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Age of Empires: Definitive Edition (AoE1 HD rerelease)

mbv123

Arbiter
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
917
Location
Lettland
>see thread title
>get excited
>hype is real
>realize it's for W10 only
>lose boner
I hope some russians or chinks use their potato/rice magic to make it compatible on OS that isn't spyware.
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
From Phil Spencer (Xbox boss) interview: http://www.pcgamer.com/phil-spencer...-to-go-do-on-improving-the-windows-store-uwp/

I'll wrap up with a nice one. Tell me a little bit behind the process behind how Microsoft decided to bring Age of Empires back. Had it been kicking around for a long time?

I want to give Shannon Loftis a ton of credit. Shannon's been in Microsoft Studios for a long time, and is somebody I've worked with and have a ton of respect for.

There's some franchises... it's interesting, as we're investing more in our first party, and we've looking at new IP in some of our existing franchises and things that do really well, Age is just one of those things that year after year on Steam, we see it continue to sell, even though the infrastructure that's underneath the game is creaking a little bit. The community's been there supporting it.

She said, you know, this is something we should bring onto our modern platform. Make it visually more up to speed. You're obviously not going to take that game and completely make it a 4K game and everything, but make it look something closer to modern. Support some of the Live features that we have. And then let's think about where this franchise can actually go.

We own it, so maybe it seems like we're talking about ourselves a little bit, but I think it's one of the important franchises in gaming, and I think it deserves a future.

It's the 20th anniversary. So this could be the start of the renaissance? That's how you feel about it?

I do. And I think the interesting thing is the community's been out there kind of supporting this game without us. And shame on us, right?

They crashed the website today.

[Laughs] I'm really excited. They crashed our website? I actually didn't see that.

Straight off the reveal. They had it back up quickly.

Good! Good. I was involved... I started working with Ensemble on Age 3, I think was the first one I as a studio manager was working with them on. That was a studio that had some real vision in what they wanted to do with this mix of history and RTS coming together. I think it's one of those franchises that deserves a great future.

I think other remasters were released on Steam because MS has been neglected them. Essentially they were second-party games like Quantom Break, Ori, and other MS-published games released on Steam.

And now it sounds like they want to actively capitalize Age, so I wouldn't hold my breath for release outside Windows Store.
 

Athelas

Arcane
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
4,502
Another remaster of an old game.....Here's a thought: why not make NEW games following the same template as the old ones? While I understand getting old stuff to a new audience is a reasonably low cost slam dunk, surely the success of most of these higher profile remasters shows that there's a market there for more in the same vein!
Halo_wars.png


:troll:
 

LESS T_T

Arcane
Joined
Oct 5, 2012
Messages
13,582
Codex 2014
Creative Assembly successfully inherited the legacy of Ensemble with Halo Wars 2. It's a worthy successor to work on the next new Age of Empires...for PC and XBOXOX.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Hahahahaha Windows Store, gimme a Steam release that works on Windows 7 or fuck off.

Also, the screenshots and video look terrible because the units are all split up and standing alone rather than walking in formations like they do in AoE2.

If they don't give units proper formations, this is gonna be shit. AoE1 pathfinding is terrible.
 

Vaarna_Aarne

Notorious Internet Vandal
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
34,585
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Cell S-004
MCA Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2
One thing I hope for in regards for this is that they don't use the Rise of Rome soundtrack, or at least most of it. A lot of it is just not on par with the base game's music, and far too much of it doesn't fit in at all with all the Command & Conquer aping. Like said before, the original soundtrack is a classic and should be included at least as an option.



So far, this looks like what AoE2 HD and (especially) AoM HD should have been.

AoM definitely, because it was 3D and 3D doesn't age well.

AoE and AoE 2 still have their charm.
Absolutely. Though I suppose TECHNICALLY they are 3D too, since the sprites are made out of 3D models. Though a key thing is that this method didn't lock them into low-poly 3D models.
 
