AOE III What do you think? Yes YOU!

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Majin

2[H]4U
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Feb 4, 2005
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So I got the game for Christmas and was quick to blow everything else off and play it. First thing I noticed, and it wasn't a good thing, is that even though I have everything set at the highest levels, the game still looks like it should have come out 3 years ago. Very simple GFX, but I can get over that if the game play is good.

I have only played it for a short time but I am finding the controls a bit annoying, for instance:

How do you set your explorer to just roam on his own?

How can you assign a group of guys to DEFEND?

are there any quick keys (ex. Ctrl+A = Attack) so I can select a group of guys and assign a target for them.

The game overall seems like it might be a lot of fun, but since I am a newb to the game Any tips would be cool!
 
this game isnt like CIV4. you cant make ur explorer roam by himself or else he will get killed haha.. this game is more like Command and Conquer or Starcraft but with more civs... if u ever played the old age game and compare the grafix to this it is much more BETTER then the old age graphics yeah it can be better but hey its still good..and a good advice for u is to READ the manual and play singeplayer skirmish games before u try ONline

ataccking is easy just drag your mouse over ur units and right click on an enemy , and if u wanna learn hot keys then read the manual
 
Majin said:
So I got the game for Christmas and was quick to blow everything else off and play it. First thing I noticed, and it wasn't a good thing, is that even though I have everything set at the highest levels, the game still looks like it should have come out 3 years ago. Very simple GFX, but I can get over that if the game play is good.

I have only played it for a short time but I am finding the controls a bit annoying, for instance:

How do you set your explorer to just roam on his own?

How can you assign a group of guys to DEFEND?

are there any quick keys (ex. Ctrl+A = Attack) so I can select a group of guys and assign a target for them.

The game overall seems like it might be a lot of fun, but since I am a newb to the game Any tips would be cool!
Click to expand...
I'm not too keen on the interface either. It's basically the same as the first AOE, heck almost every RTS. Everything is setup on waypoints.

Want the explorer to explore an area, hold shift and queue the way points (right-click).

A group will defend by itself, sort of... You select the group click the area you want to defend, and they will stay there, soft of... Each unit has it's own LOS and will react to an enemy coming close to them, and will chase them a bit. They shouldn't chase the unit forever, unless you click to attack that specific unit. The units chasing people should return to their original spots if no other enemies are around. The end result is the group will not act as a group, but more like a bunch of individuals in an area.

To select a target for a group (this can also be queued by shift+click) select the group and right click on a target.
 
ahhhh
Thx Phoenix for the Shift tip.

Godfather... Give me some credit.
I read over the manual and also played the tutorial and the game one first.

One thing I am woundering is if I can remove the limits the game has set on things like: Number of Outposts, Civilians, soldier class... ECT.

I found that at the higher levels the enemy always rushes me and kicks my ass. So to stop this I just make a cheap wall most of the way around all of my buildings it saves me from loosing them if I can't stop the attack in time.
 
Another AI only tactic (has worked since AOE) is to build a wall around your town, but leave a hole in it. Think of it as an always open gate.

The AI will always go for this hole, now you only have 1 place to defend. :)

I think you can edit the *.xm files to change the limits, but I haven't tried, YMMV.

Check out this forum, here's a link to a thread about pop limit.
Linky.
 
If you are playing on the system in your sig, keep in mind that Ensemble was too lazy to code an SM2.0 path, so you aren't seeing any of the 'gee whiz' graphics effects on your card. It's SM3.0 or SMsuck.0 with this title.

Observe
 
Ahhh
Thanks Guys
Now I see why the game looks like it's lacking, because my card is lacking SM 3.0.... :mad:
I will have to look further into limit removals.

Thanks for all the tips.

So what is the best tactics you use?
I like to turtle, just wall up as much space as I can, harvest the hell out of everything and build a massive army and try to take it all in 1 shot.
 
AOE 3 isn't much different from AOE 2. You get home cities and cards, aside from that it's the same game. No real new or innovative features. All in all I don't like it.

Now Empire Earth 2 brought some new features to the table that should be a standard in RTS games. Overall I think it's a much much better games than AOE3.
 
AOE3 is better than all other RTS (or RTS type) games.

RTR=poo
RoN=poo
EE=poo
Civ4=poo

AOE3=awesomeness

Needless to say I like AOE3. :p
 
I got bored with it very quickly. Hardly any upgrades, or worthwile upgrades, so so graphics, and not much variety. The story wasn't bad, and I did play through the entire game, but I was glad it was finished. Tried a few skirmishes but with virtually the same civs to build each time it got boring.

