Is that a high medieval shield?
Well we now know that there’s going to be additionnal god as DLC. If you go pre-order the game on steam, you’ll see that it gives you acces to the “New gods pack: Freyr”. The plural form seems to indicate that there’ll be more than one god, so Freyr will be the major god, and some others will get added as minor gods.
I 100% agree, but in my opinion, it’s not unrealistic to imagine that some minor gods could possibly be elevated to major gods, just like the aztecs, haudenosaunee, lakota and incas were made into full civs in aoe3. I can easily imagine Hera or Osiris as major gods.
I’m okay with that. The norse have always been medieval in aom, so it’s no big deal.
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The visuals are looking great and seem improved to the ones released in February. It looks like the devs are not using the water ripple simulation from AoE3, which is a shame. I wonder if it was removed for performance, gameplay readability, or to more closely follow the original look of AoM.
It is interesting the amount of low camera angles. I wonder if this is done only for promotional material (like the lack of fog of war) or will be part of the gameplay. It could be similar to the camera mod for AoE4. But I guess we wait until gameplay is released to find out.
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I’d rename Israelite to Canaanite and replace Buddhist with Iranian/Zoroastrian. Buddhism doesn’t really have a set pantheon instead melding itself into local pantheons as it travelled. Beyond your list is basically my ideal list for the first five DLCs if each on gets two pantheons
Yes, I agree…and yes, they will add new units to the game…
Yes, it is Oceanus from the Atlanteans…
Yeah, it could be…
Yes, they will only retouch the mythological and titanic units and the human units and buildings will keep them the same…
I don’t think so because until now the 2 expansions we had only released one mythology/pantheon at a time: Atlanteans in TT and Chinese in TotD, so they will continue with the same scheme, although they may release 1 new mythology every 6 months so no one will care complaint…
Yes, I have chills that they copy the tricks of other companies that release exclusive and more expensive versions with more content or OPs gods and PTW… I don’t want them to break or stain the game with that garbage…
No idea, but it’s new…
Yes, I agree…it is a beautiful engine…
Yes, it is because it is an American tropical map (normal since the Atlanteans are a mix between the Romans and the Mesocivs)…
Yes, they will correct the textures of the Norse shields so that they look more from the Viking era (800-1100 CE)…
Maybe it’s more the latter…
Yes, I would add some more African civ also like the Yoruba…
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@MatM1996 you dont need to always reply all previous messages, mate lol every post you do this and many “answers” are like “yeah, could be” … “idk” … “yes” … and it takes too much time always scrolling down lol please keep contributing, but reconsider the amount of replies haha
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Well, sorry it’s a bit long and even more so if I answer it in parts xd…
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If that’s true, maybe the second expansion pack will be Aztecs or Maya?
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Man that looks weird af. Teardrop shield is where I’d draw the line, but kite shield is a no from me. I hope they change it when the game get released but I’m afraid it would be too late.
I’m okay with them with Early to High medieval gear not straight up very Late Medieval entering Renaissance gear.
Yes, they may possibly adapt the “the return of gods” mod that brings the Aztecs from AoE 3 so they can bring American maps from AoE 2 and 3 in Retold…
Yes, for me I don’t think they will change it except in some expansion and if people complain too much…
In theory AoM could reach 1500 CE (late Middle Ages and Renaissance) or even 1800 CE (if they include North American native mythologies and don’t use gunpowder units), so I don’t see a problem…
the problem isn’t literal anachronism because everyone knows anachronism exists and doesn’t mind it. the norse civ feels like it could be in late antiquity period, they are just 4th century germanic pirates but with a younger language. what is a problem is that the kite shield feels out of place because it’s strongly associated with high medieval period and further interrupts the illusion that the norse and greeks “fit” together. obviously that is not going to be an issue for everyone but clearly it’s kind of an ugly thing for myself and the other posters above. no reason they can’t just give the norse typical round shields more befitting the early medieval period
That’s true, maybe they’ll correct it if we ask them that…because otherwise the huskarl and inf units will feel strange…
Adding Israelites to the game is a terrible idea, as Judaism is a monotheistic religion. Any monotheistic religions should be left out of this game, as their inclusion would be offensive to adherents. As far as I’m concerned, any and all polytheistic religions are fair game, just not monotheistic ones.
