Age of Empires II HD on Steam

[flesk]

I'm not sure when this was announced, but it's awesome news regardless. Age of Empires II is coming to Steam in HD:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/221380/

Even though I own a physical copy already I've been hoping for a digital release on GOG for ages because everybody should play this gem. Really didn't expect an HD version to hit Steam though.

I'm hoping this becomes popular enough that we might see HD releases of Age of Empires and Age of Mythology eventually too.

[Chyron8472]

Having not played the series, why is playing an HD version of 2 better than playing 3?

[flesk]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

Having not played the series, why is playing an HD version of 2 better than playing 3?

Because of its awesomeness. 3 is good enough but 2 is generally regarded as the definitive highpoint of the series.

[Alcoremortis]

Playing the non HD version on a non-compatible computer is better than playing III.

[Chyron8472]

What did they change about III that sucked?

Again, I'm genuinely asking, as a person who has not played any Age of Empires game.

[flesk]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

What did they change about III that sucked?

They're not too different gameplay wise except from the pretty much uninteresting hometown addition in AoE III. What makes AoE II really stand out is the incredible diversity of the historical campaigns. There aren't many special units or research advantages per culture, but they're enough that they all feel genuinely interesting to explore.

[Laserschwert]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

Playing the non HD version on a non-compatible computer

How can you play it if the computer isn't compatible?

[der_ketzer]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

What did they change about III that sucked?

First of all they created the game in a 3D engine.
Second: Age Of Kings was perfect. They couldn't have made a better Age Of Empires title.

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

How can you play it if the computer isn't compatible?

Well the original has several problems with modern hardware. On my old PC (Win XP) it crashed a lot and changed the colours to LSD-Trip-Levels after about 2 minutes of playtime or less. On my old old computer (Win 98) everything ran flawless.
And even on my XP machine I'd rather play Age of Kings instead of AoEIII.

[flesk]

Originally Posted by der_ketzer

First of all they created the game in a 3D engine.

AoM was already in 3D though and it didn't suck. It probably has the least single player content of the Age games but it's really great fun if you're into mythology. Playing as vikings is very different from cultures in the other games in that they're based around mobility and they gather favor through fighting.

[der_ketzer]

Originally Posted by flesk

AoM was already in 3D though and it didn't suck.

I disagree.

[flesk]

Originally Posted by der_ketzer

I disagree.

What's wrong with it?

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by Chyron8472

What did they change about III that sucked?

Again, I'm genuinely asking, as a person who has not played any Age of Empires game.

Basically, it was way too easy. The hometown system made it ridiculous, really because it was a way of instantly getting tons of stuff that was out of your normal league. When I played it, there was very little strategy required to easily win every scenario, whereas in the original and AoE II, it was essential to plan your encounters and make good use of resources. Here, it didn't seem to matter as much because you could always send away for it.

I also wasn't too fond of the fact that there wasn't as much of an emphasis on actual history, which has always kinda been the foundation for the series. Part of the joy of the original was playing through actual historical events and watching your actions become part of history. The third one didn't really have that because most of the characters you were using were completely fictional.

And, as a pretentious reason... Age of Empires II was beautiful and aged well. I still love the cutscenes. And, as adventure game fans will note... hand drawn artwork. Also, the music was pretty fantastic, especially for a strategy game. It never overshadowed the action but had a real presence nonetheless.

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

How can you play it if the computer isn't compatible?

Exactly my point.


Also, I didn't mind Age of Mythology as much because it at least had a difficulty curve... but I still vastly prefer Age of Kings/Conquerer's Expansion.

[inm8#2]

Wololo.

[ted12]

I found a copy of AoEII and the expansion at a yard sale and I spent an afternoon getting it to run stably on my Win7 PC. Totally worth it.

[Alcoremortis]

I've done that myself. Just a note, don't try using the Diplomacy tab to send supplies to allies. It crashed the game when I tried it. This means you'll have to cheat past the first scenario of Ghengis Khan, unfortunately.

[ted12]

Really? I've had no issues with it. On a side note, I preordered the HD version. We'll have to murder each other at some point.

[Alcoremortis]

Maybe it was the way I got it to work, but the Diplomacy button destroyed everything whenever I used it. So I was very undiplomatic and murdered everything. Then again, I was also playing through the campaign, so perhaps it's different on multiplayer, which I have never used.

Mainly because I didn't have an internet connection on the computer I played AoE II on as a kid.