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
997
Location
Dreams, where I'm a viking.
Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera
Windows Store only? A mistake MS will find out having to rectify within weeks. This shit will be released on Steam.

While it is definitely going to seriously harm sales, I'm wondering if Microsoft would release a beloved classic primarily (or solely?) to drive use of the Windows store. For a company like MS, the platform's success may do more for their stock price than game sales.
 

Grif

Learned
Joined
Nov 4, 2016
Messages
231
While it is definitely going to seriously harm sales, I'm wondering if Microsoft would release a beloved classic primarily (or solely?) to drive use of the Windows store. For a company like MS, the platform's success may do more for their stock price than game sales.

It's not the first time they did it. See: HALO 2 on Windows Vista.
 

Martius

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Messages
1,058
Its hard to tell. So far few windows store games got released on steam but these are smaller ones like Halo mobile game, Ori, first Halo Wars and Quantum Break. Even if that will be windows store exclusive I doubt it will help Microsoft at all. Maybe its good enough for them to dump pc versions of their games, its not for other publishers. Without deals like Rise of Tomb Raider or Dead Rising 4 there are - Call of Duty Infinite Warfare, Resident Evil 7 and Shadow of War later this year. Not impressive lineup.
 

passerby

Arcane
Joined
Nov 16, 2016
Messages
2,788
Those new graphics are yuck, so smooth and soulless

Here is a nice comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=labJ5H05mDQ a very mixed bag imo.

Everything is rendered with a lot ambient occlusion and texture filtering and appears blurry and washed out, that is not how you do sprites for a 2d game.

There is no nice tileset for transition between different types terrain just lazy, blurry, texture blend. Compare patches of grass and sea shore, ridiculous.
Less variety in flora appearance, but they put a spruce tree from temperate climate into mediterranean setting, fucking retards.

Buldings have a bit more details, some huge changes in style, but not worse or better, just different. Despite some blurriness rather positive change.
Units models seem to have a bit more details than original sprites, but due to the way everything is rendered it's hard to notice it, but overall I like them.
Seems like they have a lot more frames and animation is nice and smooth compared to originals, I like.

To summarise. Terrain looks worse. Buldings display little improvement, units are nice, with new animations.
 
Last edited:

naossano

Cipher
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
1,232
Location
Marseilles, France
Dunno from where i've read it, but apparently the original will also be included in the release. I hope they will spice it with workshop and multi. Don't care much about new graphics. But being more accessible is a plus.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
I splurged with fanboyism over the first game. I know because I played the demo for hundreds of hours until my parents let me have the full game - and only then as a holiday present when we were on a family holiday in the US. I then had to carry it in my suitcase for three weeks until we got back home. AoE is one of the games that defined my childhood.

And I think the remaster looks better.

I do hope the original is available though - I think all 'remasters' should do it, so people know just how far we have come, but also understand the charm of pixel graphics compared to modern 3D methods.
 

skycycle

Educated
Joined
Jan 15, 2017
Messages
57
Location
Amsterdam, NL
I do hope the original is available though - I think all 'remasters' should do it, so people know just how far we have come, but also understand the charm of pixel graphics compared to modern 3D methods.

Agree with this, though it depends on the actual release format. I own the HD version of AoE2 + a few of the expansion on Steam, and that one was designed in a way that essentially makes the above unnecessary. AoE1 is much older though, and carries with it a different charm, so it makes more sense to include the original version as well.

Will we ever get a proper sequel? For a second during this E3 reveal I thought 'Can Microsoft pull a rabbit out of the hat and announce AoE4'?
 

Zanzoken

Arcane
Joined
Dec 16, 2014
Messages
3,558
I hate RTS now but man I played the fuck out of Age of Empires when I was a kid.

I would buy it on Steam for $5 just for nostalgia sake but the stupid Microsoft store can fuck off.
 

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,228
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth


Coming October 19th.
 

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