Best AoE3 Features!

[Darwin_]

Hey, in the spirit of @iNcog 's recent posts/threads about AoE2 DE, I thought it would be interesting for us to talk about what some of AoE3's best features are! I have been watching AoE2 DE videos on youtube a lot (mostly viper's), and while I find that game entertaining to watch, every time I try to play it myself, I always feel let down and reminded of how awesome AoE3 can be. Here is what I've thought of so far:

- Clear counter system: Every unit has tags, every attack has clear bonuses, and very little is hidden, making the counter system easy to learn and easy to master, allowing players more time to devote to strategy as opposed to acquiring game knowledge

- Snare: I remember Goodspeed saying that he didn't like snaring in some thread, and boy could I not disagree more. Not only is snaring fairly accurate to real world combat (wherein cavalry was mostly deployed against retreating troops to harass and slow them down), but it is an incredibly important feature that allows melee units to be effective in a ranged-unit dominant combat environment without just giving them insane stats.

- Batch Training/Unit shipments allowing for unit "pops": One thing I hate about AoE2 is how every battle feels like a battle of attrition, and I credit that mostly to how units are trained 1-by-1 in that game. Because units come in larger "steps," so to speak, in AoE3, timing, battle micromanagement, and scouting seem more important, which makes for a more compelling game than the heavily macro-focused AoE2.

This is just what I came up with, what are some other things people like about AoE3?

[iNcog]

I truly like the counter system and the way units interact in AOE3. :)

I like the circular maps.

Batch training is also nice, definitely like that feature.

[RuinousEdge]

attack move. so Godly

[n0el]

I like treasure creeping, gold sources on water (although I wish they depleted like mines), and native posts.

[WickedCossack]

I like the shipment mechanic (make sure no aoe2 players reading this.)

Also the pacing is just perfect - in terms of u got a little warmp up to get going (age 1) but games can still end super early in age 2 or can play out quite long for 1 hour.

APM's required also hits the right spot so you don't have to be a 400 apm korean to be competitive, but there are opportunites to showcase your micro if that's in your arsenal.

[lordraphael]

shipment mechanic. Its actually the most distinguishing feature of the whole game compared to pretty much any rts. and i think its a great mechaninc altho they didnt really implement it that well.

[deleted_user]

I like how no one plays it.

[Astaroth]

Unique distinctive civs. I could never play a game like aoe2 for a long time with all civs being very similar to each other, aside from a few special units or mechanics.

I also have to say overall I prefer the importance of natural res in aoe3 which results in more actiom packed games, although a bit more focus on eco would be nice.

[Snow Lynx]

Definitely love making troops in batches. In my personal opinion, AOE 2 DE feels long and drawn out just because I can only make 1 troop at a time - just needlessly wastes time!

I also like the addition of export in AOE 3, and I feel that AOE 2 maybe should’ve designed their gold that way maybe?

And the variety of each Civ is great in AOE 3, even between the European civs.

Just feels like a smoother game in my opinion - but I’m glad we have them both, so there’s no need to choose lol =D

[RefluxSemantic]

I like almost everything about aoe3. I wouldnt care for a 15 year old game if I didnt.

Most importantly, I love that in aoe3 strategy and micro are more important than macro. Macro can be fun, but I feel like once it becomes so hard that Im not keeping up, it diminishes the strategy and micro aspects. When you lose in aoe3, you dont think 'ah, shouldve macroed better', you think about how you could improve your strategy. The secondary focus is micro which is just fun. Its so much more satisfying to micro well than it is to macro well.

There is really no other good rts like this. I really adore aoe3 for this. The strategic aspects are perfect too. Theres a lot of depth, but its also not overwhelming. When there are too many options in a game, its too hard to really grasp the specifics. When there are too few options, its boring. Aoe3 has the perfect amount of options. There are enough to never feel like you have figured it out, but its not overwhelming either.

[crjensen4]

Totally agree. Best game ever!
And I love the addiction that makes me text “1” to my wife when she asks a question I agree with

[Squamiger]

combat is really great. when you crack off 5 dragoon shots at a time to kill a batch of raiding hussar, it feels very definitive. when you get cuirassiers onto strelets, it's extremely satisfying. when you get a heavy cannon blast onto a pack of skirmishers, it just feels really solid. Attacks immediately produce results in game altering ways. I've tried going back to AoM and AoE2 recently and it's unsatisfying because it feels like the way units fight, they just swing their weapons many many times and it slowly works down the enemy HP bar, which just feels weak and lame.

and yea also shipment system is just really really cool.

