I shall adapt! Well, mainly by just playing AoM Retold 
AoE3 DE will not be played 
I will try not to worry. I think AoM Retold will be okay/excellent
Well, then play AoM Retold first and when you’ve gotten used to the cam we’ll wait for you with open arms in AoE 3 DE…
Better than okay…it’s going to be a masterpiece that will leave WC3 Reforged crying in a little corner xd…
1 Like
It’ll be so good AoE2 will wish it was still 1999 wrapped up in its box 
Of course, forget it…
1 Like
The game is rendered in 3D so things in the back are smaller because they are farther away then the things in the front.
Unlike AoE2 where your perspective is kinda like you are infinitely far away but super zoomed in.
You can see that both the top and the bottom are steigt lines.
You can see the same on the Minimap.
None of the lines are bend in anyway.
Also you need to remember that the promotional screenshots are not made from a normal play angle.
Those grid lines are only available in the Editor since they don’t have any use in a normal match since almost no buildings align with the grid.
That is true.
If you use a larger then recommended map size in AoE2 then it’s larger then the default size in AoE3 (since you couldn’t change that before DE).
Now AoE3DE has a large option for every map. So there are 2 sizes.
I personally don’t like playing in large though. AoE3 is just not made for that, not in normal skirmish.
Normal map size with fully zoomed out camera (in the editor but it’s the same in a match).
I think that is actually larger then whatever map size is default for 2v2 in AoE2.
But not every map has the same size.
The map defines the size based on player numbers. So some maps are smaller and other are larger.
Some maps even have one side be bigger then the other.
Yeah AoM and AoE3 don’t use a grid for almost all buildings (only very few align with a grid) and also allow you to freely rotate every building (which is pointless because units don’t actually spawn at the entrance).
Interestingly enough AoE4 uses a grid for all buildings other then the walls.
Anyway this is how big AoE3 can get (1024x1024)
You can see how much fits on one screen and how small that is on the minimap.
As a bonus some screenshots of a map I’m working on
It really gets close to the engine limits. Limit of how many assets can be in one map.
Sorry for all the health bars but I need to press Alt to make a screenshot.
I can’t zoom out any further before things start disappearing (clipping distance).
And it gets slow even on a high end computer.
4 Likes
Of course…I couldn’t have said it better…for example there are many things that I didn’t know because I didn’t use the scenario editor too much…
How cool, I would like to try it…or have the devs make maps that big…type 2 human players vs 6 large AI players…
AoMR will give is 12 players which is amazing.
That allows for so many more possibilities.
And the maps are even bigger then AoE3 because AoE3 cuts the map down into circles.
If AoM doesn’t, that might be bad for balance. AoE3 does that so players can’t turtle into a corner and only need to defend one long wall or less.
1 Like
It’s not an issue for balance because it’s only available in the Scenario Editor.
Whatever you make there is up for the map creator to balance.
Default AoM maps are not that big. AoM only had 2 sizes in the lobby and AoMEE introduced a 3rd one.
Not sure how AoMR will handle that.
Thanks! Assuming the in-game camera while playing doesn’t have lens distortion, then I guess it is just the 3D perspective and the cam being lower to ground than my ideal
Yeah, I think even the small or normal size maps in AoE2 were bigger than classic AoE3’s 2v2 map size, iirc. I don’t want to split hairs, I’m just going from memory of how I always felt classic AoE3’s maps were pretty small compared to the size we actually wanted to play
Playing large size suited us in AoE2 and would have suited us in classic AoE3 because we wanted to turtle for a bit and not worry about AIs pestering us early without warning. Playing “All Visibile” and huge map allows you time to react nicely It wasn’t initially my preferred way to play (I always liked exploring the darkness and being caught by surprise), but it grew on me. In that respect, maybe it just became a fun time to hang out with friends… but we still couldn’t slouch. It’s not that I’m slow or not good, per se, it’s just a preference of ours to not participate in constant frenetic, frantic, close-quarters fragfests from start to finish.
That’s not too bad in terms of zoom level. Better than before. Sad that the engine can’t handle much more than that. When I compare that zoom to AoE2:DE, I still think it’d be tough for me to not notice (or be a little bothered by) that zoom level… and if AoM:R is like that, too, then I may feel a little claustrophobic playing it. But time will tell. I’ll, undoubtedly, get AoM:R.
Seeing things at a higher level allows me to more easily do the macro-coordination or macro-strategy of things in addition to the micro. Constantly being in the micro gives a constant claustrophobic feeling/pressure to me.
