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anyone playing Age of Empires Online?
newbinator
Member Posts: 780
I snagged a beta key from curse, and damn this game is very cool. I see TONS of potential for this. Anyone else playing?
Comments
Is it a real MMO? Open world and stuff? Without instances?
Hype train -> Reality
How does it differ from regular old AOE multiplayer? Is it persistant or just another lobby game with a fee?
Its not a MMO. its a instanced world like all other non mmo.
Dont et the Online part of the Title confuse you. DnD Online pulled this same stunt to bring in Subs using Guild Wars/Diablo 2 design. It flopped in their face because people arent going to pay for stuff like that as a MO as they would like you to believe.
the "Online" trick is part of marketing, because most people assume its going to be a MMO of some kind, and not just a multiplayer game with Online Connection requirements.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
What your describing makes it sound like AOE without the campaigns/off-line play. Is that an accurate assessment or are those game styles still available? If not, it sort of sounds a lot like the single-player DRM'd games that require internet connection to play, but then those have single-player campaigns/story-line play generally. I suppose the actual question is if this is just an online RTS with a familiar IP.
I ask as I really enjoyed the AOE series and it is perhaps my favorite for business travel where I don't have, or don't want to use the available (i.e. airport wifi), internet connection. So as a curious, but casual fan of the series.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
I'll try to explain the game,
So you have your capital city, this is where you build game specific buildings like a construction building that sells you blueprints for other buildings, or an item shop building where you can buy gear for your army etc. Then there are certain NPC's in your capital city who offer you quests. Once you accept and start a quest, thats where the AoE part of the game begins.
Quests are like your normal single player campaigns in AoE. There is a talent tree and levels, every level you get 2 points to spend on the talent tree and unlock things from Economy, Military and one more I can remember. These unlocks come into play inside the quest where you build your actualy barracks and town centers and docks and houses and armies.
Most quests can be done in co-op mode as well and there is a PvP aspect which I havent explored yet. All in all it doesnt really feel like an MMO, it feels like a lobby based game I would be playing off Steam by looking for matches and joining them
My Brute - Dare to challenge?
Its definitely not a MMO but so enjoyable, it feels sort of like AOE 2 to me.
The only difference is that you can actually obtain items to improve your units with.
I actually posted a 40 minute youtube video on AOE online because It's NDA was lifted.
You can find that here. ( It'll show you the map where you obtain blueprints, some missions(Campaign replacement i suppose?) and the tech tree as well as the obtainable items you can equip to units.
So yeah... I skipped 3, not sure what similarties it has to that - But It's free to play, why not play it?
I'd also like to mention that when i saw the change in graphics in trailers and such, i was horrified... But now that I've actually played the game i really like them.
game sucks... Its a polished version of evony with better graphics and less wait times.
I am failing to see the reason why the games sucks based on your comment
CurrentlyPlaying:League Of Draaaven.
"this site needs a graveyard forum for us to mourn."
if anyone got a extra key or one that they wont be using i be glad to take it
I played for a good bit, its an awesome game, ill be playing again after the closed beta.
People, don't get me wrong, but isn't it waaaay too cartoonish...? Not that the original one had too much of a strategy element, but this is way too childish...
Due to overwhelming interest, we're opening the beta up one final time. This really is the LAST change to gain access to the Age of Empires Online beta.
RIGHT now through Friday, June 17th at 9am (-7 GMT), you can download the beta athttp://www.ageofempiresonline.com/betaplay
After 9am Friday morning, if you haven't downloaded the beta, you'll have to wait until we release the final product on August 16th!
Let your friends know, and unofficial beta key request thread, go to town!
Community Manager
http://forums.ageofempiresonline.com/forums/thread/66912.aspx
for anyone that wants to try and help get those last bugs out of the way
Hey folks,
It appears the bigger lack of clarity is (this regards information not widely spread) how this is an MMO(RTS)?
As explained, you have a home town. This is an instance, and you cannot be attacked. Scratch any semblance to Evony and similar products.
You *can* build things there, and I do mean a lot of things (dozen different shops for instance, by the time you hit 40) and many of them give NPC contacts or other bonuses. Like the Advisor Hall (defo one of the more interesting game AoE additions) where you can 'install' Advisors (they give interesting abilities/buffs) for each Age you get to. Collect them all
.
Mostly it is instanced: your player town, your games (you have co-op *and* PvP - 1vs1 or 2vs2 - play), and the other lands and towns you visit, no other players *walking around*. But...you can *visit* other player's towns. And buy things there. And get quests (this is defo a work in progress).
What you do not have is a Skirmish mode and right now, that is the most eye-catching omission I find. I would consider it a deal-breaker if it was not for the fact that I have a lot of fun with the Campaigns; then again past level 30 things do get stale for the non-hardcore-PvP crowd.
So, whether or not you consider it a MMO(RTS) is up to you; points can be made either way. There is a community and very active trading. People are LFG *all* the time (for the co-op or PvP). To me, it feels like MM, but a mere definition does not limit my experience 8-).
About the graphics, I only use a 'saying' about once every decade or so but I will be persuaded: 'Do not judge a book (etc.)'.
It is the gameplay that counts, and even if the graphics are specifically designed to keep a light humorous tone (think the first Warcraft) the actual game plays like, I would have to say, Age of Empires 2 ++. That is double-plus. A *lot* added.
Also, a few 'hardcore' elements absent (friendly fire; attack ground).
In any case, as for all games: if it is free, make up your mind by playing. If that means you have to *not* trash or troll or fboi-oh-boyo until the game actually releases and you have dissected it expertly within 15 minutes, well, tough
.
Lucas
PS EDITED in: we all forgot to mention crafting. Lots of it - production, making stuff, learning, blueprints etc. ad nauseam.
* I say, there is no
* darkness but ignorance.
-
* Twelfth-night; or, What You Will
its a cool game, I definately will be playing it when it goes live. Been playing for about 2 months now.
the cool aspects of this game are the equipment, being able to have a good guild to build all your minions armor/weapons, speeds, etc, and the Advisors, the advisors come in 3 forms that I have found, a normal (green), elite (blue), and epic (purple) version. They are like passive buffs, unlocked without spending any resources as soon as you hit a stage.
havent played in a couple weeks, saving rest of the game play for live, Greeks are only in last I saw, Egyptians to be added later i suppose or for a fee. Would be nice if there was more races like AOE II but its ok, you can customize your greeks to be heavy archery, heavy cavalry or what not. You chose which abilities you can unlock yourself, like at age 2, do you want improved farming speed or mining, T2 Archers or T2 spearmen, docks? library, armory upgrades, its pretty sandboxy in that matter