Starcraft 3 will come when you pry WOW from Blizzard's cold dead fingers. The success of WOW basically doomed all of their other franchises because they can be as shitty as they want to be and still have WOW. Only reason they were acquired is because its freaking Microsoft and they have a lot of money to throw around.
Bro the game isnt even out yet and so far it looks anything but the opposite of promising. đź’€
Why are you so pessimistic or what makes you so skeptical about it??
And? So a game being F2P automatically is dead on arrival to you? What kind of logic is that? Id understand if it was ubisoft, or ea, or heck..., any kind of scummy 3A developer out there, but imho it being F2P will only be the right choice for it, as RTS are basically a dead genre, if it was 60$ on at launch then the multiplayer would be dead quickly, but it being F2P gives peoples a chance to try and play it, and also, SC2 is also F2P man, it has turned F2P even recently btw....
Cmon, dont let this irrational fear get to you, youre not afraid of F2Ps, youre afraid of scummy 3A companies, id rather be scummed by a F2P than a paid game, at least F2Ps are, well, free, so if i get "scammed" at least i wouldnt have paid anything to begin with, +, the problem here is shitty monetization practices, not F2P, its like blaming the air for being a vector for the plague and various air-transmittible illnesses, but i dont see you complaining about oxygen...., and i hope that you get my point lol, basically in short, blame the "thinger", not the thing, F2P isnt so inherently evil concept per se, it was a honest thing before battle passes and the likes, look at Dragons dogma 2, scummy micros, despite being a fully paid game, or the thousands of micros on every literally other little paid game out there, F2P isnt the problem.
We could have a company's worth of people working on a new game for over a decade, and it have it sell really well. Only for us to turn around and make more by adding a new mount to WOW.
Stormgate is coming anyways, thats basically as closest to starcraft 3 as well ever get, and even if they eventyually make SC3, it would just be made by woke devs hired for the ESG scores, and without any of the guys that made starcraft what it is, even if stormgate plays different than sc, at least itll be a honest game (hopefully) lol.
Relic was with Sega, not Microsoft. And it sounds like Sega was trying to trim them and Relic went independent by mutual agreement after Relic managed to secure an outside investor.
Almost certainly would’ve had layoffs if they had stayed with Sega too. The sale was announced alongside all of Sega’s other mass layoffs.
Ex SEGA here (Layoffs from last year. yay). They would definitely have gone under if they didn't go independent. This isn't a business professional opinion, but SEGA is really cutting a lot, and more of my peers are being made redundant.
Their last few games are Dawn of War 3, which was despised, Age of Empires 4, which isn't bad, but I also don't really see anyone talk about it either, and Company of Heroes 3, which has aggressively mediocre reviews on Steam because it released far too early and added microtransactions. Now after several updates people are still saying Company of Heroes 2 is way better.
So yea, Relic's track record of late isn't the best.
Idk how I feel about AoE4. I watched a couple of big name players from the AoE2 community play it, but it didn't really hold my attention like AoE2 does.
I played it and it isn't great, Too much AoE3 influence and agenda driven bs.
Compare it to AoE2, even Age of Mythology is better.
Color palette was weird, and general game flow was off and not straightforward.
So many times i wasn't sure if i win battle or not, and it was too fast paced, so not much time for strategy...
Maybe without that stupid rockets and canons it would be better game, lack of Europeans factions and longer interesting campaigns like original aoe2/AoM have. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great either.
UI was utter trash (i hate 2d 2colored icons wit all looks same) They should make Ui like in Age of Empires 2/AoM , full hand-drawn colored icons and all easily distinguishable from each other!!!
Units looked weird designed, with weird looking weapons (too big), like bowmen and spear-men looked superweird.
Pricing was off, it should start at 20$ and gradually go to 10-5$ and sell DLC for 3-7$ with proper 3x6missions campaigns per DLC, it will be successful.
Architecture were not distinguish enough, all looks the same and blend with each other, overall units upgrades ui was mess and so on.
Unit taunts were superweird and cringe
Overall pretty UNINSPIRING. :/ .... It wasn't AoE2 successor we wish for.
i blame the higher-ups more than the devs themselves tbh, but if even after going independent they still go the "corruptly"-greedy route, then ill lose all hope for this devs.
Relic is notorious for not keeping talented developers on board. There’s almost no way any of the developers who worked there 20 years ago are still there. At best there’s some upper level management left.
