I just don’t see why they would change strategy, One mainline dlc from the core team and one chronicles one from an outside team per year.
I can’t imagine their budgets have increased what with all that is happening at Xbox. I don’t think it’s possible to do as much work in as little time as people here are suggesting.
Wait till end of summer. I am sure we will get more information…
AoE2 already has a huge amount of DLC content, so I do not think the game needs three expansions in a single year just to prove that support is strong.
At this point, quality, balance and giving each release enough attention matter more than sheer quantity. Chronicles is especially campaign-heavy, so players need time to actually finish it before another DLC starts competing for attention.
Two substantial releases in one year is already a very healthy pace for a game this old. I would much rather see Chronicles 3 in autumn 2026 and a larger mainline DLC in early 2027 than have three releases rushed into the same calendar year.
This three DLCs this year idea seems to be more people wanting it than based on anything.
There isn’t enough time left in the year for that. Microslop’s budget cutting left and right. And there is simply no evidence.
I had thought there would be time given TLC releasing in early February, but at this point time is running short. If we hear something announced by the end of this month to release in August then I could still see it with a third release sliding in right at the end of the year, but if we get to August without hearing anything then i’ll agree it’ll just be one more.
And i’ll grant my main basis for the theory is simply that I want to, hence my still holding out hope, though from what i’ve seen its sounded like Worlds Edge hasn’t really been hit with cuts in the same way Bethesda did, nor did it get free reign like Mojang did; seems to have kinda flown under the radar with not much change to staffing or budget.
Xbox studio got some budget cuts, not microsoft itself. World’s Edge is not directly related to them so they got their own agenda.
it’s more about event, tournament timing, rather than anything else, about when to release content or not.
For now, there is enought time, but not for long. It will depends on the next weeks.
I’d like it if they fix their mess first. Like getting rid of ro3k and hunter gatherer civs.
And replace them with tanguts, tibetans, bais, chimor, waris and tiwanakus.
They still haven’t addressed old issues like persian architecture and caucasus civs using mediterranean arch (8 civs) instead of caucasian arch. Also, there is the nomad architecture issue but it seems they don’t care either.
Forgotten empires is ruining aoe2.
Which hunter/gatherer civs are you referring to?
Are we going to do this again? I’m not going to debate facts, so let’s keep it short: Tupis and mapuches are hunter-gatherer civs. The fact that only a couple of family groups in the amazon and biobio basins started to develop slash and burn agro after their contact with Europeans doesn’t help either. Especially when the groups of the fertile crescent already had full blown and proper agriculture. Also, there is a reason why most archaelogists officially consider them hunter gatherers. That’s all. I’m not going to go into details for obvious reasons.
Never gonna happens, it’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
It’s not because you don’t like a feature of the game that it should be Fixed what so ever.
Not issues, creatives choices. I personnally don’t understand all that polemics about persian, their current architecture set is exactly what I would expect from my knowledge of Persia. So at the very best if they would have to do anything, it would be to add a sub-civ of the persian super-group to represent the part using that specific architecture so many people seems to want to have. But the actual persian must not be changed to another thing, they fit their style. (The name Persian is maybe not the name the civ should have been named, but hey here it is what it is)
Then why is it still alive and still selling since they got hired ? There is no argument in this sentence, no logic. And mostly it’s not the topic we’re discussing on this thread. So I’m just gonna say what I say to others reacting like you: If you don’t like the game anymore, just move on and let those liking it enjoying it.
No we’re not, it’s not the thread to do that, start another thread if you really want, but this one is about the Empty Apps on the SteamDB, not about the legitimity of previously released content.
I just watched a video where Steve Peterson was guessing the new civs and their unique units for DLC added since the Forgotten. And he mentionned that the Inuite would have been a damn good addition due to the Vikings. It seems this people were extremly interesting and basically turned the vikings into pieces with some very unique fighting style.
So the Inuite could then be eventually a candidate, as someone already suggested earlier in the conversation. But that would requiere two arhcitecture set. I’m not sure they would go that far, but if they do, that would be pretty cool to have a Greenland civ alonside with at least one new viking style civ.
That would be kind of a campaign version of the Conqueror Vinland Saga scenario, and would be abit different than the old EUROPE RAIDING habits.