Here is my view in AoE2:DE for comparison in a quick match I threw a bunch of stuff on. And it runs perfectly fine. No hiccups, no clipping, no slowdowns, no engine limitation (at least not any that I perceive):
uff that would be a bit too zoomed out for me personally. i think an option/mod for those who want such a far away view is appreciate and welcome but i think the original AoM zoom we are used to is the most welcome one and shouldn’t be changed. (maybe with a slight more zoom in/out option to appreciate the models more and take better screenshots ^^
1 Like
Haha, I love this zoom I think being on 1440p monitor helps achieve that a bit… but even when I was on 1080p, it was pretty good.
Options are always good. That’s the way zoom should be. It’s why I’ve never understood why AoE4 ties our hands regarding zoom.
Interesting you say that about AoM. When I re-bought it on Steam like 5 years ago or whatever, it was INCREDIBLY zoomed in. I looked all over for options to zoom out farther, and it couldn’t. No idea what was going on
Yes, it was something like this vid I just found on YouTube. This is unplayable for me. So much so that I returned the game for a refund.
You don’t get claustrophobic being so close to things that you only see a few buildings per screen?
Source: https://youtu.be/r8oQ5-OLt8E
So, I guess, yeah, if AoM:R just retains the old AoM zoom level… or only makes it 115%… then I won’t be able to buy
AoE3 added the treaty modus for thst.
Playing large maps with friends is not fun in my experience. You need to watch your allies base getting destroyed by enemies because your army is just not getting there in time to save them.
AoE3 also added a lot more defensive maps over time.
That’s something I can absolutely not relate to at all.
This feels like playing with cheats on.
That’s what you got that mouse wheel for, it lets you choose your zoom level at any given moment.
I love how Supreme Commander does it. You can zoom out all the way to see the entire map but the units get replaced with icons. So it doesn’t lag at all when zoomed out and you get a perfect overview.
You basically don’t need a minimap in that game.
Haha, I don’t blame you. I would have agreed fully up until I was kind of forced to play it that way over the years because of friend’s preference play that way. But it’s okay. Surprisingly, I somehow got used to it, and now I don’t mind it at all and sometimes prefer it… and usually play it that way. (With AoE2:DE’s AI always being pretty aggressive, sending streams and streams of unrelenting military at you, and its quick morphing military strategies based on what you’re doing, and protecting its military well, I don’t mind the forewarning. There are other benefits to me/us, such as not having as much time these days to dedicate to matches (exploring the unknown, and tracking down enemy locations in end-game times), but I’ll leave it at that for now. There are pros and cons, I know. The pros outweigh the cons right now in my personal AoE gaming life and experience
I just recently found out that there are old concept arts of some myth units and there also is one for hydra! xD
i think the hydra concept looks really solid. even not really snake-like but its a cool/interesting design. head reminds me a bit of a komodo dragon which makes sense if you look at the low resolution model now. it really looks more like a dragon for me personally but if it gets the according upgrades in Retold (poison and regeneration) i don’t mind at all. (but the feet definitely need to change! >.<)
i mention all this cause a part of me already counts with it that the devs of Retold will stay with the original AoM design and i want to make peace with it for the most part but still want to give feedback and suggest things even most here like to talk more about the technical things regarding AoM than the design things for whatever reason i personally don’t understand.
Lets hope AoMR gets some of the inspiration from the old concept art.
They have already done an amazing job with AoE3DE so I don’t worry too much.
Models are also something that can change later after release like they introduced unique Royal Guard models for all the European civilisations in AoE3DE recently.
So far we have only seen a blurry version of the Hydra in the background during the stream so I wouldn’t judge them too much yet.
2 Likes
Of course those 12 players will be incredible…I would like if they remake the Chinese campaign or in future campaigns you can fight with 11 allied and enemy AIs…
Of course, I think Retold will have a 4th zoom (AoE 1 DE has a x4 zoom)…
Yes, don’t worry, the AoE 3 zoom also seemed a bit close to us and they corrected it in 3 DE, plus it’s the 3D perspective that you have to get used to, then you don’t even notice the zoom, you move the mouse wheel and that’s it. …
Oh yes, it’s understandable… well AoE 3 with the super zoom makes you feel in a super immersive and wild map with so much fauna and flora out there, besides obviously, the natives on the maps…
Yes, originally the games were adapted to the 480p of the tube monitors of the late 90s and early 2000s…now with 4K monitors that is no longer a problem, you can have zoom up to 2140p…
You two are right…
How wonderful…
Yes, forget about that, the game will look spectacular as seen in the Steam images… it will be a masterpiece that will leave WC3 Reforged crying in a corner xd…
1 Like
They patched it and introduced an option to zoom out(look at the picture)
I think having the option enabled for the casual player seems great to me, but for the competitive player it is not a very good option, the best thing would be for Retold to allow modification to the taste of each player
1 Like
Why should the game limit the zoom at all?
Just because you can zoom out doesn’t mean you should zoom out.
Just leave it to the player.
No one complaints about Google Maps being unusable to navigate because you can zoom so far out that you can see the entire world.
2 Likes