am thrilled with the continued success of AoE 2 and have thoroughly enjoyed AoE 4. Though I have enjoyed the DE remake of AoE 1, I am saddened by its lack of comparative success to AoE 2. Therefore, I would like to urge and plead for some sort of remake that closely follows the mechanics of AoE 2, which may always be the gold standard of the AoE franchise. I envision this as an add on to AoE DE or AoE 2 DE, rather than a whole new AoE installment.
I have done some work to propose ideas for how this would look, in hopes of sparking a vision for the developers of how this would work and how it could draw many of the AoE2 faithful back to the original, which is still the most nostalgic AoE game for me. The idea would be to take the best and most popular elements of all the AoE games and apply them to the original AoE, so it would not be reinventing the game, but creating the ultimate version of it.
Some initial changes to AoE DE would include:
herdable sheep/goats
-Eliminate academy and replace it with a spearman line at the barracks
-Rename the “Legion” unit so as to use the name for a Roman Unique Unit
-Move armor and attack upgrades to a new building called the Armory
-Move economic upgrades to the storage pit and granary
-Make the market building like it is in AoE 2 & 4, with a land trade unit (camel/donkey) called a Caravan
-Like AoE 4, place unique units at normal military buildings, while possibly adding a castle like building: fortress/stronghold
-Add Gates
Here is a list of the original AoE Civs (plus some new ones) with ideas for Unique Units, Unique Techs, and Wonders added (I have pictures of many suggestions but not able to add them):
Assyrians
-25% archer reload time
Villagers 10% faster
All Siege upgrades available in the Bronze Age
Unique Unit: Chariot Archer replacement – Heavy Chariot Archer
Unique Tech: Lamellar Armor: archer armor upgrade
Wonder: Ziggurat
Babylonians
Towers +60% hp
Stone miners 20% faster and carry +2 stone
Resource technologies cost -30%
Discount on all barracks units
Unique Unit: Walls/Gates are replaced with Median Walls/Ishtar Gates (Extra strong tall walls that only towers can fire over)
Unique Tech: Astronomy (Priests rejuvenate 30% faster)
Wonder: Hanging Gardens
Carthaginians:
Transports 25% faster
Fire Galleys +25% attack
Elephant units +25% hp
Camel Riders +15% hp
Start with +50 of each resource
Unique Unit: Numidian Cavalry (slightly faster cavalry with higher attack)
Unique Tech: a Trade upgrade
Choson:
Infantry line as more hp
Towers +2 range
Priests cost -32%
Armory techs -40% cost
Egyptians:
Gold miners 20% faster and carry +2 gold
Chariots +20% speed
Priests +3 range
Farms 20% cheaper
Unique Unit: Royal Chariot Archer (faster chariot archer that fires while moving)
Unique Tech: Nile Flood (Farming 33% faster)
Wonder: Great Pyramid
Greek:
Town Centers 10% faster and +20% hp
Ships move 20% faster
+25% priest healing
Unique Unit: Hoplite (similar to Teutonic Knight)
Unique Tech: Philosophy (increase hoplite hitpoints), Marathon (+10% hoplite speed)
Wonder: Parthenon
Hittite:
Archer units +1 attack
Catapult line has +50% hp
Ships have extra range
Unique Unit: Chariot replacement – Heavy/Armored/Iron Chariot?
Unique Tech: Meshedi Bodyguards – Increases Chariot hp
Macedonian:
All siege units 25% cheaper
All units 4x more resistant to conversion
Units with no range have +2 LOS
Unique Unit: Phalangist (1 range like kamayuk but stronger and more expensive)
Minoan:
Ships cost -30%
Composite bowmen +2 range
Farms have +60 food
Unique Unit: Ship Unit that fires volley of arrows (like Dragon Ship)
Unique Tech: Bull Jumping (faster non-mounted military units or faster attack rate?)
Wonder: Palace of Knossos
Persian:
Trireme reload time -25%
Elephant units 25% faster
Hunters work 30% faster and carry +3 food
Unique Units: Chariot upgrade – Scythe Chariot (“trample” damage), Immortal (tough archer unit like Plumed Archer maybe with self-regeneration)
Unique Tech: Couriers - Cavalry 30% faster
Wonder: Palace of Darius in Susa
Phoenician:
Elephant units cost -25%
Woodcutters 25% faster and carry +2 wood
Siege ships -25% reload time
Unique Unit: Explorer: Ship that can create villagers and scouts when beside land
Unique Tech: Tyrian Purple – Trade ships/Caravans bring twice as much gold
Roman:
Buildings cost -10% (except walls, towers, & wonders)
Towers cost -40%
Swordsman attack 33% faster
Unique Unit: Legionary (fast attack rate and bonus against other Unique Units like Samurai)
Unique Tech: Tortoise Formation (higher pierce armor for Legionary), Roman Roads (faster infantry)
Wonder: Coliseum
Shang:
Villagers cost only 40 food
Start game with -40 food
Walls have +60% hp
Unique Unit: Crossbowman
Unique Tech: Rice Paddy (Farming bonus)
Sumerian:
Villagers have +15% hp
Catapult line has -30% reload time
Farms have +125 food
Spearman line +1/+2
Unique Unit: War Cart (tanky chariot archer, like Korean War Wagon)
Unique Tech: Cuneiform Record Keeping – all resources last 20% longer
Yamato:
Ships +20% hp
Villagers move 10% faster
Cavalry and horse archer units -15% cost
Here are some new civ ideas:
Israelites:
Passive gold income from market (On major trade route)
Collect food from sheep 50% faster (known herders)
Slingers do 40% more damage (famous left-handed Benjaminite slingers)
Unique Unit: Jewish Priest/Priest of Yahweh (Conversion & healing 30% more effective, increases attack of all its own units by 25% within LOS, like HRE Prelates in AoE 4)
Unique Tech:
Solomon’s Wisdom – trade ships/caravans travel twice as fast
Torah – double resistance to conversion
Wonder: Solomon’s Palace
Medes
Lydians
Elamites
Then maybe a Barbarians expansion:
Thracians
Scythians
Gauls