Age of Empires 3

[Wamplet]

Just a reminder it's out tomorrow (possibly tonight).

[Night Hacker]

My brother bought it yesterday at our local EB. It's already out, at least where I live (see profile http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

[Wamplet]

Cool!

Andone said he already saw it at a store today.

I may go look around at lunch, although the online statuses don't show it at any of the stores I checked. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tinyted.gif

[Mountain Man]

Preordered my copy about 2 weeks ago. I'm hoping to pick it up after work tonight. I loved AoE 2 and I've been looking forward to this one for some time!

[Tang Lung]

Its on my list...gonna have to wait till it lowers in price though...I can buy one game for full price in the next few months..and that's going on Oblivion.

Damn it...Black and White 2, FEAR, AoE3, Civ4, Quake4..Too many cool games coming out all at once..where did they all come from?? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Wamplet]

I know. I really want to buy a ton of games right now.

Money isn't really the issue for me, but more of a matter of time. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif

I'd like to get Fear and that brother in arms sequel on top of oblivion. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

This and Oblivion are my definite and immediate buys.

I may get the other 2 as well as Zoo tycoon 2 for xmas or something. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Odin]

I might get it for Christmas, along with Civ4.

[Mountain Man]

Had a chance to put this game through it's paces. First impressions:

1) Graphics are outstanding! Esemble Studios seems to have optimized things quite a bit since the demo, so I get excellent framerates, all settings maxed with only minor but more than acceptable slowdown during large scale encounters.

2) The gameplay is pretty much the Age of Empires forumula. I've only played the first few single player missions, so there's still a lot for me to uncover, but so far, I like it. But oh what fun the battles are with the juicy new graphics!

Not much more to say, really. I need more time to really get a feel for it.

[Opus131]

I think i'm going to give this a miss and wait for Rise of Legends... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[shiranui]

What's with this current trend of v 1.01 patches coming out within days of the games release.
AoE3
SS2
F.E.A.R.

it's ridiculous.

Anyway, very much looking forward to AoE III

[Mountain Man]

It allows publishers to ship games earlier.

[avatar_58]

shiranui said:
What's with this current trend of v 1.01 patches coming out within days of the games release.
AoE3
SS2
F.E.A.R.

it's ridiculous.

Anyway, very much looking forward to AoE III



Just be glad they catch the errors instead of making you wait. I'd rather get those patches then have to wait another week or two for the games to be pulled and patched up.

[Wamplet]

Mountain Man said:
It allows publishers to ship games earlier.



I like it.

Sure as hell beats waiting 1 or 2 months for them to release a patch that is critical as done with other games.

Also, does anyone like the treasure feature? \o/


I am on the Pirates one right now. I am level 4 or 5 on my home town, but I have yet to be allowed to get any cards. wtf gives? Do I need to be level 10 or something?

[Mountain Man]

"Pirates" is only about 3 or 4 missions in to the single player campaign, so I imagine the cards feature will be unveiled at the appropriate time.

I've only played a few missions myself, but I've had fun with them. The first mission was annoying, swamping you with an overwhelming force and giving you nothing but weak units to defend yoursef until the narrative kicked in and the "save your ass at the last second" story gimmick was used. However, I rather enjoyed the later mission where you have to scout out the caves and destroy the weapons caches.

I also like some of the refinements, like being able to cue up 5 units at a time for production. It really speeds up the pace of the game when you're not sitting there waiting for units to trickle out one at a time, and it makes sending a useful number of reinforcements into a heated battle a viable option for once.

So far I'm actually enjoying AoE 3 more than AoE 2, and the latter is (was?) my all-time favorite RTS!

[Wamplet]

^ yeah, I really hate the defend and let someone else chop up the enemy.

I want to do all the slaughtering myself.

However, I must give them credit that they let you take control of the cavalry when they sent it to you. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

On the cave level, I cleared the entrance out and then just held back and realized I had 3 or 4 treasure xs on the map and then there was a secret objective that needed to be completed. \o/ Very fun stuff.

I was thinking maybe I need to pass like one "chapter" before i get access to the cards, but I have no clue. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif

[Mountain Man]

Secret objectives? Cool!

[Wamplet]

Mountain Man said:
Secret objectives? Cool!



Yeah, Not sure if there was one for the very first level (maybe 1 treasure or something), but everytime you start a mission, check your objectives.

They will say "Secret/Unkown/Mystery/Undiscovered Objective." I forget the wording they use, but it's very obvious like the above.

Once you discover the area the objective is located, it will display the new objective information in your menu.