Campaign wise I think a campaign featuring the story about going north, discovering Iceland, Greenland, and then loosing to the Inuite, or maybe just playing the Inuite while having vikings invaders, would be damn cool and totally perfect for a new DLC.
Another campaign I’d love to see is with Constantinople and the Rus’, they have a damn cool story, some big showdowns, and incredible build-up to their relationship.
And as a third campaign, I’ll never say it enought but, the Danes, to me the Danelaw topic is perfect for a campaign, and is one topic not seen yet in AoE2 about the “vikings”.
Two minutes ago, the main app got updated on steam ! Here we go, they’re back on the work after 2 days of week-end. I’m really hoping they’re going to publish some news soon, I’m starving for infos…
It’s okay to dislike new civs but make some basic research before typing nonsense.
Between AD 500-1000 and 1500 Mapuche subsistence was based on a combination of food gathering, hunting, fishing, horticulture, and incipient agriculture. Their diet was and continues to be predominantly vegetarian. Horticulture is believed to have developed among the aboriginal Mapuche between 500 and 1500. In the valleys, horticulture and incipient agriculture were combined with hunting and gathering, whereas in the highlands only hunting and gathering were practiced. In the coastal areas, fishing and gathering shellfish were supplemented with hunting. The plants cultivated by the Mapuche of the valleys were maize, kidney beans, squashes, quinoa, oca, peanuts, chili peppers, and white potatoes. The latter are believed to have been domesticated by the Mapuche. Irrigation agriculture was practiced by the Picunche in the northern part of Mapuche territory. The Mapuche were herders as well as farmers, raising llamas for meat and wool.
Much of Tupinamba subsistence came from the cultivation of various agricultural crops. The chief crop was bitter manioc (five varieties were cultivated), followed by maize, sweet manioc, beans, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, peanuts, peppers, and pineapples. After European contact, bananas, sugarcane, and sorghum were adopted. These agricultural products were further supplemented by hunting, the collecting of wild fruits, nuts, and several varieties of insects, and at certain times of the year, by fishing, including the gathering of shellfish, particularly oysters.
The Feudal part of Central Asian architecture set is based on Sassanid Persia, the Castle and Imperial part is based on later Persian and Persianate regimes. It’s peculiar to have a set with Persian domes and not give it to Persians.
It’s shameless, and insulting, pandering to include three political factions from a popular book to the game in order to try and fish for sales. Rather than actual civs from the region. What next, Game of Thrones as civs?
3K should be removed from the game.
Tbh, we have had nothing to go on for months. Just “something is being updated”. That provides 0 topics to talk about, so I don’t blame people for wandering off topic, when the main topic has nothing to go off of.
Isn’t it the goal of EVERY game, to add content to atract more players ? Spoiler: Yes it is, if you don’t do that, you die and your company close. So this is not relevant.
You can’t compare the poeme to GoT. The only thing you can comparre it to is the Trojan War. So again not relevant.
I watched a video yesterday with Sandy Petersen explainon how he worked on Age of Empires 2, So here is how Sandy Petersen saw the historical authenticity in Age of Empires 2:
Source: https://youtu.be/os5JQWD_tuo?t=937
Not blaming, just trying to extinghuish a fire before it turns wild. I myslef tend to add things to the discussion, but it’s important, in my opinion, that thread purpose are respected, it’s the basic concept of a forum.
I mean speaking about what could be added is legit, but starting to talk about what content should be removed is not. Why ? Because the thread is about new unkown incoming thing, so mainly addition, not substraction, that’s the logic behind my thinking.
We were speaking about Venetian possibility to be added as a civ couple days ago, but some argued that it was not meant to be a Civ. Actually Steve Petersen mentionned the Venetian as a candidate to be added, in this video: https://youtu.be/vQ1hhABDTMo?t=262
The entire video is very interesting to watch, hearing the original guy thinking of what was added, what they planned to work on, and etc. I really recommand it.
(and I’m not saying Venetian should be added, just saying that in the mind of one of the designer, they had their place in the game logic)
I know, but it’s all we got so far… And some more updated within the last 12 hours on the main app, still nothing on the dlcs.
Problem with this argument is that one can justify Voldemort and Harry Potter as playable Civs in this game.
Not justifying anything, I’m Swiss so I don’t take part on the fight about the legitimity of the 3K.
