Latest / Start the game already! / [ENG] Magazine Ep. #04 September 2025

Transcript

[ENG] Magazine Ep. #04 September 2025 · Start the game already!

0:11
Welcome back to the September edition of the Age of Empires
0:15
Magazine, where once again we'll be covering the most important
0:18
topics surrounding Age of Empires.
0:21
This month's episode will be a little longer since there's a
0:24
lot to cover, but before that I'd like to mention that this
0:27
podcast is sponsored by you. I'd like to give a huge shout
0:31
out to everyone who's already supporting the podcast.
0:35
None of this would be happening without you.
0:37
None of these episodes would be created without your support.
0:42
And if you are not one of them but enjoy my work and TuneIn
0:46
regularly, I'd be very happy if you'd also consider supporting
0:49
me on Patreon with a small monthly contribution.
0:53
You help me cover the costs and invest more time into new
0:56
episodes. And of course, there are some
0:59
small rewards for supporters as well, starting at the second
1:02
tier. For example.
1:04
I'll read out your names at the end of each magazine, like this
1:08
one and give you a special thank you.
1:10
So if you'd like to become part of this illustrious group, check
1:14
out patreon.com/start the game already.
1:18
Every contribution, no matter how small or big, makes a real
1:21
difference for me. Let's take a look at today's
1:23
magazine program. As promised, we'll be talking
1:27
more detail about the big update.
1:30
In terms of E sports, we'll briefly cover the Ling Yuan Cup
1:34
and Sudden Disaster 2, as well as the first month of Midweek
1:37
Madness. In the franchise news, I'll tell
1:41
you about the new DLCS in Age of Empires Four and Age of
1:44
Mythology. And in games news, I've got a
1:47
whole bunch of interesting titles to introduce to you.
1:51
In podcast news, there's a short update on what's coming up in
1:54
the podcast, and also a little note because I'll be on vacation
1:58
for a while. And finally, of course, the
2:01
tournament outlook for September 2025.
2:04
Please enjoy the show news. Let's talk about the update
2:11
first. Many changes were made in the
2:13
update, and most of them were already known through the public
2:17
update preview. I won't go through every detail
2:20
here, but rather share my assessment of the most important
2:24
changes after a few weeks of experience with the new patch.
2:27
The big topic besides the pathing update was of course
2:31
what changes have been made to the unique units, but we'll get
2:36
into that in a moment. A small controversy was
2:39
triggered because you can no longer lame animals with
2:42
military units or buildings like the town centre, since they no
2:46
longer lose food after dying and don't sink into the ground
2:49
completely anymore. Why is this controversial you
2:53
may ask? Well, you can't really lame
2:55
anymore except if you grab your opponent's bore MBL style with
2:59
your with your scout and bring it back to your own TC.
3:03
In practice this only effects a single special case in my
3:07
opinion. In some maps it was possible to
3:10
lame an opponent by walling in a villager, weakening their bore
3:14
and then last hitting it with your scout so the food couldn't
3:18
be used. But honestly, think about how
3:21
often you've actually done this, or had done it to you.
3:25
In all other cases, laming is probably still the same as
3:28
before, and the argument that the bore lure has now become too
3:32
easy is, in my eyes, absolute nonsense.
3:37
Yes, your TC can't make a bore unusable anymore by killing it
3:41
because it can still be eaten afterwards, but this is being
3:45
blown way out of proportion. Most players who weaken the boar
3:49
with their TC are already experienced and skilled using
3:54
hotkeys and multitasking. They play at a level of probably
3:57
around 1000 kilo or higher, use build orders, and have a solid
4:02
conceptual understanding of the game for true beginners.
4:06
For the real noobs out there, the border is still just as
4:10
difficult. Because they didn't fail because
4:12
they killed the the boar with their TC, but because they got
4:17
they forgot about the low bill and it got killed by the boar.
4:21
Mastering this is still just as important as before and gives
4:26
the same rewarding effect since successfully luring the boar to
4:29
to see without losing your villager.
4:31
And the skill growth and game control that come with it are so
4:35
much more impactful than if you already mastered everything and
4:38
just accidentally garrisoned one will too many while weakening
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the ball with your town centre. So I really don't understand why
4:47
people are complaining about this change and how the game is
4:50
becoming easier and easier because I don't think this makes
4:54
any difference. The game still offers plenty of
4:57
skill gaps and learning milestones for new players in my
5:00
opinion. The update also brought some
5:03
quality of life features that I quickly got used to. 1st there's
5:07
now a visual indicator that when you're about to be housed where
5:11
the pop space is displayed, it's lights up once you have less
5:15
than 5 pop space available. This is very subtle, but
5:20
highlighting it enough for me to notice it when in need.
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Also, building foundations are now shown as transparent until
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you start hammering down on it. Buildings under construction can
5:32
now set waypoints, which I immediately used for my monks to
5:36
collect relics. The second use case for me for
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this feature is in the late game when placing military buildings
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in various spots to raid to the opponent, probably from the
5:46
side. And in that game there's so much
5:48
going on I tend to forget that I built those stables at the side
5:54
and just come back to the minute or two minutes too late, whereas
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I could have spammed some hazards from them earlier on if
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I had just put the waypoint into the right place.
6:05
Town centres were also changed so they should hit better now.
6:09
But to be honest, I feel like I'm the only one who didn't get
6:12
that part of the update. My scout gets sniped by the
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enemy TCS still and consistently, but for some
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reason my enemies still dodge my TC like they didn't experience
6:25
the update. I seem to be unable to kill
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enemy scouts, whereas my scouts always die, so I don't feel the
6:34
change, but the many deaths of my scouts prove that I need to
6:37
pay more attention to them. Now of course, I'm not blaming
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myself. This is entirely the fault of
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the game, because the game trained me that the TC is
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useless and wouldn't hit anything, and now suddenly this
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changed. One big criticism of the current
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matter is that it's dominated by skirmishers.
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The update tries to address this by making skirmishers take 4
7:00
