Two questions about Byzantines

Age of Empires IV IV - Discussion
1

Just played this faction for the first time. And am I crazy or does this faction look way better than the others? The detail on the units and buildings, the vibrant colors, the smoke coming off the blacksmith - everything LOOKS BETTER. The houses in particular look stunning, way better than houses for the other factions.

Is that a thing or am I crazy

Also, this cistern thing is driving me nuts. I have three cisterns, all of them say ‘2’. Is my third cistern not connecting to the aqueduct’s? If that were true wouldn’t it say ‘1’ ? I’ve knocked it down and rebuilt it 3 or 4 times but I can’t get my cisterns past ‘2’.

All comments welcome.

PS: I can see why this is ‘3 stars’ for difficulty. Don’t even start me on olive oil.

2

I asked Chatgpt and got a VERY detailed answer on the graphics updates. Now we’ll have half a dozen posts about ‘AI IS THE DEVIL’ but for those of you who actually want to know what’s going on with the graphics in the game here you go:

You’re not crazy—what you’re noticing is real, and it’s a combination of technical and artistic updates that came with the newer DLC content for Age of Empires IV, including the Byzantine faction.

Here’s what’s likely going on:

:white_check_mark: 1. Newer Factions = Updated Art Assets

The Byzantines, introduced in the Sultans Ascend expansion (Oct 2023), benefit from updated graphics pipelines:

  • Improved textures with higher resolution.
  • More detailed unit models with finer meshes.
  • Richer color palettes and post-processing effects tailored to newer content.
  • Refined lighting and shadows that make everything pop more.

Developers often evolve their art tools and workflows as a game matures. Older factions used the launch-era asset standards; newer ones are created with more modern tools and better optimizations.

:artist_palette: 2. Artistic Style: Byzantines Are Flashy by Design

The Byzantine civilization:

  • Uses distinctive imperial colors (rich purples, golds, deep reds).
  • Features ornate architecture (domes, mosaics, gilded trim).
  • Has unique unit designs based on Eastern Roman military aesthetics—more visual flair than Anglo-Saxon or Mongol troops.

This stylistic approach intentionally makes them look more vivid and detailed than some of the plainer early-game factions.

:hammer_and_wrench: 3. Patch Improvements May Affect All, But New Factions Get the Best

While general graphics updates have been pushed in patches (improved shadows, anisotropic filtering, better terrain rendering), the new factions tend to show the improvements more clearly because:

  • They were designed with the updated engine in mind.
  • Older factions still use legacy models unless specifically reworked.

:light_bulb: Conclusion:

You’re seeing what many other players have noticed too: the Byzantine faction (and other newer ones) genuinely look better, thanks to newer asset quality, more vibrant art direction, and better use of updated engine features.

You’re not imagining it—and it’s not just the Byzantines either. Try out the Japanese or Zhou if you have access—they also show this graphical upgrade trend.

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Same thing going on with Knights Templar and House of Lancaster, DLC civs have a premium look to them

4

AI IS THE DEVIL!!!

5

Why would you think chatgpt would “know” anything about this?

All these LLMs do is try to write something that sounds coherent from the text data they have access to and have been trained on. They’re just as likely to make shit up as not if there are not consistent reliable sources they are pulling from.

If you cannot find an actual source where that information is coming from, then what chatgpt spit out for you is speculation at best.

They are absolutely not some source of knowledge or arbiter of truth.

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I didn’t know that different factions had different levels of graphics quality. Now I do.

Gee, I guess I learned something from AI after all.

7

You completely missed what I said.

You’re assuming something is true, with zero evidence or verifying actual sources, because “AI”.

8

I CAN SEE WITH MY OWN EYES THAT THE GRAPHICS ARE DIFFERENT.

IT’S CONFIRMING WHAT I CAN SEE. Jesus, give it a rest.

9

Nah, this should be pointed out every time anyone anywhere tries to just use an LLM as a source of information, especially as “confirmation” for something they already believe.

I cannot seem to find any actual sources or evidence that the newer civs have higher graphical fidelity. I do like the style of Byzantines best though.

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The aesthetic is fairly similar, but you can look at the units ingame or in the editor to see that the units and buildings have more detail than the release civs. It also helps that they share fewer assets.

Japanese units have more accessories and doodads on their armor for example. Like, they have silk clothing on several units with intricate designs, their villagers really stand out compared to french or english villagers.

As far as higher fidelity, like having higher resolution textures, I don’t know about that. But the DLC civs definitely have a “higher quality” look.

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CHATGPT tends to fail a lot with AoE4 descriptions, to the point that he sometimes MAKES UP what he knows about the game, based on 2 or 3 paragraphs he reads from random comments on social media… from 2 or 3 years ago.

For example, in the final line, it’s recommended that you play ZHOU

¿Which Zhou? A Chinese dynasty that doesn’t even appear in the game.

About the rest of the message, most of it is what in spanish we say “Puro floro” (Full Filler), even to the point of lies: “rich purples, golds, deep reds” - this is a lie, you choose the civ color, it doesn’t come with purple by default.

About the Bizantines aestethically

  • Aesthetically speaking, it’s “a matter of taste” more than anything else.

You really like the detail they put into their architecture and buildings of Bizantines, and that’s fine; everyone has their own tastes.

For example, I think the civs have the best architecture are the English and the Lancasters.

I like the Bizantine arquitecture too. The best thing i love of the civ is the design of the cataphract armor.

HOWEVER, If we’re talking about historical fidelity, I’d say that for units, NO, Byzantines are NOT good, especially with mercenary contracts:

  • Landknechts. - They’re from 1470 onwards, the Byzantine Empire had already fallen.
  • Streltsy. - They’re from 1545 onwards, the Byzantine Empire had already fallen.
  • Longbowman - The Byzantines generally imported Norman-blooded Englishmen for the Varangian Guard, not as longbowmen, but let’s give it a chance.
  • Grenadier (Chinese) - It never happened. The Byzantines already had their own grenadier corps.
  • Javelin Thrower (Mali) - It never happened. The Byzantines already had their own Javelin Thrower corps.
  • Camel Rider - Yes, but they also had their own camel rider corps, the Dromedari.

At least in the future, they could try to replace the Landsknechts and Strelty contracts with other units more in keeping with the Byzantine times. The Grenadier and Javelin Thrower could be replaced with Byzantine-specific versions, even though they had a camel rider corps (Dromedari).