Joking of course., I’m not justifying anything with my opinion on that it’s more… Industry logic. You need to attract people or you just dies. I’m not saying it’s Good, just saying it’s how today’s world is, sadly.
Of course using that argument to do wtf things is kinda not the best idea.
Actually, let’s take that statement first degree and analyse it. The goal of that is not to have them added, just to show my game designing process, and share thought from you on that and then we can together seek other civs.
So let’s take the houses first.
As civs, that would not be “civs”, but more sub-civs of a magic group civ. All the houses share, or should share, a common logic in the “do not reveal magic to normal people”, so you can indeed do a thematic of civ with that general purpose.
Architecture ? Yes, definitly, they got, at least in the movies (I never read the books), we got enought bizarre magician things for it to make a unique architecture set standing in the middle of its timestamp possibilities.
Uniqueness ? Yes, we don’t have any wizard themed yet, and every house got enought specific points for all of them beeing a separated civ.
Timestamp ? No, definitly no, they got steam train, it’s not our timeframe. No need to go further about the time-line, this simple detail is enought to justify they can’t be added.
Campaign ? Yes, there is enought material to make campaign, one about the old magic war, one could be a rpg-style arround Harry growing to the last moment with the fight, but they would have to be isolated from the rest of the game in their own area etc, so a lot of work to do. As you can’t really reuse current ingame content, you rely only on new content, meaning you either take more time to produce it / sell it for an higher price / reduce the quality of other part of the content.
Legitimity ? No, it’s not a writing based on real event turned into peoms / epics, it’s a fantasy thing. So it would more fits an Age of Mythology in that Logic. NOT SAYING THEY SHOULD ADD IT ! Just saying the base idea of the game is more plausible to have harry potter inside than AoE2 is, even if it’s still not because AoM is about Mythology, not fantasy, so even there.
Mechanics ? Damn they would requiere so much addition to the game core engine, that would requiere so much money, so either the dev would take a while, or the art team would be budget shortened, and we don’t speak about copyright.
Conclusion ? Voldermort and Harry Potter houses are not a valid candidate for Age of Empries 2 DLC.
Of course some mistakes were made in the game, a good example is Berbers training Genitors, as those specific units were used by iberians to Counter the Berbers / Maures mounted archers because the people in that region were not good at using bows on horse back. But is it really a problem ? If we take juste the balance of the game, they are pretty fine to me, but historically yes it’s not right… But if you’re playing AoE2 for historical authenticity … Well … Where do I start .. ? Mangonels ?
Anyone knows some kind of gamecon where microsoft reveals things during the summer ? That could help us figuring out when we’ll eventually get infos.
The updates to V&V in a hopeful thinking could also be adding more details and assets to the Scenarios to redeem one of the main criticisms of that DLC. I believe is quite possible when the next DLC will be Northen Europe focus, a lot of new Viking assets could be added, and while they are at it, add assets from Chronicles/3K/Chieftains to the corresponding Scenarios too.
I remain of the opinion—even though I certainly applaud every move toward greater regional diversity, as well as every new unit and building—that the game’s fundamental issue is its completely outdated AI.
No matter the difficulty level, the AI is simply always predictable. Of course, it can still win matches, but it remains predictable. Because the AI lacks intuition and operates solely within strictly defined patterns, human players never need to break out of their own established routines. This makes the game monotonous and ultimately somewhat boring in the long run, preventing it from ever delivering a truly authentic gameplay experience.
Sure, that is part of why AoE became so successful—it isn’t a simulation, after all. But I still think that, after all these decades, it is high time to work on a more modern AI.
People know this, they just use it as an appeal to ridicule, aka arguing in bad faith. Because when confronted with instances of magic or fiction that was in the game before, they go really quiet.
Which is a pretty apt comparison. As adding the Trojans to AoE2 would be rediculous.
Also plenty of Chinese players found 3K to be insulting to their intelligence. As if their history has only one element of note, and adding it instantly makes them go ga-ga and buy it without thinking.
However, it’s still true that the Mapuche people only reached their peak in the 18th century…
Yes, if that’s what you want, there are already other games in the series for that (AoE 1/RoR, AoMR, AoEO) which are incredibly fun… AoE 2 is a medieval game and should stay that way because otherwise it defeats the purpose of the series…