Age of Empires Online

[Brad Grenz]

Just announced.

From Robot, a team of former Ensemble developers. From the PR:

Developed by Robot Entertainment, "Age of Empires Online" will invite players to create a living, growing online world, shared with friends and friendly rivals around the globe. Begin the journey with your own Greek civilization, and watch as it progresses from a village to an empire. Embark on quests along the way, alone or with friends, and immerse yourself in epic tales, quirky characters, adventure, history and strategy. Together with the Games for Windows – LIVE service, "Age of Empires Online" delivers a rich, social experience that lets you play however you want - anywhere, anytime.

Marrying fresh features with iconic gameplay, "Age of Empires Online" offers something for long-time fans, newcomers and everyone in between. "Age of Empires Online" will feature:

* A persistent online capital city that lives and grows even when you're offline
* Cooperative multiplayer quests, trading and a level-based system that lets you progress at your own pace
* Fun, approachable style and storylines
* Free-to-play experiences via Games for Windows – LIVE

Free to play? Hmm. I suspect it'll be more like Ikariam than Age of Empires.

[Jason Cross]

GASP!

Trailer up at: http://www.ageofempiresonline.com/

Interesting change of style. Sort of cartoony in the blizzard way. And it's all ancient Greece themed.

Also, beta sign-up on the site.

I'm not sure it's an entirely "free to play" game. That "Free to play experiences vs GFWL" thing isn't exactly clear. The FAQ (http://www.ageofempiresonline.com/faq/) says:
Q: How much will it cost?
A: Stay tuned for more details.
Q: Will there be a retail product, or will Age of Empires Online be available as a download only?
A: It will be digitally distributed.

So it may be the standard "freemium" model going on these days where you pay money to buy boosts and stuff to your economy or unlock buildings or whatever, or it may be something a little different (free limited time, pay for more time).

I do like that it's digital distribution only and that they say "download and play almost anywhere" on the site.

[TurinTur]

Age of Farmville.

[Brad Grenz]

Eurogamer (by virtue of being awake during Gamescom) has a trailer: http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/age-...line-trailer-2

I actually like the graphic style. I even think a sense of persistence is long overdue for RTS games, but we'll have to see how the realtime combat actually interacts with the civ-building aspect.

You can also apply for the beta here.

[Chris Nahr]

The FAQ really does make the game sound like Age of Farmville with mini-quests that encourage players to buy better horse armor from the online store. :(

[Rock8man]

That art style: ouch. Definitely not a game for me.

[Stelios]

Oh, it requires that cursed (and still not supported in my country) abomination, Games For Windows Live. One more reason to jump on this immediately.

[cliffski]

Oh for fucks sake. Free to play and games for windows live? Seriously?
Has it occured to them that people who were young keen gamers when AOE first came out and crave a new version, are now older, better-paid and don't need a patronising 'it's free!!!!(not really) business model to suck us in?

Just re-make AOE II, with modern graphics and UI, and I will give you my money. And if you think I'm going to install GFWL alongside impulse and steam, you are delusional.

10)Bah!
20)moan
30)complain
40)whine
50) goto 10;

[TurinTur]

That art style: ouch. Definitely not a game for me.

Rock8man, why do you hate nice things like freedom, puppies and fun?

[Rock8man]

Rock8man, why do you hate nice things like freedom, puppies and fun?

I'm just a scrooge like that.

It looks okay in screenshots. Like pages right out of an Asterix & Obelix comic. But I think it looks terrible in action in that trailer. The animations really emphasize the cartoony art style. Those exaggerated animations just aren't my cup of tea. You can keep your freedom, puppies and fun. I'll be over here playing games with art styles that don't make my brain bleed.

[Dan_Theman]

I've wanted another Age of Empires for years, and I'm sad to say this won't do it for me. I wish the devs all the luck in the world, but I'll likely be passing on putting anything into this. The whole online/persistant world/multiplayer experience just isn't my cup of tea no matter what pricing model they use.

[kerzain]

Squinches eyes shut, covers ears, "LA LA LA LA LA".

I always imagine that sometime way back when, when Age of Empires (or any game) is first imagined, it is imagined by a people who want to play that type of game. Sure, non-gaming staff is hired and the project ends up being funded by soulless corporations.. and there are copy cat games trying to cash in, but at some point I imagine there was some guy sitting there saying to himself "This is the type of game I want to play, so this is the type of game I am going to make!". I don't get that vibe with Farmville or other social games. I Just can't imagine a game designer saying, "I'm making the game of my dreams!"

There are so many talented and successful game designers and studios out there who seem to have given up creating games with players and have instead gone after games with users, all in the hope of creating the next social cash cow.... god dammit all.

[Strato]

Didn't Microsoft effectively screw Ensemble over by letting them go? Why then would Robot want to have a game that effectively supports Games for Windows Live?

Early days to say whether I like the premise of this game. With all the cutesy graphics though, and the use of ancient Greece, I'm thinking that an Age of Mythology spin off would have been better. Don't know why, just personal opinion.

[TheJare]

at some point I imagine there was some guy sitting there saying to himself "This is the type of game I want to play, so this is the type of game I am going to make!". I don't get that vibe with Farmville or other social games. I Just can't imagine a game designer saying, "I'm making the game of my dreams!"

Outside of exceptional individuals and circumstances, only wanting to make the games that you want to play tends to be quite limiting, and often is just a nice coat of passion that covers a lack of professionalism.

And there's nothing wrong with being driven by the desire to make a game that many people will want to play.