Hell, Battle for MiddleEarth was much more varied and entertaining RTS than AOEIII. Glad the sequel to that is coming, but I'm a big LOTR fan so little bias there. ;)

I also enjoyed RoN a lot more than AOEIII. For as much hype as it got, I wasn't impressed.

Bought C&C finally, and that has been a lot of fun. :D
 
Majin said:
ahhhh
Thx Phoenix for the Shift tip.

Godfather... Give me some credit.
I read over the manual and also played the tutorial and the game one first.

One thing I am woundering is if I can remove the limits the game has set on things like: Number of Outposts, Civilians, soldier class... ECT.

I found that at the higher levels the enemy always rushes me and kicks my ass. So to stop this I just make a cheap wall most of the way around all of my buildings it saves me from loosing them if I can't stop the attack in time.
Click to expand...


whenever you gain enough experience points you can buy cards, there are many cards, if u wanna build more outpost and stuff like that , get the card that says soemthign like "this card lets you build more outpost" something like that hehe, but im glad AOE3 doesnt let u build as much towers as you want because i remember in age 2 there were some major tower whores, literally , they tower up EVERYWHERE , no fun in that .

and about wall, yes walling up is a good idea, but dont be an idiot and wall yourself up if u kno what i mean, i play online and i see people who build wall around themselve which is dumb, because they are basically trapping themselves. if u build a wal be smart about it .

and i agree with the guy who said AOE3 is the best RTS :D BECAUSE IT IS! :p



by the way just go online and play with them noobs , u get better faster that way , seriously , and ask people on ESO for soem tips , most of them are friendly...and anoying
 
I like the Card idea.
I have played a few skirmishes and have a bunch of EXP now and have unlocked 20 cards.

The only thing I hate about this game is Everything costs so fucking much to build and do.

Also How can I build more forts?!
I want at least 2.
 
I love AOEIII :) Never played the others, but have played many RTS games and this one is prolly the best, next to Stronghold 2.

Sorry, I just don't like the fact of having to "train" your people. Especially when your trying to get some reinforcments to back-up your guys that are fighting half way across the map... you have to wait and wait and wait.. then send them over when all ur other guys are dead.

I like how in stronghold 2 when you build more houses you instantly have more peasants. When you "train" an archer, it takes the peasants that are setting by the fire and makes them archers. No waiting around, nothing. Maybe it has something to do with Stronghold 2 begin a much faster paced game idk.

Either way I love AOE III, i'm addicted to it.
 
Majin said:
Also How can I build more forts?!
I want at least 2.
Click to expand...
You don't.

At least not unless there is a civ specific card that grants a second fort. I know under a few civs there is only 1 fort card available.

There are two factory cards...

As far as tactics, I tend to turtle up a bit, until the third age. Then I build my army and move, using grenaders as my building killers. By the time forts/canon shooting towers are out I have howitzers, or I'm close to it. Heck you can take out a fort with a canon tower with just men.

The forts/towers are not nearly as strong as previous AOE games.

Tiny said:
Civ4=poo
Click to expand...
HEATHEN!!! :p
 
different nations get different things

like i remember when i was german i couldn't build outpost towers or something but it cost less to spawn villagers...or something

its weird, but the best is when you get the factory card and just build up so many resources, then build a church and capital, omg and then just upgrade everything, its madness

i usually just build up as much resources as i can, wall up my town, and spawn max villagers, then build up my army with mostly heavy calvarly and like 5 of each of the artellary pieces

mills & plantations FTW
 
Majin said:
ahhhh
Thx Phoenix for the Shift tip.

Godfather... Give me some credit.
I read over the manual and also played the tutorial and the game one first.

One thing I am woundering is if I can remove the limits the game has set on things like: Number of Outposts, Civilians, soldier class... ECT.

I found that at the higher levels the enemy always rushes me and kicks my ass. So to stop this I just make a cheap wall most of the way around all of my buildings it saves me from loosing them if I can't stop the attack in time.
Click to expand...

Yes you can it is the xml file called... under your programs/microsoft games/aoeII/data directory. Ugh missing the name, I'll get it when I'm back home tonight. But do a search in that file for Outpost, boost build limit to 999 and boom save and play and restart game and your limit is now 999. I have had fun boosting outpost ROF to .01... Cannon balls everywhere just be weary of when getting near an opponent with an uber cannon outpost!

David
 
I thought it was claustrophobic (the view). If i could zoom out more, might have liked it better.

