It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Age of Wonders 3(167 posts)(167 posts)
(167 posts)
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
This is my favourite topic
Posted March 31, 2014
The chronicle of the Third Era is yours to write!

Age of Wonders III, the long-anticipated continuation to the fan-favorite, award-winning strategy series, set in a robust and beautiful world that becomes the scene for diverse, complex, and engaging gameplay, is available for pre-orders on GOG.com. Depending on your location you'll be charged $39.99 or the USD equivalent of £29.99, or €39.99. An extended Age of Wonders III - Deluxe Edition, featuring a full soundtrack and the Dragon's Throne standalone scenario, is available for $44.99, £34.99, or €39.99.

Imagine! Empires rising and falling before your very eyes, led to victory or defeat by heroes of legend so powerful that they appear to be titans in the eyes of mortals. Sorcerers harness the arcane powers to bend the rules of the world around them. Theocrats twist the wills of their followers with the holy aura bestowed upon them by their deities for their zealous service. Rogues rule the shadows, taking any chance to strike and win before their foes even realize there is a war to fight. Warlords earn the loyalty of their legions by the glory gained in the many battles they emerged from, victorious. Archdruids become one with nature, and the land itself rushes to their aid. Dreadnoughts rely on the art of engineering to construct their unstoppable artificial armies. All those powers, all of their miraculous exploits, all of their desires, all thrown into one realm of war. This shall truly be an age of wonders!

With Age of Wonders III, Triumph Studios aims to set new standards not only for the acclaimed Age of Wonders series, but also for the turn-based strategy genre itself. Taking advantage of all the modern gaming bells and whistles, the title will deliver an impressive level of complexity in gameplay and an immersive, lush, and diverse gameworld that can become your own for hundreds of hours. With the ability to choose one of the six leader classes, you'll be able to custom-tailor your empire--and by extension your experience with the game--to your personal gameplay style, so you can enjoy the extensive campaign the game offers in any way you like. You'll be leading into battle armies recruited from within six humanoid races as well as some fantastic creatures and mythical monsters. The turn-based tactical combat itself will prove to be a challenge for the most seasoned of strategy gamers but also scalable enough for beginners to enjoy. With over 50 location types to explore and exploit, hundreds of abilities to master for tactical and strategic advantage over your foes, visually stunning presentation, and a smart random scenario generator providing virtually limitless replayability, this title can become the only turn-based strategy game you'll need for many years to come!

Get Age of Wonders III, for only $39.99 or the USD equivalent of £29.99, or €39.99 on GOG.com (or opt in for the splendid Age of Wonders III - Deluxe Edition), and enter the fantastic realm of power and dominion, which will consume you whole.

NOTICE: We've made sure that the price difference is by large covered by the extra gift codes you'll receive, so here's our Fair Price Package offer :
+ The Fair Price Package for our UK customers affected by local prices is one $9.99 code for anyone who buys the Standard Edition, and two $5.99 codes for the Deluxe Edition.
+ For other European customers affected by local prices the Fair Price Package for Standard Edition is now $9.99 code and one $5.99 code, and for the Deluxe Edition it's three $5.99 codes.
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Andanzas: This is kinda hilarious:
avatar
Crosmando: Kinda sad actually

rip in peace indie gaming
Indie gaming is doing quite well, actually :)

It's because of indie gaming we have Papers, Please or Ether One or any other cool and interesting game that would have NEVER been made by your standard AAA studio because they would be worried about whether they would make back their money.

The wonderful thing about digital distribution is the fact that you can have games like Goat Simulator share the same space as other, more serious games and not lose out on shelf space while leaving more choice for everyone involved.

This is coming from someone who was gaming in the 90s :)
Posted April 02, 2014
It depends what you mean on "shelf space", because as you'll probably know there has been many people saying Steam is in danger of sucking oxygen and exposure away from "bigger" releases with constant low-budget indie games crowding the "new" list. Of course I'm not suggesting only AAA games need to be sold, but even when your indie-focused like GOG you need to be selective in some way. This is why you only release about 4 games a week right, so all releases get good exposure time.

