A lot of people complained about the fact that the Wei, Wu, and Shu are 200 years outside the existing timeframe and represent shortlived political entities instead of peoples. Rather than seeing this as a fundamental departure from 25 years of practise regarding the fundamental identity of the game, one can instead see this as an opportunity to expand the game into new vistas. Developing this idea, I propose some ideas for new civs based on the 3K template.
American revolution: if we can extend the timeline 200 years backward, why not 200 years forwards? We can have a new American civ, along with several native American civs, and a rework of Britons and French with fun colonial dynamics. This popular period will be a certain bestsellar.
Holy Roman Empire: There’s been a need to break up the Teutons for many years now. Why have one civ when you can have dozens? Saxons, Bavarians, Brandenburgers, Luxemburgers, Hanovarians, and more. Plenty for multiple expansions.
Northern Italy: Romans, Italians, and Sicilians aren’t nearly sufficient to cover the peninsula. Why not also include the Venetians, Genoese, Pisans, Florentines, Sardinians, and more?
Sengoku period: Dozens of exciting new civs can be added to cover this era, and a great way to expand the game in the Japanese market.
King Authur: Taking insight from the magical and fictional aspects of the 3K campaigns, we could have a DLC covering the fictionalised post-Roman Britian with Arthur, Lancelot, and Merlin. Think of the new mechanics that could be included!
War of the Roses: See the inspiration of Game of Thrones brought to life with new civs like Lancastrians, Yorkies, and Tudors.
The World Wars: We’ve seen many righfully point out that AOEII is a game, and the priority for a game is fun, not historical accuracy. So building on the great work of 3K, why not go all out and add new modern factions and units such as tanks, machine guns, and aircraft? As long as they are carefully balanced, they will add new exciting mechanics to the game without any downsides. Adding a new airfield building might also provide an opportunity for interesting new counter-unit dynamics.
The key point, once we do away with the straightjackets of ideas like ‘civilizations as peoples’ and ‘medieval focus’, we open up the game to exciting new opportunities that have yet to be explored. I’m looking forward to an expansive and exciting new future for AOEII.