Same old shite, otherwise.
 
I have only played as the Spanish so far and I have been enjoying it.

I tried something new last night to win.
I just started to wall up the map.

I created my walls really far out right off the start and defended them with out posts. As the game went on I had enough resources to build huge amounts of guys. I attacked and destroyed most of the enemy but lost my huge investment in the process.

So as he was tring to recover, started to build walls further outward and fill them with outposts, them build more walls and move the out posts up. He would attack me and get smoked by the outposts.
I just kept building further and further out walls, till there was a hage MAZE of walls that my troops could go through.

It was easy to win after that.
 
Vagamus said:
I thought it was claustrophobic (the view). If i could zoom out more, might have liked it better.

Same old shite, otherwise.
Click to expand...
Check the options, there is a wider view in there.


Speaking of, there is an option for advanced formations. One is the defense formation that Majin was asking about. Check out the various options, I'm not sure what I enabled from default.
 
Sunin said:
Yes you can it is the xml file called... under your programs/microsoft games/aoeII/data directory. Ugh missing the name, I'll get it when I'm back home tonight. But do a search in that file for Outpost, boost build limit to 999 and boom save and play and restart game and your limit is now 999. I have had fun boosting outpost ROF to .01... Cannon balls everywhere just be weary of when getting near an opponent with an uber cannon outpost!

David
Click to expand...


AWESOME THANKS.
I will rip the game apart tonight when I get home.
I enjoy making walls out of nothing but outposts!
LOL
 
no wonder why I didn't remember the name, its Proto.xml

Friendly reminder make a back up copy before you edit or you won't be able to restore the game with out a full reinstall.

You can change just about anything in the skirmish games here. Don't go too far on some settings cuz it can cause some heavy lag! Like I tried .0001 on the ROF on cannons and it was worse the .01...

Etc...

David
 
AOEIII is a very shallow RTS that will please the mindless point and click crowd. However, it pales in comparison in both breadth and depth to Rome: Total War.
 
lol @ that.

RTW is bunk. There is even less stradegy in RTW then there is in AOE.

It is beyond easy to beat RTW. AOE is still fun after beating it.

You must be an AOL user.
 
ok enough arguing guys, if anyone wanna play me 1vs1 Deathmatch on ESO feel free to add me as a friend on there, my name on there is ExtendoClip1226 :D :p
 
Tiny said:
lol @ that.

RTW is bunk. There is even less stradegy in RTW then there is in AOE.

It is beyond easy to beat RTW. AOE is still fun after beating it.

You must be an AOL user.
Click to expand...
Please tell me how AOEIII is any different than AOE except for an after thought of a home city stapled on to it, oh, and shiny graphics to keep you occupied and not thinking about how this is just the same ole gameplay.

You have 20% of the control over your troops in AOE than you do in RTW. You can't face troops or put them in formations. Pathetic for a modern day RTS.

This thread was for opinions on AOEIII. I have given mine seeing as how I've played it.
 
Actually since you played it you would know you can put them in formation.

And the same game play as AOE......what is your point? AOE is great, as is AOE3.

And just because you admittedly get distracted by shiny things, doesn't mean everyone else does. If the shiny graphics distracted you from playing the game in such a manner that you didn't notice you can put them in formation....maybe you should run it in DX7 and play it again ( or maybe for the first time ).

And 100% control over troops doesn't a great RTS make. If I wanted micro management of everyone I would play The Sims.
 
Chris_Morley said:
AOEIII is a very shallow RTS that will please the mindless point and click crowd.
Click to expand...

Why the hell did you bother posting this troll-bait crap?
 
I have played a few RTS and I do have to agree a bit with Chris.
The game does lack a lot of the controls and micro mangement.

Rise of Nations is a good example of an AWESOME RTS that is the same idea as AOE, but allows you a lot more control over the charaters.

I am enjoying AOE a lot, but I do find i'm not very challenged.
The most challenging part of this game so far seems to be that the troops are weak as shit! and get killed way to easy and cost to much to create. So just building an army is the challenge.
 
Right off the bat, it's nowhere near AoE2: AoK/Conquerors. Closer to Empire Earth in terms of fun factor.

There are like, 8 civilizations and niether really have anything spectacular to offer. They all feel the same with the exception of a few units.

The graphics are great, however. Especially the water. :D Doesn't look at good as the early screenshots led it to be.

It would seem Age of Mythology makes for a much better RTS. Although I'm not really into fictional/mythological games, that game is rock solid and a blast to play with my friends.