There needs to be some self-regulation on the part of distributors, some form of quality control, it is the reason I assume GOG doesn't sell every "XYZ Simulator" and their hundreds of $ of DLC here on GOG, or every indie puzzle game.

The market, even the digital market, is not a infinite thing, it only takes so much to overcrowd the market and make customers loose confidence in the quality of certain types of games. Who can say that "low-budget indie shovelware" won't become a common perception in the future in the same way low budget Atari games became in the early 80's?

EDIT: I am NOT talking about the different types of games, I am all for weird and whacky, games that no publisher nowadays would ever fund. Harvester is weird, "I Have No Mouth" is weird, "Goat Simulator" is something that was probably put together over a weekend and most of the production costs was licensing the engine. I would be surprised if any real work went into it at all.
Post edited April 02, 2014 by Crosmando
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Crosmando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN2QUhaKN2Q

They actually promote the game based on it being buggy, they say THEY WILL NEVER TAKE THE BUGS OUT EXCEPT CTD BUGS, because they find them funny, this is the very definition of terrible practice.

And I wouldn't call it a simulator either, considering that I'm pretty sure goats can't jump that high.... it's more like a mental physics tech demo with absolutely no QA at all. If you're OK with that, that's fine too.
Except:
1. They've already patched it.
2. They will be taking out bugs, but ones that have humorous effects (e.g. models stretching/breaking) will remain.
3. It's a bit of fun.
4. It was never intended for release anyway.

As someone who owns Goat Sim? Aside from some performance issues, it's not bad at all. But they've never done anything except market it as a stupid, rushed, spontaneous thing. It's not a 'serious' release, and it never will be. It went viral, and they've capitalised on that. Can you blame them?

And FWIW, I've spent more time playing AoW3 than Goat Sim (which I got last Friday as I'd pre-ordered).

avatar
Crosmando: There needs to be some self-regulation on the part of distributors, some form of quality control, it is the reason I assume GOG doesn't sell every "XYZ Simulator" and their hundreds of $ of DLC here on GOG, or every indie puzzle game.
Yes, there does. And that's an issue with Steam at the minute. GamersGate has a lot of these European sims, because it caters more specifically for a European market. So there is a lot of utter trash on GamersGate, but they sell the better games too, and a bunch of indies. GOG doesn't sell "every indie puzzle game" because it's not possible, and GOG isn't as indie-focused as you think. There are devs that have basically been turned away by GOG despite having highly successful games.

GOG also don't sell "every simulator" because they don't have a contract with UIG, who are one of the biggest publishers of sim titles, but also because they are generally poor quality releases that would not sell on this site at all. There is no reason for GOG to pick them up, and as such they don't.
Post edited April 02, 2014 by coldalarm
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Niggles: Dont u think theres a difference between wild ideas and just... weird? :P
Is there? Can you give me an example of something you consider weird and an example of something you consider wild?
Would you classify a paraplegic driving homicidal as weird or wild? How about a bureaucrat simulation? What about managing a colony of ants? Managing planet?
Or how about dating pigeons? Is that weird or wild?
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
JMich: Is there? Can you give me an example of something you consider weird and an example of something you consider wild?
Would you classify a paraplegic driving homicidal as weird or wild? How about a bureaucrat simulation? What about managing a colony of ants? Managing planet?
Or how about dating pigeons? Is that weird or wild?
The difference is some kind of minimum man-hours that's gone into the project, not just a cheap weekend job based on an engine license.

If you want something weird, well there's Pathologic or The Void by the same developer, you won't get much weirder than that. But you know the difference is those are ~real~ games with real production values (for an indie), they show the creativity and hard-work of the developers. Goat Simulator is the opposite of that, it's a piece of shit being viralled purely based on "HURR DURR SO FUNNAH" cargo cult mentality on the internet.

