Best Age of Empires for Single Player: AoE2 or AoE4?

[HistoryPlayer]

I want to play only Single Player, being campaigns very important feature for me. As now we are on sales period, could you please suggest me an option AoE2 or AoE4? Im not interested in multiplayer, only playing with AI. Also Im new to Age of Empires, never played it before.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Modragor:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

It's funny how you use "modern" and "AoM" in the same sentence whereas Retold is at its core the old 2002 game with some QOL (so, essentially like AoE 2 DE) and some of the AoE 4 players trashed it on reddit for the fact that it's old.

As I said in my other reply in German, it doesn't hurt refreshing your AoE 2 memories bc it also doesn't hurt to extend your horizon outside your comfort zone. :)

AoM was, is and will always be superior to AoE 2 because of its asymmetrical civ design, its extra layer of hero and myth units, its battle changing god powers, its Titans and its overall fun factor.

Even today this are creative and modern elements an AoE 2 will forever miss, so there is no problem with calling AoM modern, compared to the rather basic design of AoE 2.

Nah, both games are equally good for what they do. The points you list in the first paragraph are subjective bc I can only speak for myself here as I enjoy both.

Well, AoE 2 also has "creative" and "modern" elements, especially with its definitive edition.

Btw, have you ever tried AoE 3? It's like AoM but turned up to 11.

[Modragor]

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Originally posted by Modragor:

AoM was, is and will always be superior to AoE 2 because of its asymmetrical civ design, its extra layer of hero and myth units, its battle changing god powers, its Titans and its overall fun factor.

Even today this are creative and modern elements an AoE 2 will forever miss, so there is no problem with calling AoM modern, compared to the rather basic design of AoE 2.

Nah, both games are equally good for what they do. The points you list in the first paragraph are subjective bc I can only speak for myself here as I enjoy both.

Well, AoE 2 also has "creative" and "modern" elements, especially with its definitive edition.

Btw, have you ever tried AoE 3? It's like AoM but turned up to 11.

I played AoE 3 for some time but the card system wasn´t my thing, because it made strong players even stronger (troop shipment additional to rush or res shipment to get even faster up in time) while weaker players struggled even more. Also the community wasn´t there because a lot of people disliked the card system.

I just remember the Russian Oprochnik (?) rush was like the Tarkan rush of the huns with bonus vs buildings. And there were some strats like German hussar rush and Spanish rodelero rush.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Modragor:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Nah, both games are equally good for what they do. The points you list in the first paragraph are subjective bc I can only speak for myself here as I enjoy both.

Well, AoE 2 also has "creative" and "modern" elements, especially with its definitive edition.

Btw, have you ever tried AoE 3? It's like AoM but turned up to 11.

I played AoE 3 for some time but the card system wasn´t my thing, because it made strong players even stronger (troop shipment additional to rush or res shipment to get even faster up in time) while weaker players struggled even more. Also the community wasn´t there because a lot of people disliked the card system.

I just remember the Russian Oprochnik (?) rush was like the Tarkan rush of the huns with bonus vs buildings. And there were some strats like German hussar rush and Spanish rodelero rush.

Well, big problem about the card system was that you had to grind for the cards to unlock them. This was fixed in Definitive Edition as all cards are now unlocked by default + they added a couple of beginner decks to each civ. It's currently the only AoE game to have a demo on Steam, so definitely worth checking out. :)

[Modragor]

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Originally posted by Modragor:

I played AoE 3 for some time but the card system wasn´t my thing, because it made strong players even stronger (troop shipment additional to rush or res shipment to get even faster up in time) while weaker players struggled even more. Also the community wasn´t there because a lot of people disliked the card system.

I just remember the Russian Oprochnik (?) rush was like the Tarkan rush of the huns with bonus vs buildings. And there were some strats like German hussar rush and Spanish rodelero rush.

Well, big problem about the card system was that you had to grind for the cards to unlock them. This was fixed in Definitive Edition as all cards are now unlocked by default + they added a couple of beginner decks to each civ. It's currently the only AoE game to have a demo on Steam, so definitely worth checking out. :)

I had all the cards I needed back then, but it was just more to learn for newer players and didn´t fit the taste of most of the more experienced RTS players. I even bought the AoE 3 2007 edition, but now the online servers are locked and I am fine with mostly AoM Retold at the moment.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Modragor:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Well, big problem about the card system was that you had to grind for the cards to unlock them. This was fixed in Definitive Edition as all cards are now unlocked by default + they added a couple of beginner decks to each civ. It's currently the only AoE game to have a demo on Steam, so definitely worth checking out. :)

I had all the cards I needed back then, but it was just more to learn for newer players and didn´t fit the taste of most of the more experienced RTS players. I even bought the AoE 3 2007 edition, but now the online servers are locked and I am fine with mostly AoM Retold at the moment.

Yeah, AoE 3's legacy servers have been shut down in October.
And well, it was kinda a weird choice to mix RTS with RPG which would've worked if you didn't had to grind for the cards two times as the MP and SP grind were independent from each other.
As said, my offer for games in AoE 2, 4 (+ maybe AoM and 3) stand. :) I really like to play against a MS Zone Veteran and no, I don't mean that sarcastic in any way.

