Last week I finished all the campaigns available in original AoE. I already have the DE but only played it the first month from release, when AI in campaign was terrible and pathfinding even worse.
One month ago I started to play campaigns and some of them were difficult in some ways, the AI was more or less, hard to beat.
My question is if the AI from DE will be strong enough to make campaign enjoyable.
(I read AI is bad in scenarios, but I only want to play campaigns)
As someone who has never played AoE1 DE or even AoE1 when it was launched 25 years ago, but played the Age of Empires II Demo from 1999 or 2000 after school for (yes, I was only 12/13 years old at the time) and has been playing AoE2:DE for almost 2 years (how time flies by) - the campaigns of AoE1:DE seem to me to be harder than the campaigns of AoE2:DE (this is coming after attempting three campaigns, Egyptian, first Roman campaign and the Greek one).
Does anybody else feel the same, that AoE1:DE campaigns are harder than AoE2:DE campaigns? And not only because of AI opponents, but because of the way the winning goals are stipulated?
(Example: there is one campaign scenario of the Greeks where the initial spot is very badly placed between the AI opponents and you have to move into a corner of the map to be as further away from the Pelasgians, the most powerful opponent - I agree there is the hint “do not place your TC right away, go to an easier defensable location”).
As I recently played the Expansion of Roman Campaign on highest difficulty: They are a hell of a challenge. I died quite a few times although the AI is still plain stupid.
Win and lose conditions are a bit fairer if you ask me.
For Example:
I do believe it’s the 2nd Rome Mission where you fight Macedonians. In RoR you may not lose any of your starting TCs. This condition got removed.
Also several Missions got altered and corrected for historical accuracy. If you ask me, a few of the hardest missions got replaced.
I’ll be back - Glory of Greece: altered, easier, still recognicable
Kyushu Revolts - Yamato Empire of the Rising sun: replaced, overall difficulty within this campaign is lowered?
Yes, AoE:DE Campaigns are hard. Original AoE Campaigns where even harder if you ask me (maybe i was just younger back than, but I also replayed quite a few of them within the last 10 years)
I’d say the game expacts you to play the missions in the order they originally got released. So there is a learning curve. Whole A Egyptian Campaign is a William Wallace Style Learning Grind.
That doesn’t change that many missions had unfair or bad starting positions. That changed a little ## ### ### AI isn’t so good, so if you overcome the first hurdle most of them are challanging but fine.
A few of the most memorable missions are in AoE.
Holy Man, Actium or Ceasars Revenge still give me Goosebumps