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AOE: Wavering on Releasing Mods and Info

As the title says, I'm wavering on releasing mods or specific back-side game info.

You see, Ensemble Studios has to be an ass like that. Making you feel a bit guilty for thinking of releasing mods. Then they start making you think about it.

And thinking.

And a bit more thinking.

Then you review what it says in the game about crap:

Note: where it says "Close" on the picture, in a grey box, does not actually close the window. Click the little "X" idiot.

After reviewing that, you think again.

Then you give a note saying, "If this is illegal, I'm sorry. It's hard to say whether or not having this code out is against copyright; it can't be used without owning the game. If this is illegal, email me via the Contact page and I'll take it down ASAP."

No, but that note is real. If/when I release the code and texture file for Soturi that note will be there.

So, as closing, the production of Soturi is slow; I have yet to hear back from somebody I've asked about the very strange texture file. He's made several, or many, great units. I've only seen two, but it seems like he's had tons of practice.

If you have Age of Empires 3 and would like to learn about it, tutorials on aspects of it and accessible features and such, refer to Heaven Games until I write some of my own tutorials. They'll be, possibly, even more descriptive. For the idiots out there who know nothing of AOE, buy it. Great RTS game. Fun for a long long time. Multiplayer online's great too. Go to it's website. Note: I think you need Flash player to AOE3 website's full content. Get it.

RTS: Real Time Strategy

Important News Update: This post was pre-written, and on Apr 7 I've received a reply. Soturi will be released earlier than expected. :D

Age of Empires 3 – About

A bit late on that promise I made Friday, but better late than never.

What it's about

AOE3 jumps into the 3d genre of PC gaming, strait from AOE2. The campaigns take place in the 1400's to 1800's CE. There is no real storyline continuation from AOE2, which I know nothing about, but when you start campaign, you start the campaign.

Made in 2005, AOE3 is a great time-waster. The campaign follows the tale of the Black family, starting with Morgan - one of the last Knights of Saint John. You start off in a fight for your life - Hold the fort, stay alive until you're done.

I played the campaign a long time ago, so I can't remember tons of details, but the plot is good, though predictable.

This is NOT a review, by the way. Just what the game's about, and some comments of my own.

Location

AOE3 is set in the New World, and the campaign takes part it, at some points, major events in the Americas. Although you go from place to place in the campaign, and at different times, each campaign "act" is united by a common enemy and purpose.

The Civs

The game comes with 8 civiliazations that have made their mark on the world. Here they are and who they're lead by:

1. British - Queen Elizabeth I
2. Dutch - Maurice of Nassau
3. French - Napoleon
4. German - Frederick the Great
5. Ottoman - Suleiman the Magnificent
6. Portuguese - Henry the Navigator
7. Russian - Ivan the Terrible
8. Spanish - Queen Isabella I

Each civ has it's own special units and versions of a common unit(s). Surprisingly, it's pretty well balanced fighting, but attacking early while the enemy's weak or attacking late with a massive army and strong economy can really change how you win.

While the Spanish receive shipments faster, while the Russians train larger armies - albeit weaker ones - faster. The French settlers gather faster, but the Dutch have constand coin income via banks.

Musketeers are great against cavalry, but their shorter range can be taken advantage of by using Skirmishers - a long range rifle unit.

While the Dutch Ruyter is great against cavalry, it's weak against infantry.

Features

Online Multiplayer - The game features a large, online match-making lobby, where it's quick and easy to join and create games with rules or none at all. Learn new strategy, compete with friends, and level up all your civs. Loads of fun, and there's always something new.

Scenario Editor - This great feature, letting you create, modify, and play scenarios made by you or downloaded has a huge following. I only recently got into only one (1) technical aspect of it, and I love it. Fun to play, but a bit hard to learn without a proper tutorial. Not all the tutorials feel absolutely complete there, but the best by far tutorial, community, and mod/screnario download center is "Age of Empires 3 Heaven" on Heaven games. I only just worked out a backend half of Creating a New Unit. Still, very helpful, and very informative.

Requirements

The more boring part of the game, but this must be shown. I've got the box right next to me now, so these are, er, strait from the box.

Windows: XP - 256 MB RAM

Processor: 1.4 GHz

Hard drive: 2 GB

Video Card: 64 MB with support for hardware transformation and lighting

Other: sound card & speakers/headphones

Online/Multiplayer Requirements: 56K dial-up Internet Access or LAN

It DOES NOT work on Vista. In case you didn't read the part about it saying XP, it doesn't work right on Vista. Problems may vary.

That raps it up for now, but if I remember anything else, or want to add anything else, this'll be republished.