Example:

<table><tr><th><font size="-1">Spoiler below:</font></th></tr><tr><td class="spoiler"> On the level where you need to make the Janissaries, there is a Secret objective. There is a shipwreck to the right of the souther coastline. Just send a boat and peasant with a few soldiers, kill the guardians and use the peasant to recover the treasure.</td></tr></table>

P.S. I really dig the treasure guardians. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Not all treasures have them, but when you come up to some treasure and it has a guardian, then chances are it's some high quality loot. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Next spoiler, regarding my favourite hoard so far:

<table><tr><th><font size="-1">Spoiler below:</font></th></tr><tr><td class="spoiler"> On the same level in the spoiler above, you can take your ship to the north east and there is an abandoned mosque with a TON of treasure. No one guarding it either, other than the 3 ships that are in the way. \o </td></tr></table>

[Mountain Man]

Indeed, I've been digging the treasure feature myself. I also especially like the whole trade concept where you build trading posts along roadways or near indian settlements. I always kinda ignored the whole trading angle in Age of Kings, but this time around it seems that it will be a critical part of a winning strategy. And I must say, I'm rather taken with the Home City concept, though it essentially just offers quick in-game bonuses and is not quite as exciting as the "Home City" name makes it sound. Still, I find that it's smartly realized and will allow for a variety of custom tactics.

[Denz]

Any patches to play it on processors that don't handle ssx?

[Mountain Man]

SSX?

[Kristian Joensen]

Denz said:
Any patches to play it on processors that don't handle ssx?



You mean SSE ?

[Wamplet]

Denz said:
Any patches to play it on processors that don't handle ssx?



Maybe you mean SSE, but regardless, do you have a compatible chip? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

On AOE, I really liked the carts. It seems much harder to bother with making them for Empire Earth, especially since the maps are just insanely bigger and unless you build a wall or provide protection, they aren't always feasbile.

For AOE, though, if you played a level like the Forest ones, then it was easy to have a nice route set up that was protected by the trees and we would have a bountiful suply of carts trading. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I am anxious to see what goes on in multiplay, since I have yet to play that part.

I generally play with a pal or 2 on my side and we fight a group of AI. I hope that is still allowed.

[Odin]

Opus131 said:
I think i'm going to give this a miss and wait for Rise of Legends... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



Rise of Empires was a total flop in my opinion, I expect RoL to be one too. Empires and Civilization all the way! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woot.gif

[Denz]

Yeah, SSE http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


I'm still on hold days, my processor is AMD Athlon Tbird 1,4Ghz, with MMX instructions. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif

I have a Radeon 9600 XT and 512 of ram.

[Wamplet]

Here are the requirements:

Microsoft® Windows® XP
PC with 1.4 Ghz equivalent or higher processor
256 MB of system RAM
2.0 GB available hard disk space
32x speed or faster CD-ROM drive
64 MB video card with HT&L
Sound card with speakers or headphones
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play
DirectX 9.0c or above

EDIT:

I saw a post about save games in multiplayer not working/loading back up. Anyone had a chance to try that?

[hell-angel]

Age of Empires 3 has got the Dutch in it. That game is going to rule. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif A game with the Dutch is allways good. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Looks great as well. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

[Denz]

Anything for computer like mine with processor that has no SSE but MMX instructions? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[hell-angel]

Denz said:
Anything for computer like mine with processor that has no SSE but MMX instructions? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



I seriously doubt that, just compare your specs with the one from this game posted a few posts above. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Opus131]

Odin said:
Rise of Empires was a total flop in my opinion, I expect RoL to be one too. Empires and Civilization all the way! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woot.gif



You mean Rise of Nations.

Well, the game didn't have flashy 3d graphics (the most important thing in every game), of course it flopped, still, Rise of Nations was the game Age of Boredome could never hope to be, and ever will be.

As for Civilization, i think i'm going to wait for some unbiased reviews after CiV3, else i'm going back to CiV2 and Alpha Centauri... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Denz]

hell-angel said:

Denz said:
Anything for computer like mine with processor that has no SSE but MMX instructions? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



I seriously doubt that, just compare your specs with the one from this game posted a few posts above. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Above the post where is the system spect, i have posted what i have. The probleme is that the demo won't run because of no SSE instruction on the 1,4ghz ThunderBird AMD AThlon processor.

[hell-angel]

Denz said:

hell-angel said:

Denz said:
Anything for computer like mine with processor that has no SSE but MMX instructions? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



I seriously doubt that, just compare your specs with the one from this game posted a few posts above. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Above the post where is the system spect, i have posted what i have. The probleme is that the demo won't run because of no SSE instruction on the 1,4ghz ThunderBird AMD AThlon processor.



well, then expect the game to NOT run as well. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Sorry about that pall, you could DL it and check out if it works and then buy the game. But ONLY to check out if the game works though, because we should support developers. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Denz]

I don't feel like downloading a DVD. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/redface.gif



Bah ill play it when ill have a new comp. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/icons/bigsmile.gif

[Wamplet]

hell-angel said:
Age of Empires 3 has got the Dutch in it. That game is going to rule. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif A game with the Dutch is allways good. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Looks great as well. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif



Hell yeah.

What's better is that the will of Allah is represented by the Ottomans.

\o/ PRAISE ALLAH! \o/

[Mountain Man]

Denz said:
Anything for computer like mine with processor that has no SSE but MMX instructions? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


If you've bought a CPU in the last five years then it supports those features. If you haven't then it's certainly not fast enough to run the game anyway.

[mysteryperfecta]

First time I played a skirmish in the demo, I couldn't make heads nor tails of it. Card playing? XP points? Shipments? What's that dial that keeps going around? Now that I've played it quite a bit, I kind of like the changes.