Excuse me. It was the first Empire Earth

It seems that Microsoft is so desperate for selling more Windows 10 licences that they are even releasing a new Age of Empires game :D

But now seriously, it's good to hear that AoE IV is in development :)

I liked AoE 3 for two reasons - the story was fun and BOMBARD SHIPS!

Bombard ships make anything fun!

If my high school had had bombard ships I would have made MUCH better grades.

I hope they try to add some truly new features for the series while staying true to the classic rts feel. Perhaps weather effects, day night cycle or the ability to move units through forests. Or could you do the latter in AoE3 already?

Its not that bad really, when you consider that eventually we WILL have to play games only by streaming (think if on-live actually worked) its only a matter of time until technology/bandwidth gets us there.

Eh while I think the industry would "like" us to move in that direction, I think we are still a good 10 - 20 years away before that happening. Bandwidth requirements are simply not there to support that in most countries.

Not to mention most companies that have tried like OnLive and PSNow haven't really caught on to any significant degree.

And even if it becomes a standard 10 years from now, I doubt it will kill traditional methods of delivery. For instance with the rise of streaming for movies and tv shows... it still has not killed physical blu-rays / DVD's and that is because people still like to own things and because the quality is better.

Gaming will likely be the same.

I've installed a game from the Windows Store only once, the game is Phantom Blade, that was made available for free by Microsoft. But the stupid Windows Store didn't even let me choose the install path for the game (I have no idea where it is and how big it's folder is, it's not in C:\Games where I install all my games), nor is is possible to make a desktop shortcut to the game. The only way to start up the game is from the app list or the Windows 10 start menu, you can't create a custom shortcut for it. I myself start up all my games from a custom taskbar link that links to customized folders with game shortcuts, so I have a taskbar link for rpg's, for shooters, for other games, but not being able to put Phantom Blade there, I forgot I even have the game installed and thus never play it. Age of Empires would exist in the same limbo if I got it from the Windows Store.

No win32 = no use for me.

By default all apps go into C:\Program Files\Windows Apps (this folder is hidden). You also can't access without changing permissions.

As far as picking the location, the windows store will show a box where you can change what hard drive you want to use for very large games. You can also go to settings -> system -> storage-> change where new content is saved -> select different hard-drive for apps. You can also go to settings-> apps -> select app -> and move it (due note if you remove the storage medium used like an external hard-drive, windows may no longer recognize the games).

Phantom Dust (I think this is what you meant) is around 10 GB, you can find an exact size I believe under settings-> apps.

Yes there is. Go to the start menu, find the game and click on it and drag it to the desktop. A shortcut will then be made. You can do this with any app. You can also pin to taskbar by right clicking on the app in the start menu -> more -> pin to taskbar.

Cool to see AoE coming back with a new entry.

I thought the first one was good, not great; the second is fantastic; and the third is great but not to the level of 2.

I was a little disappointed that there was seemingly no identifiable Middle Ages art, but it'll probably be there anyway. I am not so sure what to think if they don't focus on a single age. Rise of Nations and Empire Earth both did that and RoN did it very well and EE did it alright. Depending on the entry for EE.

I did not like the one Relic game I have played all that much, but I'll give a little benefit of the doubt.

OK! Thanks a lot for the explanations.

I indeed meant Phantom Dust, but I couldn't check as I'm posting this from a different user account.

While I love AoE I and II (and Age of Mythology), I liked Age III but it was never as fun. The home city system was announced as adding RPG mechanics into an RTS; however, I found tthat this system encouraged playing with the same civilization over and over again, while I prefer to play with as many civs as possible.

The campaign was another problem for me. It was a victim of the Da Vinci Code frenzy that had to put secret socities on everything.
No complaining about bombard ships. Random maps never seemed totally random to me. Of course, they were never exactly the same, but there so many elements to balance (native tribes, treasures, trade routes, resources) and they were smaller than in previous installments, so they ended up always looking almost the same.

Weather and lighting effects were available in the scenario editor, although they didn't have a gameplay effect. They weren't used in the random maps.

Despite all of this, Age of Empires III had a lot of merit. It was possibly the best looking strategy game I had ever seen at the time, and had the most diversity in military units and ships of all the saga. I also remember a lot of talk in the community about how the AI (the weak point of every strategy game) had been greatly improved, compared to previous games.

May i ask why did you modify BKGaming's link ? Marking your post as spam .

Holy crap. I didn't notice that. I think he just changed it too.

2nd guy in the past week, though I'm guessing it's the same guy.

His previous self hit a dozen or so threads, replying to someone but changing that actual links.

I guess we should go around and check what else his newest account has done and maybe report him.

Good catch Painted_Doll. You should be a PI or something. :D