Age of Empires 4 and Age of Empires remake

heisenberg

Earl Grey

 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
Liking this in advance of even reading it. Excited²!!!
 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
Okay, first of all, how the hell did I not hear about AoEIV before now?!?!?!?!? That's pretty weird.

Secondly, after having watched part of the second video, my excitement has been completely nullified. It doesn't appear to be any different from AoEIII or the installments before it, just more of the same. :( What the hell has Microsoft been doing all these years???
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Okay, first of all, how the hell did I not hear about AoEIV before now?!?!?!?!? That's pretty weird.

Secondly, after having watched part of the second video, my excitement has been completely nullified. It doesn't appear to be any different from AoEIII or the installments before it, just more of the same. :( What the hell has Microsoft been doing all these years???
AOE4 was just announced. Age of Empires Definitive edition was announced last year but is coming out on in October. It does appear different from AOE3 as they've used the old mechanics from the original AOE and increased the framerate and upped the resolution and textures. The sound and music has also improved.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Okay, first of all, how the hell did I not hear about AoEIV before now?!?!?!?!? That's pretty weird.

Secondly, after having watched part of the second video, my excitement has been completely nullified. It doesn't appear to be any different from AoEIII or the installments before it, just more of the same. :( What the hell has Microsoft been doing all these years???

Age of Empires is my all time favorite of PC strategy games. I have invested hundreds of hours playing it over the years. I also was excited about an AoE IV when I saw this thread pop up, but the gameplay in that second video shows me nothing new AT ALL. Even the sounds are the same. The ships still make 180 degree turns on a dime, the villagers have the same movements, the armies march the same. It took more than 10 years to come up with this? I even have the Age of Mythology games too, and this "new" game is really not new at all.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
AOE4 was just announced. Age of Empires Definitive edition was announced last year but is coming out on in October. It does appear different from AOE3 as they've used the old mechanics from the original AOE and increased the framerate and upped the resolution and textures. The sound and music has also improved.

New but still too "the same".
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
It's improved in a significant way.

I just watched the video of the gameplay again, and I have to disagree. I notice the animations of the horses is better, and I notice the higher resolution graphics and the different animated textures like the water too. But the gameplay (the most important part of the game) looks identical to AoE III Age of Kings/Conquerors. The sounds are identical too. The movements of the siege weapons, the villagers and the look of the town structures is not enough different to be worth calling it AoE IV. This looks more like an expansion pack to me. After more than 10 years, this looks like a disappointment.

I sure hope you can turn off those annoying windows that pop up when you mouseover the units. Ugh. And why didn't they work on the scale of the units?
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Age of Empires is my all time favorite of PC strategy games. I have invested hundreds of hours playing it over the years. I also was excited about an AoE IV when I saw this thread pop up, but the gameplay in that second video shows me nothing new AT ALL. Even the sounds are the same. The ships still make 180 degree turns on a dime, the villagers have the same movements, the armies march the same. It took more than 10 years to come up with this? I even have the Age of Mythology games too, and this "new" game is really not new at all.
Firstly, AOE4 and Age of Empires Definitive editions are NOT made by the same studio. AOE4 is made by the guys from sega games. Secondly, Age of Empires definitive edition is all the previous age of empires games into one. It will run at 4k at 60-120fps so you won't get that clumsiness of running at mid 10-20 fps. They've improved the score and the soundtrack a lot but some mechanics that didn't need changing, they obviously won't change.
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
I just watched the video of the gameplay again, and I have to disagree. I notice the animations of the horses is better, and I notice the higher resolution graphics and the different animated textures like the water too. But the gameplay (the most important part of the game) looks identical to AoE III Age of Kings/Conquerors. The sounds are identical too. The movements of the siege weapons, the villagers and the look of the town structures is not enough different to be worth calling it AoE IV. This looks more like an expansion pack to me. After more than 10 years, this looks like a disappointment.

I sure hope you can turn off those annoying windows that pop up when you mouseover the units. Ugh. And why didn't they work on the scale of the units?