[cliffski]

The thing about making dream game vs cynical game, is not just that theere are not that many people making dream games, but more a matter of visibility.
Look at Dwarf Fortress and Mount n Blade. Those are clearly games done for the lvoe of gaming (I stcik my own games in that category too). The problem is, the only visibiltyi those games tend to have is word of mouth. They just can't compete in the PR stakes with big companeis with piles of cash willing to spend the equivilant of the dev budget as the PR budget.

Ultimately, ad-space goes to the highest bidder. Right now, that creates a situation where Dark orbit and Evony out-bid me every time, and I suspect Evony outbids MnB every time.

It's like Douglas adams and his shoe-shope conomy of the future. People aren't just making cynical browser games because they are cynical, they are doing so because the success of games like that makes marketing more enthusiast games impossible.

[Tyjenks]

I am just about ready to be completely done with browser-based strategy games. The features vary by small degrees, but most turn into the same snooze-fest later in the game.

[Sir Digby]

Age of Farmville.

You read my mind.

Also, I do like the art style, there are already a gazillion gritty and realistic games, a shame that they are going for the whole "facebook game" feel though.

[kerzain]

I never thought of the classic Age of Empires look as being 'gritty'. Realistic? Sure, but bright and vivid, sometimes majectic.. not so much gritty.

[André Costa]

I'm happy that Xemu & friends have a new project that will hopefully be successful.

[Tyjenks]

I'm happy that Xemu & friends have a new project that will hopefully be successful.

Xemu does seem to know a little something about strategy gaming. ;)

Here's to this one breaking the mold! Cheers!!!

[Xemu]

Hey guys! Glad this news finally broke. This is Robot's first major game, and I've been involved on it since the very beginning.

While I can understand where some of the concerns come from, IMO, they are unfounded (or at least, the benefits of changes outweigh the downsides). I would recommend having an open mind and checking out the beta. And hey, given the cost / distribution model, the barrier to you checking out the real game for yourself when it's eventually out is quite low. :)

It is most definitely NOT a browser game, and while I can see how people make the Farmville / Ikarium connection from the limited info out there, it's a quite inaccurate comparison. In fact I'd go as far as to say that it's the deepest RTS in the Age series (or at the very least, on par with Age 3 -- way deeper in some areas, more streamlined in others). We've spent a lot more time making sure that it is accessible out of the gate to people who aren't already hard core RTS fanatics.

I'd say those screenshots are more indicative of the "feel" of the art look than the spliced together bits from the trailer, but of course YMMV. It is consciously getting away from the more realistic vibe that we used in Age 3, more towards the original Age 1 look extrapolated forward. I would imagine there will be more Gamescom coverage and media in the future for you to check out, but the shift in tone is definitely one more towards being stylized, and not at all towards being "kiddie".

The GFWL aspects are going to be interesting to see. Obviously the GFWL platform has had some bumpy moments but the game was built with it in mind from Day One, and I think you'll find it a much more cleanly integrated online experience than some of the pastiche of various technologies games with it have used in the past. It definitely brings to the table some cool elements that we didn't have back when we were writing the online infrastructure all ourselves at Ensemble.

Obviously, I'm somewhat biased. :) Really, I'm most excited to just be able to talk about it at all! Due to an unfortunate series of cancelled games within Ensemble, I haven't been publicly on a game I helped create from the beginning since like 2003.

Also as a pretty freaking hardcore strategy gamer, I can't wait for it to go live so I can play it "for real" with other folks.

[Tyjenks]

It is most definitely NOT a browser game,...

Excellent. Sorry for the mis-characterization.

I bet you have been bursting at the seams to tell folks around here. Will definitely give it a try based on your description. Good luck!!!

[Cubit]

Thanks for the info, Xemu. Bummer we have to wait till 2011 to play the release version.

[TurinTur]

Oh for fucks sake. Free to play and games for windows live? Seriously?
Has it occured to them that people who were young keen gamers when AOE first came out and crave a new version, are now older, better-paid and don't need a patronising 'it's free!!!!(not really) business model to suck us in?

Just re-make AOE II, with modern graphics and UI, and I will give you my money. And if you think I'm going to install GFWL alongside impulse and steam, you are delusional.

This being a project under Microsoft's umbrella, i don't think they have the choice of refusing GFWL.

[Dan_Theman]

Xemu -

Can the game still be played in a SP skirmish mode against multiple enemies from different empires? That's how both my son and I spent the vast majority of our AoE 3 hours. MP is just not in the cards for either of us.

[Xemu]

Can the game still be played in a SP skirmish mode against multiple enemies from different empires? That's how both my son and I spent the vast majority of our AoE 3 hours. MP is just not in the cards for either of us.

I can't get into much specifics without bringing down the Wrath of Marketing. I think you'll find Age Online works quite well with that style of gameplay. We have a much stronger element of co-op play than any of our past games (both in the normal sense of a co-op RTS but also in a lot of new ways).

There's not a ton of detail there, but the Official Page(tm) talks some about co-op at the very bottom:

http://www.ageofempiresonline.com/features/

[HumanTon]

Quite sincerely, that is a very nice art style. The only problem is that it's a very nice art style for a builder about creating a summer vacation resort.

[Sir Digby]

So I guess it's a Greek-only themed Age of Empires? No Egyptians or Romans or Celts or whatnot? *sad puppy face*

Also, walls, you can't have greek city states without walls... right?

[KevinC]

Good luck, Xemu. I have to admit that I'm very skeptical, "online" and "free to play", not to mention "Games for Windows Live" haven't exactly been associated in my mind with good things.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, though, and will check this out with an open mind in 2011!

[Alan Au]

It looks like it resembles an RTS game more than a traditional f2p game, and so it'll be interesting to see how the two come together.

I'm not excited about GFWL though, partly because someone is squatting on my preferred username. :(

- Alan