I’ve only played around 15 games so cut me some slack.
Consider though, that this is a speed up on the slower, more stalematey water maps, rather than just a flat speed up. With that said, there is much precedence in AOEII already to do this. HC and BBC already had this exact change happen to them way back in AOK/AOC days And a few other underused techs have been given automatically (tracking, cartography). Is anyone sad they don’t have to pay for tracking?
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You might’ve already predicted this, but… * raises hand * 
Wow, I wondered what happened to Cartography! Honestly. I miss it. I only play a few civs (and only one 90% of the time), so figured it was just that civ.
Why was it removed from the game entirely?? Wait, let me guess: to speed up the game, allow teammates to have shared intel earlier so they can plan more easily and help finish the game faster, to save you resources on superfluous stuff so you can spend them on “more important things” like military units and military unit techs/upgrades, because a blank or scant map is symbolic of a slow game that nobody wants to play or watch (we need the map illuminated more quickly), because scouting is passé and takes too long, etc.
I’d prefer HC, BBC, and Tracking to be back. I know it’s surprising, but econ stuff and tech researching is fun for some people. I don’t need frag fests from the first moment to the last. It’s why I want a 5th age, more techs, less similar tech pathways between civs, another core resource, and/or sub-ages. Am hoping AoE4 tackles some of these things. I already know each civ’s style is unique, so that’s good 
Just because a tech is underused, doesn’t mean it should be removed from the game. The game is already linear enough; no need to ensure everyone is on the same rails, locked in and along for the same ride.
Well in that case theres probably other games you could try (and tbh you may find Age 3 or RoN fun who have more techs on general from what I remember) but making stuff that isnt used at all because it was locked behind techs not need techs is always good for the state of the game since it gives you more options to play with. Its not “making something automatic”, its just for the sake of making the game more balanced and adds more variety for competitive games while being more or less practically the same for most offline players.
Also making gunpowder avaible after chemistry is a pretty unique mechanic. I think its way more unique than needing to research so many techs to get to them (particulary when HC are so underwhelming). I think a more tech focused RTS can be interesting, but this game isnt mainly for that.
Tried them… not a fan 
More techs does not automatically equal good game, unfortunately. I’d take AoE2:DE with its faults and lack of CG, Tracking, and Cartography techs over AoE3 and RoN any day
atm means at the MOMenT
I get where you’re coming from here, wanting to play the whole game and not just the rush part. But we are talking about cannon galleon here. It is, even now, an imperial age unit hidden behind the slowest tech in the game that itself requires an extra building to research. Furthermore, even after reaching the last age, researching the slowest tech in the game, there is still the elite cannon galleon research to go further.
It is not even a primary unit, but a supporting siege unit that requires other successful pressure to even be useful.
The cannon galleon really is not a significant threat to the pacing of AOE.
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atm means “at the moment” or “cash machine” … It never meant automatic …
Age2 is unique in that it has a stronger emphasis on economy than Starcraft II does. Furthermore, it is foolish to suggest that “Age2 needs to be more like Starcraft II” when one is a game on actual human history, while the other is a space, sci-fi game.
Just because Age2 and Starcraft II have similarities, does not mean that they have to be EXACTLY the same game in terms of gameplay and design. It is a good thing to have videogame diversity.
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While you are right in that Turks get healthier and quicker-to-train Cannon Galleons, theirs is still inferior when it comes to Spanish Cannon Galleons and even Portuguese Cannon Galleons, because of the faster fighting rate those two Iberian civs get. If you were to pit 20 Turkic Cannon Galleons against 20 Spanish Cannon Galleons, the latter would win every time. Furthermore, if you select 2-3 Turkic Cannon Galleons to destroy and enemy Castle on the shoreline versus 2-3 Spanish or Portuguese Cannon Galleons doing the same, the Spanish and Portuguese Cannon Galleons would destroy the enemy Castle FASTER than the Turkic Cannon Galleons, again because of the faster firing rate.
It is still true that Turks are a powerful gunpowder civ, but I question whether they are STILL the “quintessential gunpowder civ” that you and others still claim, when there are so many other gunpowder civs that have been added to Age2 and strongly rival the Turks themselves.
show me where i bloody said it should be the same design as StarCraft 2? just once at all. i never made that claim at all. all i did was point out that the person i was responding too is making FALSE claims. just because they are trying to make aoe2 a little bit faster to get to combat with feudal combat being encouraged, in no way means the game is becoming like sc2, nor did i say it should. so maybe you should read what i am saying instead of assuming different things.
before HD and DE it was INCREDIBLY uncommon to see prolonged feudal combat of any sort - because walling and towers was so strong that it basically actively encouraged going to castle age to deal with anything.
which is frustrating because it made the first 15-20 minutes of the game LARGELY BORING for most people. now we actually see feudal combat and even prolonged feudal aggression.
that is a far bloody cry from making the game like starcraft 2 where you can see aggression basically non stop from 5 minutes into the game onwards.
there is a huge difference between - combat starts 5 minutes into the game (at the latest mind you) and “do nothing for the first 20 minutes except economy”.
please tell me why we have 6 different military units (7 if you include the serjeant) that are available in feudal age, if the game wasn’t supposed to have feudal combat?
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I’m sorry if it comes as rude but there is a lot of wrong stuff in your post. First why are you even making cannon galleons fight each other? They aren’t even supposed to be shooting at other ships in the first place! Except Spanish but that’s because they get a really unusual bonus that is only kept in check because cannon galleons aren’t that strong in the first place.
Your point about their sieging abilities is uncorrect too. The Turk ECG gets more HP and more range, that is very good for a vulnerable siege unit since it makes defending it easier. The Portuguese and Spanish bonuses themselves are good for that too ofc but in very different ways, and that is fine.
Just like Britons aren’t less the quintessencial archer civ because Mayan and Ethiopian exist, and so on.
Anyway why just stick to cannon galleons when judging civs as gunpwoder civs? Looking at the whole picture makes it pretty clear the Turks still are the best of the lot.
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