Seems like an interesting game, and it remains on my wishlist. I can appreciate that the issue is out of the developer's hand (barring switching to a different engine, which wouldn't be feasible at this stage).

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Quoting: ElectricPrismBoth AoE 3 and AoE 4 have a review rating of 83-86%.

Meanwhile AoE 2 is rated at 94%

Similar to Civilization V (96%) vs Civilization VI (85%)

Proof that low effort 3D versions aren't automatically better than 2D or old-school graphics.

I wouldn't call AoE III low effort. (Low-poly, for the original release, sure, though the DE release is a lot better.)

To establish my bonafides, I got AoE II at the age of 11 two years after it came out, and it was one of the formative games of my childhood (the first game I played online, on a dial-up modem to boot!). I've put a combined 400 hours into the 2013 HD remake and DE, and who knows how many hours into the original CD version as a kid, where it was pretty much the only thing I played for two years. I was…disappointed that AoE III wasn't "AoE II but in the New World", but I gave it a fair shake even though it never quite clicked for me. While it may not be the game that I or a lot of AoE II players were expecting (or wanted), it's a solid game in its own right, with clearly a ton of work that into making it.

I'm reminded of the saying that Firaxis is said to follow for each successive Civilization game: "one-third the same, one-third improved, one-third new". I feel like AoE III may have skewed a bit harder than one-third on the "new" (home city shipments! fixed on-map trade routes! "hero unit" explorers! etc., etc.), and that might be partly why it wasn't as well received. Or it may just be really hard to recapture the lighting-in-a-bottle that was AoE II. But regardless of my personal feelings about AoE III, I think it's a disservice to the developers to call it "low effort".

(Also I'm not sure what your point about Civilization is, since it's been 3D since Civilization IV. :huh:)

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Quoting: Philadelphus, last monthLooking at those numbers: bets on whether Linux exceeds MacOS in Steam share by the end of the year? :happy:

Well, that's faster than I was anticipating! :grin:

And even if this turns out to be a one-month blip due to fluctuations in the survey, the general trend suggests it'll happen again…and again…and again…until it stops being news anymore. :smile:

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Wow, time flies, seems like just a year ago I was checking out the Steam Next Fest demo of this. It didn't quite grab me enough to pick up*, but glad to see it's still coming along!

*I think it lost to The Wandering Village in that cycle of demos.

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Quoting: LiamI may not be the best writer but at least I'm real…last I checked.

And that's why Liam has my vote! …er, modest monthly monetary support, at least! :grin:

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I like this game for the "humans as symbionts rather than apex predators" aspect; it's a unique reimagining of our place in the world. (But do you play as mutual, commensal, or parasitic [External Link] symbionts? The choice is up to you… :smile:)

I briefly tried out this update when it was on the "testing" branch, but now that it's out I'll have to jump back in. While the original release was fun, I found a relatively easy path to success early on and never encountered much that I had to significantly modify my playstyle for, so hopefully all the added features will spice things up a bit.

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I hear there's a new map (Selbyen) with an adorable seal, I might have to jump on tonight and check it out. :smile:

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A bit late, but since this popped up again:

Quoting: Philadelphus

More natural rivers which get wider as they flow downstream.

Oh, that sounds cools. Obviously there's only so much you can do with a grid, but more natural-looking rivers would help with the immersion.

Having played with it, the rivers do look a bit more natural as they widen toward their mouths, and I like it.

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Quoting: slaapliedjeWeird, I don't even know of anyone who uses Windows would enjoy the detail of Dwarf Fortress. It feels very much like something who likes to do overly complicated things :P Probably why Minecraft took off like a missile, while dwarf fortress has been relegated to hardcore players. (admittedly I haven't tried to play it past an initial 10m or so.)

Tarn Adams himself [External Link] primarily uses Windows, according to the linked interview from 2019. :wink:

Quoting: "Tarn Adams"My main operating system is Windows 10, and I use Mac OS X and Ubuntu for porting.

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Looking at those numbers: bets on whether Linux exceeds MacOS in Steam share by the end of the year? :happy:

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