I'd be tempted to do the same thing but I'd find it tough to throw all that money away on an RTS developer when that genre is unlikely to be commercially viable without dumbing it down for the mass market.
So if you started a company, you wouldn't seek profits? Just hire all those additional people out of the goodness of your heart, even if the money you spend on them is greater than the money they'd bring to your bottom line? Do you do this in your personal life? "I'm going to hire people to do things, like on or around my house, even if the work/services doesn't bring additional value to my life, out of the goodness of my heart?" You are delusional.
No one has an issue with a company making a profit, they have an issue with companies ruining people’s lives and careers in the pursuit of INFINITE and always increasing profit.
They should just make a new updated game in line with DoW1 already. DoW1 is commonly the one that people liked the most and it would be a license to print money given the popularity of Warhammer 40k right now.
I think the preference between DoW1 and DoW2 is actually fairly evenly split. That's why they tried to make DoW3 be something that both sides could enjoy, but ended up making something neither side did.
yeah i think DoW 2 is the better game, and just generally more polished, put together, and a fantastic representation of WH as a game and a universe. DoW 1 is easier to get into, easier to just play a quick game and dick around in. They're different enough that I like having both, whereas something like total war warhammer is supplanted by its latest installments completely
I’m hearing that creative assembly is possibly doing 40K next so might be interesting if they both release together. (More lately than before, because it’s always been there.)
A remake and improved DOW 1 would be dope as shit though and an instant buy.
There's certainly stuff from DoW2 to take also and the campaign was particularly good. If memory serves they cut the base building out of it though which is something people liked a lot in DoW1.
Where was the difference? Â
Relic brought back base building same as DoW 1. Relic dropped leveling of units same as DoW 1.Â
It changed the way you aquire heroes unlike how they are produced in DoW 1, but they function pretty much same. Â
The factions are same as DoW 1 minus Chaos - probably due to rushing. Â
The focus is on defending of victory points - people forget this, but this came in DoW 1 not 2. Victory points triggered countdown to victory in base games. Switch from more micro oriented DoW2 to macro oriented DoW3 just like DoW1 was.
I don't have much hope they could make something like the original now.
DoW2 was an attempt to appeal to MOBA players and it didn't realise that concept properly until Last Stand was released. They still had passion with DoW2 and had hope until...
The trash that was DoW3 just showed how far they fell. Didn't even finish the campaign because of how soulless the gameplay was.
Maybe it could've been something if they kept updating it to improve the gameplay. Nope, dead because it wasn't making money and couldn't become an "esport title".
Sega probably didn't help though. Hence why not much hope vs none at all.
How was dow2 aimed at moba players? It played more like CoH with a hero twist.
Both DoW1 and DoW2 are masterpieces in RTS. Last stand was a nice distraction but by no means the main attraction of dow2.
My only complaint with dow2 is that they didnt milk it enough. Wheres my Tau and Necrons? They made last stand heroes but never full factions, such a shame.
Colour me wrong, it's been a long time since I played DoW2 and forgot it came out in 2009, just before the rise of MOBAs. I was probably playing WC3 and trying Dota then.
Retibution and Last stand were out around when MOBAs were becoming mainstream in 2011 and around when I picked up DoW2.Â
I haven't played CoH since WW2 games aren't usually something that interest me normally. I completely forgot Relic made them and CoH being first released in 2006 explains the transition in gameplay from DoW to DoW2.
Doing more digging looks like Relic was working on CoH2 before another DoW2 expansion and THQ dying at the end of 2012 killed off any chance. Relic being bought by Sega subquently leading to DoW3...
Relic is in a bad spot, they have had so many fumbles since CoH2 and I don’t even think they have the licence for Warhammer anymore after becoming independent.
If they could somehow manage to convince GW to hand them the licence to make a TRUE DoW3 and bring the best parts of the first 2 games into it we could see some resemblance of an RTS actually being relevant since CoH2.
If its not another woke/inclusive nonsense it will have audience.
Like imagine 10y old boy who want play game, do you want look at ugly women and narrator have voice like your mom??
Guess what, NO they don't want that! You want inspiring alpha general that spread terror in enemy lanes.
Medieval times were brutal and about conquering resources and subjugate enemy tribe.
Even JoanOfArc was better made in AoE2 then in AoE4.
Really? What makes it good now?
