Age of Empires Will Come To iOS, Android

[Karloff]

Age of Empires Will Come To iOS, Android

The strategy title's due for release at the end of June.

Microsoft has announced that it will bring strategy title Age of Empires to iOS and Android by the end of the fiscal year, which in non-accounting speak means end of June 2013. The original Reuters report cited unnamed "other titles" to follow the Age of Empires launch, but Microsoft has since said, in a press release, that "there are no further announcements beyond Age of Empires at this time."

Age of Empires is being adapted for mobile by KLab Inc., a Japanese smartphone game maker. Age of Empires, for those unfamiliar with the title, was one of the first history-based RTS titles, when it launched back in 1997 as an Ensemble Studios [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/86231-Microsoft-Says-Age-Of-Empires-Is-Still-Kicking] product. You guide your civilization from a scrappy little nothing to a full-fledged empire, building up an army and collecting resources until you are a power to be feared. The mobile version will be a free-to-play title.

Though Microsoft's determined to keep all its cats in the bag, it seems reasonable that - if Age of Empires is a success - other titles might make the jump to a mobile platform, at some point in the future. Just not right now.

Source: Polygon [http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/24/4461272/microsoft-xbox-pc-games-to-ios-and-android-age-of-empires]


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[TiberiusEsuriens]

While I haven't played AoEIII, I have mixed feeling about how the controls would work well with touch screen. All strategy game building mechanics are almost ideal for this control input, but I imagine the fighting will lose a lot of flexibility. In Age of Kings I could have hundreds of units in tight formations and I don't see how touch controls are precise enough to micro these armies.

 

[Falterfire]

While I haven't played AoEIII, I have mixed feeling about how the controls would work well with touch screen. All strategy game building mechanics are almost ideal for this control input, but I imagine the fighting will lose a lot of flexibility. In Age of Kings I could have hundreds of units in tight formations and I don't see how touch controls are precise enough to micro these armies.

Wait, how did you have *hundreds* of units in formation in AoE2? Mods I'm guessing? Because the default pop cap is 200 if I'm remembering correctly.

Regardless, the rest of your point stands. None of the Age of Empires games would really control effectively on iOS, especially given how critical keyboard hotkeys are to higher level play.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

While I haven't played AoEIII, I have mixed feeling about how the controls would work well with touch screen. All strategy game building mechanics are almost ideal for this control input, but I imagine the fighting will lose a lot of flexibility. In Age of Kings I could have hundreds of units in tight formations and I don't see how touch controls are precise enough to micro these armies.

Wait, how did you have *hundreds* of units in formation in AoE2? Mods I'm guessing? Because the default pop cap is 200 if I'm remembering correctly.

Regardless, the rest of your point stands. None of the Age of Empires games would really control effectively on iOS, especially given how critical keyboard hotkeys are to higher level play.

Unless my wordage is incorrect hundreds ranges between 100~1000. 200 might be on the low end, but its still in there.

Keep in mind that in battles we not only have to select our masses of troops, but we have to do it while they're in melee with possibly several armies of equal size. Also, some of the most popular multiplayer maps at the tail of Kings were custom maps (GWarz), in which units spawned endlessly. I doubt iOS will be supporting the map editor though.

 

[Falterfire]

Unless my wordage is incorrect hundreds ranges between 100~1000. 200 might be on the low end, but its still in there.

Keep in mind that in battles we not only have to select our masses of troops, but we have to do it while they're in melee with possibly several armies of equal size. Also, some of the most popular multiplayer maps at the tail of Kings were custom maps (GWarz), in which units spawned endlessly. I doubt iOS will be supporting the map editor though.

Hundreds implies multiple hundreds, which means 200+. Which is impossible in AoE2 unless you have zero villagers, which would be an unorthodox tactic to say the least.

But anyways! Yeah, it's not going to work. At all.

 

[Evil Smurf]

I have AOE 2 HD all ready! So why do I want this? Even though I probably will buy this app. How will I input cheats though?

 

[Ironside]

If its only the first AoE no thanks unless they add gates to it. AoE2 on the other hand would be awesome even though I already brought it again on Steam.

 

[rasputin0009]

Can you say watered down and microtransactions galore? After Age of Empires Online, I can tell my most played series to go fuck itself. With a fist. No, two fists! Ya, that should do.

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

While I haven't played AoEIII, I have mixed feeling about how the controls would work well with touch screen. All strategy game building mechanics are almost ideal for this control input, but I imagine the fighting will lose a lot of flexibility. In Age of Kings I could have hundreds of units in tight formations and I don't see how touch controls are precise enough to micro these armies.

How do I break this to you? It won't be a proper RTS at all. It'll be one of those crappy games where you plonk down buildings in your city every time the game coughs up enough money (whilst prodding you to pay real money to speed it up) and occasionally go through some pissweak turn-based battle section to continue.

Of course Microsoft are willing to whore out the Age of Empires name like that.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Wait, how did you have *hundreds* of units in formation in AoE2? Mods I'm guessing? Because the default pop cap is 200 if I'm remembering correctly.

AoE HD can be modded to allow for 200+ or you could download the (*gasp* probably better *gasp*) Forgotten Empires mod and have 1,000.

My thoughts are that Microsoft are rather forgetting that the only dose of AoE that people want is AGE OF EMPIRES IV for crying out loud! It has been 8 long and tiresome years since the last installment.

 

[Falterfire]

AoE HD can be modded to allow for 200+ or you could download the (*gasp* probably better *gasp*) Forgotten Empires mod and have 1,000.

My thoughts are that Microsoft are rather forgetting that the only dose of AoE that people want is AGE OF EMPIRES IV for crying out loud! It has been 8 long and tiresome years since the last installment.

No, I think I can state with a good deal of certainty that the only AoE the fanbase wants is an updated rerelease of AoE2, which has since been delivered. I'm pretty sure there is literally nothing else that will make the AoE fanbase happy. As far as I know every release since AoE2 (AoM, AoE3, and AoEO) have been declared non-entities by the fanbase of AoE2. Which studio exactly do you expect to make the mythical AoE4 that will actually be accepted by the fanbase?