Today's update - Icons and animations

[Nightsbane]

I noticed we got an update today and the game's page doesn't show anything but this is what we got from what I noticed:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2672820/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Barbarossas_Barrel_of_Pickled_Goods_Animated_Icons/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2672810/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__Joans_Marvelous_Moving_Masterpieces_Animated_Icons/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2672800/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition__La_Hires_Dry_Humor_Animated_Icons/

[BirbNotBird]

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Imo it's a difficult topic. It's either getting more and more DLCs with further civs and campaigns of which the former imo bloat the game or getting cosmetic DLCs like these that provide no special bonus.

They did something similar last year with the explorer skins for AoE 3 btw:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2154362/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__Hero_Cosmetic_Pack__Vol_1/

Honestly I have no beef with the DLCs, the only problems are I think there are far better alternative than using player icon.

If they are emotes ingame, sure, this can be a great DLC.

If anything I wish the money from the DLC funds the developers in a good term than the usual profit quota.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by BirbNotBird:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Imo it's a difficult topic. It's either getting more and more DLCs with further civs and campaigns of which the former imo bloat the game or getting cosmetic DLCs like these that provide no special bonus.

They did something similar last year with the explorer skins for AoE 3 btw:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2154362/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__Hero_Cosmetic_Pack__Vol_1/

Honestly I have no beef with the DLCs, the only problems are I think there are far better alternative than using player icon.

If they are emotes ingame, sure, this can be a great DLC.

If anything I wish the money from the DLC funds the developers in a good term than the usual profit quota.

For sure. You could make a campaign-only DLC for example or (as T-West suggested on Twitter / X), still have these animated icon DLCs but attack mini campaigns with 3 scenarios to them where you unlock the specific icon after beating the respective campaign.

[Medve]

hahaha will nevah pay for icons, This is a joke!

[Quintem]

Originally posted by Scintilus:

Why you guys are so salty cringe? The icon DLCs are OPTIONAL, vote with your wallet. If you want more historical icons, get the barbarossa one. If you want woke icons, get the jean. If you want memes, get the hire one.

Originally posted by Nora's Crimson Colored Nectar:

Good thing for anyone who complains, you have no reason to complain because you're entitled to not care about it, and just ignore it, it doesn't affect gameplay, it doesn't affect any future Decisions with gameplay balance, it's just there for the die hard fans, who think they look good, or want to give more money that hopefully lands in the budget of the dev team.
I for one can't really find any Icon pleasing from the still image on the Store-page, most likely the Joan one, but even then, it's a stretch, there's already a few better ones from the events that I swap between from time to time.
From the storepage preview image they don't really look nearly on the same quality level as the previous event ones, like that Spice Trade Ship for example, that is going through the raging storm, that has a lot of character and story about itself.

I'm going to address these together. Why do you except low budget player icons that are over priced? Yes I can vote with my wallet and I will, I'll also say this is not it and I want better or you don't get my money. It's not cringe to point out low quality, low effort, cash grab attempts that seem primarily driven by corporate marketing than a development team wanting to make a great game. I'd expect things like this to be around £1 not £2.49. I'd probably call it a bit of a weird move but whatever. Also if the quality was higher as well I'd probably be more okay with it.

Also people have been asking for unit skins or architecture sets. Maybe I missed something but if this was "We're testing some cosmetic options for the game, this is our first go at it with something easier to implement" Then I'd be like alright.

They say they've got some exciting plans for us. We'll see. Unlike some here I'm not here to bash the devs. I try to make fair criticism of features, DLC and whatever else. These portraits raise eyebrows from some of us. If they cost less I might of even bought them to support the game but since they don't offer gameplay and I'm happy with my cat riding a derpy laser shark.

The pathing issue for example seem fixed or at least better from my first impressions playing around briefly last night. That's great, I'm glad. They may of fixed it but many people for vocal about the issues, it was mostly civil. This patch seems to be good one fixing other issues as well. Hopefully unless something like the relic bug pops up the game seems stable going into Christmas, New Year and into early 2024.

(As a note, I enjoyed Return of Rome BUT I acknowledge it's weirdness, other DLCs I've enjoyed and played thoroughly.)

