Yes, that too…in short, the campaigns are not the same as in 1999…
I have a very concervative take on games: I like games that do not evolve too much. When I play aoe2, it is to play this “aoe2 experience”. It does not matter whether I want it because of nostalgia, because I already know the game, because I am fond of monk conversions, because I want to replay a build order for the millionth time, or because of any other reason.
If I want another experience, then I play another game. And if I get tired of aoe2 and do not want to have this “aoe2 experience”, then I will stop playing aoe2. And that is perfectily fine.
In the last years I have alternating between 10 games depending on my mood. I went back to play games that I did not played for many years and was very happy experiencing them again, even though I never missed them. And that is okay.
So if you feel aoe4 is better, then it is perfectly fine. Go ahead and play aoe4. And if someday you want to play aoe2 again for any reason, then you are welcome back.
At the end of the day, a game will never please everyone and there will always be players & developerd wanting to pull the game toward whatever direction they feel is the best.
1 Like
I think it’s posted to show how ridiculously disproportional AoE4 buildings and units look next to each other, 2 is way more natural in this regard
I agree, but now I have the impression that AoE2 definitely can’t change anything; it has to remain as it is now, 2D with the same gameplay mechanics, and it can’t even improve the quality of life…
The intention was to show everyone, as a long-time AoE2 player, that the game has changed a bit over time, and yes, I wanted the quality of life that AoE4 has to migrate to AoE2…
The villager mechanics in AoE4 are truly incredible, maybe, just maybe, I wanted AoE2 to observe what’s good in AoE4…
I don’t think AoE4 is better than AoE2, but I’m sure it’s a more up-to-date game, in terms of gameplay mechanics and quality of life…
I wanted the eternal bugs of AoE2 to leave this game…
When I talk about the AoE2 campaigns, or that it’s inferior to another game, what I meant by all this is how outdated AoE2 is mechanically. I liked the current campaigns and it’s amazing to play with South America…
Maybe it’s a mistake to want to update an old game, the developers may be right. Would it be good for someone who has been playing the same game for over 20 years to have significant changes? Maybe not, even the game’s initial screen is complicated to change, yes, any change is difficult… For example: the 3D aspect is a detail that would drastically alter the game…
Adding new civilizations to the game was an interesting way for the developers to maintain engagement, fans will buy it and it maintains the game’s mechanics, which is better for a community as old and engaged as AoE2’s…
Not sure if you have any particular motive for posting this, but to me, AoE4 graphics look like marshmallows and cake decorations, plus the lighting looks really unnatural. I much prefer AoE2 graphics (though I have mixed feelings about DE graphics versus the originals – in many ways they’re better, but they’re also less crisp).
Just that was my point. AoE4 has de poorest visual desing of the saga. Plastic units, worst building desings, totally inconsistent proportions… the terrain is its only good visual aspect.
AoE2 is more beautyfll by far
2 Likes
Perhaps that’s exactly what the fans want…
I hope not, otherwise by 2035 we’ll have 100 civs with almost no changes…
Why can’t AoE2 evolve to have this kind of graphic style?.. To me, there would be no problem whatsoever in changing from 2D graphics to this type of graphic approach without altering the conceptual art of AoE2…
1 Like
It maintains the art style of AoE2, but brings a more modern approach with 3D graphics, featuring improvements in troop routing, offering more axes for each army movement and reducing routing bugs caused by the limitations of 2D graphics.
3D graphics are far superior and would only improve gameplay, but this tradition of 2D graphics limits the game. That’s my opinion, and I respect those who think differently.
If AoE2 evolved to have those graphics, it wouldn’t be AoE2. Whether you like them or not, the graphics and its engine are intrinsically linked to how it plays and how it is defined. Feature creep on the other hand…
2 Likes
Maybe ask for graphical improvement in a game that’s actually in 3D, that is AoE4? AoE2 looks great. Perhaps some of the old campaigns could get an artistic retouch with the scenario editor assets added throughout the years, that’d be cool, but changing the game to 3D would just be remaking it from scratch.
Yes, it’s a good option…
Of course, at this point it’s more convenient for us to port the AoE 2 campaigns to AoE 4 and viceversa…
1 Like
The game evolves, but maybe not how you’d wish a game to evolve, which means it’s maybe time for you to move on and find another game that suits more your style.
Your vision of what a game is probably evolved, personnally I came back to AoE2 after a very long FPS / RPG / Tactical RTS / Sandbox period, and since I came back I just never left it again. Why ? Because I just realized that the grass wasn’t greener elsewhere, even AoE4 didn’t catch me as AoE2 did back many years ago, however I was waiting for AoE4 since many, many, many years. AoE4 is a pretty cool game, but, idk…I did not feel “at my place”. The campaign documentary approach is not what I enjoy, what I enjoy is the AoE2 story style, the good old 2d isometrical sprites, not 3D environment.
So maybe just play other things, and if you never find your fun anywhere else, you will still be able to come back to AoE2.
So my answer is Yes, I’ll keep buying the game, I got it 3 time, CD collector version, pc HD version, and pc DE version. But I won’t purchase it on any other platform such as consoles, mac, etc…Why would I ahaha, I’m a PC player !
3 Likes
Exactly and i could even eat the plasicky textures and bad lightning… but the scale is bonkers… People can’t even enter the buildings without head bumping into a door. That was the biggest immersion breaker. and the homing arrows aswell.
Your first connection with a game is visuals and they must make sense. There is a game called “the scouring” that has this kind of art style, but the scale is logical. And even units using towers and walls is better implemented than aoe4. Waiting what is gonna happen with that game in the future.
2 Likes
I think changing a game from 2D to 3D is a massive undertaking, if it is possible at all
1 Like
Yep yep yep!
AoE2 is such a pleasant looking game. To use a cliche, it’s timeless in style.
AoE4, whilst fantastic sound design really has chonky, basic visuals and the scaling is so out of whack. Not knocking the game itself, but graphically I find AOE3 superior to it despite its original 2005 release.
2 Likes
I don’t think it’s hard, probably just energy intensive.
I’m opposed to the switch mainly from aesthetic reasons – AoE2 DE art style is perfect as it is, all it needs is adding eye candies to some old scenarios. As said above, even AoE3 looks better than AoE4’s weirdly proportioned mismatching models.
1 Like
Explain to me why you can’t take the art style of Age of Empires 2 and transform it into 3D…
Because I’m forced to keep the screen fixed in a single position…
Because I’d like the limitations of 2D, while 3D would give me more possibilities…
Age of Empires 3 is also proof of this…
The art style of Age of Empires 2 is better than that of Age of Empires 3…
KEEP THE ART STYLE OF Age of Empires 2, JUST EVOLVE IT TO A NEW 3D TECHNOLOGY that brings new technologies and changes that only improve gameplay…
Why would I want to push a cart without wheels when it would be better to put wheels on the cart?
I have 8 axes of movement, then 3D comes along and gives me 360 axes of movement, which is better?..
This has nothing to do with artistic choice, but with a misunderstanding; these are very old players who don’t want changes, even if they are for the better, that’s all…