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Age of Wonders seriesThe State of AoW 3(19 posts)(19 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 29, 2015
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AdamEvil: My feeling is that this could have been one of the best games ever made. The tactical combat works so well, and the game has a great look. But they just made so many bad decisions that compromise the balance and fun. The class system doesn't really work because some classes are so much better, plus it keeps you from being able to SEE most of the game, I want to be able to build the units I like and not be forced to accept only building a handful. The class ultimate spells should be dumped, every one of them. Age of Magic, Wild Hunt, Global Assault; they all exacerbate the class imbalance issues.
Plus, they took such a lazy approach with so many of the Strategic world elements, from a lack of resources, to a meaningless and nonsensical alignment system.
I pray that someday, there will be comprehensive mod of this game that will do for it what Rise of Mankind did for CIV 4.
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Mimo: Re: Classes - From what I have read, some classes are better for the short game and others are better for the long game.

Re: Units - One must adjust strategy to the units available. This is true in most strategy games and helps separate the levels of play. If you have a race with lots of concealed units available, you become a back stabbing bastard. If you have lots of water based units, let the rivers be yours. Etc.

Re: Resources - Without scarcity, you never make tough decisions. 4X games should require strategic and tactical decisions, not just be a mad dash for an unlimited resource pile and infinite building like an early RTS.

Re: Alignment - Not sure how it works in AoW:3, but in the previous installments the Undead and good Elves had a tough time working hand in hand. This makes for a more realistic world rather than a bland, build the ultimate stack with whatever you want world.

I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the look and feel though. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm genuinely confused by some of your comments and want to give the benefit of the doubt to Triumph studios since they richly rewarded my playing time in AoW, AoW:2, and AoW:SM.
What I mean by a lack of resources, is that there are only a few things that you can acquire, and it's easy to get them all. The beauty of Civilization is how many types of resources there are, and the fact that it's easy to build an empire that lacks one or two vital resources. This forces you to trade, or attack to try to secure them. In AoW 3, there's only gold, mana, production and farms. Everyone can easily get access to all these things, so there's no reason to attack anyone or negotiate to acquire them. I once played a game with Allied Victory turned on, and completed the game without ever being at war with anyone.
And, you can build the ultimate stack in this game. Different races cause a slight morale penalty, but it has nothing to do with alignment. No race ( or class) is good or evil in AoW 3, which is part of the problem. Many units that should be alignment specific are attached to a class or race. So you can be a Pure Good Rogue, with an army of Succubi and assassins in tow. Or, an evil Theocrat with a bunch of Exalted (which are basically angels). It's just silly.
Posted February 27, 2015
Aow3 has been polished a lot through many patches and an expansion with a new expansion on its way at the end of march which reintroduces 2 races the frostlings and Tigrans making it 9 in total. The race relations, diplomacy, and morality system are being overhauled and expanded. It will also include a new Class necromancer, at least 3 more specializations and much more. The developers have the best commitment I have seen from any game design studio so are continually addressing the concerns of the players with each new version.

For me re-playability is assured by multiple branch campaigns, great scenarios, and an excellent random map generator where you can set many preferences for vastly varied game play.

My advice go back and finish the campaigns in preparation for the exciting continuation of the story including frostlings, tigrans, and Necromancers that's what i'm doing. ;)
Posted March 02, 2015
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AdamEvil: What I mean by a lack of resources, is that there are only a few things that you can acquire, and it's easy to get them all. The beauty of Civilization is how many types of resources there are, and the fact that it's easy to build an empire that lacks one or two vital resources. This forces you to trade, or attack to try to secure them. In AoW 3, there's only gold, mana, production and farms. Everyone can easily get access to all these things, so there's no reason to attack anyone or negotiate to acquire them. I once played a game with Allied Victory turned on, and completed the game without ever being at war with anyone.
See, this is one of the things I like about AoW 3 (and AoW in general). Personally I think AoW 3 has found the perfect balance between empire building and warfare. There's always a lot of suggestions to add more depth to the empire-building part of the game but I honestly think AoW would suffer overall from that. At the end of the day, the game is, first and foremost, about battles. You do build an empire, but ultimately that empire's only purpose is to make it easier for you to win battles.


My concern is that adding too much to the empire-building side will bog down the game too much and take the focus away from what the game does really well: Combat. When I want a deep, fantasy empire building experience, I'll boot up Dominions or Eador, or even Fall From Heaven, not Age of Wonders. But none of those games can even touch AoW 3 when it comes to combat.
Posted March 03, 2015
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AdamEvil: What I mean by a lack of resources, is that there are only a few things that you can acquire, and it's easy to get them all. The beauty of Civilization is how many types of resources there are, and the fact that it's easy to build an empire that lacks one or two vital resources. This forces you to trade, or attack to try to secure them. In AoW 3, there's only gold, mana, production and farms. Everyone can easily get access to all these things, so there's no reason to attack anyone or negotiate to acquire them. I once played a game with Allied Victory turned on, and completed the game without ever being at war with anyone.
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KingCrimson250: See, this is one of the things I like about AoW 3 (and AoW in general). Personally I think AoW 3 has found the perfect balance between empire building and warfare. There's always a lot of suggestions to add more depth to the empire-building part of the game but I honestly think AoW would suffer overall from that. At the end of the day, the game is, first and foremost, about battles. You do build an empire, but ultimately that empire's only purpose is to make it easier for you to win battles.

My concern is that adding too much to the empire-building side will bog down the game too much and take the focus away from what the game does really well: Combat. When I want a deep, fantasy empire building experience, I'll boot up Dominions or Eador, or even Fall From Heaven, not Age of Wonders. But none of those games can even touch AoW 3 when it comes to combat.
But what I'm really looking for is a reason to fight. I have no interest in playing a game that's about trade and diplomacy. I want a war game, but one that provides context to the wars. Whether that be because someone is good and someone else is bad, or just about neighbors who don't trust each other and want to make sure they have the upper hand, there needs to be a reason for the fighting. And, yes I know Triumph is working on that with the next update/expansion. I really hope the adjustments they're making to alignment and AI behaviors improves things, because I still play this game quite a bit, and I want it to be better.
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Age of Wonders seriesThe State of AoW 3(19 posts)(19 posts)
(19 posts)