EDIT: And yes I know there's a visual novel about dating pigeons, so what it has a proper story-line with choices and artwork (I assume) like most Japanese VN's, it isn't being promoted based on how bad it is as software (the the Goat Sim devs are doing saying bugs are funny).
Post edited April 02, 2014 by Crosmando
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Crosmando: If you want something weird, well there's Pathologic or The Void by the same developer, you won't get much weirder than that. But you know the difference is those are ~real~ games with real production values (for an indie), they show the creativity and hard-work of the developers. Goat Simulator is the opposite of that, it's a piece of shit being viralled purely based on "HURR DURR SO FUNNAH" cargo cult mentality on the internet.
Neither Pathologic nor The Void were by the devs of Goat Sim.
Posted April 02, 2014
Obviously, I'm just saying those games are incredibly weird but also are well-made as software products.

EDIT: Alright I'll STFU now, this isn't the thread for it.
Post edited April 02, 2014 by Crosmando
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Crosmando: Obviously, I'm just saying those games are incredibly weird but also are well-made as software products.
I would not call Pathological weird, as such. A bit disturbing, maybe, but not weird. I would also not call it a well-made software product, due to bugs and limitations in the software (but it is a very good game), and it can be improved quite a lot.

I think that the difference between weird and wild has nothing to do with the amount of man hours, but the content. For me weird is term describing more abstract content, whereas wild would describe a product taking a lot of chances.
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: ...It's because of indie gaming we have Papers, Please or Ether One or any other cool and interesting game that would have NEVER been made by your standard AAA studio because they would be worried about whether they would make back their money. ...
I guess that Indie developers probably also are worried about getting their investments back. Probably they are willing to take a higher risk though, higher personal risk in any case.

You name a few successful indie games but I wonder how many unsuccessful indie games there are for each good one. The bottom of the digital stores are probably full of casual plattformers or other indie games which are only mediocre or sometimes even worse and sell far below production costs. Then being an indie would not be a profession but more like an expensive hobby.

I'm not sure what will happen to indie gaming in the future but I could imagine the successful indie gaming studios become a lot more professional, like the AAA studios from today. And maybe even AAA studios will rediscover what creativity and originality really means. Who knows...

Maybe the 90s are coming again.
Post edited April 02, 2014 by Trilarion
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: ...It's because of indie gaming we have Papers, Please or Ether One or any other cool and interesting game that would have NEVER been made by your standard AAA studio because they would be worried about whether they would make back their money. ...
avatar
Trilarion: I guess that Indie developers probably also are worried about getting their investments back. Probably they are willing to take a higher risk though, higher personal risk in any case.

You name a few successful indie games but I wonder how many unsuccessful indie games there are for each good one. The bottom of the digital stores are probably full of casual plattformers or other indie games which are only mediocre or sometimes even worse and sell far below production costs. Then being an indie would not be a profession but more like an expensive hobby.

I'm not sure what will happen to indie gaming in the future but I could imagine the successful indie gaming studios become a lot more professional, like the AAA studios from today. And maybe even AAA studios will rediscover what creativity and originality really means. Who knows...

Maybe the 90s are coming again.
It depends on the indie dev :) For example, the developer of Gunpoint is, or was?, an editor at PC Gamer and he did the game as a side project.
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
JudasIscariot: ... It depends on the indie dev :) For example, the developer of Gunpoint is, or was?, an editor at PC Gamer and he did the game as a side project.
Expensive hobby then, at least at first. And he had some help on the artistic side of the game.
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Crosmando: It depends what you mean on "shelf space", because as you'll probably know there has been many people saying Steam is in danger of sucking oxygen and exposure away from "bigger" releases with constant low-budget indie games crowding the "new" list. Of course I'm not suggesting only AAA games need to be sold, but even when your indie-focused like GOG you need to be selective in some way. This is why you only release about 4 games a week right, so all releases get good exposure time.

