Replays no longer play more than 15 seconds

lol, what kind of answer is it? its ofc a bug, you need to cover it as a developer.

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Yeah this really sucks again after the recent update but I get that the cause for this issue is probably baked pretty deep into the game and “fixing” it would pretty much mean rewriting half of the entire game engine.

What if, just hear me out okay. What if, just what if, they released a “replay game application”, as something downloadable. Which will automatically scan the file version, that your replay used, and then just loads, that specific version and initiates the replay of the specific game file? :smiley:

they dont seem to have time to run a simple test run to see if the bug they supposedly fixed, was actually fixed, you think they have the time to write a whole app?

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You seem to have the WRONG IDEA about how a game development studio ACTUALYL WORKS.

Just to be clear. It WOULD NOT require the development of a whole application. It would simply make the replay game feature a stand-alone feature, and allow one to swap between different patches/versions. Which, being a game development studio, as a quality control measure, they will MOST CERTAINLY have ALL the different patches/versions of the game on file. :smiley:

All the game development studio has to do is “REPACKAGE” the replay game in a new executable file. Add the ability to auto-change between patches/versions based on the file version in question. Then add a file graphics for a graphical user interface. There. Problem solved. :smiley:

The ability to switch between patches/versions was used in the orginial game 1.0e (unofficial) patch, to switch between patch/version 1.0 and 1.0c in the ORIGINAL game. It is NOT difficult to do. :smiley:

Also, “running a simple test”, is NOT simple. The problem is in “replicating” a bug. Which is A LOT HARDER than it appears. :smiley:

I wasnt being too serious with that comment honestly, just ranting about the lack of testing. I know tests are not an easy thing, i used to be a QA of nightmarish systems that needed to be as stable as possible, and had super non trivial things to test (most tests required special hardware for testing). and yet, in the end, everything was testable. I know 100% stability is not a requirement in a video game, but fixed bugs that keep coming back and claims to have fixed bugs that just became worse AT THE VERY PATCH THEY WERE SUPPOSEDLY FIXED just pisses me off. but lets not start a discussion about that 11. and no, i have no idea how game developement works.

about the replay thing, i have doubts that this code that was written in the 90’s, and then remastered twice over the years to support newer technologies is highly modular, but it could be. i dont know their coding practices. however, they could do something like voobly did where you choose your mod (in this case, version) to run the replay inside the regular game. i just doubt we will actualyl get that.

Lol. Twice? I do not think you should call the HD Edition a “remaster”, that is a severe OVERSTATMENT. The HD Edition only really added back multiplayer functionality, and “better water graphics”.

The only “real” remaster was the “Definitive Edition”. Which added A LOT of improvements and balance changes. Though it could be better, especially the game-breaking bugs. Though they still get patched quite frequently. A lot of bugs have been fixed, however more are sure to appear and need to be fixed. For the most part. :smiley:

Personally i LOVED using the Lithuanian relic bug before it was patched. :frowning:

I even discovered something interesting about how the replay recording file works. It DOES NOT record every single thing about the “game state” on a moment-to-moment basis. I know this, since when i watched the replay of a game where i used the relic bug to increase the attack of my knights to +150 attack, the knights attack after the recording DID NOT show the increase in attack and just showed the knight attack change from +1 to 0 and back to +1. Yet, the game DID NOT crash when the number changed, therefore the replay allowed the conclusion that the in-game stat changes DO NOT affect the replay. :smiley:

However, what the replay DID SHOW, was that, when i destroyed a castle with the knights i had, the MOMENT the castle should have been DESTROYED, the game “stopped, due to compatiblility issue”. Which was very interesting for figuring out why the replay stops after 15 seconds or longer. :smiley:

Actually, if i remember correctly they still used the original engine. However, mos tof the programming was replaced. This is what i heard awhile ago, at least 1-2 years ago. :smiley:

Side note - the cost of the Definitive edition is approximately $20 (AUD Australia currency). This includes ALL previous expansions on the HD Edition. Whereas, the HD Edition cost the same, you ALSO have to buy the 3 expansions for the same price EACH. Therefore the total cost of the HD Edition with the expansions would be approximately $80 (AUD Australia currency) in total. (For worse graphics).

The Definitive Edition is approximately $20 (AUD Australia currency), and includes ALL of the 3 previous expansions with better graphics. Even the NEW expansion only costs approximately $10 (AUD currency), and has better graphics. :smiley:

Though i would ALSO like to be able to watch and stream my old replays on twitch. :frowning:

My best guess is that most of the staff have been transferred to the development of AoE 4 and the staff left behind for maintenance do not have enough hours to patch every bug. Not to mention, that most of the time, while trying to fix bugs, all the literally do is look at each line of code. (Just to be clear, a game has millions, if not billions of lines of code). Many bugs, often appear due to a function not working as intended. Even something as similar as a"misplaced simi colon" can stop an entire sub-system of a game from function at all. :smiley:

Do note - I am NOT a game developer. Though i have watched a few videos on youtube about programming, and i do plan on getting a job in the field of Computer Science in the future.

“youtube, the GREAT EDUCATOR”. :wink:

Side note - What do you think about AoE 4?

  • To be clear, i LOVE the idea of a new game called AoE 4 happening - however, i hate the idea of the game possibly being terrible “which is a possibility”. Most remakes / remasters / and sequels have been made in the last decade than ever before. A lot of which are terrible. So i hope AoE 4 is not “oversimplified” as was the case for AoE 3.

AoE 3 had a good them. Thouh overall game mechanics, were NOT good, the decrease in economy management made the game easier, but also simplified the game play to the extent that the game became somewhat bad. :frowning: I think the lack of farm management nowadays for AoE 2 is good, since there is STILL a lot of economy management that needs to be done. :smiley:

Lol. Pretty sure i have just gone on a tangent now. :smiley:

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Honestly, I would have prefered it if the game was 30 or even 40 bucks, but we had more bug fixes. currently i just think support for the game will drop before we hit a steady state.

Hiding the game time fixed for me, press F11 to completely hide any runtime counter. I tested with a game that failed at 2:00 in, now playing w/o problems. Hope it works for somebody else.

I don’t think it will work for older replays though, but at least for the ones saved in the current version.

Ignoring this issue for over a year is disrespectful to the streaming community which played a huge role in making this game alive for all this years.

August 2021 and this is still an issue :frowning:

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As I type here, it says this topic has been solved. How is it solved if I cannot play old replays! Please take note Microsoft

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