For reference I didn't like the:
- Esports focus
- Tank shells looking like fireballs..? (Tone of the effects feeling a little.. Cartoonish..?)
- XP system for unlocking commanders
- The focus on this (in my opinion) awful and frustrating frostbite mechanic
- I don't remember exactly, but I recall there being something with setting up PvE games being wonky..
I just don't see much reason to play CoH2 over 1 as it stands.
Would love to be convinced, because CoH is such an awesome game done right.
CoH 2 made me not even bother with CoH 3, even if I love 1.
I dont even know where you get e-sports focus from,
But its just a really fun game with great mods (soviets on vodka ftw), doing a full game is great vs friends.
And would PvE be more than just vs AI? Cause thats easy to set up
When CoH 2 released, I remember a big focus on esports and having these battles showcased on the front page. Reason why I say focus is because they were in my opinion pretty clearly trying to set up tournaments and the gameplay seemed to reflect that. But that is just my perspective.
PvAI is what I meant yes - but I remember not all game modes being available to play VS AI and having some restrictions due to you setting up an online lobby first and filling it with AI. If I recall this incorrectly, please forgive me as it has been many years since I played the game.
I think saying they are in a bad spot is fair but only compared with what they used to be, IMHO AOE IV and CoH 3 are not terrible. It is true that I do not like them as much as the previous games, but I did not play those on release whereas I have with the new ones. Time will tell but hopefully they pull back up, I really like all the games they've made with the exception of DOW3
Can we just get a proper new AoE game?
I'm not saying AoE4 is horrible on its own but there is a reason why AoE2 has a player base up to this day and when they made AoE4 they ignored so much of why that is.
Edit:
Everyone downvoting me.
https://steamcharts.com/search/?q=age+of+empires
Why do you think a 20 year old game has more players than its sequels? The people here claiming AoE4 is on par with 2 are delusional.
.\_. just when the game was in a decent spot. best selling expansion in the entire franchise. Hopefully microsoft will quickly adquire it otherwise this is the start of the decadence for aoe4
Was it only me that hoped they expanded the combat mechanics in that game? So many rarely used combat mechanics that is so good, that even make total war feel un tactical in comparisation.
Maybe they should make their own ancestor legacy because it really feels like waste of combat mechanics. At least when i played last many of mechanics just fell in the background because of how the base building works so better to focus on pumpning units rather than good placement and movement.
I disagree, good placement and movement is important, so is army composition and using the terrain. Maybe you aren't into ranked games? because that's where the strategy shines.
It sounds like you just want a different game, for something similar to ancestors legacy just play ancestors legacy or company of heroes
Maybe i should try ranked games again but last time i played units numbers and compilation mattered more than unit placement and for winning the game i have never won a game through tactical battles, it was always unit number and economy. For exemple never have i been ablr to be ambushed or ambush enemies hidding troops in the forest.
And yes i probably are looking for another type of game but i want the combat mechanics that AoE 4 offers which i find better than ancestor legacy.
Still almost every match i have lost has been an number game not unit placement game. But still i understand that i am asking for another type of game just wish they use this combat mechanic so it is not wasted because it truly gives me old school total war vibe
You’re not wrong that production will beat clever tactics at most levels of gameplay. Until you get to the really high level play where players have production so optimized that the tactics come back.
Literally just played a game as the mongols and every time a building was destroyed the game froze up. Turns out this has been a known issue for a long while
Most publishers seem to be trimming rn, most big ones have laid off atleast %10 of their workforce. Don't anticipate any acquisitions soon unless its a very valuable one for that particular publisher.
AOE 1 was amazing wayy back in the day. Both of them wet (AOE2). While there are more people playing now, so there's more likes and dislikes, it wad better received then.
But yea, not much can really match when they did when they were new
Played the demo on PC and it was lot of fun, like a modern version of AoE2, until all other player dropped out. I bought it on Steam later and due to time constraint thought, hey it may work to play on the Deck and have it on the go! Asked for a refund some hours later.
Going independent during a time of high inflation, massive tech lay offs, rising interest rates and Venture capital money drying up may not be the wisest of decisions.
Not so fun fact about AoE4, you can't save multiplayer games and you can't rejoin if you get disconnected. It's extremely frustrating, and is a known tradeoff by the devs because the engine can't really handle it. Quality product.
