Intriguing, possibly concerning (pre-) announcement for 2024

[Velk413]

@Szaladon

Gift of the Gods

New civs: Purepecha, Chimu
New campaign for old civ: Maya

This but adding Mississippians would be really solid. I do wish there was a better option than the Chimu for South America (I get they existed a long time but still seem to have a bit more of a City State feel IMO) but there probably isn’t.

[MatM1996]

@StereoQuasar163

• Realistic walls with units scaling the walls. Seige tower makes more sense now
• Biggest expansion with 5 to 8 civs
• Variant civs like AOE 4?
• Civ specific soundtrack like AOE 4? not just jingle,
• Historical battle set for every expansion that came out ?
• Hero units now actually show up in game like AOE 3 and 4?
• Naval overhaul
• Second UU for all civs?
• New game mechanics that no one actually thought about introduced ## ### #############
• New modding tool that makes modding easier

Anything can be…

@SirWiedreich

For me, the difference between RoR being the best (gaming) thing that ever happened and being nearly yawn-inducing was 10-20 years. An AoE1 setting with AoE2 capabilities (i.e. triggers) would have been mind-blowing if released within a few years of AoC as I dreamt of at the time. The problem with making it in 2023 is nothing about it is revolutionary or exciting anymore and the fanbase was a shell of its former self, having been diminished by time and the poor handling of AoE:DE. It even stacks up poorly against a fan-made mod in Rome at War, which AFAIK blows it out of the water in terms of graphics, mechanics, gameplay, and probably popularity. Honestly I would have been embarrassed to have released RoR as a paid DLC with so much less to offer. Timing matters, and if you arrive that late, better have a lot to show for the delay.

Yes, the point is that after AoC devs were focused on SWGB and AoM…

@WhiteMagick4

After a bit of research I found out that AOM and AOE3 have the same engine already.

Yes, in fact many criticized AoE 3 for being a “colonial AoM”… AoEO, despite being cartoon, also has the same engine as AoM and AoE 3, so it’s a very flexible engine…

[SMUM15236]

@SirWiedreich

“You’ll never guess”

A new trash unit that does bonus damage to infantry so that “Infantries don’t have a trash counter. Hence they should always suck compared to knight and archer” logic doesn’t work any more.

[Martinurello]

New fancy icons…20 chars

[robfbms]

I speculate the possible “unguessable” feature will be a Native American DLC bringing a full overhaul of Native American civs’ tech tree, replacing their current European-ish units to a truly Native American military diversity, just like the Native American major civs in AOE3.
For example, Militia-line would be replaced by obsidian swordsmen, Siege Workshops would train siege slingers, arsonists, and portable rams, a new Canoe-line would replace Galley-line, boats manned with torch-throwing arsonists would work like Fire Ships, canoes manned with long-ranged bowmen shooting flaming arrows or bolts would serve as their siege “ships”, Arrow Knight-like bowmen would replace Trebs, armored macemen would serve as a slow-moving replacement to Knights, corrals would raise captured horses to produce exclusively American riders, Castles would be renamed to Forts, a brand new building would train a limited quantity of gunpowder units armed with stolen guns and cannons (e.g. an Inca gunpowder building would be able to create up to 10 Bombard Cannons and 30 Hand Cannoneers), etc.

[thieftdp8498]

@NastyHigh

My guess is it’s skins because they can actually make money from it. Whereas pathing is pushed down the priority because everybody just loves new stuff.

they are already on the pathing fix so i’d say by next patch it should hopefully be fixed, that is until they add new stuff and it breaks again and then the cycle repeats.

[SaladEsc]

[WhiteMagick4]

Everybody in the pro-scene/casting scene seems to know but we don’t.

@robfbms

I speculate the possible “unguessable” feature will be a Native American DLC bringing a full overhaul of Native American civs’ tech tree, replacing their current European-ish units to a truly Native American military diversity, just like the Native American major civs in AOE3.
For example, Militia-line would be replaced by obsidian swordsmen, Siege Workshops would train siege slingers, arsonists, and portable rams, a new Canoe-line would replace Galley-line, boats manned with torch-throwing arsonists would work like Fire Ships, canoes manned with long-ranged bowmen shooting flaming arrows or bolts would serve as their siege “ships”, Arrow Knight-like bowmen would replace Trebs, armored macemen would serve as a slow-moving replacement to Knights, corrals would raise captured horses to produce exclusively American riders, Castles would be renamed to Forts, a brand new building would train a limited quantity of gunpowder units armed with stolen guns and cannons (e.g. an Inca gunpowder building would be able to create up to 10 Bombard Cannons and 30 Hand Cannoneers), etc.

