le_chevalier: For Steam version, if you go achievement hunting, playing offline doesn't unlock achievement. I've tried it.
I haven't tried GOG's version with Galaxy though.

Carradice: One question: the DLC do not add anything to the original campaign, do they? Just in randomized scenarios and the new campaigns and scenarios, right?

PasteurisedChrome: Yes, that's right.

Word of warning though:

Because the AI has been 'improved' since it was released in 2014, the original campaign will probably overrun you on anything other than easy, and even then you'll need to 'rush' a lot.

The first mission is a tutorial of sorts. Then it gets progressively more difficult.

Also, the campaigns are the worst way to experience the game. You'll have much more fun in a random created game of your own.

PasteurisedChrome: @Carradice

Yes, indeed. The base game and the DLCs have had loads of patches since release.

In, I think mission 3 of the original campaign, if you delay too much with your unit production and control of the map, the AI (Rogue) can get pretty big, pretty quickly, and you're in for either a whooping or a massive clean-up. :)

Also, in the random maps, a new victory condition was introduced called the 'Seals victory' in the Golden Realms DLC.

The 'mopping up' you needed to do in the original random games, where you have to annihilate every unit, could be shortcut for example.

Tom Chick @ Quarter to Three points this out here:

https://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2014/10/02/golden-realms-fulfills-promise-age-wonders-iii-adds-hobbits/

He gave the original game review a 3/5, but 5/5 with that DLC.

As well as adding their own campaigns and new victory conditions though, the new Necromancer class and races like Frostlings (think White walkers - Game of Thrones) and Tigrans introduced in Eternal Lords add so much more nuance to the game.

Necromancer means playing as an 'evil' character with completely different mechanics to that of a 'good' character.

PasteurisedChrome: @Carradice

Yes, indeed. The base game and the DLCs have had loads of patches since release.

In, I think mission 3 of the original campaign, if you delay too much with your unit production and control of the map, the AI (Rogue) can get pretty big, pretty quickly, and you're in for either a whooping or a massive clean-up. :)

Also, in the random maps, a new victory condition was introduced called the 'Seals victory' in the Golden Realms DLC.

The 'mopping up' you needed to do in the original random games, where you have to annihilate every unit, could be shortcut for example.

Tom Chick @ Quarter to Three points this out here:

https://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2014/10/02/golden-realms-fulfills-promise-age-wonders-iii-adds-hobbits/

He gave the original game review a 3/5, but 5/5 with that DLC.

As well as adding their own campaigns and new victory conditions though, the new Necromancer class and races like Frostlings (think White walkers - Game of Thrones) and Tigrans introduced in Eternal Lords add so much more nuance to the game.

Necromancer means playing as an 'evil' character with completely different mechanics to that of a 'good' character.

zeroxxx: Steam is needed to play the Steam version.

PasteurisedChrome: Also, on the Steam version, if you have the DLCs installed and play offline, the DLCs don't load either.