Is that why they overhauled the terrain rendering, shadows and AO in Season 5? Over a year and a half after release?
2 Likes
As one of the authors of AoE 4ās companion book I just want to note that almost every text in that book was written from players for players, such as the Esport one you posted. 
Clemens, Maggy, LT and I are also far from being pros, we really represent the average.
With all respectā¦
In aoe3(de) Doppelsƶldner are VERY easy to spot in ANY army.
You are ALWAYS able to snipe them VERY easily with skirmishers or other units.
Also they move slowly and take massive damage from light infantry.
Whereas in aoe4, especially you can not AT ALL see the difference between a Spearman and a Landsknecht in a battle.
Especially between age4 units of the OOTD.
On top of that the Landsknecht units arenāt too expensive and you have to very actively snipe them because they move super fast as well and just MURDER any units they come close to.
I once had a game where I played Malians against OOTD and was doing super well, until he got age3 and mixed in Landsknecht units.
I could not in a single fight spot them and didnāt even realize he had mixed them in, because they look EXACTLY like spearmen.
Got absolutely murdered.
Then I watched the replay and spotted them when watching very slowly and carefully, what happened in the fights.
I took a screenshot and even on that static image I could barely spot all the Landsknecht units between the spearmen, taking a whole minute analyzing the screenshot.
How the HELL are you supposed to spot them in the game, let alone out-micro them?
Whoever designed these units, has to be freaking FIRED from the team.
Itās an absolute desaster and CAN NOT HAPPEN in a competitive RTS game.
aoe 3 on its time release and aoe 1 was up to the realism graph expected on its release
2 Likes
We are not going to talk about the launches of other games because I think it is not to brag. And the art style is not ārealisticā either, itās different. Of course, in textures of the models and animations, 10/10.
3 basically exceeded what anyone expected visually, so thereās that, just compare og 3 and og AoM, also of note, the same unit class in aoe3 for at least 90% of the units uses the same animations, example, hussars and uhlans have the same animations and stances, same with lets say musketeer and other ranged heavy infantry, or all light infantry and so on, i think 3 suffers more from sheer amount of variance unit wise in this regard, 4 in comparison has units that look way too similar at a glance, the logic of relying on oversized weapons to identify was a poor call as those even when oversized just donāt appear as obvious as smt like unit itself being properly distinct when still or in motion would
Iād rather choose aoe3 in that regardā¦
At least you can spot and identify every single unit in a split second on the screen.
Not only do many units in aoe4 look 99.99% the same, but they are also so damn clunked up and glide arround sideways, that itās impossible to not only identify but also SEE them most of the time.
When archers, Landsknechts and spearmen are in the same group and move, you canāt freaking SEE the Landsknecht units, because they just disappear between others, being completely covered.
And even IF they are not vision-blocked for 99.99% of their body, it is near impossible to identify them.
Relic has failed this so unbelievably hard that I almost couldnāt believe how poorly the game is designed when I saw it for the first time.
I just could not believe my eyes and did not accept this to be a part of the age of empires series.
Just an insane disappointment.
Not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also from a competitive minded point of view.
If you play ranked or quickmatch and your focus is on improving, climbing ranks and basically playing with a competitive mindset, you HAVE to be able to identify all units at ANY time in a SPLIT SECOND.
1 Like
Bom para mim deveria esta gratis o modo online e ranqueada porem comprei o game por este motivo de poder jogar com outros playerā¦
This is something Iāve been keeping my eye on for a while now. Before, it was just 3DE players screaming into the void to improve communication (and still are) but Iāve also noticed this trickling into other games. Even the 2DE playerbase is now complaining about it. Setting aside personal bias, itās somewhat understandable why 3DE receives minimal attention, caught between the established King and the latest addition to the franchise, though IV also suffers from subpar communication these days. Could be several factors at play here as weāve seen the gaming industry sputtering post covid and Relic has been hit hard as we all know. Microsoft has had a reoccurring issue with marketing in its gaming division and WE handles that portion, not Relic.
Take the latest AoE event for example. 3DE gets the most awkward DLC reveal and AoEIV gets a tiny preview of the spring patch. The whole thing lasted less than 2 minutes for both games. Not expecting a DLC announcement right after Sultans but more could have been done.
IV has a patch coming soon so at least there is that. The way things have gone this year sure doesnāt seem like a company that touts how great of a great success Sultans was. Just odd how things have gone for IV this year. Hopefully, things pick up for all of us as we enter the 2nd half of the year. AoMR looks great and Iām quite excited about it as someone who shied away from EE.
But yeah, in the most recent survey, I emphasized enhancing communication across all games.
1 Like
Cooperative play is definitely important like the one in SC2. Having more dynamic AI (diff civs, styles, historical settings, etc.) is much more fun than simply bonus gathering rates. Maps that have multiple goals or scenarios enrich vs AI experience.
The problem I find right now is that players cannot choose the level of intensity of their gameplay. I usually play team games with my friends. Vs AI is just too slow and dull. Though vs other players is interesting, both random and rank use ELO ratings in matchmaking. That game plays inevitably get more competitive as we keep playing and winning. Itās fair but exhausting. There isnāt a middle ground. Quite looking forward to a game mode that is relaxing, enjoyable with friends, and can be repetitively played.
AOEIV is a lot of fun, and the core game is solid. It is, however, missing a lot of very important quality of life features that have existed forever in StarCraft II.
Just really basic stuff.
1 Like
Even QOL features past Age games had from the beginning or were later added.
3 Likes
Thatās because aoe is not sc and should not be.
Sc is about spam and insane apm, not too much strategy.
The faster player with more mutlitasking wins.
Aoe4 already got pushed too much into that direction (by the sc2 pros like beasty) for my taste and itās already having way too much of sc2 flavour, compared to aoe3 for example, which is far more strategically diverse and dynamic and less spastically pushed into apm-spamming than aoe4 will ever be.
Nonetheless:
You got a point.
Aoe4 is missing TONS of QOL features it should have had at release.
Certain things that RTS games 10-15 already had.
Itās a shame.
1 Like
Thatās not my point at all. Iām talking about very basic QOL features that every RTS game should have. They have been in SC2 forever (for example; also in other RTS games), and still donāt exist in AOEIV.
Very basic things.
Agreed.
For now the easiest way to exchange a bunch of resources is actually to hold the hotkey.
1 Like
Such as what specifically?
1 Like
And apparently theyāre fixing it in the next patch! Finally.
1 Like
Really?? Wow, thatās great news!
EDIT: Cool, I now see where you got that info from:
Balance & Gameplay Changes (All Civilizations)
- āIt is now possible to buy/sell resources at the market in batches of 500 by holding SHIFT while pressing the buy/sell button.ā
2 Likes
Hey Age of Empires.
Me and my friends would love that you work on to improove AI experience.
We have Hardest as the hardest mode, but the AI is too predictable and not really a threat. They dont attack that often as soon as you build walls they almost dont attack.
Is it possible to make them as dangerous as they were in Age of Empires 2?
1 Like
Underrated.
It is what you would expect from the game without having to ask for it, like many other things mentioned.
2 Likes