Forgive my ignorance, what do you mean by rent?
1 Like
Maybe it wasn’t the best word because of the language barrier, I meant that it made a profit.
3 Likes
I don’t know how much a new civ costs, but using Mao Mao’s video as reference (https://youtu.be/qse0N6P07ZE?si=w-S8me4nkndxstmK), a new civ would cost around 4x more than a variant civ.
Considering that 6 variants were released this year, then the resources could have been allocated to 1 new civ and 2 variants. I would prefer an annual DLC with 1 new civ + 2 variants than 6 variants.
There are civs with strong names and remarkable stories that are sorely missing from the game. I’ll cite Spain as an example, but not limited to it.
3 Likes
Estan haciendo lo mismo que con AoE III.
Luego de un tiempo se desharan del juego
Recuerden mis palabras.
2 Likes
This is nice analysis. But I’d prefer the studio to come speak on behalf of themselves and lower the price. All these things had the same price as Sultan’s Ascend. It’s still horrible even if you consider inflation.
1 Like
Two main things I’m taking away from this:
- Variants were introduced in the first DLC, and have been planned as a major feature since release
- The Anniversary Edition brought two unique civs that had files seen launch, something that indicated that these were late editions
- Sultans Ascend was 2/3 variant civilizations, and they spent a lot of time doing PR to justify their decision
This signals that variants being a focus in future DLC was planned from the beginning. There’s some credibility to the idea that the studio having less resources from layoffs and restructuring altered the production of the DLC, but the variants were at the very least planned far in advance.
- They dropped the announcement early to help offset the crowd response
- They normally keep a tight lid on upcoming DLC
- Almost every time people made predictions they thought different things were coming
- Everyone, and I mean everyone, prefers full civs to variants. I can’t even talk about them in the same sentence without saying that variants are not a fully unique civilization.
I think they knew this was going to be seen as a net negative by the fan base. Soft-dropping the announcement, honestly without any kind of ceremony, is a strategic communication strategy to allow space for a negative reaction. After 48 hours of crowd response they then get to sit down and talk about it. We’ll see if they address the negative feedback during their scheduled interview on Thursday.
I’d honestly love to hear them address the community directly over the reason behind not having a new civ in the DLC. I really thought we would see something different with this DLC.
4 Likes
Just don’t expect much since they have doubled down on every of their decision, at least verbally
I think people have already accepted that variant civs would be AN integral part of the addition. Not THE only addition.
1 Like
I’d like to dispell some of the doomerism I have invoked in the comments above. It’s clear that AoE4 is held back by lack of funds and not the developers. According to ZeroEmpires, Relic were heavily involved in this DLC, apparently doing the heavy lifting still. You would imagine that to mean that they worked on completely new civilizations, but the fact that this did not happen likely stems from lack of funds rather than decisions made by developers.
It is sad to say, but that likely means the trajectory of this game is on a downward trend. Everything ends one day, I was simply hoping that AoE4, which is by far the best RTS in the market, would have another golden age after so much hard work went into polishing it after its horrendous launch.
However, this DLC does by all means contains great things. While I have never been a fan of variants due to their initial batch effectively being a 2.0 of an existing civilization, if Microsoft simply is not willing to invest into producing fully new civilizations, then Dynasties of the East at least features variant civilizations that actually play different, that feel different and that are historically authentic, interesting and exciting unlike variants of the past.
In addition to that, new biomes, colour variants for sheep, alternative food sources such as berries (maybe animals one day?) and further polishing of the game’s bugs (such as Mongol unpacking) and UI is absolutely amazing and simply makes AoE4 a much better game than it already is.
It is therefore bittersweet to also see this likely marks the end of AoE4’s development in the direction that excited me most. I’d like to thank the developers for working hard and actually listening when it came to criticisms of things that they have control over. But, seeing as whining about the lack of new civilizations won’t actually change Microsoft’s minds to invest more into AoE4, I’ll resign to just enjoying the game and give up trying to give critical feedback.
2 Likes
Mongols have not an unpacking issue
Is a balance thing. If they “fix it” then Mongols would be pretty broken though
The DLC that came out yesterday is a testament its not the end of AOE4. Whatever name that top leaderboard guy who played this game and switched to starcraft or w/e you really think anyone cares?
3 Likes
I’m still hopeful that next year (2026), we’ll have two new civilizations.
Of course, I’m being a bit of a dreamer.