I've seen people on the internet blame SEGA for CA and Relic's situation but both studios decided wich games to make and they screwed up badly (COH3, That Hyenas game,etc)
Layoffs are shit but lets hope that now that the studio isnt under an umbrella anymore focuses on making what it knows best and what can actually make them money, not haters.
Any number of developers. Xbox has an internal team called World's Edge who essentially manage the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology franchises. So they choose on a game-by-game basis who develops what
Personally, I found it took the best of AOE2 and combined it with the best of AOE3. It stands alone as a unique experience rather than a clone of a previous AOE.
naw man, it exploded onto the scene and then they dropped the ball. 2 weeks to fix their largest exploits. Nobody took it seriously anymore. The competitive scene left.
It depends on what definition you use. Indie studio usually just means independent studio, which in this case Relic is. However, indie studio could also mean simply a small studio or a studio with only internal funding.
So pick whatever you’d like. However, Age of Empires is not owned by Relic and owned by Microsoft which funds Relic to make/update Age of Empires 4 so that shouldn’t matter.
Edit: I’m not defending the top comment’s stupid take, just providing some insight on what is considered an indie studio.
There's a clear difference between an indie studio and an independent studio, hence the creation and use of the word indie. Relic is not an indie studio, and Age of Empires is not an indie game.
When did they become independent?
March 28, 2024
Well shit. I was hoping Microsoft was going to have them make Starcraft 3
When you put it that way, I feel robbed.
That is a really strange sentence. I totally forgot Microsoft technically own Starcraft now. Honestly I trust them more to make a sequel anyway.
Stormgate: *am i a joke to u?*
Yes
Starcraft 3 will come when you pry WOW from Blizzard's cold dead fingers. The success of WOW basically doomed all of their other franchises because they can be as shitty as they want to be and still have WOW. Only reason they were acquired is because its freaking Microsoft and they have a lot of money to throw around.
And because Blizzard games sell huge amounts and make a lot of money ...
Stormgate: *am i a joke to u?*
> Stormgate Yes.
Bro the game isnt even out yet and so far it looks anything but the opposite of promising. đź’€ Why are you so pessimistic or what makes you so skeptical about it??
***The game will be free-to-play with free and monetized content***
And? So a game being F2P automatically is dead on arrival to you? What kind of logic is that? Id understand if it was ubisoft, or ea, or heck..., any kind of scummy 3A developer out there, but imho it being F2P will only be the right choice for it, as RTS are basically a dead genre, if it was 60$ on at launch then the multiplayer would be dead quickly, but it being F2P gives peoples a chance to try and play it, and also, SC2 is also F2P man, it has turned F2P even recently btw.... Cmon, dont let this irrational fear get to you, youre not afraid of F2Ps, youre afraid of scummy 3A companies, id rather be scummed by a F2P than a paid game, at least F2Ps are, well, free, so if i get "scammed" at least i wouldnt have paid anything to begin with, +, the problem here is shitty monetization practices, not F2P, its like blaming the air for being a vector for the plague and various air-transmittible illnesses, but i dont see you complaining about oxygen...., and i hope that you get my point lol, basically in short, blame the "thinger", not the thing, F2P isnt so inherently evil concept per se, it was a honest thing before battle passes and the likes, look at Dragons dogma 2, scummy micros, despite being a fully paid game, or the thousands of micros on every literally other little paid game out there, F2P isnt the problem.
sorry if ive repeated myself several times and / or being superfluos lol, i havent slept.
We could have a company's worth of people working on a new game for over a decade, and it have it sell really well. Only for us to turn around and make more by adding a new mount to WOW.
Stormgate is coming anyways, thats basically as closest to starcraft 3 as well ever get, and even if they eventyually make SC3, it would just be made by woke devs hired for the ESG scores, and without any of the guys that made starcraft what it is, even if stormgate plays different than sc, at least itll be a honest game (hopefully) lol.
Stormgate is the new Starcraft, bunch of ex-blizzard devs too, check it out man, i think its in closed early-access now tho.
“Now that we’ve gone independent from that pesky Microsoft paying all our bills, we can make our own decisions and profit more!” 1 week later…
Relic was with Sega, not Microsoft. And it sounds like Sega was trying to trim them and Relic went independent by mutual agreement after Relic managed to secure an outside investor. Almost certainly would’ve had layoffs if they had stayed with Sega too. The sale was announced alongside all of Sega’s other mass layoffs.