There needs to be some self-regulation on the part of distributors, some form of quality control, it is the reason I assume GOG doesn't sell every "XYZ Simulator" and their hundreds of $ of DLC here on GOG, or every indie puzzle game.

The market, even the digital market, is not a infinite thing, it only takes so much to overcrowd the market and make customers loose confidence in the quality of certain types of games. Who can say that "low-budget indie shovelware" won't become a common perception in the future in the same way low budget Atari games became in the early 80's?

EDIT: I am NOT talking about the different types of games, I am all for weird and whacky, games that no publisher nowadays would ever fund. Harvester is weird, "I Have No Mouth" is weird, "Goat Simulator" is something that was probably put together over a weekend and most of the production costs was licensing the engine. I would be surprised if any real work went into it at all.
I do hope Steam will not listen to voices like this. Personally, what I like about steam is that is has everything. I'm not interested in 95% of the games there, but love the 5%. If they applied this "logic" they could cut the 5% I like. A game does not require time on main page of steam, only a few games can get there. Still there are other ways to promote your game and use steam for distribution. And tags are doing a really good job, if you specify the tags you are interested in you will see only a handful of games. And that's the way to do it.

Also I am not sure if low number of releases on gog is their conscious choice, or simply due to the fact that not that many publishers want to publish on gog...
Posted April 02, 2014
Actually, Steam was actually *reasonably* conservative on the number of releases, it wasn't till last year and Greenlight and everything till basically everything on the kitchen sink on the new releases page, what effect this will have on Steam itself is yet to be seen, my view is that over the long term it won't be beneficial, why do you think they're phasing out Greenlight altogether? (I mean the real reason, not the press release)

Yes apparently Valve think there's ways they can "fix" this problem, with tags or any ways to sort and search for games, but can Steam ever phase out the "front page", of course not. Market saturation is a real thing in economics, it does happen and the digital games industry is not immune.

And really, it's not just me saying this, there's been a few big voices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLNh5HPbQPo
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/8753-Steam-Needs-Quality-Control
Post edited April 02, 2014 by Crosmando
Posted April 02, 2014
avatar
Crosmando: Kinda sad actually

rip in peace indie gaming
avatar
JudasIscariot: Indie gaming is doing quite well, actually :)

It's because of indie gaming we have Papers, Please or Ether One or any other cool and interesting game that would have NEVER been made by your standard AAA studio because they would be worried about whether they would make back their money.

The wonderful thing about digital distribution is the fact that you can have games like Goat Simulator share the same space as other, more serious games and not lose out on shelf space while leaving more choice for everyone involved.

This is coming from someone who was gaming in the 90s :)
I have a concept for a game for a NZ audience. Sheeple, would go along the lines of sheep disguising them selves as people, maybe an adventure game or sim who knows. Actually I was just taking the opportunity to have a dig at our NZ neighbours :)


--- on another tangent ---
Hmm interesting tagging on the soundtrack. The FLAC version seems to be missing a few tags here and there, artist, album etc. Most amusing of all is the FLAC soundtrack genre is apparently "A Cappella" while the MP3 soundtrack is "Symphony" yet to my ears they sound kind of similar :)

Never worry between the tags on the MP3 version and a bit of manual application I'll have my FLAC version updated properly soon. Fixing track numbers, putting in the track titles (how that got missed I don't know), MP3 version has those but looks like it was a copy paste job as it includes track numbers in the titles.

I'll never understand why game companies take such little care when it comes to tagging soundtracks. Maybe I'm just too obsessive when it comes to my music collection. I guess after ripping a couple of thousand CDs over the last number of years I get fussy.
Post edited April 02, 2014 by deonast
Posted April 02, 2014
I have a question about possible DRM in this game. I saw one review on GOG about this game supposedly having DRM in a form of a forced online activation with mandatory online account in order to access to the full features of the game + dlc support. Can somebody clarify this?
Link to the review: http://www.gog.com/game/age_of_wonders_3#reviews=2
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Age of Wonders 3(167 posts)(167 posts)
(167 posts)