[grraf]

@FloosWorld while mixing in RPG elements into an RTS is neither easy to do and it rarely works well it can once in a blue moon yield some high quality games such as Kohan(Ahriman's Gift being the best in the series and sporting the most mods and even a port of the content from KIS) where the RPG elements are present trough the addition of Kohans immortal beings each with their unique backgrounds&allegiances that will gain experience and progress from awakened to ascended(and increase their stats, abilities and the bonuses granted to the company they lead in battle) while they can be killed they can be resurrected with all of their memories&experience lost making for very interesting campaign plots that follow&center around some of these kohans freshly awakened from their slumber after decades/centuries slowly remembering theyr past lives and often finding themselves standing on the opposite side of a conflict they were long ago involved with.

As for how do these RPG mechanics function in such a game: you recruit companies in your settlements(each company is comprised of a captain(or kohan) 4first line units(like swordsmen/spears/heavy infantry/scout cav/heavy cav and two support units(these can be holy/unholy warriors/healers/mages/debuffers) these companies as they fight and gain experience advance from recruit all the way to elite(they increase a few of their stats) and so do any kohan that is attached to such a company... each company in and of itself can be retreated from combat before its destroyed(so you can preserve your veteran companies) and have it resupplied to full health nearby any friendly settlement that isn't under siege.

As for the macro part itself while there are some resources on the map like independent settlements you can capture(after attacking and defeating their garrison) monster lairs(that you defeat to earn money/free a slain kohan) and mines for the most part the economy is managed via the settlements you put down on the map(or conquer from others/being gifted by an ally) and in them you can construct various economic and military buildings that will generate income and resources for you nation in addition to determining what kind of troops you can build in a settlement(for instance you need a temple to build healers, library for mages, blacksmith for heavy infantry/cav) and each faction has its unique units that can only be trained in theyr settlements(for instance only in ceyah settlements can one commission skeleton warriors and shadow beasts)

On top of all of that there is also a morale system that means each troop can only fight for so long before it will get panicked and rout(needs to be out of combat for a bit to regain its morale&restore its units to full health) but this in itself depends a lot on troop composition for instance heavier units have better morale, some support units can lower the routing threshold others can slow down morale decay and lastly the company itself will recover morale when it kills enemy units and lose morale when its loosing its own units...

Ah well as far as i'm concerned Kohan(especially AG) was the pinnacle of RTS gaming too bad its didn't reach a wider audience as it was launched back in 2001 and steam only showed up in 2003 as such it missed out on a massive opportunity of spreading itself out there in the RTS community... even so to this day when it comes to single player content its top notch an can provide hundreds of hours of content and well narrated storytelling via its well polished campaigns and can still be an amazing multiplayer experience as it does have random map generation(you can even specify the kind&amounts of terrain it has(forests,deserts,hills,mountains) and the amount of neutral settlements&monster lair density ffs) and can provide some very nice matches.

Anyways for those even slightly curios about it ill mention it got some fan support over the years (there is a tool you can use to make it run at any current day resolution cnc-draw) and a Kohan gold mod that polished the factions&Kohan balance as well as restored a few extra goodies the devs left out of the released game due to a tight release schedule(f'in publishers screwing the gaming community from the dawn of time)

Here are a few snippets of gameplay for you to watch and enjoy:
https://youtu.be/5b9oaGUMP18?t=314 <-- the first 'getting your feat wet' campaign setting the background and familiarizing ther player with the game and its system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUkB42c12gQ <-- is a spectated match from a few fairly decent level players.

[FloosWorld]

Ah yep and there's also Spellforce that mixes RTS with RPG

[Stefan]

4! 2 is like 20 years old, super bad graphics and much of the gameplay is not as fine as in 4

[MustardTiger]

4 is better, 2 has way more content.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Stefan:

4! 2 is like 20 years old, super bad graphics and much of the gameplay is not as fine as in 4

I hope we eventually reach the stage where people can appreciate different artstyles for what they are. AoE 2's and 4's graphics are not comparable. 2 is isometric, 4 is 3D. Both games look good for the direction they go for.
Isometric graphics also tend to Age quite well (no pun intended) whereas 3D tends to look bad over time with more advancements.

[erb]

https://youtu.be/Kg-FvHDfHss

The scouring

Vs

Warcraft 2 (original/remastered, like aoe 2)

https://youtu.be/KZ9Ac4WVW6Q

Same idea for a game, produced by different studies. Modern vs retro

Idk man, this feels like a conversation that will be around for a while... may be part of being in the aging gamer demographic, having an appreciation of older things younger generations may not accept

[Nickster]

AOE3 is by far the most superior game out of all the AOE titles

[Rabidnid]

Originally posted by HistoryPlayer:

I want to play only Single Player, being campaigns very important feature for me. As now we are on sales period, could you please suggest me an option AoE2 or AoE4? Im not interested in multiplayer, only playing with AI. Also Im new to Age of Empires, never played it before.

I like 4 a lot it is very pretty and the units being unique to each civilisation is a dramatic improvement over AoE2 and every Civ having the same archer,s crossbowmen, spearmen, knights etc.

AoE2 has a lot more content as noted,and it will keep you busy longer. I mostly play an occasional game of skirmish and find that AoE4 suits me far better and 2 did. though I haver both and have played them a lot.

[FloosWorld]

I just want to throw in as Nick mentioned AoE 3, that's probably the best choice in the series if you want to play Skirmishes vs the AI due to how "lively" the AI feels. Each faction is represented by a leader (Brits have Elizabeth I., French have Napoleon) that will actively chat with you, trashtalks you when certain stuff happens in the gameplay or even notices when you increase the difficulty level.

For campaigns, AoE 2 is the best choice.

[El Fabuloso]

AoE 4, easily.