Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition (AKA AoE2 HD HD)

[fantadomat]

Yeah i ma replaying all the campaigns while listening to horror stories on the youtube. Shame that the path finding is that shit. Also I need more expansions!

How happy are you with Bulgarians?

Ahh i am fine with the nation and its tech,we did bring stir ups in evropa,tho konnik is pretty generic name,it means horseman in english. It should have been a Boil/Боил which were the equivalent to boyar,it means a patriarch of clan/house. They were the backbone of the bulgar army since service was mandatory to all citizens and punishment for neglecting owned weapons and horses were severe......aka death by being ripped apart by bulls or horses. Thus being a clan head was like being the chief of a brigada,a mid level officers. The konnik model is pretty accurate too,the standard bulgar was pretty heavy cavalry,the horse had chain mail protection,the warrior had a saber,s spear,a bow,a mace and a shield.

The campaign on the other side is retarded shit lol,from all the glorious leaders we have,they chose a dude that rarely even gets a page in the history books and nobody really cares about him. And it ends up by him getting wrecked by some avar shitheads lol. I could make 10 better campaigns depicting different leaders.

Generally speaking....well i don't care about we being represented in games by dumb and degenerate westerners. We have our history,our leaders,our culture and our people. We will still be here when they fall and new powers arise in their place.

 

[smaug]

I am going to try this game out again (New to this type of game.) and I'm not sure which version to buy, it seems the DE is better in most ways, but I read it changes the voice-acting, music and UI? Anyway to mod that to the original?

 

[Cael]

I am going to try this game out again (New to this type of game.) and I'm not sure which version to buy, it seems the DE is better in most ways, but I read it changes the voice-acting, music and UI? Anyway to mod that to the original?

Get the original. It is far better.

 

[Lacrymas]

I am going to try this game out again (New to this type of game.) and I'm not sure which version to buy, it seems the DE is better in most ways, but I read it changes the voice-acting, music and UI? Anyway to mod that to the original?

You can choose the original soundtrack in the options afaik. As for the new voice acting, I don't think there's a mod to restore the originals. While the old voices are more memorable, I don't think you'll notice it if you haven't played the og campaigns, and even if you have it's whatever imo. That said, I think the DE is the one to go with, it includes every campaign released so far and that's what the majority of people are playing if you are interested in multiplayer/PvP. It's still being updated and the graphics are spectacular. They managed to update everything without losing the old 2D charm and aesthetics. You also have a "very hard" AI setting which trips up even veteran players, so there's that.

 

[Oreshnik Missile]

Doesn't DE have a new set of campaigns though??????

Yeah,and they even fixed the forgotten campaign. For campaign binge is ok,currently i am doing it while listening to ghost/horror stories on youtube.

Ty for mentioning this, can confirm that the Forgotten campaigns appear to have been completely reworked - and they are good.

 

[Lacrymas]

They fixed a bunch of things, including wrong documentation about civ bonuses and camels are no longer treated as boats. It also seems they are committed to this (too bad they aren't as committed to AoE1), so you'll get a constant stream of updates, along with seasonal events if you are into that sort of thing. I forgot to mention you get a bit more content with the DE as well, with the introduction of historical battles, new game modes like Battle Royale, and the Art of War mini-campaign that teaches you ~advanced concepts about the game.

 

[fantadomat]

It is one of the best remakes we have seen in a decade for sure,would have bought it if it was on gog. Its biggest problem is the path finding tho,it is pretty bad when in formation.

 

[Shrimp]

Doesn't DE have a new set of campaigns though??????

Yeah,and they even fixed the forgotten campaign. For campaign binge is ok,currently i am doing it while listening to ghost/horror stories on youtube.

Ty for mentioning this, can confirm that the Forgotten campaigns appear to have been completely reworked - and they are good.

I didn't know that, might actually give some of them a try now.
I have DE but I never wanted to replay the Forgotten campaigns since the ones I did play on the old HD version felt way too artificial (which I guess makes sense since they originally were player made custom scenarios) and were full of weird glitches.

