I’d like unranked ELO scoring or some other measuring stick to make all the individual games I play vs AI or teamed up vs. AI mean something over the aggregate of games… whether I go online, or not.
All the AI games played are just islands of statistics, never to be seen again; never to count for me or against me in any manner, living alone, never to be combined to give some overall sense of how I’m doing or what I’ve accomplished.
Vs. one Easy AI, not many points earned. Versus 2 Easy AI, a bit more. Versus Hard, more points, etc.
There’s more than one way to dish scores out or rewarding gameplay, too. It doesn’t have to be just numerical. For example in Sid Meier’s Pirates! video game, you were given a ranking/profession based on how well you did (fame). AoE could do something similar, or be inspired by this.
Here’s Pirates! (2004) rankings/professions. Each rank has a portrait image for what you look like in the game given your profession. (I can’t show those on this table below, taken from a fandom wiki website):
| Rank | Profession | Fame Points Required | Your Portrait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Governor | 103 - 126 | 2004 Retire 1 Governor |
| 2 | Bishop | 92 - 102 | 2004 Retire 2 Bishop |
| 3 | Mayor | 80 - 91 | 2004 Retire 3 Mayor |
| 4 | Surgeon | 70 - 79 | 2004 Retire 4 Surgeon |
| 5 | Magistrate | 62 - 69 | 2004 Retire 5 Magistrate |
| 6 | Fencing Master | 53 - 61 | 2004 Retire 6 FencingMaster |
| 7 | Shipwright | 45 - 52 | 2004 Retire 7 Shipwright |
| 8 | Innkeeper | 38 - 44 | 2004 Retire 8 Innkeeper |
| 9 | Merchant | 31 - 37 | 2004 Retire 9 Merchant |
| 10 | Parson | 25 - 30 | 2004 Retire 10 Parson |
| 11 | Farmer | 20 - 24 | 2004 Retire 11 Farmer |
| 12 | Butler | 15 - 19 | 2004 Retire 12 Butler |
| 13 | Constable | 11 - 14 | 2004 Retire 13 Constable |
| 14 | Bartender | 8 - 10 | 2004 Retire 14 Bartender |
| 15 | Mortician | 5 - 7 | 2004 Retire 15 Mortician |
| 16 | Fisherman | 3 - 4 | 2004 Retire 16 Fisherman |
| 17 | Clerk | 2 | 2004 Retire 17 Clerk |
| 18 | Pauper | 1 | 2004 Retire 18 Pauper |
| 19 | Pickpocket | 0 | 2004 Retire 19 Pickpocket |
Some type of statistic that carries with you while playing unranked games and offline vs. AI games would be nice. It plays into my thought that I wish individual maps had more weight and staying power than just that one single game (e.g., ‘Build an Empire’ mode); as it becomes just a blip in time. (I know campaigns (and some Steam achievements) go along these lines of continuity, but it’s not the same.)