I know this topic has been beat to death. Considering this DLC is focused on the crusades I do not get this at all. I appreciate we are getting the Byzantines and Japanese, but these faction civs are a cruel joke aside from the Ayyubids. I cannot believe this is the route the Devs went for and decided to blindly leave so many other good choices for civilizations on the table. I’m highly disappointed to say the least. I cannot believe we are going to see Joan of Arc as a playable civ, with her on horseback strapped with a hand cannon. You are not supposed to drink the bong water for crying out loud.
Jeanne D’Arc- Should be Kingdom of Jerusalem
Order of the Dragon- Teutonic Knights or perhaps a Norwegian civilization would have been a better choice.
Zhu Xi’s Legacy- Shouldn’t even exist, the focus should have been on another civilization entirely.
I hope the Devs realize how bone-headed this is. IMO the release date should be pushed back so this can be corrected in my opinion. I’m just shocked beyond belief.
I think the idea of having civ variants is great, the mechanics , seeem very interesting , it’s just the names… and the classification as a “civ” we should categorise them as “factions” and yeah Jeanne de arc, zhu xi legacy, should be changed to something else pls
I have a feeling the variants are solving a problem that doesn’t exist while harming the game in the long run… We already have 10 civs, plus the 2 new we’ll have 12. Considering how different the civs are from each other, 12 is actually a lot, the devs have been doing a great job balancing them so far considering how asymmetric they are.
I get it people constantly ask for new civs but that only means that’s what people are most passionate about, that doesn’t mean it’s the most urgent change needed for the game. I’d rather they rework the original civs instead of making a copy of the existing ones then struggle even coming up with proper names for them. Also, of course keep making new and unique civs, slowly, I wouldn’t mind waiting. Having poorly executed new civ ideas only harms the passion for a lot of people. What I also wanted to see is more maps and more bioms, much more than what has been revealed, maybe a more custimisable mega random too, maybe even new map mechanics like treasures, villages you can capture etc… Also more game modes too, like an official Regicide mode instead of just a mod.
Another really big issue with the game IMO is it can’t retain PVE players. Call them second-class citizens all you like but they bring a lot of income too. I’d play a lot more too if we have more pve options. I was really hoping this DLC fills this void but then I got surprised by the variants.
I agree with much of what you stated. Another thing I wish they would work on is adding more units in the scenario editor, and making units more realistic. the English King unit still ######### me. The capturable settlement/village/treasure idea is awesome by the way. It would be cool to have AI bandit camps/ bases.
I would like to see more diversified gaia animals, along with capturable animals too.
AoE4 differed to the older games because of the uniqueness and attention each civilization they got. I have a feeling variants are a response to the surveys asking if players wanted more civilizations. Instead of putting in proper effort and making more of what people actually want, they made these piles of garbage.
It is easy to point to AoE2 as well, saying how their civilizations barely differ. Yet their civilizations are appropriately named, their unique units have different poses, attack and movement animations, look actually GOOD in 2D and are entirely new designed assets in contrast to AoE4’s standard of reshuffling armour, helmets, weapons and horses for a “brand new” unique unit.
There was never any point to AoE4 trying to mimic AoE2. They half-arsed the attempt to fulfill player’s request, ignoring the obvious fact that players wanted more NEW civilizations, like Japanese and Byzantines and not whatever these variants are.
It is amusing to see that even moderators get defensive over this game. Do you think we criticize the game to insult you for liking it? the point of feedback is to help improve the experience for everyone. To put it in other words, some criticism isn’t just about my personal experience and feels towards the game, but rather, pointing out issues that is relevant in a broader picture.
Can you see the flaw in your suggestion? Just don’t play it? Perhaps I won’t. But, then again, I’m not the only one having these sorts of hang-ups. What of those that will avoid AoE4 altogether because they saw this? Do they also not matter?
In which case, I agree. Just don’t play. Let’s see how well that does for player numbers.
Ranting, insulting the dev team, and the studio as a whole is not constructive.
Pointing out what is wrong, and how it could be better, providing alternatives is constructive feedback. Also, in the meantime, expressing what works great, so providing positive feedback is also valuable, since information what doesn’t need to change, and what is appreciated in the future is crucial information.
As for the topic, I don’t think the release date should be pushed back because of the controversy of the variant civs. Effort and dev time was poured into it, so there’s no reason to just throw it out of the window without trying it out. If it’s that bad, then let’s be vocal about it, and they might rework some parts in the future.
In my opinion the variant civ idea is a great one, but if it’s so controversial, the answer shouldn’t be to remove it from the game, rather exclude it from ranked games or something until the dust settles.
There are more civilizations with very interesting and different mechanics where many players will play it.
I understand the annoyance regarding the names of the civs, but there are many more good things in this DLC than bad (coincidentally, some usual users, in 99% of their posts, repeatedly point out how bad the game is and the wrong direction it’s heading). Some AOE4 enthusiasts get tired of the same thing and then leave the forum. There are already threads criticizing the names.
Regarding the mechanics, you say that these variants are the closest thing to garbage without playing it.
Criticism is one thing, and constantly harping on the same points is another.
Im playing aoe4 after almost 6mounths without my computer, so not playing at all. I felt that the game has been improved… i can see little details in each civ, from the different units graphic, to the voices, the buildings. I really love it and make me feel into the game and the civ im playing. Dev should maintain this high standard, cause the feeling is amazing. Ill wait to play the variants before judge, but simply i dont the agree with this new “way” devs has chosen. They could focus in something different.
There is a significant percentage of players who want a larger quantity, and they don’t mind if they are excessively different from each other. I still remember when more than one small casual streamer would say, ‘there are too few civilizations, in AoE2 and 3, there are many more.’ For them, the level of difference between civilizations is not as relevant as it is for us, and some of them don’t want to understand that.
In AoE4, they are aiming for a blend that includes both quantity and quality so that newcomers won’t say these things.
A constructive feedback dont make cheap stuffs.Make ayyubid(im only saying ayyubid because we dont know the others all should have unique landmark) landmark unique,make aquadects in a way so we can see the water on it.Like these things.
Make new 6 civs for the next year to make up for this.Please no more variants like this.