Hi, dear Lelic, I’m big fan of your games, and I’m big fan of AOE, I’m very happy that your really hearing us about gameplay and make same classic aoe, just bigger and better. Also I want say that props looks gorgeous, your artist making phenominal work on props, all props are top notch. The only thing that make this holiday is overall bad graphics, technical and art style quality. For mother of god, please rework it to better state. Seriously, as for now these aspects looks disgusting, cheap and horrible. It gives bad taste and false impression for nearly all of my friends, most if them don’t even wait this game anymore, because they think it’s very cheap clash of clans f2p 3d clone, not 60$ AAA RTS in famous franchise from experienced developer. Srsly overall quality of pre-alpha demonstration except deep gameplay that I know from interview is jyst horrible: low quality textures, very low-poly outdated units models, ugly repetitive animations, lots of copypasta units, overall low quality audio design, and most important horrible lightning that make all of this graphics looks like bad cartoony disney rip-off, and finally there’s nearly no physics at all except scripts for buildings. It’s looks for now much worse at graphics not even original aoe 3, even much worse than aoe 2 defenitive edition. It’s not graphics/art style quality for 60$ AAA-RTS. Even low-indies rts like Iron Harvest & Ancestors Legacy looks technically a lot of more times better than current state of aoe 4. I’m not gonna lying trom relic rts it technically aspect it even looks worse than dow 3, and it was really poor. I just know what may do relic and modern AAA strategies. Just look what relic may be avaible do, coh 2 still looks like absolutely gorgeous and kick ■■■. Look at total war, it’s looks absolutely beautiful anc amazing, while have much more scale and much more units, than current aoe 4. Please don’t make mistake that may kill game, don’t repeat dow 3 graphics and artstyle mistake. Please, listen us, fans, take time and improve art direction and technical side before will come too little too late. Improve art direction, change lightning to make game looks like more realistic, make better and more unique animations, add more technical art aspects to units to give them every of them some unique elements, give them more poligones. Add havok physics and implement them everywhere there’s possible. Improve audio design, make it much more live. And your hard work are you spending on this game, will be rewarded, and fans will be praise you.
As i said in my previous post, the Graphic engine Will be the big problem for this game. Reading the gamestar preview, Relic is using Essence Engine, the same engine seen in COH and DOW serie. So i really don’t understand why the unit models seem so poor of details. This game really Looks like a F2P game. I understand the point of view of developers: this game have to run on many configurations. But they are making the same mistake that afflicted AOEO: Simply graphic and low details. Which Will be the final result: many people didn’t play the game.
Now, as you correctly Say, this game in the pre-alpha stage and Relic has time to change and improve the engine.
Are you sure that is the Essence Engine? Doesn’t look to be the case at all to me, looks completely different. And I thought Adam Isgreen said they had to come up with a new engine for AoE4.
I think that being a pre alpha, it is normal that even the graphics are not the definitive one. What are you afraid of? that the final game may have these graphic details?
Yes, i’m sure. Shannon Loftis said this in the Gamestar interview. You can check It in a previous my thread.
Yes. This Is my Fear. I know some people haven’t really good specs, but 80% steam users have a 1060gtx graphic card and it’s enough to play with realistic and detailed models.
Show me how these AOE4 model could be appear in the final release and i’ll stop to complaining.
For now, this isn’t AOE for me. Ok for the vibrant and brighted vision, but more polished units are needed.
In the video 'behind the scenda" the art Directory said that Aoe4 Is bulding for 4k resolutions. After watch the gameplay teaser and many images, It doesn’t seem.
Please don’t tell me that this Is a modern graphic
The game looks beautiful in normal RTS prospective but the cinematic they presented washed out its beauty
I doubt graphics will change now, plus i don’t see anything wrong with them. Most of the RTS player don’t have high end PCs, i used to run AoE 3 on lowest settings to get maximum FPS.
The GFX look fine to me, and the vibrant, colourful feel is very AoE. I like it - I just wish we’d had more footage and some actual features/UI being shown off.
Typical Relic, though - they take forever and a day to do anything, and when it’s done it’s usually broken anyway.
Essence Engine looks great to me, it make nice graphic in previous Relic games, it is also highly moddable so that is great chance for modders.
I still don‘t know why people think Essence Engine is a problem for Aoe 4.
I’m not sure man, although I wasn’t impressed at first glance either I now think it is very satisfying.
More textures and higher details won’t matter If one is forced to lower the graphics to minimum to get a smooth experience anyway.
It should be able to offer the chance of competitive play while looking decent at an as wide as possible range of hardware.
Hardware limitations is an issue. Maybe even more for the AoE community where so many people were used in playing very old titles all these years and consider the smoothness of an rts experience as given.
GPUs are not a cheap thing to get these days.
I say that with my gtx1050, I will have to lower the graphics, and for one to hit the 4k experience well they should probably need at least a gtx1080. You may be having something far better and want to take advantage of it, understandable.