That would be cool! I’d like to see new civs too like Chimu, Muisca, Iroquois, Mapuche etc.

[SMUM15236]

I feel like a LAN event arranged by MS with a big prize pool.

[Mahazona]

DLC splitting italians to genoese venetians milanese and florence bringing the mediterranean buildings to 12.

[MatM1996]

@robfbms

I speculate the possible “unguessable” feature will be a Native American DLC bringing a full overhaul of Native American civs’ tech tree, replacing their current European-ish units to a truly Native American military diversity, just like the Native American major civs in AOE3.
For example, Militia-line would be replaced by obsidian swordsmen, Siege Workshops would train siege slingers, arsonists, and portable rams, a new Canoe-line would replace Galley-line, boats manned with torch-throwing arsonists would work like Fire Ships, canoes manned with long-ranged bowmen shooting flaming arrows or bolts would serve as their siege “ships”, Arrow Knight-like bowmen would replace Trebs, armored macemen would serve as a slow-moving replacement to Knights, corrals would raise captured horses to produce exclusively American riders, Castles would be renamed to Forts, a brand new building would train a limited quantity of gunpowder units armed with stolen guns and cannons (e.g. an Inca gunpowder building would be able to create up to 10 Bombard Cannons and 30 Hand Cannoneers), etc.

I wish, it would be great if they did that… I hate that the mesocivs have European units and trebs in their armies, when they never had them… you could criticize AoE 3 for whatever, but at least it respects the American civs in their rosters. units (although sometimes it was very stereotypical with its bonfires)…

[Apocalypso4826]

@robfbms

I speculate the possible “unguessable” feature will be a Native American DLC bringing a full overhaul of Native American civs’ tech tree, replacing their current European-ish units to a truly Native American military diversity, just like the Native American major civs in AOE3.

I hate that idea. Leave generic unit disparity for AoE3 and 4. It has no place in AoE2.

[MatM1996]

The issue is that if not, you have European units and it takes you away from immersion in the campaigns…last of all, they have to reskin the militia line (the meso civs had archers and skirmishers, although the latter were more slingers than another thing)…later, siege units only had the battering ram and the mantlet in the case of the hauds (scorpion-type siege weapons and trebs did not) (and the stable is not necessary)…

[Apocalypso4826]

@MatM1996

The issue is that if not, you have European units and it takes you away from immersion in the campaigns

I prefer readability over immersion. I like being able to tell what unit I have at a glance.

[MatM1996]

Yes, but that limits the game a lot…as long as it’s infantry, it doesn’t matter what it looks like…the counters are still the same…I doubt they would be more different from how the kamayuk, the slinger and the jaguar warrior look, for example…

[Temudhun]

I just had a stupid thought. What if the “you’ll never guess” was a reference to…

[LilimTheCupid]

Maybe we will get regional monks!

Or a Spanish split (please don’t ).

[Velk413]

@Apocalypso4826

I hate that idea. Leave generic unit disparity for AoE3 and 4. It has no place in AoE2.

I wouldn’t mind a bit of cosmetic disparity, but I think the stats should be the same (you know, before factoring in bonuses and such) and the cosmetic side should just be a little regional flair to the same basic unit design.

@LilimTheCupid

Maybe we will get regional monks!

Or a Spanish split (please don’t ).

Agree on both, i’d love to get regional monks, and i’d #### # ####### split. Could maybe also be unique castles for all civs, though that would hardly be unguessable

[Temudhun]

@Velk413

Agree on both, i’d love to get regional monks, and i’d #### # ####### split. Could maybe also be unique castles for all civs, though that would hardly be unguessable

Too bad the censorship went crazy again, love, hate and like all have the same number of letters.

[Tharkun221]

If they ever do regional skins for generic units they should work like the UHD graphics pack–an
optional download and toggle-able. Want more immersion when playing campaigns, then use them.
Want readability when playing ranked or vs AI then toggle them off.