[harcha]

combat is really great. when you crack off 5 dragoon shots at a time to kill a batch of raiding hussar, it feels very definitive. when you get cuirassiers onto strelets, it's extremely satisfying. when you get a heavy cannon blast onto a pack of skirmishers, it just feels really solid. Attacks immediately produce results in game altering ways. I've tried going back to AoM and AoE2 recently and it's unsatisfying because it feels like the way units fight, they just swing their weapons many many times and it slowly works down the enemy HP bar, which just feels weak and lame.

and yea also shipment system is just really really cool.

yea i enjoy this too. i think this is mostly due to animations and sound design.

[Dolan]

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

[[Armag] diarouga]

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

"- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes"
Honestly this is a thing is every RTS, and cliffs are poorly designed in aoe3 compared to other games like sc2 or aoe 2.

I agree that having a clear counter system has drawbacks because it forces you into a unit composition, while in other games, there are several ways to counter a unit depending on your micro/position/timing.

[Dolan]

SC2 have more futuristic maps which look kinda boring to me.

Yeah, in general, historical RTSes have natural maps, but I think AOE3 had a great implementation of it, though some elements are buggy, I agree. It could have been done better, but it's a game made between 2001-2004 mostly.

[flontier]

3huss shipment is the best aoe3 feature, so that you can finish a game in 5-6min and save time to do more important stuff irl.

[Hazza54321]

3huss shipment is the best aoe3 feature, so that you can finish a game in 5-6min and save time to do more important stuff irl.

More time to do more important stuff like playing more aoe3 games

[RefluxSemantic]

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

"- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes"
Honestly this is a thing is every RTS, and cliffs are poorly designed in aoe3 compared to other games like sc2 or aoe 2.

I agree that having a clear counter system has drawbacks because it forces you into a unit composition, while in other games, there are several ways to counter a unit depending on your micro/position/timing.

The counter system is okay. It's not really as interesting as for example aoe2's unit compositions or sc2 unit counters, as you simple just get the best units of all three types and roll with it. But I really appreciate how the counter system affects the micro. Positioning becomes really important and the skills involved are really subtle but intricate. There's a lot of skill involved in microing and microing well is really fun. This is in part due to the counter system. If aoe3 was lacking in other strategical regards I would have disliked the counter system more, but aoe3 offers plenty of really deep strategical aspects so I'm willing to appreciate the counter system for what it is (and most importantly, for how it positively affects micro).

[SoldieR]

Someone else said it but I think one of the biggest things I enjoy most is the satisfaction of combat. Micoring well, or just having the right units attacking the correct units, cannons with huge volleys. This is immediate and very satisfying. Games like aoe2 or aom, there is no snare and units can literally run through an army and take little damage. Units take quite a while to die in other games and the micro isn't instantly showing results. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that we use guns rather than arrows mostly, so you dont have to wait for the projectile. I think this is why using forest prowlers is so much more satisfying that something like aeena

[Hazza54321]

Seeing +12s when a hc volley kills 20 skirms vs an only skirmisher noob

[EAGLEMUT]

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

"- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes"
Honestly this is a thing is every RTS, and cliffs are poorly designed in aoe3 compared to other games like sc2 or aoe 2.

What the difference between cliffs in AoE2 and AoE3?

[[Armag] diarouga]

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

"- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes"
Honestly this is a thing is every RTS, and cliffs are poorly designed in aoe3 compared to other games like sc2 or aoe 2.

What the difference between cliffs in AoE2 and AoE3?

You get a 25% damage bonus when you have the high ground.

[EAGLEMUT]

Ah, ok, thought you meant something besides that.

[n0el]

Show hidden quotes

- Fast-paced gameplay, with a lot of potential for turnaround through shipments
- Games don't need to last half an hour to get finished, a good rush can cut it short, in under 10min
- Fast-moving units like goons so you don't have to walk on the map for half an hour, like in other games
- Epic artillery collisions - boom, 10 skirms rolling over
- Almost everything can be hotkeyed
- Variety of buildings, wonders, salloon, churches, blockhouses, banks

Other stuff:
- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes
- Insane number of units, I think there are over 1000 total unique units in the game, if we include map elements, which means the in-game world can be built to include a huge variety of things

Not sure I like the counter system. Maybe if there was a weak counter system or no system at all, it would have been better, because it would have challenged you to come up with ways to counter some units and the solutions might not have always been the same (strategic potential).

"- Natural maps with trees, cliffs, rivers, lakes"
Honestly this is a thing is every RTS, and cliffs are poorly designed in aoe3 compared to other games like sc2 or aoe 2.

What the difference between cliffs in AoE2 and AoE3?

You get a 25% damage bonus when you have the high ground.

And in SC2 you don't get vision from the low ground, which is also a great bonus.