Berbers! I want berbers
1 Like
Add Spanish
make castille, Aragorn variants
3 Likes
Perhaps Castillans and a Abbasid Variant for bebers so there could be a reconquista Campaigne.
Buy honestly I would Love to Play as Aztecs, with a heavy Focus on Religion and sacrifices.
This list still lacks some civilizations…
However, in my opinion, we urgently need the Spanish and Aztecs.
I believe it’s possible to create some cool variations for the Spanish…
Now, the Aztecs, the coolest variant, would be the Mayans, since the structures are very similar, with only the landmarks and units changing.
Good point Sherlock!! Sorry for not adding Aragonese, Castilians, Sicilians, Navarrese, Hungarians, Bohemians, Serbians, Bulgarians, Georgians, Armenians, Tatars, Kipchaks, Jurchens, Jin dynasty, Tibetans, Cholas, Tamils, Palas, Srivijaya, Champa, Sogdians, Toltecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Mapuche, Mississippians, Haudenosaunee, Hausa, Kanem-Bornu, Nubians, Moors of Ifriqiya.
I only wanted to represent those civilizations that had the greatest impact during the Middle Ages, to make it easier for people and from my point of view, had the best chances of being added as main civilizations.
My fault
Why should Mayans be the Aztects variant and not vice versa? Coudnt both be Co-variants/Co-main civs 1 of the other?
2 Likes
LOL
Don’t worry.
I don’t care about that.
Otherwise, I’d make a really long list myself.
Relax.
Yes, the Mayans could be the main civilization and the Aztecs as the variant.
In my case, I don’t like the Aztecs. I prefer the Mayans.
But I believe most players prefer the Aztecs, which is why I put the Aztecs as the main civilization and the Mayans as the variant. * In addition to considering the Aztecs vs. Spanish campaign more iconic.
Now, if the developers were to make a unique civilization for the Aztecs and another for the Mayans, I think it’s very, very unlikely.
We’ve all seen how difficult it is for developers to consistently bring out unique civilizations… whether for budget reasons or lack of manpower… it’s a shame, but that’s what we have for now.
So, making one of these two civilizations a variant of the other is fine, as long as it’s done well.
Neither, Bulgarian Empire was most formidable enemy to the Eastern Roman Empire or whatever you call today Byzantines…
Well, I’m afraid to say “No,” they can’t be variants.
I was doing some research because I created an Aztec concept, and well, both cultures are too different to share the “basics” that the variants supposedly have:
Language:
- Aztecs/Mexica spoke Nahuatl
- Mayas spoke Mayan
Architecture:
-
Aztecs: They built their city on top of a swamp, reclaiming land from the sea with wooden piles, chinampas for farming, and pyramidal temples.
-
Mayas: They built their city in a jungle, “asphalting” the floor and creating a city with elevated areas on platforms, where the nobles lived and built the largest temples.
People:
-
Aztecs: The people of Tenochtitlan were the Mexica, who were Nahuatl. Most of their vassals were Nahuatl, Otomi, Zapotec, etc.
-
Maya: They were city-states, and until 1400 they even formed a league, “Mayapan.”
Unit Models:
- Because the demonyms of both civs are different (nahuatl vs mayas), they cannot share the same person type model for units. Also, even for clothes, they were different, military and civil:
Landmarks:
-
Aztec: They would have, I suppose, the Templo Mayor and other temples in Tenochtitlan.
-
Mexica: They had several city-states. So far, we don’t have a civ in AoE4 that represents city-states, but they did have many landmarks, different from those of the Nahuatl.
Historicity:
-
Aztec: An empire controlled by a capital city, Tenochtitlan, and its vassals. On paper, they were a triple alliance of three cities around Lake Texcoco, but in practice, Tenochtitlan ruled the entire empire, which extended as far as the border with the Maya.
-
Maya: Scattered city-states in the Yucatan region. During 800 AD, probably due to centuries of excessive use of mercury paint, crops died, rulers went mad from excess mercury, and warlike cults led to an all-out war that exterminated most of the population. Most cities were abandoned, and the survivors exodus to the South, where they founded “other” city-states and “stopped using mercury.” They even formed a League to prevent what had happened from happening again, which lasted for a while, until it ended.
-
Relationship: The Mexica were aware of the existence of the Maya, and in fact, they bordered them. In fact, just before the Spanish arrived, there was a network of spies that reached Yucatan with plans to “invade” it. But they were surprised when some strangers came in “floating houses” and defeated a Mayan army (500) by a ratio of 1:100. Spaniards vs. 40,000 Mayans), in the Battle of Centla 1519. This was communicated to Tenochtitlan in just a few weeks (that’s how fast their runners were).
Well, the problem is that because they are different peoples, both by race and by… well, almost everything, they can’t be variants.