I agree with the reply that suggested Canaanites instead.
Yes, these mythologies are left out:
Monotheism characterizes the traditions of Zoroastrianism,[10] Bábism, the Baháʼí Faith, Christianity,[11] Deism, Druzism,[12] Eckankar, Sikhism, Manichaeism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Mandaeism, Rastafari, Seicho-no-Ie, Tenrikyo, Yazidism, and Atenism. Elements of monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as ancient Chinese religion and Yahwism.[2][13][14]
The Tikar people of Cameroon have a traditional spirituality that emphasizes the worship of a single god, Nyuy.[37]
The Himba people of Namibia practice a form of monotheistic panentheism, and worship the god Mukuru. The deceased ancestors of the Himba and Herero are subservient to him, acting as intermediaries.[38]
The Igbo people practice a form of monotheism called Odinani.[39] Odinani has monotheistic and panentheistic attributes, having a single God as the source of all things. Although a pantheon of spirits exists, these are lesser spirits prevalent in Odinani expressly serving as elements of Chineke (or Chukwu), the supreme being or high god.
Waaq is the name of a singular God in the traditional religion of many Cushitic people in the Horn of Africa, denoting an early monotheistic religion. However this religion was mostly replaced with the Abrahamic religions. Some (approximately 3%) of Oromo still follow this traditional monotheistic religion called Waaqeffanna in Oromo.
######## or Tangrism (sometimes stylized as Tengriism), occasionally referred to as Tengrianism, is a modern term[56] for a Central Asian religion characterized by features of shamanism, animism, totemism, both polytheism and monotheism,[57][58][59][60] and ancestor worship. Historically, it was the prevailing religion of the Bulgars, Turks, Mongols, and Hungarians, as well as the Xiongnu and the Huns.[61][62] It was the state religion of the six ancient Turkic states: Avar Khaganate, Old Great Bulgaria, First Bulgarian Empire, Göktürks Khaganate, Eastern Tourkia and Western Turkic Khaganate. In Irk Bitig, Tengri is mentioned as Türük Tängrisi (God of Turks).[63] The term is perceived among Turkic peoples as a national religion.
In Chinese and Turco-Mongol traditions, the Supreme God is commonly referred to as the ruler of Heaven, or the Sky Lord granted with omnipotent powers, but it has largely diminished in those regions due to ancestor worship, Taoism’s pantheistic views and Buddhism’s rejection of a creator God. On some occasions in the mythology, the Sky Lord as identified as a male has been associated to mate with an Earth Mother, while some traditions kept the omnipotence of the Sky Lord unshared.
These mythologies do fit into the game:
Polytheism was the typical form of religion before the development and spread of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which enforce monotheism. It is well documented throughout history, from prehistory and the earliest records of ancient Egyptian religion and ancient Mesopotamian religion to the religions prevalent during Classical antiquity, such as ancient Greek religion and ancient Roman religion, and in ethnic religions such as Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic paganism and Native American religions. Notable polytheistic religions practiced today include Hinduism, Taoism, Shenism or Chinese folk religion, Japanese Shinto, Santería, most Traditional African religions,[6] and various neopagan faiths such as Wicca.
Hinduism, while popularly held as polytheistic, cannot be exclusively categorised as such as some Hindus consider themselves to be pantheists, panentheists, henotheist, polymorphist, monotheists or monist. They are compatible with Hindu texts, since there exists no consensus of standardisation in the faith. Vedanta, the most dominant school of Hinduism, offers a combination of pantheism/panentheism and polytheism, holding that Brahman is the sole ultimate reality of the universe, yet unity with it can be reached by worshipping the innumerable deities that represent the Supreme Absolute Truth. Hindus who practice Bhakti ultimately believe in one God, who is known variously as Paramatman, Parabrahman, Bhagavan, Ishvara, and so on, that transcends all categories (e.g. both of form and formless). Even though God is one, God manifests in infinite forms to help His/Her devotees realise Him/Her, and this is not to be confused with the belief that there are multiple Gods/Goddesses; this can be referred to as Polymorphic Monotheism.
