Good evening colleagues, I am a very devoted player of the series, but my favorite game of all is AoE3. Although I understand that the vast majority do not like the game and certain mechanics such as the homecity or shipments and experience system, there are excellent mechanics in AoE3 that cannot be lacking in AoE4.
Some proposals came out of this post from ESOC, the largest and oldest AoE3 community that exists.
Set up treasures around the map.
In AoE3 maps, there are a lot of treasures scattered around the map. Some of these are protected by guardians, most offer resources in the early game, others provide units or even upgrades. Depending on the gain of the treasure, it will be more difficult to take it based on the guardians.
I think this is an excellent mechanic, it can be very good adherence to the game and it would give it a touch of realism.
Introduces a batch unit production system.
This is going to be very controversial, if nobody likes the idea it is totally understandable. In AoE3, most military units are produced in batches ranging from 5 to 10 maximum in some cases. I personally consider that reverting to the old one-by-one production system is a major downgrade of the game. It is a very big and important change for most, but it will give more dynamism and speed to the game, perhaps it could be a special mechanic for a new game mode.
Snare mechanic
Snare is a status effect in Age of Empires III, that reflects a speed movement penalty applied to units being affected by melee attacks and some ranged units.
Itâs a really interesting mechanic in the game, and it allows more than anything to punish opponents for mistakes.
Explorer/hero unit
All the civilizations of AoE3 begin with a hero, who is in charge of exploring and taking treasures, he is an immortal unit and as the game progresses he takes on different roles, it would be very interesting if the same applied in AoE4, with a Unique hero for each civilization with unique abilities.
Instant resource collection
This can also be controversial, but in my humble opinion, going back to the old eco with vill drop points system, is going back in time, the automatic resource collection was a great addition to the game.
Set certain details that AoE3 has to AoE4
The following are details that appear in AoE3, and surprisingly, in a game of the caliber of AoE4 they are not
-The artillery has no crew.
-The AoE3 HUD has in a single panel, information about the unit, its characteristics, abilities and even history, the AoE4 HUD is extremely minimalist in this regard.
-During combat, in AoE3 you can know precisely what is happening, making the Micro more edifying and more satisfactory in sight.
Add Homecity.
A Home City is the capital city of a civilization in Age of Empires III that delivers economic and military shipments to a playerâs in-game colony, adding extra functionality to normal gameplay.
When a player from another RTS asks me what Homecity is, I like to tell him that it is an intangible building, that it can be customized and that it works with a resource called âexperienceâ, which is obtained by combat, construction and creation of units, it would be a good adhesion, could allude to the sending of reinforcements of a kingdom to its armies and fortresses in the battle front.
Natives.
Add native towns, to which we can ally to obtain special improvements and unique units.
Reintroduce the elaborate but very hard counter system
In AoE3 the system is a bit difficult to understand, but it is very effective and good if you think about it, a pikeman in AoE3 has 10% melee resistance, (this means that any melee attack will generate a 10% less damage), has 8 base melee attack, and then has a positive multiplier of x5 against cavalry, this means that an infantry unit, such as a musketeer, will inflict its 8 melee damage, while a cavalry unit, such as a Husar, will inflict 40 damage. At AoE4, the pikeman has 6 attack on base, and a +6 bonus attack against cavalry, again, IMHO there was a downgrade in the counter system.
Well, thatâs what the AoE3 community can suggest, there are things that are very important changes, but really great, like the snare and the batch production system.