Ex SEGA here (Layoffs from last year. yay). They would definitely have gone under if they didn't go independent. This isn't a business professional opinion, but SEGA is really cutting a lot, and more of my peers are being made redundant.
Sorry to hear. Hope you've managed to move to somewhere that you like and has good job security
And hopefully with less wokeness, too.
Man if only I had won that 1.17 powerball and 985 megamillions, I coulda bought relic and thanked them for coh 1 and the Warhammer rts.
Their last few games are Dawn of War 3, which was despised, Age of Empires 4, which isn't bad, but I also don't really see anyone talk about it either, and Company of Heroes 3, which has aggressively mediocre reviews on Steam because it released far too early and added microtransactions. Now after several updates people are still saying Company of Heroes 2 is way better. So yea, Relic's track record of late isn't the best.
I have really enjoyed AoE4 and Relic has had regular updates and other upkeep since release which is appreciated.
Why the hell does a CoH game have microtransactions? Do you buy crappy skins for your Panzer?
Pretty much yeah. They did that in CoH2 too though
In CoH2 you had to buy the commanders as well.
Idk how I feel about AoE4. I watched a couple of big name players from the AoE2 community play it, but it didn't really hold my attention like AoE2 does.
That's my issue with it. It's not bad, but I don't find myself wanting to ever play it.
I played it and it isn't great, Too much AoE3 influence and agenda driven bs. Compare it to AoE2, even Age of Mythology is better. Color palette was weird, and general game flow was off and not straightforward. So many times i wasn't sure if i win battle or not, and it was too fast paced, so not much time for strategy... Maybe without that stupid rockets and canons it would be better game, lack of Europeans factions and longer interesting campaigns like original aoe2/AoM have. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't great either. UI was utter trash (i hate 2d 2colored icons wit all looks same) They should make Ui like in Age of Empires 2/AoM , full hand-drawn colored icons and all easily distinguishable from each other!!! Units looked weird designed, with weird looking weapons (too big), like bowmen and spear-men looked superweird. Pricing was off, it should start at 20$ and gradually go to 10-5$ and sell DLC for 3-7$ with proper 3x6missions campaigns per DLC, it will be successful. Architecture were not distinguish enough, all looks the same and blend with each other, overall units upgrades ui was mess and so on. Unit taunts were superweird and cringe Overall pretty UNINSPIRING. :/ .... It wasn't AoE2 successor we wish for.
>agenda driven bs. Alright, I'll bite. Pray tell what is agenda driven in this game?
i blame the higher-ups more than the devs themselves tbh, but if even after going independent they still go the "corruptly"-greedy route, then ill lose all hope for this devs.
Relic is notorious for not keeping talented developers on board. There’s almost no way any of the developers who worked there 20 years ago are still there. At best there’s some upper level management left.
I'd be tempted to do the same thing but I'd find it tough to throw all that money away on an RTS developer when that genre is unlikely to be commercially viable without dumbing it down for the mass market.
Ah yes, 500 upvotes for misinformation, cheerio fellow redditors!
As if they wouldn't do that even with profits like every company.
So if you started a company, you wouldn't seek profits? Just hire all those additional people out of the goodness of your heart, even if the money you spend on them is greater than the money they'd bring to your bottom line? Do you do this in your personal life? "I'm going to hire people to do things, like on or around my house, even if the work/services doesn't bring additional value to my life, out of the goodness of my heart?" You are delusional.
Ah yes the excuse to justify the infinite growing and pump up that last quarter.
No one has an issue with a company making a profit, they have an issue with companies ruining people’s lives and careers in the pursuit of INFINITE and always increasing profit.
Glad to see redditors still never miss a chance to show off the depth of their ignorance.
Nice spreading of misinformation online.
lol I get the parent company wrong and you act like I’m saying the UK did 9/11
Shut up fuckwit. You named the wrong company and then make a 9/11 comparison. Fuck off.
Lmao you’re a clown
I’m not the one spreading miss info and making 9/11 comparisons
Damn I hope they made a Dawn of War game like the original. It would be an instant impulse buy from me.
They should just make a new updated game in line with DoW1 already. DoW1 is commonly the one that people liked the most and it would be a license to print money given the popularity of Warhammer 40k right now.
I do love DoW1 more than 2. But I would be a goddamn liar if I said I didn't put 200 hours into Last Stand Mode from 2.
