AOE3 demo!!!

[The_Doctor]

http://www.fileplanet.com/156731/150...pires-III-Demo

You should have heard the noise I made I read "Age of Empires III Demo Released". It sounded like I was breathing in and out at the same time.

[Drisos]

AOE has always been a nice game.... I think I'll download this

[The_Doctor]

It is pretty good.

I like the home cities.

Make sure you switch on the advanced unit orders or you not be able to give your units advanced orders.

[LeftEyeNine]

Downloading it right now..

I have seen many RTS's up to now. Critics being made about "this RTS bringing a fresh air for RTS genre". Most of them never did.

And I now have a criteria that if some RTS does not have the gameplay feeling of AOE series. I stay away from it..

(What ?! This forum is Total W.. What the ?!!.. Erm..)

AOE series rule forever..

[LeftEyeNine]

Aah ! That's the best single player AOE experience ever (what AOE series were always accused of lacking) !

The two (or three?) scenarios were absolutely not enough to satisfy me.

The explorer unit is a very interesting invention. It carries the Warcraft's hero invention and montages it into AOE series, though it is not as RPG-oriented as it is in W3.

Graphics are tremendous, I absolutely need a new graphics card to have a smooth and eye catching AOE3. However, I am curious about the functionality of the Havoc physics engine used in the game. I could not notice any significant effect of the engine, maybe it's just because the demo is short and I only had 2 hours of fun, could not pay attention to that. I am not a game critician.

Homecity adds a brand new strategical element into the game - that's for sure. Congrats to ES on inventing that.

That's all I can make up to summarize my AOE3 demo experience right now. But I am really hopeful that AOE3 will help me enjoy the forthcoming winter in front of my PC.

[Dutch_guy]

It seems ok , but being a demo it does have it's flaws though

what to think about the Tomohawk soldiers that you're not able of seeing... the only thing I see is a black circel on the ground were the soldier is supposed to be.
And there isn't an easy way to see the current population cap, haven't seen it in skirmish.
And to bad walls can't be upgraded.

That said , I do like the whole idea of trade posts and native americans , and the graphics look great.

[Krusader]

Haven't tested it as much.

But does anyone else feel like the UI/HUD or what it's called is a bit TOO big?
It almost takes up half the screen.

[The_Doctor]

what to think about the Tomohawk soldiers that you're not able of seeing

I have seen (or not as the case may be) that problem.

And there isn't an easy way to see the current population cap

There is an option you have to switch on. I think it is called show gather numbers, or something like that.

And to bad walls can't be upgraded.

Walls can be upgraded in the church.

[Sjakihata]

This is a better mirror: http://download.microsoft.com/downlo.../aoe3trial.exe

[LeftEyeNine]

This is a better mirror: http://download.microsoft.com/downlo.../aoe3trial.exe

Yes this is the most reliable thing ever belonging to Microsoft.

[Sjakihata]

in fact it is, since you'll have to wait a good hour on fileplanet before the download begins, whereas from the mirosoft database you can download right away.

[The_Doctor]

I discovered that home cities cannot go over level 9.

When you have enough XP to get level 10 it says things like "-578XP to next level".

[Dutch_guy]

I would say that's because this is just the demo.

Anyway, what I still miss is that you 1 unit still consist of 1 man , I know this is AOE , and has always been that way.
But after playing the Total war series , I kind of miss the ''battalion'' style of units / battles.

[LeftEyeNine]

Well I reckon that AOE should not lose its style.

[The_Doctor]

I would say that's because this is just the demo.

I know.

Anyway, what I still miss is that you 1 unit still consist of 1 man , I know this is AOE , and has always been that way.
But after playing the Total war series , I kind of miss the ''battalion'' style of units / battles.

You can train most units in groups of 5.

It would be good if there was multi-units.

[Ragnor_Lodbrok]

The demo is great, I like those longbowmen. The home city is also a great feature.

[Dutch_guy]

You can train most units in groups of 5.

yeah I know , it's an ok feature- but I do still prefer the 1 click 10 units option, if someone has played BFME , well that's the kind of style I would like to see in AOE.

And in a trailer ) or something like that ) I saw these really nice formations , were your Musketeers would stand behind your swords/pikes and fire volly's exactly at the same time.
I didn't see an option for units ''merging'' in the demo , is it possible ?
Would like to do some experimenting with those formations.

[Sjakihata]

look in options under advanced formations or something

[Claudius the God]

terrible. Age of Mythology is soooooo much better

[Alexanderofmacedon]

Good game. Good game.

[GoreBag]

Age of Mythology was awful. I'm thoroughly enjoying the demo, but my graphics card can't handle it. It almost crashed once I trained a huge warship and entered a naval battle. I like the size of the ships, though. Satisfying stuff.

The advanced formations, once I discovered how to turn them on, aren't that great, really, but I'm sure that will improve in the full version of the game, along with everything else (I want to see the Highlanders!).

[kiwitt]

AoE4 (if you consider AoM as the true AoE3), Civ4, Caesar4

Sounds like 2005/2006 will be another banner year for RTS. I suppose there is a new SimCity due soon too.

[Mongoose]

Civ 4 is going to be real time?!

[GoreBag]

I suppose there is a new SimCity due soon too.

Yep.

[Zalmoxis]

Demo any good?

[Papewaio]

I will have to go and ask the MS game support techs upstairs how good AOE3 is...

[The_Doctor]

Civ 4 is going to be real time?!

No. And it never will be.

[Kraxis]

AoE4 (if you consider AoM as the true AoE3), Civ4, Caesar4

Sounds like 2005/2006 will be another banner year for RTS. I suppose there is a new SimCity due soon too.

For real?!?!? Damn how I loved Caesar 3, I even went out and found it in some dusty store a few months ago.

[Ab Urbe Condita]

God I hated this demo.It's almost exactly like AoK except with some unnescessary features tacked on to make it seem different. Hell, they've barely touched pathfinding and AI in six years! So far it looks like I'm going to be spending my money on Civ IV instead of this.