http://ageofwonders.com/category/news/
Age of wonders 3 can now be pre-ordered from Steam and GoG. The release date is march 31st!
Lots of previews are appearing (thanks goes to 'Tibbles' for collecting them):
OnRPG.com Preview
http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/age-of-wonders-3-early-access-preview/
Gamespot Preview
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/age-of-wonders-iii-feels-like-a-highlight-reel-of-pc-gaming-s-best/1100-6418108/
IGN Preview
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/17/age-of-wonders-3-blends-fantasy-and-sid-meieras-civilization
Rock Paper Shotgun Preview
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/02/12/hands-on-age-of-wonders-iii/
(German) 4Players Preview
http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/PC-CDROM/34262/2138730/Age_of_Wonders_3|Angespielt_Fantasievolle_4X-Rundestrategie.html
(Dutch) Gamer.nl Preview
http://www.gamer.nl/preview/452321/age-of-wonders-3-hands-on-wunderbar
(German) PCgames.de Preview
http://www.pcgames.de/Age-of-Wonders-3-PC-256884/Specials/Age-of-Wonder-3-in-der-Vorschau-Feine-Rundenstrategie-aus-Holland-1110365/
(Polish) GRY-online.pl Preview
http://www.gry-online.pl/S022.asp?ID=9543
(German) Gameswelt.de preview
http://www.gameswelt.de/age-of-wonders-iii/preview/seite-1,215419,1
Incgamers.com Preview
http://www.incgamers.com/2014/03/look-tactical-combat-age-of-wonders-iii
StrategyInformer.com Preview
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/ageofwondersiii/1103/preview.html
Eurogamer Preview
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-03-03-the-magical-mystery-tour-exploring-the-world-of-age-of-wonders-3
Spacesector Preview
http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/03/age-of-wonders-3-preview/
There are definitely some things that AOW does better here than FE:LH, but I'm wishing that AOW learned some of the lessons that FE did.
More to come, but there are definitely strengths and weaknesses here in comparison to one another. Also, graphics aren't quite as good as I expected, but gameplay > graphics.
first thought: the soundtrack is amazing
Well, I bought it on the basis of comments made in this post, and.....
I don't like it.
I sprang for the deluxe edition knowing that the soundtrack would be awesome. The music from the other AOW games has always stayed with me, and really defines what I expect from music in a fantasy game. AOW3 remains true to that.
Please elaborate...
Did you not watch the multitude of let's play videos out there. From watching those I found the game play exactly the same as the let's play.
Never mind, it was only £30, and I think you can get a refund from GOG, if I wanted one that is.
It has done one thing good that is worth mentioning. It has made me appreciate LH much more.
There you go trolling again, Tattyhat.
Oi, at least I had something to say that's related to the game, you're just on here name calling.
Mr. Van Den Bos has definitely hit another one out of the park
I think Tattyhat can definitely say the game was not to their liking. That wasn't trolling in any sense. There are aspects of the game that LH did better and some that I like from AoW. There is also a very nice character when playing LH that I don't feel when I play AoW. But, I like both games as they provide me with different enjoyment from each.
Above post is pretty much how I feel.
That said, if Brad could just make the tactical AI in LH as good as it is in AOW. It feels like that's the largestmissing element.
Yeah, that tactical combat in AoW seems very well thought out... boy that AI is merciless.
edit: I tried to egg it to hit someone else, and it went straight for my throat.
Hmm, it's not productive to just say "I don't like it". He's done it before in other threads and had nothing to back that statement up with.
It is no different than coming to the Legendary Heroes forum and saying the same with absolutely nothing else to say.
But to say an opinion doesn't mean he is trolling.
What he said was after purchasing the game following some advice here, he did not like it.
One could deduce from this statement that the advice / presentation of the ideas in this thread do not accurately reflect the game play experience he thought he would have. Hence it is a very informative post to others that
A. The game is inexpensive. (his follow up comment)
B. You should be wary following this advice from this thread without doing research on the side. As this thread might not accurately portray everything about the game.
What level were you guys playing on? I was playing normal, and I didn't think the AI was all that hot. It might just have been luck though.
I was playing on normal. There is some element of luck and so far if I was looking from playing both sides, the AI is doing roughly what I would choose to do. There are times they are not, but sometimes their attempt proves extremely profitable for a long-haul game.
But I should note, I'm not that great of a player and I play most of these games casually and for fun.