What else, what else… oh yeah: They could have common units, but this is thinking that, like the problem with the Efelantes (I mean Elephantes), it would be good if at some point the developers considered having more common or “REGIONAL” units for various civs.
They’ll have to do this at some point for the Tower Elephant (Chola, Rajputs, Vijayanagara); maybe Wars Elephant for Mughals, South Asian could have other type of elephant for melee, “Elephant Lancer” and act as a powerful Knight but in elephant.
In the Aztec and Mayan cases, they could have in common what I call:
The “Atlatl Dart-Thrower”
Which throws darts from an attlat. I suppose anti-archers.
The “Obsidian Swordsman”
With Macahuitl, they were technically “Militias”. Would be anti-light units, weak aggainst heavy armor units (Knighst, Men-at-arm).
Well, maybe with the obsidian, the Mayan would have an even weaker version than the Aztec and deserves another name. Mayan militia?
1 Like
Yes, I understand they’re different.
Maybe I can’t express the idea… but I can’t see Age of Empires IV bringing many new civilizations over the next few years. While the developers invented these “variants” to make it easier to add content, I believe it will kill off several civilizations that could have been released in the future.
I don’t think Age of Empires IV will have another 10 years of support for DLC releases with new civilizations until 2035.
So I’m worried about whether or not we’ll see civilizations that are visually similar. Would the developers be willing to release new civilizations in the coming years, even if they are “similar,” or would they choose to invest effort in bringing more visually different civilizations, since they plan to stop supporting DLCs in a few years?
When I mentioned variations between the Aztecs and Mayans, I’m comparing it to Age of Empires 2 DE, where they reuse many of the structures of similar civilizations. However, I understand that Age of Empires 2 DE is an old game with many limitations.
I also understand that Age of Empires 4 is much less played than Age of Empires 2 DE, and I assume they won’t have 50 civilizations like in the previous game. This is one of the points, which is the limited civilization options… unfortunately, I doubt we’ll have the same number seen in Age of Empires 2 DE, precisely because they invented these variants that are already taking up a lot of space…
Perhaps the word “variant” isn’t appropriate.
But couldn’t “neighboring” civilizations, or civilizations that are at least somewhat similar in some aspect, share some structures and clothing? Could castles, command centers, landmarks, and wonders have a unique look, while recycling the other structures, perhaps adding a distinctive wall or a distinctive tower? (NOTE: I’m taking inspiration from Age of Empires 2 DE)
Look, I understand that’s not ideal.
But will we actually see the Asctecs, Mayans, and Incas in the game, or is it impossible for the developers to make all three, and they’ll have to choose between just one, or if we’re lucky, maybe two?
I don’t care about the ideal anymore. The moment they added the variants, for me, the ideal was already gone.
What will be left for us in the future? How many Unique civilizations actually existed in Age of Empires IV? That’s the crux of the problem…you know? How long will we see DLCs being released?
For example, I would like to see the civilizations: Thai, Burmese, and Khmer in the future. However, if they are going to create all the buildings with a unique and accurate visual style, I really doubt we will see all three civilizations. I wouldn’t mind them imitating the style adopted by Age of Empires 2 DE, in terms of using parts of the structures and some similar units, as long as they still have castles,command centers, landmarks, and wonders with a unique look and unique units.
But I confess, I’m very afraid that I’ll NEVER see, perhaps NONE of, these civilizations.
Spanish and Aztecs sooooo bad
Well, I’ve been analyzing
And the question remains:
– WILL WE HAVE MAJOR CAMPAIGNS RETURNING IN FUTURE NEW DLCs?
Because if we’re going to bring great stories, honestly, it seems like the path is already being slowly laid out before our eyes:
We have two very suggestive new variants:
– Golden Horde
– Tughlak Dynasty
Which brings us directly to the name of the TIMURIDS.
The Timurids fought against various regions of Persia, against the Golden Horde, against the Tughlaq Dynasty, and against the Ottomans.
Basically, what gives me the feeling is that soon, we’ll see a PERSIAN civilization in the game, and in the future, a Persian variant called Timurids.
Timur’s campaign is incredible, full of battles and various conquests.
Sounds like we will get a few Variant civs based off this Chinese History? I have a strong suspicion this is going to be the release of the Portugese vs Chinese Variant - Ming Dynasty:
Ming Dynasty vs. Portuguese (Early 1500s):
-
Who: Ming China vs. early Portuguese maritime explorers and traders.
-
What: Clashes like the Battle of Tunmen (1521) occurred as Portuguese ships tried to force trade access, leading to naval battles and initial Chinese victories, but signaling new European maritime challenges.
-
Significance: The first major military encounters between imperial China and European powers, foreshadowing future global interactions
Sounds like this could be a nice focus on Naval battle campaigns and gameplay, and introduce another new civ along with a Variant which could be unique.
They better do, almost enitre playerbase is multiplayer, so if there is no Variants = No Buy
Simple as that