We saw thegameplay trailerforAge of Empires IVback in late 2019. The physics of collapsing buildings was impressive and the terrain had rolling hills. Having cities that sit on slopes could work to your advantage, but might cost more resources to build. You may have also noticed the enormous size of commanding armies.
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The micro and macro-management of units and the economy are why we loveAge of Empires.Age of Empiresdistinguishes itself from otherreal-time strategy (RTS)games likeStarcraftandHalo Warsby incorporating realism. Ask most people, and they’ll tell youAge of Empiresis one of the best real-time strategy games of all time. This is our wishlist forAge of Empires IV.
10More Playable Civilizations
We’d like to see more playable civilizations in the upcomingAge of Empires IV.Moreover, we’d like unique civilizations, rather than similar cultures. To be historically accurate, some civilizations are going to be similar. However, we’d like developerRelic Entertainmentto make the empires as different as possible.Age of Empires IIhad this problem, despite being an excellent game overall.
9A 2020 Release Date
It seems like games have long development times too often, and they turn out to be aconvoluted mess.When games are developed for many years, the technology falls behind and the result is a game that’s behind its time.
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We wantAge of Empires IVto be a priority release forMicrosoft.They’ll need to form a large development team to work on the game so that it getsreleased in 2020.We have waited too long for this game, but it looks promising.
8Modern Civilizations
As a series that started over twenty years ago,Age of Empiresis due for changes. The age of the civilizations has mostly stayed the same, but maybe its time forAge of Empires IVto take on a more modern setting. Like theCivilizationvideo game series,Age of Empires IVcould include matches with modern-day technology.
7An Invigorating Soundtrack
It might be redundant at this point, butAge of Empires IVneeds atop-notch soundtrack.Video game soundtracks add overtones that breathe new life into a game. We’re not proposing that legendary composer John Williams needs to create the soundtrack for this game (although that would be awesome), but it should be a great enough soundtrack that it’s worth listening to while not playingAge of Empires IV.
6No Microtransactions
Contrary to popular belief, microtransactions can work in video games. Microtransactions are great when they provide premium content that wouldn’t have been otherwise included in the game. On the other hand, when a developer makes the game pay-to-win or pay-to-progress, microtransactions fail.
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In most cases, microtransactions are used as a source of additional revenue for video game developers. They likely wouldn’t fit inAge of Empires IV, so they may as well leave it out. According topcgamesn.com,“one thing it won’t have is microtransactions or in-app purchases.”
5Inspiration From The Old Games
According to American astronomer Carl Sagan, “You have to know the past to understand the present.” This quote holds with the upcomingAge of Empires IV. If the game’s developers learn from past mistakes,Age of Empires IVcould be a masterpiece. If they make too many changes without polishing the game, it could wind up being a disaster.
Market trading is something that worked well in previous games but needs refinement. It’s impractical to have numerous trading carts going back and forth. Perhaps markets should generate passive income instead of relying on physical carts. The game could also address the housing issue with bigger homes.
4Ray-Tracing
Ray tracing is finally becoming ubiquitous on video game platforms now that next-generation consoles are approaching. The technology is alreadycommon in PC games,but we’d love to seeAge of Empires IVboast the latest technology on the Xbox Series X.
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Ray tracing generates paths of light so that they interact with the surfaces of objects. It sounds confusing, but the difference is noticeable. The above screenshot is technically fromMinecraft(another Microsoft published game), yet it helps us visualize what ray tracing might entail.
3More Ages
The dark, feudal, and imperial ages are not as appealing as they were inAge of Empires II. Granted,Age of Empires IIIadded new periods such as the industrial age, yet we want to see more changes in the upcomingAge of Empires IV.Introduce new ages to bring diversity to the game in a way never seen before.
2Fully Destructible World
When we say “fully destructible,” we really mean that we want every structure to collapse with realism. When a trebuchet launches a stone into the field, the surrounding area should leave a hole in the ground. The physics of buildings collapsing should be more realistic than we could’ve imagined. The trailer looked promising, and we can’t stress enough how important this one is.
1A Bigger Emphasis On Formations
Perhaps the most critical feature we want to see inAge of Empires IVis an emphasis on formations. Garrisoning units in buildings while you send ranged andmeleeinfantry at the enemy is an example of using formations. Infantry automatically goes into attack formation, which is a huge reason why we loveAge of Empires.
Age of Empires IVshould focus on formations to make the battlefield a realistic place. Infantry should have smart artificial intelligence, so they don’t walk into a trap. An option to create custom formations at the main menu before a match is needed.