For example, when the computer suggests that I would likely be defeated, then if I didn't use any magic to turn the tide, that statement would be true. I'm not saying the AI is doing mistakes, but it is pretty accurate on expectations (in my situation)
i only played a couple hours but the feeling is great atm
its just... MOM
they didnt even think much about changing it, its all mom everywhere, even the name of the buildings... and it works...
it was just remodernized but the essence is all there, and the gameplay is really enjoyable, sieges are great, i mean they really feel like sieges, being inside a town feel like you are well defended and all, units are a lot and interesting
maybe the only downside is that it feels a bit civ 4 vanilla, zerging seems the way to go and too easy since ai doesnt do the same
about ai im not sure, sometimes it seems to play really perfect, waiting inside and not rushing to get focused but sometimes it doesnt... dunno if its a bug or part of the ai force a rush in some situation, maybe when the defending has too little ranged they decide to rush (which is the right choice after all)
Did you play much of the first two games? They(ESPECIALLY Shadow Magic) were very close to a MoM successor. I feel that AoW3 has actually moved away from MOM with this installment.
I'm still getting used to the more rigid class system. I'm not sure I like that particular change, but I am enjoying the game overall. And it does a great job of retaining the essence and flavor of the previous games despite the huge gap in years and the changes.
I'm sorry, Tatty, but I disagree in regards to the AI, especially the battle AI, which has traditionally been on of the series' strong suits. When you look to other games in the same vein, such as WoM or Warlock, you find some truly mediocre tactical AI. I won't even touch on the Heroes series, as I'm pretty certain the AI cheats.
In regards to AI rushing out during a siege, I've noticed that happens a lot when I hold back and pelt them with spells. It seems they decide it's better to get some hits in rather than be slowly pecked to death.
I'm thinking about buying... but not sure how my laptop will respond.
My computer is pretty good, but I found the campaign map to be a little laggy, but I would say a few patch's from now and it might be a different story.
When it come's to AI, I'm a bit back-to-front. When people say the AI is hard, I usually find it easy. When they say the AI is easy, I find it really hard.
Yeah, there's definitely some of that going on. I used a lot of archers and they ran out immediately in every fight (only their own archers stayed behind).
I'm having some serious issues keeping my melee units alive. They can go in at full health, attack, then get counter-attacked. Then when it's the enemy turn they just kill my wounded melee unit. It's even worse for heroes that I just can't make work in melee so far. Maybe I should have upgraded defense more...
I love the different villages you can find, very well done. I'm not overly fond of having to find individual hexes of terrain to terraform inside a city's hex - seems like there should be a "turn all hexes into likables" button. The tactical nuances are overwhelming in the start (is there even a range indicator for ranged attacks?), and the strategy map could use a couple of more mechanics to keep it from being tedious. But it beats warlock 2 by a mile, and it sets the bar extremely high for the next Elemental game. Ain't competition a nice thing!
I have only played 10 min so far. Gal Civ III alpha is still grabbing my attention too hard
But I should eventually give it a few hours in the next days. My first impression was pretty good.
did you try outmoving enemies? if you attack from behind they dont counterattack (also you get a bonus)
a cool trick i found is using unicorns (They can teleport behind) to first attack and turn the enemy and then charge/attack with other melees
also there are specials very cool like assassins with that ability i forgot the name that does a lot of dmg and make enemies not retaliate
i think combat is very deep and cool but i agree with you that basic melees are pretty mcuh cannon fodder until you figure out some trick to help them
I played two nights straight and i think it beats LH through the next wall. I think it is just better at everything it does. You could say it is, what i hoped LH would be. Also it has much more flair then LH ever had for me. The (elven) campaign intro is much more inspiring then anything i ever read in LH (sorry Frogboy). The little stories that are attached to every unit are a labor of love. Hero leveling is done better, giving hard choices everytime and making me care much more about my heroes. The tactical battles are much better done, so much in fact that i like to play them. Which i sadly never did in LH.
I also tried Multiplayer with a friend and its unbelievable good. Its Multiplayer done right. It's easy to setup, stable and features simultaneous turns.
Friend and me got both an army adjecent to an enemy city and he attacked. What a great surprise, when i was able to participate in the battle with my army. That was grand!
For me its the new benchmark in all things TBS.
Disclaimer:
Yes it has bugs (no crashes tho)
I suck at TBS games, so it is a nice challenge for me. I am sure some cracks here dont agree with me on that.
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