EDIT: I had a thought just after posting. Imagine if they did a portrait of EVERY unique unit and sold that at this price point instead. 40+ animated portraits. Imagine a Teuton knight standing stoically with his cape blowing in the wind on occasion or a mangudai riding and shooting an arrow backwards. (There is a mangudai not but it's not dynamic). I guess to add having quickly looked at them again, I don't like this "animation" style where things are stretched or warped to give moment. I see it in many other promotional art and games. It always looks terrible to me 95% of the time, when it does work it's usually subtle stuff like a smoke animation or a glow from a heat/light source any movement just looks distorted)

[KnifeHeart]

Originally posted by Scintilus:

Why you guys are so salty cringe? The icon DLCs are OPTIONAL, vote with your wallet. If you want more historical icons, get the barbarossa one. If you want woke icons, get the jean. If you want memes, get the hire one.

Yeah but this is an extremely bad sign for the future of the game overall. I think it's okay to be concerned about that.

Obviously I also won't be buying these.

[⅁H | Slurms McKenzie]

Is this what broke the compatibility with previous replays?

[Nora's Crimson Colored Nectar]

Originally posted by BirbNotBird:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

Imo it's a difficult topic. It's either getting more and more DLCs with further civs and campaigns of which the former imo bloat the game or getting cosmetic DLCs like these that provide no special bonus.

They did something similar last year with the explorer skins for AoE 3 btw:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2154362/Age_of_Empires_III_Definitive_Edition__Hero_Cosmetic_Pack__Vol_1/

Honestly I have no beef with the DLCs, the only problems are I think there are far better alternative than using player icon.

If they are emotes ingame, sure, this can be a great DLC.

If anything I wish the money from the DLC funds the developers in a good term than the usual profit quota.

Emotes or taunts are really stupid, that's the main reason I stopped playing Dota 2, because everyone was just spamming the most annoying taunts they had unlocked or paid for and you have no way of turning them off.

Similar with Emotes, if there's no way for you to turn those off, it's a down turner, but at least aoe2de let's you turn the taunts off, which would be an upside I guess, but player profile icons are the least intrusive form which literally has zero impact during gameplay, the only time you will encounter them is during the lobby

[Kalomax]

Yes to regional armies for each architecture set, unique castles for each civ and more game modes.

And a loud BOOOOO to the cutting room floor reject idea of a corporate boardroom: shoddy avatar pics!

@Microsoft/ForgottenEmpires/Tantalus,
Keep your microtransaction filth out of AOE2.

[Quintem]

Originally posted by Nora's Crimson Colored Nectar:

Emotes or taunts are really stupid, that's the main reason I stopped playing Dota 2, because everyone was just spamming the most annoying taunts they had unlocked or paid for and you have no way of turning them off.

Similar with Emotes, if there's no way for you to turn those off, it's a down turner, but at least aoe2de let's you turn the taunts off, which would be an upside I guess, but player profile icons are the least intrusive form which literally has zero impact during gameplay, the only time you will encounter them is during the lobby

You can turn off taunts in AoE2 if they annoy you but the fact you can't turn them off in DotA2 is infuriating, many are obnoxious and you know people are using them to be obnoxious as well. I think the only way to stop them is to literally block the player?

[KDD!^putler kaputt 26/93]

didn't even put any effort into them
ugly morph photoshops instead of hiring an actual animator

[MassMetalizer]

Originally posted by 🦄KDD!^putler kaputt 26/93:

didn't even put any effort into them
ugly morph photoshops instead of hiring an actual animator

And the insult of charging 3 bucks for it too

[Kasbfaäfad]

Lol... guys do u also feel insulted when someone sells PC games that you do not like?

How about simply not buying it?
This concept should be known since Kindergarten?

[KDD!^putler kaputt 26/93]

Originally posted by MassMetalizer:

And the insult of charging 3 bucks for it too

3 coins for an actual OPTIONAL stuff where actual effort was put into it by an actual living person is not that much. but garbage ai generated ugly-posterior still images with ai generated "animation"?

[KDD!^putler kaputt 26/93]

Originally posted by Kasbfaäfad:

Lol... guys do u also feel insulted when someone sells PC games that you do not like?

How about simply not buying it?
This concept should be known since Kindergarten?

it's exploitative of psychically vulnerable people. some people CAN NOT not have whole set. incompleteness triggers them and delivers physical pain

[Judeo-communism]

Originally posted by Nightsbane:

Yes but we live in the future... this is the America people voted for...

Your vote hasn't mattered in America for a very long time.