So I think we can assume this is actually what the handbook states.
Now as of late teases before official releases have been used to hype controversial and lackluster efforts…read lies.
Given this unfortunate…unethical track record I think it’s safest to assume this will not come to pass.
However, that’s also no fun. If for discussion’s sake we assume WE et al have turned a new leaf and this is actually reflective of reality, what might this portend?
Now, words haven’t meant much to the devs recently, but I would like to point out they did NOT state there would be new “buildings”. Perhaps that’s included in “new game play features” if you were going to add ships, techs, and buildings, and not mention buildings in the list of things you’re adding, that’d seem weird. Perhaps they’re concerned with word economy, but a handbook seems like one of the places you’d be LEAST concerned about word economy. Consequently the omission of “building” seems to me to implicitly state the dock won’t be split.
Perhaps they’ve found some other way to improve the dock UI so that splitting the dock isn’t as helpful now.
Presumably other buildings such as sea walls and towers aren’t on the table.
I do wonder about “new game play features”. I’d be most interested in if they’ve found some way to translate the elevation bonus from land to some comparable mechanic on water. Something to give more tactical depth to water battles.
I wonder if there will be an Oceania DLC after all. That seems like the most logical and thematically-appropriate time to make wide-reaching water changes like this.
Also alexander hasn’t even released yet. I wouldn’t expect another DLC til spring, and thalassocracy 2 is in november. that seems too early if they were previewing DLC features.
The Imperial Age buildings would be made of Peruvian-style finely-cut stones and would feature decorative moai in several places, based on a fanciful imagining of Easter Island, specifically Ahu Vinapu:
I thought of that, but figured only the Imperial Age set would be fitting. I did give the Inca the Oceania regional siege ship as a nod to their likely contact with that region.
While it’s certainly not ideal, I’d suggest you make a sketch and ask Gemini (or a better AI tool) to help you bring it to life. Just as an exercise to see how it would look in-game.
I’m sketching some concepts and have been trying to make them more like the AoE2 style, with reasonably acceptable results, considering it’s an AI.
My drawing of the Benin barracks and Gemini’s “realistic” version:
What are the current pop cultures about Ocenia? They need to add more ancient and classical period short lived kingdoms as civ on ranked. Or maybe they can extend the time line to 17-18th century and add some colonial forces like The Dutch East India Company.
I know this is a facetious question, but Hawaii and Easter Island are two very popular elements of Oceania culture. I feel like everyone knows about Kon-Tiki as well. Wouldn’t be too hard to make a recognizable and popular Oceania expansion drawing from elements that everyone knows without sacrificing historical accuracy or the theme of the game (but would the devs care to do the latter?).
