Just as title. I feel that most aoe4 players also plays SC2 or COH but not many players of other aoe games like aoe4. Is that real?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe4/s/51rvwxG2vR
I did a poll on Reddit a while back about where the players were coming from. Not a huge amount of voters but at least the ones that are there come from other AoE for the most part.
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Aoe 4 is more like any of the aoe titles than starcraft or company of heroes. Personally I come from a background focused mostly on the total annihilation/supreme commander style of RTS, but aoe 4 appeals to me mostly because aoe 2 was my favorite childhood rts.
In my opinion, when we see people have an opinion along the lines of ‘aoe 2/3 is the best aoe, and has the most aoe identity’ we’re observing selective bias. Aoe 2 players have been sticking with that game for over 20 years, and aoe 3 is really the last entry by the original team.
Aoe 4 is the first new title in the franchise since aoe online released in 2011. When I see fans of the series exhibit alienation with aoe 4 that’s the first thing I think of. This fandom in particular is not accustomed to change and growth and has become used to seeing the same thing for decades at a time. Even a minor change, like the wololo conversion, or even similarities, like landmarks compared to aoe 3 and mythology age ups, may make the fanbase reel. However, it is definitively more like any age title than like any other rts.
For example, Starcraft is focused on micro so much more than aoe 4, with all units having abilities. It is limited to 3 factions, and matches can end in less than 5 minutes. There are 2 resources total and base expansion is totally unlike map control in aoe. Company of Heroes is nothing like aoe as well. It’s about map control expanding resource tickets you use to purchase squads of infantry or vehicles designed to counter each other in a more tactical format. Any similarity to aoe 4 is strictly because they were both developed by Relic and share the Essence Engine… but it was completely retooled for aoe 4. Essence engine 5.0 only exists for aoe 4. (This is incorrect, Essence 5.0 is also used for CoH 3.) Not to mention world’s edge being a primary developer, same group of people that made the definitive editions which caused the aoe franchise to rise from its ashes like a phoenix.
Tldr; aoe 4 is for people who like aoe 4, I don’t think it was designed to appeal to non age fans by altering the identity to match something outside the franchise. Also, since it’s been a long time since aoe had a new entry, think of this as previous players ‘coming home’ or new fans being introduced through aoe 4.
I know lots of people who came from AoE2 originally, myself included.
I mean, I found AoEIV disappointing simply because there are several areas where the franchise took a step back. It certainly isn’t a bad game and I can list a handful of positive things, I just think Relic listened to the wrong people. I’m also concerned with the direction WE seems intent on taking this franchise in but that’s another discussion.
After 16 years without a main iteration, IV would always be divisive no matter how good it is/could have been. I appreciate the elements of AoM and AoE3 it has incorporated while being its own thing. It was always gonna attract people from other RTS franchises too due to the state of RTS these days. Totally normal.
I haven’t played IV in over two years as I’ve been waiting to see if any of my issues with the game would be addressed but they haven’t and at this point, I doubt they will. That being said I’ll give it another shot when I feel ready.
And it’s not like AoE lifers weren’t excited about a new AoE to play.
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yes but for competitive play so aoe 2, sc2 ,coh 3 ,etc…
Yes, I mean AoE 4 it’s not a bad game, but I feel like it still needs to improve more (1 or 2 more exp)…
CoH 3 also uses the Essence Engine 5.0…
Of course, AoE 4 feels strange, but at the same time classic since it draws a lot from the classic Age, it took so long to arrive that many people feel it is alien to the saga (beyond being a mix between AoE 2 and many mechanics of AoE 3)…
Many from AoE 2 and 3 too…Many from AoE 2 say that AoE 4 feels like AoE 3 because of the 3D, the landmarks and the asymmetrical civs and many from AoE 3 say that AoE 4 feels like AoE 2 because of the historical era and the units…
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All my life RTS games have only been playing Blizzard games and relatively recently got into aoe4. As of now, I don’t have any plans to play any other aoe series.
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Aoe4 is a mix of SC2 and aoe2.
Minimal influence from aoe3.
It’s age of spam.
Repetitive spam tasks, which just require muscle memory, very little room for strategy variation.
Just spam spam spam spam 1 million APM to win.
They would have better based the game on aoe3…