Native American religions may be monotheistic, polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or some combination thereof. Cherokee religion, for example, is monotheist as well as pantheist.[47]
The Great Spirit, called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux,[48] and Gitche Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of universal spiritual force, or supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nation cultures.[49] According to Lakota activist Russell Means a better translation of Wakan Tanka is the Great Mystery.[50] Indeed, ###### Tanka" among the Lakota was considered a “council of gods” in pre-columbian times, and their religion is not monotheistic.[51]
Some researchers have interpreted Aztec philosophy as fundamentally monotheistic or panentheistic. While the populace at large believed in a polytheistic pantheon, Aztec priests and nobles might have come to an interpretation of Teotl as a single universal force with many facets.[52] There has been criticism to this idea, however, most notably that many assertions of this supposed monotheism might actually come from post-Conquistador bias, imposing an Antiquity pagan model onto the Aztec.
The head deity of the Proto-Indo-European religion was the god *Dyḗus Pḥatḗr . A number of words derived from the name of this prominent deity are used in various Indo-European languages to denote a monotheistic God. Nonetheless, in spite of this, Proto-Indo-European religion itself was not monotheistic.[64]
In Eastern Europe, the ancient traditions of the Slavic religion contained elements of monotheism. In the sixth century AD, the Byzantine chronicler Procopius recorded that the Slavs “acknowledge that one god, creator of lightning, is the only lord of all: to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals.”[65] The deity to whom Procopius is referring is the storm god Perún, whose name is derived from *Perkwunos, the Proto-Indo-European god of lightning. The ancient Slavs syncretized him with the Germanic god Thor and the Biblical prophet Elijah.
Aboriginal Australians are typically described as polytheistic in nature.[158] Although some researchers shy from referring to Dreamtime figures as “gods” or “deities”, they are broadly described as such for the sake of simplicity.[159]
As an old religion, Hinduism inherits religious concepts spanning monotheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, monism, and atheism among others;[165][166][167][168] and its concept of God is complex and depends upon each individual and the tradition and philosophy followed.
Remove that kite shield bullsh*t ASAP.
Give norse unit a round/square shield made of wood instead.
Immersion is important, otherwise in future updates they will feel free to add gunpowder units (cough, fire lance, cough) and other absurdities.
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Let’s hope so. Even I like that he Aztec mod and he really appreciate the work, I personally hope maya wins.
The Norse units always hat a kite shield with the last shield upgrade, that’s not a new thing.
Kite shields came up at the end of the Viking age and might have even been invented by Vikings, so they are not anachronistic for the Norse.
The Egyptian Chariot is equally far away from ancient Greek as the kite shield is.
Chariots practically dissipated from the battlefields of the Middle East at the end of the Bronze Age. Which is >500 years before the ancient Greeks.
The Norse are inherently way way later in the timeline then the Greeks and Egyptians.
The civilisation and culture of the Scandinavian people was very different during the times the ancient Greeks still existed.
So does it make that much of a difference if their equipment is 800 AD, 900 AD or 1000 AD?
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Egyptian chariot is a real thing that existed in the time period that the in-game Egypt represents (bronze age). The civs are anachronistic between each other but are mostly consistent within themselves.
BTW the one I originally posted is not a kite shield. Kite shield somewhat overlaps with the Viking era. That is a 13th century heater shield long after the Viking’s time. The in-game Norse civ is centered on the Viking era which ended before 11th century. That shield does not belong to the Norse’s own theme.
It would be like a Byzantine unit for the in-game Greeks, a classical Chinese civ with Qing dynasty hairstyles, or a King Arthur-themed British civ with tricornes.
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I yeah I completely agree with that, that is clearly going too far.
Basically no one who ever used a heater shield was still worshipping the old gods.
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These are Ulfsark & Huskarl “heater shield”, but they’re actually teardrop shield which is quite accurate since Vikings did indeed use them in the high middle ages, well specifically the Normans.
Also I’d like to correct myself, teardrop shield is also called kite shield, the one from the trailer are called heater shield which were widely used in the late 12th to 13th century.
