Everything we learned about the new civilizations, campaigns, and Vulolos of the Age of Empires IV

We haven’t heard much Age of Empires IV Since it was announced in 2017, we have finally been given a look at the game, which includes the Mongols and the Delhi Sultanates as playable civilizations. Microsoft and developer Avatar Entertainment featured gameplay footage as well as new features and civilizations coming to the series In a “Fan Preview” Event. The game also has a release window: 2021 Fall.

Last main entry in the long-running historical strategy series Was released in 2005, And the new game seeks to build on the formulas created by previous entries, while adding features made possible by 15-ish years of technological improvements. This includes obvious things – like 4K and HDR – for more strategy game-centric upgrades, like new pathfinding that will accommodate tons of units.

According to the team behind the game, the game will have eight civilizations in its initial release. By now, we know four of them: Mongol and Delhi Sultanate making their first appearance age of Empires, And Chinese and English will be returning. Until now, not a great deal of information has been found about the unique abilities and traits of each civilization. However, we did get to see that the Delhi Sultanate would include elephant units and the Mongols would have the ability to pack and move their buildings and towns (which are mind-blowing to see in action).

Picture: Microsoft

During a Q&A, Rellick talked a lot about adding heterogeneity to civilizations; The team wanted to ensure that each played differently, playing with randomly generated maps with the strengths and weaknesses of different civilizations. For example, a wide-open map can benefit Mongols with their highly mobile units and towns, while a map with too many chokepoints can take advantage of defense-heavy English. There will still be similar classes of units, but the developers wanted to make sure players could switch the gameplay genre if they wanted to and even staple a certain civilization if they really liked the mechanics of it. Huh.

The creators of the game also talked about the development of campaigns, which serve as a kind of story mode. age of Empires. He reported that the game would have four campaigns but details were shared about only one: Norman Victory. I’m not enough of a history buff to know anything about that, but it seems like the game must have been trying to teach me. The team talked in detail about the fact that the campaigns will include documentary footage along with statements about real-life historical events through which you will be playing.

Picture: Microsoft

The game will also include some new mechanics. The studio showed a very interesting feature, called the Stealth Force, which allows players to create ambushes, where enemies would not be able to see their units hiding and waiting. This is a composition whose creators hope will not only increase the excitement and tension in the gameplay, but will actually give you a reason to retain scout units, as you will need to ensure that an entire army is on your way. Is not hidden

The incident also showed wall battles, where units were able to fight both in front of and over the castle walls, and siege mechanics, where one could be surrounded by base units and – as the name implies – siege Weapon. Both of these mechanics should help make raids and defenses more strategic. We also got a brief glimpse into a field-effect Wololo, something that is very intriguing to fans age of Empires And remembers alike.

GIF: Microsoft

Fans of older entries in the series also have things to look forward to. Talked about the developers Age of Empires IV Being a spiritual successor AoE II, While still incorporating some elements III, Such as the addition of choice in aging mechanics. Fixed version of age of Empires Second And Third Updates are also being received.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Its second expansion is getting the pack, titled Dawn of Deuce, which will focus on Eastern Europe. The game will also have a co-op at some point this year, which will allow you to play through some campaigns and battles with friends.

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition The United States is being added as a civilization as an update. Clearly, if you play with a challenge, the update will be free, but players who don’t want to go through the effort will be able to buy it from Steam or the Microsoft Store. It was also revealed that earlier AOE III: Definitive Edition The expansion is being worked on and will feature African civilizations.

As someone who played hundreds of hours Second age, I am excited for the technological tree progress Age of Empires IV. Definitely, I would love more details, especially after such a long wait after the announcement. What other civilizations will we have to fulfill? What do future expansion plans look like? Will there be fun cheat codes? These questions remain unanswered for now, but it seems as if it won’t be a full age before we find out. I am eager to figure out how to play the game and immediately forget everything about being crushed by an easy AI when it finally releases.

Age of Empires IV Steam for PC in 2021 will be available on Windows 10 PCs through the Microsoft Store and Xbox Game Pass.