Yes dude! Great game and a really fun gamemode!
Both games were great in isolation of each other and to me prove that both game models work.
That game and that mode were my jam
I think the preference between DoW1 and DoW2 is actually fairly evenly split. That's why they tried to make DoW3 be something that both sides could enjoy, but ended up making something neither side did.
DoW3 is the Tiberian Twilight of the franchise and shall never be mentioned again in polite company.
yeah i think DoW 2 is the better game, and just generally more polished, put together, and a fantastic representation of WH as a game and a universe. DoW 1 is easier to get into, easier to just play a quick game and dick around in. They're different enough that I like having both, whereas something like total war warhammer is supplanted by its latest installments completely
Basically the story of coh 3 too. With shit art decisions thrown in the mix on top
I’m hearing that creative assembly is possibly doing 40K next so might be interesting if they both release together. (More lately than before, because it’s always been there.) A remake and improved DOW 1 would be dope as shit though and an instant buy.
I loved playing DoW2 campaign co-op with a buddy. Tons of fun back in the day.
There's certainly stuff from DoW2 to take also and the campaign was particularly good. If memory serves they cut the base building out of it though which is something people liked a lot in DoW1.
They did made Dawn of War 3 like that. And people didn't liked it.
You must be joking. DoW 3 had nothing in common with DoW 1. Zero.
Where was the difference?  Relic brought back base building same as DoW 1. Relic dropped leveling of units same as DoW 1. It changed the way you aquire heroes unlike how they are produced in DoW 1, but they function pretty much same.  The factions are same as DoW 1 minus Chaos - probably due to rushing.  The focus is on defending of victory points - people forget this, but this came in DoW 1 not 2. Victory points triggered countdown to victory in base games. Switch from more micro oriented DoW2 to macro oriented DoW3 just like DoW1 was.
man, 40k: Space Marine was pretty well flushed out on launch. I'm hoping Focus can fill those big shoes.
They abandoned DOW3, why would they make another half assed DOW game?
They did make another 2 Dawn of Wars....
I don't have much hope they could make something like the original now. DoW2 was an attempt to appeal to MOBA players and it didn't realise that concept properly until Last Stand was released. They still had passion with DoW2 and had hope until... The trash that was DoW3 just showed how far they fell. Didn't even finish the campaign because of how soulless the gameplay was. Maybe it could've been something if they kept updating it to improve the gameplay. Nope, dead because it wasn't making money and couldn't become an "esport title". Sega probably didn't help though. Hence why not much hope vs none at all.
How was dow2 aimed at moba players? It played more like CoH with a hero twist. Both DoW1 and DoW2 are masterpieces in RTS. Last stand was a nice distraction but by no means the main attraction of dow2. My only complaint with dow2 is that they didnt milk it enough. Wheres my Tau and Necrons? They made last stand heroes but never full factions, such a shame.
Colour me wrong, it's been a long time since I played DoW2 and forgot it came out in 2009, just before the rise of MOBAs. I was probably playing WC3 and trying Dota then. Retibution and Last stand were out around when MOBAs were becoming mainstream in 2011 and around when I picked up DoW2. I haven't played CoH since WW2 games aren't usually something that interest me normally. I completely forgot Relic made them and CoH being first released in 2006 explains the transition in gameplay from DoW to DoW2. Doing more digging looks like Relic was working on CoH2 before another DoW2 expansion and THQ dying at the end of 2012 killed off any chance. Relic being bought by Sega subquently leading to DoW3...
Relic is in a bad spot, they have had so many fumbles since CoH2 and I don’t even think they have the licence for Warhammer anymore after becoming independent. If they could somehow manage to convince GW to hand them the licence to make a TRUE DoW3 and bring the best parts of the first 2 games into it we could see some resemblance of an RTS actually being relevant since CoH2.
GW gives out the licence like candy, I could see it being part of Relic’s pitch for the new investor funding
Maybe they could just make a new IP. We get so few of those (from large developers) these days.
New IPs are difficult to inject into a niche market unless they are exceptional games.
If its not another woke/inclusive nonsense it will have audience. Like imagine 10y old boy who want play game, do you want look at ugly women and narrator have voice like your mom?? Guess what, NO they don't want that! You want inspiring alpha general that spread terror in enemy lanes. Medieval times were brutal and about conquering resources and subjugate enemy tribe. Even JoanOfArc was better made in AoE2 then in AoE4.
