I agree with some and disagree with others
mouse pointers are always at 1 pixel precision chances of missclick are very low.
Score should be added to the list. I openend a thread to explain what the score is to those that are not familiar with it : Score explanation from a top aoe2 player
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What’s the problem with the actual zoom? people need to go back and play RTS with a computer in 1999-2006, I don’t want to control ants… I think people asking for more zoom never played original age2 because if they did, they will remember the zoom level of those times ( times were RTS was the biggest genre in PC)
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Imagine the conversation between player and devs be like
Player: Can we have the ability to zoom out more?
Devs: No we’ve put a lot of effort into touching the graphic details
Player: But we want to have a more overall idea of what’s happening…
Devs: No just behold our beautiful graphic details!
Player:…
Joking of course, but I can’t think of a good reason for limiting the zoom level that much. I disagree with the idea that it has to be limited so that players with bigger screen doesn’t have advantage over players with smaller screen. Better screen, better mouse, better keyboard, better CPU,… how can you prevent all those advantages? And equality is not always the same with fairness, those invested in better equipments having a better return is fair. And even if you want to limit the advantage big screen players have, please pick the most popular screen size and make that the standard. You can’t put restriction to majority of players who play on regular screens just to support some guys that still play on tiny screens. I believe the current zoom level feels restricted even on the normal screen size, let alone the big sizes.
You don’t want to control ants, fine, but why don’t you want other people to? Just increase the max zoom out level, no one forces you to use it. You can just play the zoom level you feel comfortable with and I’ll play the zoom level I feel comfortable with. It’s just natural in a strategy game that players need to look at the big picture to think strategically, I don’t get why it’s so hard to have such a basic aspect of a strategy game.
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I think that a game needs to have rules to be a balanced game, part of those rules in an RTS is the zoom level, lest be honest here, if relic allows more zoom level, everyone will be using it in competitive and game will look stupid… even sc2 has less zoom with aerial units…Imagine people asking blizzard for more zoom level in sc2, it is just no sense.
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yea this what I also said, zoom and how much you can view is part of rule set. The you have a group just
want to play AOE 2 and want to crap on AOE 4 for every little thing. Zoom is fine as it is. These people just
want an advantage and don’t want to get stream sniped.
I think the current max zoom out level is still very far from the point that makes the game look stupid. Surely we don’t want infinite zoom, but it has to be at a reasonable level. And at this level it’s still hard to see the overall situation without moving the camera too much. And what’s the problem if everyone use the same zoom level in competitive as long as it works for them, I don’t see it.
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I never had any issue with that, I just opened game options and increased the mouse screen movement speed, like any other RTS during the past 20 years… this is not supreme commander…
I was definitely frustrated with no global queue system still not implemented in the public beta and the fact that zoom level virtually is unchanged. There were a lot of things missing that should have been implemented, I don’t think there will be a huge post launch update as many of you are wishfully hoping. I believe they will save this feedback for AOE V.
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The development was clearly not approached properly from the ground-up. I’ll still be buying the game, but there are some common sense frustrations. Fire your technical team if you must.
@DGPstudios Btw you might want to add a point on improving the icon system, especially the Workshop icons: Are icons way too indistinctive?. I think that’s one of the few things most people seem to agree that it needs to be fixed.
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if you can do me a favor and go ahead on steam and download the 2007 age of empires 3 version and play that on 1920x1080 resolution and let me know how that feels. Because that’s exactly how AOE IV looks and feels like once you start building walls.
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lumber camp icon for the love of god I built so many lumber camps instead of mining camps just because I saw a coin being minted (I blame AOE 3)
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.
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If I can’t see beyond the fog-of-war, etc., then what is the problem? Either way, a slightly improved zoom distance would be ideal.
I definitely think we need different winning conditions, especially for AD, it can be really difficult to protect your only two landmarks that are not moveable either.
I made a list of observations I found through my open beta experience. If anyone wants to read through it, that would be fabulous! On some topics there are alternate ways to get around the issues, hence why I call them ‘conveniences’ I am hoping to get various opinions
If your worry is the game looking stupid in a competitive setting then I guess the fact that most competitive players using Low graphics setting is an inconvenient truth.
Either way though, which is going to look worse? the camera constantly moving so much you cant tell whats going on as a spectator, or a slightly more zoomed out view that shows less detail but more of what’s going on. Again, were not asking to watch our base from the international space station, just a little further out so we can see whats going on.
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Well I see a lot of people playing on ultra in sc2, coh2 etc, I see some playing the old age2 with boxes instad of trees but those are mods, should mods be allowed in a competitive game? well that’s a different story… I personally don’t like age2 competitive videos, the last tournament there were like 12 castles in the map… I also see many people playing age3 full graphics… the problem here is that you see age of empires all around age 2 so your opinion is biased.
Should competitive games be played in low graphics? do you think people will be attracted to a game that uses boxes instead of trees?
The only genre that benefit of reducing graphics is the FPS( and not all of them) just the ones that a lot to mod the game a lot like csgo