But I really want to know… if next year (2026) we’ll have NOTHING or if there will be something truly noteworthy…
Because if there’s NOTHING, then it means the developers had no plans for new civilizations, just variants… and then everything’s screwed. We’ll be losing important content over time… just variants are a no-go…
Would you drop off the game if such thing happened?
I’ve resigned to just playing the game and officially having no more expectations.
The developers from what I can tell have tried their best to hold it all together and steer the ship in the right direction, but there’s only so much they can do when everything is falling apart around them perpetually.
I don’t think I can recommend the game to others in good faith anymore and will have to actively stress just to how atrociously these companies have mismanaged the production.
This really shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. Perhaps from the very moment that AoE4 was launched as an underbaked AAA game, this all became preordained.
For ever since, AoE4 has been trying to make up for its botched launch. And doing so required consistency, hard work and dedication. Alas, they simply dropped the ball a few too many times, and now it’s just not worth investing much more to change its fate.
11 Likes
I don’t see how these two statements can coexist.
Is the game fun? If not, then why would you play it? If it is, then why wouldn’t you recommend someone else play it?
2 Likes
There’s a chance I’ll stop. Examples:
I stopped playing Age of Empires II a long time ago. The game has great content… however, it’s already too outdated, lots of pattern repetition in skins, lacking real physics, and even TODAY they still haven’t created one of the civilizations I wanted to see, but at least they’ve added some others in its place. I replaced Age of Empires II with Age of Empires IV, due to improvements and a certain promise from the developer.
I’m also a fan of Warhammer 40k Dawn of War, but I NEVER bought Dawn of War III. Because it wasn’t properly designed and explored… and the worst problem is the lack of other factions. I waited years for Dawn of War IV, and now I feel excited; it seems like it’s going in a better direction than the previous one and with real possibilities for new DLC content.
I stopped playing Company of Heroes 3. Even though it’s cool, with beautiful effects. However, a certain country I really wanted to see was missing, as well as certain types of tanks that were also missing. So, they chose not to include them in the game… So I ended up stopping playing. Disappointing! This game is incomplete for me. It’s missing a chunk of content, and I can’t play without it.
Warcraft 3 Reforged… I wanted them to finish the fifth faction (it’s only present in the Campaign). They didn’t want to finish it and give it an extra boost… so I stopped.
Back to the main topic…
Age of Empires IV… Honestly… I’m waiting for some of my favorite civilizations… if they don’t make at least two of them. There’s a real chance I’ll stop playing in the future. I’ve already stopped playing other games.
My favorite civilizations are: Vijayanagara, Chola, Ayutthaya (Thailand), Mughal, and Timurids. But I’ll add one extra: the Axumite Empire (Empire of Axum) and the Burmese Empire.
All of these civilizations have elephants, but each in its own way. I would like that among these 7 options, at least 2 can appear in the game, it shouldn’t be impossible. LOL.
Remember, they promised to add a new civilization in Southern India in the future. Man, if they don’t deliver in a few years… I’m being generous… obviously, if I realize no rabbit is coming out of this hat, I’ll stop at some point. That’s normal, especially since 2026 will already have some pretty epic RTS releases. It will depend on which game meets your expectations. I’m keeping an eye on it… LOL
1 Like
its over @marcoracosta205 and @GorbMort . told ya long time ago
Was it over a long time ago? Or is it just now finally over? Or when it’s actually not over now will you pop in after the next expansion to say “I told ya so” then?
2 Likes
If I had a dollar for every AoE4 doomsayer who keeps saying that the game is doomed and will disappear on a certain date, only to find the game still remains the same the next day, I’d have thousands of dollars to put in the bank.
In other threads, it was even confirmed that AoE4 is practically one of the best-selling RTS now on Steam (18th place), along with AoE2 (45th place); so financially, it’s selling well.
So no, it’s not the end of AoE4, for .. 999th time? I can’t remember which time, this keeps happening a lot.
7 Likes
You simply can not see the whole picture
Maybe now the game still afloat, but in the end will eventually disappear. All of this BS hurts the game in the short and the long term
The Age of Empires Franchise will remain stuck on its second entry forever end ever and the wish of Worlds Edge and its fans will be accomplished
1 Like
It sells well when it is on a 60%-off sale and also immediately after a DLC is released for pre-order is not the flex you think it is. During this sale, AOMR has been a top 10 seller, AOE2 is was selling better than AOE4 before the DLC went on pre-order, and even AOE3 (remember, a game they have publicly abandoned and cancelled a DLC for) cracked the top 100.
6 Likes