 

[Infinitron]

With the end of the year approaching fast, the winter festivities are kicking off with a familiar celebration in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! We've prepared an avalanche of new, winter-themed goodies—available alongside last year's rewards—for you to unlock and enjoy over the next month. All of these presents are yours to open as a part of the WINTER FESTIVAL EVENT!

 

[Oreshnik Missile]

With the end of the year approaching fast, the winter festivities are kicking off with a familiar celebration in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition! We've prepared an avalanche of new, winter-themed goodies—available alongside last year's rewards—for you to unlock and enjoy over the next month. All of these presents are yours to open as a part of the WINTER FESTIVAL EVENT!

For some reason they are afraid to use the word CHRISTMAS! No doubt because of its first syllable!

 

[a Goat]

https://www.ageofempires.com/news/pre-order-lords-of-the-west/

Lords of the West—the first official expansion to Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition—is now available to pre-order or add to your wishlist for the holiday season. Here's what it brings to Age II: DE:

• Challenge your friends with two all-new civilizations, each of which include unique units and technologies for you to explore!
  
• Battle across Western Europe and the Mediterranean in three new campaigns—including the British king, Edward Longshanks!
  
• Claim victory by means of sheer military might, diplomatic prowess, or through overwhelming economic power!
  
• New achievements to earn on your Xbox or Steam account! Check out the full list, below.

Lords of the West will be released on the Windows Store and Steam this January 26th, 2021!

 

[Oreshnik Missile]

Lords of the West? It better not have goddamn Iroquois or whateverthefuck.

 

[a Goat]

Burgundians and Sicilians

 

[fantadomat]

Lords of the West? It better not have goddamn Iroquois or whateverthefuck.

Most likely a bunch of gay kings or something similar.

 

[fantadomat]

Sicilians

If there is a campaign about cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo killing off disgusting jacobines,that will be really good !

 

[a Goat]

Sicilians

If there is a campaign about cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo killing off disgusting jacobines,that will be really good !

campaign will be Robert de Hauteville

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/age-of-empires-ii-definitive-edition/new-civilizations

Age of Empires 2 DE: “If there’s appetite for more civs, why not?”

Last week, Microsoft announced that Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition was getting a new expansion bringing – surprisingly – two brand-new civs to the RTS game. Called the Lords of the West DLC, the pack’s set to bring the Burgundians and Sicilians to AoE2 in late January. Previously, the strategy game’s devs told us they were “done adding civs”, so we reached out to ask what’s changed – and it turns out there could be even more to come in the future, too.

“When we launched Age of Empires II: DE, we genuinely didn’t think we’d be expanding the game further,” Bert Beeckman, co-founder and lead designer at Forgotten Empires tells us. “The Definitive Edition provides over 200 hours of just single-player content before even diving into skirmish games or multiplayer – people will never run out of things to do in Age of Empires II, right? Well, Age of Empires II and its community are a phenomenon; it has been so for the past 20 years and continues to [be] so.”

The dev tells us that the community’s reception of the DE, which was launched in November last year, “has been great”, and that, “with a growing player base, the demand for new content started to rise”.

Highlighting the bunch of free content that’s dropped into the title since launch – for example, new units (“flaming camels!”), challenge missions, and that recent Age of Empires 2 battle royale mode – Beeckman says there was still “demand for more” from players. So, the devs “went back to the drawing board and looked where [they] could add new content”.



“First, we looked at the stories we still wanted to tell,” he explains. “We noticed, for example, that the Britons, despite being the most popular civilisation in the game, did not have a dedicated story campaign. At the same time, civilisations have always been the most anticipated pieces of content for the community, so with the temptation of telling a story about the Britons, we looked at what else we could do in the region. As we looked for other stories to tell, we considered new civilisations, to tell these stories. And gradually we just got to the point where we should go all-in and create a pair of brand-new civilisations.”

Additionally, series creative designer at Microsoft Adam Isgreen tells us: “As one of the people that said we think we’re done adding civilisations, I really thought we would be at the time!” He adds that the devs’ goal, as Beeckman has explained, “is to listen to all the Age fans, and what we were hearing from them was they wanted more, so we decided we’d go for it and create two new civilisations for players in addition to the new campaigns we wanted to create”.



