I think this is a great game. It’s fun and I’ll support its future development. A few more ideas:
UI
- The icon color-coding is nice. At the very least, place certain icons on their own row, rather than cramming them all together – icons directly beneath units ought to be relevant to those units. Icons representing upgrades that apply universally ought to be separate or distinct. Implement this: Are icons way too indistinctive? - #3 by TheFibrewire
- A translucency option would be great.
Walls
- As others have pointed out, not being able to connect your walls with an ally’s walls or double-up walls is a lost opportunity.
- Despite the walls behaving as though the code is borrowed from AoE III (which is fine), they don’t quite feel as malleable. They seem very fickle. For example, I am unable to drag wall sections across obstructions – having a section where a wall cannot be built ought not to invalidate the entire wall.
- As above, the ability to mount a trebuchet into a wall as a counter-trebuchet would be excellent.
Economy and Resources
- A missed opportunity that would have improved the AoE series and allowed for additional late-game techs and/or units unique to each civilization, making for epically long/satisfying games: the slow re-spawning of resources, or shipments. Shipments probably wouldn’t fit this game, leaving only re-spawning or specialized techs as options. AoE III did a great job with the maximization of resource return by way of powerful late-game techs, but even there the late game devolved into a battle of cheap wood and food-based units.
So, a solution: forests slowly re-grow (as long as they aren’t built over); animal pens are a type of farm upgrade; and for mines, either surveyors (mine-spawner units), or one may meet the gold requirement simply through trade. - “Supply lines” with perhaps three trade units would have been a nice improvement to the standard trading cart, and an evolution of what AoE III tried to do with the train trade-routes. “Runners” travel between TCs as a multiplier, carts do what they do, and “caravans” generate more gold more slowly. Defensive structures and walls ought to be useful for protecting supply lines. You can make this all possible within the current game. Imagine all of these features in a fast-paced game like this one, or any AoE! How cool!
- Most importantly for trade:
– More effective ways to trade a large number of resources in the Market would be a welcome addition. Too many clicks.
– As usual, techs for making resource trading less uneven over time, into late game.
Diplomacy
- Diplomacy ought to be expanded. The ability to set Ally-Neutral-Enemy ought to have included a checkbox option to “attack on sight”.
- The ability to buy a temporary and inviolable treaty from another player, likely an enemy, for an amount they offer or to which they agree. This ought to have been added to the AoE series a long time ago.
Fortresses
- As in AoE II and III, the concept of a castle or fortress is nice, but they are not nearly as effective as they ought to be. They ought to be much harder to destroy, and thus more expensive to build. They also would act as a trading hub with the above system.
Population Limit
- 200 is too limiting. 250 as proposed above is still too low. 300 is a more optimal target.
Also, score and more detailed post-game stats.
Minimalism isn’t always the best approach. It’s true that in game design it’s wise to ask oneself: “What’s the minimum number of features we need to make an awesome game and polish it, while giving ourselves room to grow?” I’m sure you had many of these conversations. Unfortunately, you missed the mark. You fell short. Although there is a degree of perpetually-unhappy fanbase since nothing can fulfill the nostalgia of the original, this is not only a case of that.
However, as stated at the beginning, I think this is a great game. It’s fun, despite the numerous frustrations while playing, and I’ll support its future development.