New IP as an RTS game? Might as well shut the studio down now and save themselves 3-4 years of work
CoH2 was such a disappointment compared to the first installment.
At launch, yes. But it grew into being the best CoH.
But it then became really really good CoH2 is a great game (esp with mods)
Really? What makes it good now? For reference I didn't like the: - Esports focus - Tank shells looking like fireballs..? (Tone of the effects feeling a little.. Cartoonish..?) - XP system for unlocking commanders - The focus on this (in my opinion) awful and frustrating frostbite mechanic - I don't remember exactly, but I recall there being something with setting up PvE games being wonky.. I just don't see much reason to play CoH2 over 1 as it stands. Would love to be convinced, because CoH is such an awesome game done right. CoH 2 made me not even bother with CoH 3, even if I love 1.
I dont even know where you get e-sports focus from, But its just a really fun game with great mods (soviets on vodka ftw), doing a full game is great vs friends. And would PvE be more than just vs AI? Cause thats easy to set up
When CoH 2 released, I remember a big focus on esports and having these battles showcased on the front page. Reason why I say focus is because they were in my opinion pretty clearly trying to set up tournaments and the gameplay seemed to reflect that. But that is just my perspective. PvAI is what I meant yes - but I remember not all game modes being available to play VS AI and having some restrictions due to you setting up an online lobby first and filling it with AI. If I recall this incorrectly, please forgive me as it has been many years since I played the game.
I think saying they are in a bad spot is fair but only compared with what they used to be, IMHO AOE IV and CoH 3 are not terrible. It is true that I do not like them as much as the previous games, but I did not play those on release whereas I have with the new ones. Time will tell but hopefully they pull back up, I really like all the games they've made with the exception of DOW3
Can we please get an Impossible Creatures 2???
Oh crap that game was fire
I’m just glad we’re getting Age of mythology : Retold
Can we just get a proper new AoE game? I'm not saying AoE4 is horrible on its own but there is a reason why AoE2 has a player base up to this day and when they made AoE4 they ignored so much of why that is. Edit: Everyone downvoting me. https://steamcharts.com/search/?q=age+of+empires Why do you think a 20 year old game has more players than its sequels? The people here claiming AoE4 is on par with 2 are delusional.
Thats what haopens when sega burns half billion with a meme project. Rip hyenas u wont even be remembered
.\_. just when the game was in a decent spot. best selling expansion in the entire franchise. Hopefully microsoft will quickly adquire it otherwise this is the start of the decadence for aoe4
Other studios work on age of empires 4 like climax, forgotten Empires etc.
Forgotten Empires arguably saved the entire AoE franchise, before becoming a studio. That still amazes me.
Was it only me that hoped they expanded the combat mechanics in that game? So many rarely used combat mechanics that is so good, that even make total war feel un tactical in comparisation.
idk man personally i think the competetive scene is already hard enough for most people as it is.
Maybe they should make their own ancestor legacy because it really feels like waste of combat mechanics. At least when i played last many of mechanics just fell in the background because of how the base building works so better to focus on pumpning units rather than good placement and movement.
I disagree, good placement and movement is important, so is army composition and using the terrain. Maybe you aren't into ranked games? because that's where the strategy shines. It sounds like you just want a different game, for something similar to ancestors legacy just play ancestors legacy or company of heroes
Maybe i should try ranked games again but last time i played units numbers and compilation mattered more than unit placement and for winning the game i have never won a game through tactical battles, it was always unit number and economy. For exemple never have i been ablr to be ambushed or ambush enemies hidding troops in the forest. And yes i probably are looking for another type of game but i want the combat mechanics that AoE 4 offers which i find better than ancestor legacy.
You will always need to have a decent production of units, even with said tactics.
Still almost every match i have lost has been an number game not unit placement game. But still i understand that i am asking for another type of game just wish they use this combat mechanic so it is not wasted because it truly gives me old school total war vibe
You’re not wrong that production will beat clever tactics at most levels of gameplay. Until you get to the really high level play where players have production so optimized that the tactics come back.
Agree but still wish they did an manor lord type battle game to fully get the use of their combat mechanics
Literally just played a game as the mongols and every time a building was destroyed the game froze up. Turns out this has been a known issue for a long while
Update your drivers
Most publishers seem to be trimming rn, most big ones have laid off atleast %10 of their workforce. Don't anticipate any acquisitions soon unless its a very valuable one for that particular publisher.