As for whether there’ll be even more new civs headed to Age of Empires 2 going forward isn’t fully clear just yet – however, it looks like devs are leaving the door open, with player demand being a key factor in the possibility of more. “Much like with Lords of the West, we’ll see what the community wants,” Beeckman tells us following our question about the chance of more civs. “The Age of Empires II community has been as alive as it has ever been; if there’s appetite for more, why not expand the menu?”

The Age of Empires 2 Lords of the West DLC pack launches on January 26, 2021 for $9.99 / £7.99, and is available for pre-order right now.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/age-of-empires-ii-definitive-edition/lords-of-the-west-civilizations

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition’s new civs are “disruptive”, but fans love it

The new civilisations coming in the Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition’s Lords of the West expansion are already raising eyebrows, and they’re not even out yet. Whether you feel they’re ‘OP’, or exactly what the game needs, the developers seem to be in the mood to keep things fresh for one of RTS games’ most passionate communities.

“Something we learned from previous civilisation is that people like bonuses that shake things up,” said Bert Beeckman, co-founder and lead designer at Forgotten Empires.

In case you weren’t aware, the new civs are pretty stupendous. The Burgundians have a unique cavalry unit called the Coustillier that can charge its’ attack stat for devastating early hits, making them excellent shock troops. If that doesn’t work though, they also have a unique technology called the Flemish Revolution that allows them to turn all their villagers into Flemish Militia – which are heavy infantry with anti-cav bonuses – as a last-ditch defence. The Sicilians meanwhile lean into their historical Norman/crusader roots. Their unique ‘First Crusade’ tech will, upon completion, spawn a one-time group of seven ‘Serjeants’ at every town centre. Serjeants are the unique Sicilian unit; they are heavy infantry that can build the ‘Donjon’ building, which is a unique fortification used to train more Serjeants. It can be garrisoned for added firepower.

That’s not to mention the technology they have that can give a one-off gold boost based on how many military units they have on the field.



These are all “novel” concepts for Age of Empires II, according to Beeckman, but he claims that – like the “disruptive” civs that have come before – they’re still very much ‘on-brand’ for the game.

“The more disruptive a civilisation can be, the more people like to play with them, even if they’re not a top tier civ for competitive players. That’s what we aimed to do with the new civilisations as well, let’s try new things,” Beeckman concluded.



This may not be the last time the team decides to add new civs to the game either. Despite claiming back in July 2019 that they were “done adding civs” they’ve since stated that “if there’s appetite”, they’ll probably look at adding more.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Lords of the West will be released on PC via Steam and the Microsoft store on January 26, 2021 for $9.99 / £7.99. It is available for pre-order right now.

 

[fantadomat]

I personally don't care much about new civs,but am interested in new campaigns. I assume that there is a decent number of people like me,that don't care about multi and such shit and only like to play a nice campaign and see new interesting maps/missions.

 

[Lacrymas]

Great! Now do AoE1!

Oh, and start working on that Age of Mythology DE! Remove the auto queue of units!

 

[Cael]

Age of Mythology needs to get code optimisation. I recall it lagging my computer in ways AoC never did.

 

[Preben]

A gunpowder/war wagon/cavalry focused Wends (Poles & Czechs) as a new civilization would be a blast.

 

[a Goat]

A gunpowder/war wagon/cavalry focused Wends (Poles & Czechs) as a new civilization would be a blast.

Because we don't have enough hun-lite civs.

 

[Preben]

A gunpowder/war wagon/cavalry focused Wends (Poles & Czechs) as a new civilization would be a blast.

Because we don't have enough hun-lite civs.

Huns are a gunpowder civ? Good to know.

 

[a Goat]

Huns are a gunpowder civ? Good to know

90% of games end in castle age anyway so you'll play it mostly like huns. Just like everyone plays bulgarians, magyars and a bunch of others.

 

[Mastermind]

Oh, and start working on that Age of Mythology DE! Remove the auto queue of units!

What's the point? There already is an "improved" edition (extended edition) that has the Exterminatus level assblast causing chinks in it.