Pantheons that, due to current political pettiness, couldn’t be implemented soon, but I’d love to see Persian and pre-Islamic Arab ones—you know, the real Bahamut, which is a fish, Kujata, djinns, and soldiers with historically inaccurate simitas.
And Ajax using the correct animation at the end of All Is Not Lost.
I hold a different view. I think that if the Cthulhu Mythos is going to be added, it should be introduced before other lesser-known real historical pantheons in order to boost the game’s popularity. If the game loses popularity too quickly, then I believe the developers will lose motivation to keep making other DLCs. I think that when giving suggestions, people should sometimes try to think from the developers’ perspective. Releasing DLC has to bring the developers considerable profit and increase the game’s popularity; otherwise, it is not very realistic. Many real historical pantheons are too obscure to give the developers enough incentive.
That may be true, but AoM and its community, at least the majority of the fan base, generally do not want a modern make believe pantheon in the game. Adding the Cthulhu mythos might boost profits, but it could also drive players away by shattering the game’s immersion and sense of accuracy.
Also, we are assuming that the current DLCs like the Chinese, Japanese, and Aztecs aren’t bringing enough new players and profit. I doubt this is the case especially how fast they are pumping out new content here and there.
Here are some of the civs that are still highly requested for this game:
Babylonians (Mesopotamia), Irish (Celts), Persians (before Zoroastrian), Slavs, Indians (Hindu)
Then you have the obscure ones:
Maori, Yoruba, Canaanites, Romans (not obscure but you know why), etc…
If fans do not like this DLC and feel that it would ruin the atmosphere, they can simply choose not to buy it. I do not really understand why fans would distance themselves from the game itself because of additional content, since DLC is only an option rather than something they are required to play. The real problem with this game is that it relies too heavily on its existing fanbase. It needs to attract new fans in order to broaden its player base and increase revenue.
What you described reflects its current situation, because the DLCs released so far are still based on relatively popular pantheons. Once truly obscure pantheons begin to be introduced, the outlook may no longer be so optimistic. That is why I think the wiser choice is to expand the player base first before releasing obscure pantheons, much like Age of Empires II and IV. Their subject matter is naturally more mainstream than that of Age of Mythology, which gives them a broader audience, so hardly anyone worries about the future of those two games.
Moreover, I believe that even if a Cthulhu Mythos DLC were introduced, most of the game’s original fans would still buy it. If a real historical pantheon is portrayed in a way that deviates too much from history, it will be criticized by the player community and could create even bigger problems than adding Cthulhu—for example, the current criticism on the forums regarding the Aztec pantheon. By contrast, a Cthulhu pantheon would not have this problem, because it is an independent fictional pantheon, much like Atlantis, with very little connection to actual history. As a result, players would likely complain less about that kind of pantheon.
Besides, the Cthulhu pantheon could be adjusted to better fit the style of Age of Mythology, which gives the developers much more creative freedom and makes it less likely to feel out of place to players. In conclusion, I believe that introducing a pantheon like Cthulhu earlier would bring benefits that far outweigh its disadvantages. Also, I’m not a Cthulhu fan myself; I’ve simply seen its high popularity and the potential for greater revenue for the game.
Here is the thing though. Players who choose not to buy the DLC would still have to face those Cthulhu players online. I would argue that Retold has done a phenomenal job at grabbing other non-AoM players from different games including Starcraft, different AoE games, etc…
I think the core theme / value of this game is for the developers to use real cultural civilizations and their mythologies from the ancient past. To suddenly throw that away and introduce things that don’t match the core aesthetic values would seem a bit strange. The Atlanteans are different but because they were already created for the game then their existence is essentially permanent. Though I would still welcome new ideas and even new gods that aren’t being ripped from real life ones for the Attys.
Retold developers like to keep a tight lip on their sales. We don’t exactly how well these DLCs are selling other than the patterns and behavior of which the DLCs are being pumped out. Which probably indicates that the DLCs are doing very well.
The developers have done a good job at making the fans happy with the Japanese and the Chinese DLCs regarding historical accuracies. But most fans understand that the game has a lot of historical anachronism. Whether the fans are happy or upset about the upcoming Aztec DLCs is really all subjective anyway. There is a reason why we are able to create feedback for this type of scenario. And it is up to the devs if they want to fix it or not. Which I think they will because they usually have a good track record in satisfying customer’s complaints or requests.
By the way, it is likely that any DLC would attract more players, new or not. But it is anecdotal at best to assume that the Cthulhu mythos would help surge and attract more players than before. (Not saying you said this but I assume you might be thinking this)
You said that Cthulhu has a large and popular fanbase. Sure. But mostly its from its modern timeline. It would be super weird to play as the Cthulhu faction and be able to suddenly control tanks, automatic weapons, airplanes, submarines, ships in AoM.
Lastly, what is stopping a modder from making a Cthulhu mod with its own army, storyline, and in your own words “genuine villainous force” for Retold anyway? Would you still be as happy if that were the case?