But as with every RTS I play, I always feel slightly dissapointed and go back to playing Rome: Total War. I don't know why I do that. :)
 
Phoenix86 said:
Why the hell did you bother posting this troll-bait crap?
Click to expand...
It's a mindless point and click game. I'm not saying those who play it are mindless.

There are plenty of games out there that require little or no thought (many of which I enjoy), nothing wrong with pointing it out.
 
Tiny said:
Actually since you played it you would know you can put them in formation.

And the same game play as AOE......what is your point? AOE is great, as is AOE3.

And just because you admittedly get distracted by shiny things, doesn't mean everyone else does. If the shiny graphics distracted you from playing the game in such a manner that you didn't notice you can put them in formation....maybe you should run it in DX7 and play it again ( or maybe for the first time ).

And 100% control over troops doesn't a great RTS make. If I wanted micro management of everyone I would play The Sims.
Click to expand...
No, tactics does not equal tactical formations. Being able to pack up your artillery is not a formation, it's a tactic. There's less micro-management in R:TW, but much more control. It's a better balance. AOE:III originally was planned to have a much more robust formation system but Ensemble ripped it out due to customer feedback. What you see now is most characters have some sort of 'alt-fire' mode but it definitely doesn't equate to what was accomplished in R:TW.

Seems like some of you are taking this way too seriously. I don't like AOEIII. Doesn't mean I don't like you if you do. Heck, even the fact that I don't like it doesn't take away from how much you may enjoy it. This thread asked for feedback or opinions.

Unless some of you work for Ensemble I'm not understanding the animosity. The one guy who I know did work for Ensemble on these forums (Torgo) agrees with me.
 
Phoenix86 said:
Why the hell did you bother posting this troll-bait crap?
Click to expand...


It is his opinion, he is entitled to it and I believe this thread was asking for opinions to begin with. There are a lot of us who don't think much of the game, just because our opinion differs from yours does not make it any less/more valid, does it?

:cool:
 
i dun care what yall say , i love dis game, been a big age fan since Age of Empires 1.. :D

only a damn game, so chill out


INCREASE THE PEACE!!!1 STOP THE BLACK ON BLACK CRIME!!!!!





p.s. im not black it was just a figure of speech
 
Chris_Morley said:
It's a mindless point and click game. I'm not saying those who play it are mindless.

There are plenty of games out there that require little or no thought (many of which I enjoy), nothing wrong with pointing it out.
Click to expand...
No worries, I took it wrong, actually it's worded wrong if that's what you mean. Either way, simple misunderstanding. :)

Heck the only reason I pointed you out is I didn't expect it from you. :p

Steve said:
It is his opinion, he is entitled to it and I believe this thread was asking for opinions to begin with. There are a lot of us who don't think much of the game, just because our opinion differs from yours does not make it any less/more valid, does it?

:cool:
Click to expand...
I was more referring to the comment directed at the players, not the game. Heck my first post said I'm not that keen on the game's interface (common to nearly every RTS). It blows. :)
 
Phoenix86 said:
No worries, I took it wrong, actually it's worded wrong if that's what you mean. Either way, simple misunderstanding. :)

Heck the only reason I pointed you out is I didn't expect it from you. :p


I was more referring to the comment directed at the players, not the game. Heck my first post said I'm not that keen on the game's interface (common to nearly every RTS). It blows. :)
Click to expand...
Yeah, you're right, it could be taken in an insulting manner. No insults intended, for sure.
 
Chris_Morley said:
Yeah, you're right, it could be taken in an insulting manner. No insults intended, for sure.
Click to expand...
:cool:

While we're downing the game... What' the poing in the 5th age? I can beat the computer 1 vs. 5 w/o reaching that age. Don't even get me started with online games that often end in the 3rd age.

Zerg rush! kekeke
 
Phoenix86 said:
:cool:

While we're downing the game... What' the poing in the 5th age? I can beat the computer 1 vs. 5 w/o reaching that age. Don't even get me started with online games that often end in the 3rd age.

Zerg rush! kekeke
Click to expand...
It's a trick!
Age V is ment to take away 4k gold and 4k wood so that you can't defend your self.
At least thats what I found.
I worked hard to get that much gold and wood then I went age 5 and by then I found I didn't have enough resources to fight off the ensuing 4 nation rush on my walls!
 
If you haven't unlocked any of the merc cards hiding in the ports/docks/whatever, do so!

I have been pleasently surprised by the brit's merc. cards.
 
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