 

Lord Ba'al

Well Known GateFan
Wow, those people at Forgotten Empires sure wasted their time working on that definitive edition. 4K, really? The graphics are complete shit for that. There's is no point in playing this, you might as well play the original game. Talk about failing. Let's make the EXACT same game from 20 years ago but now it'll be 4K! I still play games from 20+ years ago, I don't need them to be souped up. The classics are great as they are and should not be tampered with. This might be the whisky talking, but FUCK Forgotten Empires for even doing this! Sorry I can't be enthusiastic about it. I certainly don't mean to deprive anyone else of their pleasures. Still this kinda angers me. There were good games 3 decades ago but the technology wasn't advanced to a point where they could be really fleshed out well. Now with technology being a billion times more advanced than it was in those days, people are putting out shit the same shit or even worse. There are 10000 times more people working in the games industry and I'm sure a lot of them are very talented in their own respective department, but game design is not one of them. If you look at the entire games industry in general, the scope and depth of games is abysmal. The whole industry as it is is a giant disappointment to me.

/rant
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Wow, those people at Forgotten Empires sure wasted their time working on that definitive edition. 4K, really? The graphics are complete shit for that. There's is no point in playing this, you might as well play the original game. Talk about failing. Let's make the EXACT same game from 20 years ago but now it'll be 4K! I still play games from 20+ years ago, I don't need them to be souped up. The classics are great as they are and should not be tampered with. This might be the whisky talking, but FUCK Forgotten Empires for even doing this! Sorry I can't be enthusiastic about it. I certainly don't mean to deprive anyone else of their pleasures. Still this kinda angers me. There were good games 3 decades ago but the technology wasn't advanced to a point where they could be really fleshed out well. Now with technology being a billion times more advanced than it was in those days, people are putting out shit the same shit or even worse. There are 10000 times more people working in the games industry and I'm sure a lot of them are very talented in their own respective department, but game design is not one of them. If you look at the entire games industry in general, the scope and depth of games is abysmal. The whole industry as it is is a giant disappointment to me.

/rant

I watched that entire video, and I am still not at all impressed. I don't care if they did this in 4K. I do not have now nor will I ever have a 4K TV. I don't care if it is shiny and new in 4K if the game itself is no different. The video says they are making it for only Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store. Really? I use Steam, and I play my games on Windows 7. If I had not played this game literally hundreds of times (maybe over 1000 times), and spent so much time playing it both online and single player against AI (I still play it!), this might be exciting. But it isn't. The video even says that long time players might not be that impressed by this version. I'm in that group. This thing is nothing but a money grab.

If you start the video at 13:30, and listen forward, they give up the truth: People play this on Steam, people who play already might decide that this thing is not what they want, and that they might not call this Age of Empires IV and just call it the "definitive" version, and finally that the community might not go for it if Microsoft tries to lock it into Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Firstly, AOE4 and Age of Empires Definitive editions are NOT made by the same studio. AOE4 is made by the guys from sega games. Secondly, Age of Empires definitive edition is all the previous age of empires games into one. It will run at 4k at 60-120fps so you won't get that clumsiness of running at mid 10-20 fps. They've improved the score and the soundtrack a lot but some mechanics that didn't need changing, they obviously won't change.

I don't care what they are saying, the original game engine is being used for this. I know the movements of the units, the look of the buildings and the way the grid is laid out in the AoE games. Perhaps these guys were only tasked to polish up the graphics to 4K and change the look of the units. Why would I care if it can be run at 4K @60-120 FPS if I do not have a 4K monitor or a graphics card that will run at 60-120fps? The original AoE II and II and Mythology run just fine for me already. :)
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Wow, those people at Forgotten Empires sure wasted their time working on that definitive edition. 4K, really? The graphics are complete shit for that. There's is no point in playing this, you might as well play the original game. Talk about failing. Let's make the EXACT same game from 20 years ago but now it'll be 4K! I still play games from 20+ years ago, I don't need them to be souped up. The classics are great as they are and should not be tampered with. This might be the whisky talking, but FUCK Forgotten Empires for even doing this! Sorry I can't be enthusiastic about it. I certainly don't mean to deprive anyone else of their pleasures. Still this kinda angers me. There were good games 3 decades ago but the technology wasn't advanced to a point where they could be really fleshed out well. Now with technology being a billion times more advanced than it was in those days, people are putting out shit the same shit or even worse. There are 10000 times more people working in the games industry and I'm sure a lot of them are very talented in their own respective department, but game design is not one of them. If you look at the entire games industry in general, the scope and depth of games is abysmal. The whole industry as it is is a giant disappointment to me.

