HD retired

[James3157]

I know that this might be a bummer to some people, but apparently HD has retired recently. Anyone who thinks that HD is better than DE might be forced to buy DE instead of HD. While HD might have been fun for some people the point is that it retired recently on Steam and has a grey color to it. Not that long ago HD was not retired. (Edit) It says retired (or in other words abandoned just like AoE: DE), but apparently you can still buy it on Steam.

[James3157]

I honestly do not understand why HD was retired, because the gameplay mechanics might be different than DE, the AI on campaigns might act differently, and the pathfinding problems on HD may not be as bad as DE pathfinding either. It could have been abandoned just like AoE: DE without ever retiring, but HD is officially retired now on Steam. At least there probably are still youtube videos to watch involving the older game called HD, but just to let other people know about this. Yes, DE has HD AI as well for skirmishes and custom scenarios, but that is about it.

[FloosWorld]

HD was already retired on the day DE was released.

[James3157]

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

HD was already retired on the day DE was released.

What does retired really mean? You cannot buy it anymore on Steam but can still play it for people who still own it? Edit: It says retired, but you can still buy on Steam apparently. So I think that I answered my own question.

[Quintem]

Originally posted by James3157:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

HD was already retired on the day DE was released.

What does retired really mean? You cannot buy it anymore on Steam but can still play it for people who still own it? Edit: It says retired, but you can still buy on Steam apparently.

Probably because it's a working version of the game that is closer the original design. DE has a QoL and other changes made + all the new content.

[James3157]

The only thing I am not sure about is if purchasing its dlc is still an option on Steam. While a few people might like HD more than DE I think that HD has more to do with nostalgia than anything else. I have already mentioned this previously, but even though I have played the original (Age of Kings plus Age of Conquerors expansion before I graduated from high school which was a long time ago) I have never actually played HD.

[Quintem]

If the base game is an option the DLC should be too. I see the option to buy both. ?EDIT: Maybe sale will be discontinued in the future or server support or just customer support. It's a little vague just glancing at it.

Maybe they're trying push people towards DE? It used to say 2013 edition or whatever after DE came out.

[James3157]

Originally posted by Quintem:

If the base game is an option the DLC should be too. I see the option to buy both.

Maybe they're trying push people towards DE? It used to say 2013 edition or whatever after DE came out.

I think that it was "grayed out" and specifically labeled as "retired" recently maybe to avoid confusing people since it was released 10 years ago and now going on 11 where HD is almost 11 years old at this point in a few more months.

[Fido]

Originally posted by James3157:

I know that this might be a bummer to some people, but apparently HD has retired recently. Anyone who thinks that HD is better than DE might be forced to buy DE instead of HD. While HD might have been fun for some people the point is that it retired recently on Steam and has a grey color to it. Not that long ago HD was not retired. (Edit) It says retired (or in other words abandoned just like AoE: DE), but apparently you can still buy it on Steam.

If you think HD is better than DE, you are just... very wrong, it is the least stable of all the Age of Empires II releases.

Does Voobly still patch and update content themselves for AoE2? If so, that's probably a much better alternative than HD, and certainly was while HD was being developed.

[Crossil]

Originally posted by James3157:

The only thing I am not sure about is if purchasing its dlc is still an option on Steam.

It is, from what I can tell.

[Devang]

@OP what you're thinking is called delisted

Retired here is just an informal way to people know that the version is not supported anymore i.e. patched

[James3157]

I noticed that HD still sells at least two dlc including Rise of Rajas and African Kingdoms.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by Devang:

@OP what you're thinking is called delisted

Retired here is just an informal way to people know that the version is not supported anymore i.e. patched

Pretty much this. That's basically also what the store description says.

Originally posted by James3157:

I noticed that HD still sells at least two dlc including Rise of Rajas and African Kingdoms.

3 DLCs: The Forgotten, African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas.

[James3157]

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

3 DLCs: The Forgotten, African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas.

Surprisingly, the Cumans, Tatars, and Bulgarians (The Last Kahns, but basegame on DE) are not included from any dlc. I think that DE is probably better than HD even though I never played HD, but HD being "retired" I think is just supposed to mean that Forgotten Empires has made it clear they are not going to be involved anymore with HD.

Originally posted by DANGER ☠ POSSUM:

If you think HD is better than DE, you are just... very wrong, it is the least stable of all the Age of Empires II releases.

Does Voobly still patch and update content themselves for AoE2? If so, that's probably a much better alternative than HD, and certainly was while HD was being developed.

I never said specifically that I think HD is necessarily better than DE. Despite its 95% positive rating on Steam the DE version is probably better than HD overall.

[FloosWorld]

Originally posted by James3157:

Originally posted by FloosWorld:

3 DLCs: The Forgotten, African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas.

Surprisingly, the Cumans, Tatars, and Bulgarians (The Last Kahns, but basegame on DE) are not included from any dlc. I think that DE is probably better than HD even though I never played HD, but HD being "retired" I think is just supposed to mean that Forgotten Empires has made it clear they are not going to be involved anymore with HD.

Yeah they were originally planned as the 4th DLC for HD Edition but eventually ended up in DE's base game. Evidence includes Vitalis Eirich (who composed all civ themes from Forgotten onwards) posted the three tracks he produced for Last Khans in their midi form as they were intended for HD:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5jvfBM09zw

Originally posted by DANGER ☠ POSSUM:

Does Voobly still patch and update content themselves for AoE2? If so, that's probably a much better alternative than HD, and certainly was while HD was being developed.

They do. You've got Community Patch 1.6 which allows you to play the civs added for DE on the CD Version:
https://www.voobly.com/gamemods/mod/1533/v16-Game-Data

It also features a couple of QOL added with DE.

You've also got the "Rome Returns" mod which essentially is the Return of Rome DLC before that one was release:
https://www.voobly.com/gamemods/mod/638/Rome-Returns

[DMg Halt]

I think the (retired) element is just a way of communicating that the game is no longer officially supported with regular updates, patches and fixes. And that any customer support for the product will be ignored. But the ability to purchase, play, and engage in multiplayer with the game will remain unaffected.