This is how it looks.
What the hell!?
I guess if weāre being stupid, does it make sumos as well?
What the hell even is THIS!? At least the Royal Albert Hall looked well made. This is awful, like genuinely it looks really bad.
THIS is what the devs waste time on? I donāt care if itās a bit of fun or not, itās just time wasting when thereās more important stuff to do, likeā¦literally anything else. Itās like the house is on fire and they are rearranging picture frames.
Doing this on top of one of the more tone-deaf updatesā¦just get a new team at this point.
6 Likes
Total agree with it, and dolphins need make it bigger.
By this point they really need to start making regional skins for units. I tend to ignore some campaigns because itās too immersion-breaking to have every civ looking distinctly European. And itās not like the devs havenāt been moving in that direction anyway: monks, castles, trading carts, elite unique units etc. Not to mention regional units and campaign only units (Eastern warriors etc.).
The only real argument against seem to be āreadabilityā. Here are some counter arguments:
- There could be an off-switch. Have everything look the same for competitive games and different for single player
- Games like Galactic Battlegrounds or Rise of nations prove that itās not an issue to begin with
- Unit outline and weapon (spear, bow etc) would still look similar enough to distinguish quickly.
So, there is that.
4 Likes
Both of those games had different skins from the start.
Everybody is happy this way.
What would we like to see for aoe2 in 2026?
A smaller font size for the patch notes web page. My PC is right in front of meā¦ Iām not sitting 20ā away.
Currently, when viewing at 100% browser zoom. Go cross-eyed the font is so huge:
Much better (40% browser zoom) :
The loch ness monster was very real for itās time, and therefore is an easy fit into a medieval history RTS.
Srsly tho, I thought this was aoe2 not AoM.
Stone henge is fine i guess.
Agreed. Itās out of placeā¦errr i mean it was very primitive for itās time so naturally fits right into a medieval history RTSā¦ but as an event specific eye candy itās whatever.
2 Likes
Iām sorry, what exactly am I not supposed to worry about? Iām not supposed to worry that the devs will focus their efforts on anachronistic off-theme content, at the expense of anything that fits the gameās actual concept? A bit late for that.
Ah yes, the Loch Ness Monsterās timeā¦ the 1930s.
3 Likes
Royal Albert Hall (with RBW banners and āwololoāingā statues) and the RBW flag might indeed be something temporary that disappears after the tournament, while Stonehenge and Nessie are selectable in the Editor and most likely intended to stay.
The description of the Thames map specifically mentions Royal Albert Hall. Maybe it gets replaced with something Medieval afterwards? Though Iād like to keep that graphic in the game files, itās already there anyway. Its use is largely limited to non-historical scenarios, but at least it looks nice.
About Nessie, itās worth noting that its animation of surfacing and submerging also has multiple rotations like a ārealā unit, as a result it has some of the biggest graphic files for a decorative object.
Quite a bit of effort for something only intended as a tournament reference or joke. Next time Iād like to see it spent on pre-17th-century buildings and non-mythical animals.
5 Likes
If they have time to do that, I am sure their busy schedule would allow a small opening to make a couple of African villager skins.
4 Likes
The Royal Albert Hall ISNāT EVEN ANYWHERE NEAR THE THAMES!
If they wanted to use a building near the Thames, they could have gone with the Tower of Londonā¦which is both in the game and actually from the Middle Ages! Or if they were so desperate to waste their time on a new model; Westminster Abbey.
This is ridiculous. It feels like additions based on asking an American who has never visited the UK about whatās here.
What a spectacular waste of time and effort. If things were going fine with the game, I wouldnāt mind as muchā¦but things are not ok. It feels like people that are not pros are just getting shafted. Single player content is getting worse (recycled maps and last 6-level campaign was Dawn of the Dukes), actual historical elements of civs are being ignored (American civs with gunpowder, Khitanguts), cut corners everywhere (Khitans and Jurchens no voice lines and recycled Mongolian art), patches that seemed designed just to shift around the top civs and not help the bottom ones and even the multiplayer matchmaking is broken.
This isnāt a dig at pro players, they likely have no say in any of this. This is aimed squarely at whoever is making these decisions to cut cut cut from the aspects of the game that multi and single players are using, and just feeding the pro scene as if it makes everything look ok.
9 Likes
What youāre failing to consider is that very early on in the design process they realized that the royal albert hall was very close to the thames for its time, and fit naturally into a map of the thames.
Khitanguts and Jurchens donāt get a campaign or even voicelines, but the special thames map getās a highly produced Royal Albert Hall scenario editor object.
7 Likes
Because keeping the pros happy and on-side is more important than a competent or finished civ.
2 Likes
On the topic of sizing. The OG prey-predators, the Deer, Wild Boar and Wolf need resizing. I would make this a mod but the 4X deer is already too small and resizing it would pixellate it.
The wolf is way too big even bigger than tigers and lions, while the deer is too small versus the wild boar which is too large. We need a reskin for the javelina (Peccary) too which looks completely different. The SA DLC would solve this hopefully. Maybe add a puma and black panther too along with Tapirs, capybaras, etc.
1 Like
Couldnāt they have made the Pantheon as a monument for the editor while they were at it?
How do the collapsing graphics look?
Japanese castle looks more beautiful. I donāt see any difference on the Britons though. Am I missing something?
2 Likes
There are flags and banners, and I think the stonework might be different too.