/rant
You are basing the quality of the game off a youtube quality video which is heavily compressed?

https://www.ageofempires.com/games/aoe/

You are right to say that technology has come a long way which is why they are providing this in 4k 60 -120fps experience. They've improved the mechanics too. I love the original too but they haven't watered it down by dumbing it down. It's a nice refreshment. It's also not going to be a fully priced game of 60 dollars either. I think it's much better attempt than the half assed blizzard remasters or the remasters we see from Sony. I know when I see a game from the heart and not done to make money at the sole intent. Some of the programmers are from the original franchise so don't think that it's not them that are there either.
. A ton of work that has gone into updating the audio in AoE:DE, but still preserving the feel of the original game. It’s got completely new narration, 75 minutes worth of new fully orchestrated music cues, 350 character emotes, and 250 rebuilt sound effects! Take a peek behind the curtain in the video below to see what goes into the music in a game like Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
https://www.ageofempires.com/news/whats-new-age-empires-definitive-edition/

As for gaming. It's just gotten more complicated. Do you know how much blood sweat and tears goes into a game? A lot and a lot I mean an insane amount. I am happy to pay for games. Infact I pay for my games, but the only reason why gaming is not what it used to be is because, how fast the industry is moving. You are right to say that there are some games that are 'dumb' but I tend to avoid those.
 
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heisenberg

Earl Grey
I watched that entire video, and I am still not at all impressed. I don't care if they did this in 4K. I do not have now nor will I ever have a 4K TV. I don't care if it is shiny and new in 4K if the game itself is no different. The video says they are making it for only Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store. Really? I use Steam, and I play my games on Windows 7. If I had not played this game literally hundreds of times (maybe over 1000 times), and spent so much time playing it both online and single player against AI (I still play it!), this might be exciting. But it isn't. The video even says that long time players might not be that impressed by this version. I'm in that group. This thing is nothing but a money grab.

If you start the video at 13:30, and listen forward, they give up the truth: People play this on Steam, people who play already might decide that this thing is not what they want, and that they might not call this Age of Empires IV and just call it the "definitive" version, and finally that the community might not go for it if Microsoft tries to lock it into Windows 10 and the Microsoft Store.
It will eventually makes its way to steam. I presume right now they are trying to promote their windows store. The game is a more polished edition of the original and I don't see anything wrong with it. I also think it will look nicer in 4k which is a bonus. They are not dumbing it down either.
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
I don't care what they are saying, the original game engine is being used for this. I know the movements of the units, the look of the buildings and the way the grid is laid out in the AoE games. Perhaps these guys were only tasked to polish up the graphics to 4K and change the look of the units. Why would I care if it can be run at 4K @60-120 FPS if I do not have a 4K monitor or a graphics card that will run at 60-120fps? The original AoE II and II and Mythology run just fine for me already. :)
You are right about that it uses the same engine but this is targeting people who don't have 10 year old pcs but more modern monitors which have come a long way in terms of clarity. I like my shit to look good if it's worth watching. They are also not asking the full price of a new age of empires game either. It will be around 20 bucks.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
You are right about that it uses the same engine but this is targeting people who don't have 10 year old pcs but more modern monitors which have come a long way in terms of clarity. I like my shit to look good if it's worth watching. They are also not asking the full price of a new age of empires game either. It will be around 20 bucks.

I like that it has "classic mode". I want to know if there are any new units or civilizations, and if the villagers are more diverse in appearance besides their clothing. I would love to see a picker where you can choose the garb of your civ, their appearance, the style of your buildings and the ability to name buildings and town centers. :)
 
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