Age of Empires Online Halts Development

[Andy Chalk]

Age of Empires Online Halts Development

Gas Powered Games says the online RTS is moving into a "support phase," and no new content will be created.

The times, they are a-changin' for Age of Empires Online, the free-to-play RTS from Microsoft and Gas Powered Games. Despite not having every last feature the team wanted to include, the decision has been made to stop content development and focus instead on taking care of what's already there.

The good news for players (which is of course the bad news too) is that nothing is actually going to change. "You can still play everything you own, earn EP, and purchase any content you do not currently own. We will still fully maintain and support the game and its players; no one is losing anything that you have earned or bought," AOEO Trajan explained. "Our Community team will continue to support the game by way of Community Challenges, streams, contests, PvP tournaments and more."

Bug fixes will continue but at a slower pace, and he admitted that some may go unfixed. He also emphasized that the game is not dying; the simple fact is that Gas Powered Games can no longer afford to keep making new content for it.

"While I wish that we had been able to add everything that we had wanted (especially a Roman civilization), I am very proud of the work that has been done to get to this point. Over the past year specifically we have made a significant amount of changes to the service, including highly complex changes like altering the business model entirely, while still adding a steady stream of high-quality content to the game itself," Trajan wrote. "We have come a long way since August 2011. But now we have finished building the world of AOEO. We hope that you will join us in playing there for a long time to come."

Source: Age of Empires Online [http://ageofempiresonline.com/en/articles/blog-20130103]


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[Quazimofo]

A bit sad. while I haven't played the game in a good while, it was fun while I did and I just kinda never came back to it because of other games and events that came up; even though I intended to once I found a partner, since some of those quests are HARD. At least the game is still going to run, and there are several good civilizations to play, I just wish they could have gotten to the Romans, since they probably would have been fun.

But hey, the game is still going to run which means there is still time for me to pick it back up and buy one of those premium civilization packs like I wanted to for a while, and that right there is good news.

 

[Kargathia]

*goes to re-install Ages of Empires 2* Dammit, now I will get no work done!

I might buy Ages of Empires 3, but how does it measure up to 2? I really want to get into the series again.

Pretty solid, but its campaign is in some weird limbo between "historically accurate" and "pants-on-head-retarded". If you expect an improvement along the lines of the difference between 1 and 2, you're going to be disappointed.

 

[Goofguy]

*goes to re-install Ages of Empires 2* Dammit, now I will get no work done!

I might buy Ages of Empires 3, but how does it measure up to 2? I really want to get into the series again.

AoE 2 is still the best of the series. Personally, I preferred the civs of 2 over the nations of 3. And the home city mechanic of 3 felt like I was being taken away from the actual game.

That being said, if you are a fan of the series and are willing to spend some coin on AoE 3, there are a lot worse RTS games out there. Given the choice between the two though, AoE 2 would win out every time for me.

 

[finalizer]

For those of you who love AoE2, you should all check out Forgotten Empires [http://www.forgottenempires.net/], an unofficial expansion to AoE2 that was just released about a week ago. It adds 5 new civs, a bunch of balance changes & bug fixes, AI improvements, and more.

 

[Deathfish15]

*goes to re-install Ages of Empires 2* Dammit, now I will get no work done!

I might buy Ages of Empires 3, but how does it measure up to 2? I really want to get into the series again.

I loved AoE3, it's got a solid campaign and very interesting story parts (accurate or not). The best parts of it are the cannon excessive ones. Also, the home city part, though others may hate it, is a great addition that is really super cool (especially getting "supplies shipped from the homeworld").

 

[Aetrion]

Oh wow, killing a beloved game franchise to create a cheesy online version with a cartoon look didn't pan out. Shocker.

 

[praetor_alpha]

I wonder if this has watered down Chris Taylor's enthusiasm for the free-to-play model.

 

[Falterfire]

Oh wow, killing a beloved game franchise to create a cheesy online version with a cartoon look didn't pan out. Shocker.

Well, that's kind of the thing. People like yourself saw the cheesy art direction and assumed the rest of the game followed suit. The thing that surprised me when I booted it up is that it's very much Age of Empires. It's everything you expect from such a game. The problem is that the marketing team apparently decided it would be lots of fun to brand it as a cheesy Pay-To-Win mess instead of the solid game it actually is.

 

[MorganL4]

Oh wow, killing a beloved game franchise to create a cheesy online version with a cartoon look didn't pan out. Shocker.

Yeah, that was my feeling..... When I saw that they Killed Ensemble Studios I was really really sad (probably the saddest I have ever been to see a developer go) and then I was absolutely outraged to see that Microsoft had decided to pass on the AoE franchise to someone else in order to create that thing (which I refuse to play on principle). IF THEY WANTED TO MAKE A NEW AoE THEY SHOULD HAVE KEPT ENSEMBLE!

 

[Vault101]

Pretty solid, but its campaign is in some weird limbo between "historically accurate" and "pants-on-head-retarded". If you expect an improvement along the lines of the difference between 1 and 2, you're going to be disappointed.

it was many years ago....
I think I stoped playing when "lizzie the pirate" showed up

 

[CommanderL]

you guys should check out 0 ad Its a freeware rts in age of empire style its really good

 

[Kahani]

Pretty solid, but its campaign is in some weird limbo between "historically accurate" and "pants-on-head-retarded". If you expect an improvement along the lines of the difference between 1 and 2, you're going to be disappointed.

Basically this. As an RTS, it's not at all bad. As an Age of Empires game, it's barely recognisable. So basically the same as AoEO really.

 

[Jumwa]

If they hadn't used GFWL I know my entire group of friends would've tried it out.

A lot of games that do badly on PC seem to have that GFWL issue.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

*goes to re-install Ages of Empires 2* Dammit, now I will get no work done!

I might buy Ages of Empires 3, but how does it measure up to 2? I really want to get into the series again.

I still play 2 to this day and usually with a friend or two our matches last around 4 hrs if not more against 4-5 other hard AI's and while I did try 3 to me it doesn't feel as great as 2 but it's still a decent AOE game to play.

 

[Aetrion]

Well, that's kind of the thing. People like yourself saw the cheesy art direction and assumed the rest of the game followed suit. The thing that surprised me when I booted it up is that it's very much Age of Empires. It's everything you expect from such a game. The problem is that the marketing team apparently decided it would be lots of fun to brand it as a cheesy Pay-To-Win mess instead of the solid game it actually is.

To me AoE is partially defined by having top notch visuals (for when the games came out) that look very realistic. That's part of the mood of the game. I look at AoE the same way I look at historical miniature gaming, getting the details right matters, that's part of the fun. I don't mind a cartoon look in games where it fits the mood I'm looking for when I play that game, but with AoE what fascinates me about it is the authenticity, and they beat that over the head with a shovel.