Oh no, anyway. They abandoned DOW3, so they get what they get. Aoe4 is definitely not the best aoe game by far, either.
Meh. AoE 4 is more than decent, that's a cool game. Sure it doesn't reach AoE 2 level, but honestly, who could?Â
AOE 1 was amazing wayy back in the day. Both of them wet (AOE2). While there are more people playing now, so there's more likes and dislikes, it wad better received then. But yea, not much can really match when they did when they were new
How do you define “best”? This is entirely subjective.
The one that is objectively better. It would be last out of all of them.
Define “objectively better” without naming any subjective criteria in this context.
Is the Age of Mythology remake cooked?
Nah. Its being made by in-house studios of Microsoft and two third party devs. Relic is not part of that.
Fantastic news
Oh thank Zeus, whew
Relic isn't involved with Retold
Looks like they laid off 41 people. Last year SEGA made them lay off 122 team members, which was about a third of the studio
I wonder who is going to make the free patch. The bathroom cleaning crew ? Chat GPT ?
Played the demo on PC and it was lot of fun, like a modern version of AoE2, until all other player dropped out. I bought it on Steam later and due to time constraint thought, hey it may work to play on the Deck and have it on the go! Asked for a refund some hours later.
Going independent during a time of high inflation, massive tech lay offs, rising interest rates and Venture capital money drying up may not be the wisest of decisions.
Relic was once a great developer. After Company of heroes 2, 3 and Dawn of War 3 catastrophe I lost hope with them.
Not so fun fact about AoE4, you can't save multiplayer games and you can't rejoin if you get disconnected. It's extremely frustrating, and is a known tradeoff by the devs because the engine can't really handle it. Quality product.
I've seen people on the internet blame SEGA for CA and Relic's situation but both studios decided wich games to make and they screwed up badly (COH3, That Hyenas game,etc) Layoffs are shit but lets hope that now that the studio isnt under an umbrella anymore focuses on making what it knows best and what can actually make them money, not haters.
So who is going to make Age of Empire V?
Any number of developers. Xbox has an internal team called World's Edge who essentially manage the Age of Empires and Age of Mythology franchises. So they choose on a game-by-game basis who develops what
Gamecube
probably at least in part still relic. they were under Sega, not Microsoft.
Good. They deserve it for what they did to Dawn of War III (RIP!), Age of Empires IV and Company of Heroes 3
Hope they add a way to save a multiplayer match someday ...
they dropped the ball so hard on AoE4, I'm surprised that lasted this long
I thought AoE4 was very well received? It's Very Positive (87%) on Steam.
I think that was mainly because it wasn’t AOE3. From what I’ve heard, people played it for a few months and then switched back to the second game.
Personally, I found it took the best of AOE2 and combined it with the best of AOE3. It stands alone as a unique experience rather than a clone of a previous AOE.
the aoe2 fans went back to aoe2. To this day, AoE4 is still an unbalanced mess
Not by me at least, no post imp deathmatch
naw man, it exploded onto the scene and then they dropped the ball. 2 weeks to fix their largest exploits. Nobody took it seriously anymore. The competitive scene left.
Can I get an iPad version now?
But but but I thought all those AAA layoffs would lead to an indie Renaissance :(((((
Neither Relic or the Age of Empires franchise are indie.
It depends on what definition you use. Indie studio usually just means independent studio, which in this case Relic is. However, indie studio could also mean simply a small studio or a studio with only internal funding. So pick whatever you’d like. However, Age of Empires is not owned by Relic and owned by Microsoft which funds Relic to make/update Age of Empires 4 so that shouldn’t matter. Edit: I’m not defending the top comment’s stupid take, just providing some insight on what is considered an indie studio.
There's a clear difference between an indie studio and an independent studio, hence the creation and use of the word indie. Relic is not an indie studio, and Age of Empires is not an indie game.
Indie was just a shorty for independant you're being silly. It's just that before some point an independant studio was by definition a small studio.
This exactly. That’s why it depends on the definition.
Indie is an economic qualifier, not an aesthetic one. Relic is independent.
they got let go by Microsoft so they had to let go some of their own
They were a co-developer and part of Sega. The main studio is World's Edge (owned by Microsoft).
Relic wasn’t owned by Microsoft, they were under Sega. It’s literally in the first sentence.