Yes, I think those will arrive first, before other unknown or fictional pantheons…
I proposed a less modern option for the Cthulhu pantheon (since most stories take place in the 1920s-1940s)…CoD has several zombie maps that state that after the fall of Acre in 1291 (basically the penultimate TSA mission in AoE 4), a great “Lovecraftian” war occurred…we could take that as a concept for a crusader/templar civilization with mythical Lovecraftian units…
Atlantis had existed as a mythological concept for way longer than Cthulhu. Adding fictional civilizations based on stuff made up thousands of years ago feels less forced than ones based on stuff made up a century ago. Once you add Cthulhu worshippers, people would start asking to implement more crossovers with popculture, like Warhammer factions.
Maybe instead of a full-on Crusader larp which would feel like a weird match with Eldritch horrors, something like “Occultists” based on the theme of secret societies from Templars to Freemasons pulling the strings? Ideally they’d cover more than just Chthulhu pandering, I imagine each major god would cover a different occultist theme: one for pacts with the Devil, one for the starry wisdom of night sky (Cthulhu goes here), one for Enochian/angelic magic.
I imagine you could even throw hot air balloons in.
Personally i believe theres so many real mythologies they can draw from that including fiction ones would seem odd. Part of what i enjoyed the most about age of mythology was reading all the unit descriptions and learning about the mythology of real world ancient civilizations. Even atlanteans that are made up as a civ are still based on greek myth.
But i get theres people that deeply love certain fictions and want to see them displayed on whatever media they see it could take place, be it lovecraft, tolkien or insert popular lore mythos here.
Dunno if this is the strong argument you think it is. Actively making content that can split the already low player base doesnt seem like a good business decision in any way you look at it. It gives the same vibes of the argument of “cant hurt to try” Yes, it can in fact hurt when people not buying it means less income.
Telling the game audience “if you dont like it leave” is shooting yourself in the foot. Btw unless you play single player only and never have interaction with other people int he game you will interact with the dlc content.
Yea, not because they are deep fans of lovecraft or are vocal about it being included, but because its extra content, not caring about it is not an argument in favor or against, its just neutral. The would buy anything new it doesnt favor lovecraft in particular
Yes it would. People will nit pick anything. Anything that has ever included lovecraft lore always does recieve criticism (specially how the protrayal of cthulu) just like any other content with a fanbase. Theres always people that will complain about the thing thats being added doesnt fit the mental image and ideas they had conceptualize on their own. Cthulhu mythos enjoyers are not the expection.
Have you not seen the amount of complains people had with Atty due to it not being a real civ?
While the idea is good, I think it would be more suitable for something like Rise of Legends, which could do with a few more civs. It was a good game, but it had very few civs and never got much attention. Civs like Cthulhu or Tolkien, or other similar options, would be great for it. I feel, for AoM, devs should stick with actual mythologies, and there are plenty to choose from. Just my opinion.
Yes, that’s a good one…it could be a mix of both: Templars at the beginning (11th-14th centuries) and then Freemasons from the 14th to the 16th centuries…
Cthulhu DLC would be a pass for me.
Me too. I also never understood the appeal of religion pantheons (Christianity etc.) while there are a lot of mythologies they can do.
Hi, I’m new here. But aside from my personal inquiry about the next civilization. When does it come?
I also want to suggest this. A campaign that is combining all the heroes from all the known stories, against a new enemy. Also, if possible one of these civilizations. India, one of the African civilizations, Carthage, Phoenicia, Babylon and Persia. I think one or some of these civilizations deserve campaign stories too.
Yeah, are too much civilizations that we don’t get yet…
In two weeks, in April 21…
i am happy t read i am not alone with this opinion. i agree with you guys and that even this is a fantasy game its still a fantasy game which takes its fantasy from actual cultural stuff for the most part. cuthulu never was (thankfully?) part of any civilastion. also its a fantasy game about Polytheismus and not christianity and i really think it should stay that way. if you want to have the influence of christianity in a medieval fantasy RTS i can highly recomment GODSWORN. lovely, lovely game and also with mythology and fantasy but a different setting and focal points.
One of the reasons I’m not opposed to a Lovecraftian pantheon is that it’s set in our world, so it doesn’t bother me to see Cthulhu alongside Zeus or Ra. But when it comes to a mythology set in another universe, like Warhammer or Tolkien’s, I’m 100% against it.
Yeah, i consider Godsworn like an AoM 2,more medieval centered…
Some suggestions for changes in Greek faction:
Suggestions for fourth Egyptian Major God:
New Egyptian Minor Gods:
-Elves for Freyr
-Dwarven Berserks
-Full visual overhaul of Atlanteans, to make them into their own culture, rather than an amalgamation of Romans and Incas.
-Campaign and Editor exclusive Atlantean-Reskin of Poseidon.