I do not understand why everyone complain the graphic so much. It’s gorgeous, this kind or art-graphic is really cool and it will provide more longevity to the title. If you take a look on relistic games they suffer on graphic improvements year by year - it’s something people do not notice in games with cartoonish, plastic, gummy and so on stylish. Why do I say so? It’s easier to see degradation on graphics that are too realistic and detailed. Personally I’m not so big fan of realistic graphic. Take a look to WoW it’s old but theres alot of people who still play it. LoL is one of the most played game and still not realistic, same goes for Fortnite. Same is gonna happen for W3 reforged. The graphic quality improves too much from year to year and in order not to feel its weight it is better not to have games that are too graphically faithful to reality. Graphic is gorgeous and I do not see problems with it. They have to polish lots of thing and fix many others but hey it’s a pre-alpha!
AoE 1 and AoE 2 was not realistic neither, AoE 3 was the worst AoE they made (focusing everything on graphics). I also do not see the point to zoom too much - who cares? - if you wanna play in 3rd person just go play other kind of titles like Total War.
Sorry mate, but This Is an egoistic point of view. There are different players: some of them play competitive matches and the Graphic engine Is not a problem; many of them play campaigns, scenarios and random Maps vs AI and in this case graphic engine help with immersion and yes it’s Also important to zoom into action.
Company of Heroes Is a Good example.
Remember, some games were Born with cartoonish and colorful style as Wow, fornite and Warcraft. Other games have tried to follow this way and they have been a big failure: AOEO. I Remember well what Robot entertainment said about the engine: this Is Always Age of Empires and graphic Will help players to run game properly…we have seen what happened.
You are referring to Warcraft reforged: yes, it’s cartoonish but with High level of details
Problem Is not the vibrant colors but Unit models.
AoE is never been a game to zoom in tho. I might look egoistic but that’s the truth. W3 it’s another kind of game an we un use the scroll you change your view moving from top down to “side”.
You have mentioned Company of Heroes - well that’s a totally different game, it has nothing to do with AoE and I hope they will never make something like that. AoE it’s a siege game.
About AoE:O you can not compare that graphic to this one (AoE4) dear. It’s totally different. This one does not look cartoonish but more art-painted - to me it’s soemthing different.
AoE is never been a game to zoom in tho. I might look egoistic but that’s the truth. W3 it’s another kind of game an we un use the scroll you change your view moving from top down to “side”.
That is wrong, Aoe1&2 are not games which can be zoomed in due to the 2D nature. In Aoe3 we can zoom it very close.
And can’t view in a “side” camera is not a legit reason Aoe should not have detailed graphic.
AoE3? that’s not AoE that’s a garbage game who killed the series! AoE1-2 are way more played than AoE3. So they should not look into AoE3
Aoe3 is my favourite Aoe and I totally disagree with that.
And even if Aoe3 is a “garbage game” gameplay-wise, it is not a legit reason Aoe4 should stick with the unzoomable nature as old Aoe1&2, when Aoe4 itself is now a 3D game.
Men, age3 is my favorite game too, I totally disagree with your opinion.
I have the same feeling of the author of the post, if this pre-alpha trailer give to me this sense of watching a mobile \ poor graphics game, it is not my fault, and I am believe it is necessary relic make some changes on this.
Checked that article, they say both that Relic used own technology and reworked it almost from the ground as well. So I am a bit confused about the engine 
Graphics seems great enought. And before the first beta we can’t know how it will really be.
But, from my point of view, a RTS should be opened for the most of people, with bad and good computer for epic lan party ! So yeah, graphics are not the most important for me
For the debate aoe 2 and aoe 3 … each game has good features.
I would like to have 4 ressources or more. It gives some gameplay strategie. Aoe2
Sometimes a rush food and wood is enought to win, sometimes it’s better to secure the late game …
I like in AOE 3 the card gameplay but it shouldn’t be blocked by the city level… i allows rush or peel for the late game. It permits to compensate or renforce your civilisation skills.
Something i find boring in AOE2 it’s the wall strat, i mean lot of people cover the map with walls… and in early it’s pretty hard to break them all. If civilisation designed for early rush could have some abilities or card to improove their demolition skills it could be great…
Also, you gavf me an idea. If a civilisation change without any combat they win an advantage in science (+1500 food and 1 research free) otherwise in war (units have 15 hp and attacks with +5dmg) or religious bonus (for christian +25% against musulman and -25% against christian during crusade). I also liked the bonus for new age in aoe 3 (more wood or units )
So for each type of victory you should have to choose the way to play.
I forgot something…
I would like to begin the game in early médiéval and finished it in the late colonial age.
Someone told that some civilisation could have mobile town center and i think that’s great. Imagine you bearly survive at 1 attack you just have to moove on the map to win time
And why not a gestion of amunition ? Or covering archers on wall…