seconds longer to train. When the update came out I
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thought wow that will surely change something.
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But after a good month with the patch I actually don't feel like
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the matter has changed even a little.
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Mainly that's because we use germs for defence and arches for
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offence. Those 4 seconds really don't
7:20
matter since they are produced inside your own base and are
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still more numerous than The Archers who had to go across the
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whole map to start attacking you.
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And once there are enough skirms on the field, they can go out on
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the map and go into the offensive just like before.
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I think the idea of this change was very good, but these 4
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seconds don't seem to make a noticeable difference.
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There are plenty of other changes too.
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For example, siege towers are much more relevant now, but we
7:51
still need to see them in practice.
7:53
I haven't actually seen any decisive gameplay material with
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siege towers being included, neither in my own games nor with
8:02
the pros, and the wildlife of Age of Empires feels like it's
8:06
been expanded into a small zoo in every second game.
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I now have to slaughter some cute bunnies, which I kind of
8:13
feel bad for. Hera also can regularly be seen
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pushing a neutral deer from the middle of the the map for a food
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boost. And beware of crocodiles and
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Komodo Dragons, which feel twice as strong as before.
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And there's also some foxes now, which also have some gold on
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them. So if you start eating them, you
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also collect I think 35 food, but you collect the nut food,
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the gold, and you collect this gold like a commer farmer would
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collect food from a farm. So you instantly get that and
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you don't have to drop off the gold.
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These were some general gameplay changes, but the update also
8:52
made a number of civilization specific adjustments.
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The Hassite wagons of the Bohemians deal slightly less
8:58
damage now. This very carefully nerves FC
9:02
strategies, but to be honest I don't expect much to change.
9:07
The Gungan Flemish militia are now 5 gold cheaper and lose the
9:11
Spearman armour class, meaning they take less bonus damage from
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units like skirmishes. This is yet another attempt to
9:18
revive Flemish militias after the big nerve to the Flemish
9:21
Revolution, and while we'll have to see if this changes anything
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and if this change works, I think it's a step into the right
9:29
direction. Next up, the Celts.
9:32
Their Imperial Age unique technology Fuga Khetika now also
9:36
applies to trebuchets, giving them 40% more hit points which
9:41
makes them a bit more tanky and more resilient against for
9:44
example Hassa snipes and also stronger in trap wars or against
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bomber cannons who usually counter them.
9:51
The all time favorite civilization of new players, the
9:54
Franks got to buff to their throwing X-Men.
9:58
Not only are they trained faster and their elite upgrade is much
10:01
cheaper now, but when researching this unique
10:04
technology Bearded Axe, their X has now gained +2 range instead
10:09
of the formerly plus one. Honestly, I'm not sure the
10:13
discount was even necessary since the only thing that ever
10:16
really bothered me about the the X-Men was their short range,
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which is now fixed with a better unique technology.
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Since Franks have hand canoniers in the late game.
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I've personally always seen Axman as a Castle age unit more
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than an Imperial age unit. With hand canoniers taking over
10:34
later, they can now fulfill that role much better than before in
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my opinion. So I believe that these changes
10:41
are overall very good, maybe a little too much.
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I prefer it if they had only changed the unique technology
10:48
and then maybe later on have given them the other buffs, but
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well, this seems to be a thing now that units get to double or
10:59
even triple buffs. The Gajaras were also buffed,
11:03
especially in the early game. Their Berry bushes under the TC
11:06
now hold 50 more food each. Well OK, not something I
11:11
personally needed since berries under the TC usually annoy me
11:15
more than anything. Of course you need some Berry
11:17
bushes under the TC to get your eco rolling in the beginning
11:21
since you don't want to start collecting your sheep, but this
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may be a bit too much. I would personally more prefer
11:28
it if one of the two Berry bushes under the TC would move
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on to the other bushes where you would build your build your mill
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and only one would remain under the town centre.
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But well, I guess this is just totally fine.
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Having more food is a good thing either way.
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I think more interesting is that their camel scouts now take only
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22 seconds instead of 48 to train, meaning you can get a
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serious camel army out by castle age that upgrades into regular
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camels right away when you hit that castle age.
12:01
I think this change is excellent to be honest.
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Camel scouts also get a + 1 attack in Feudal Age, so even
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your starting scout deals a bit more damage.
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Now moving on to another Indian civilization, the Imperial Age
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unique technology Chatagni of the Hindustani now costs more
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than twice as much gold, making it much harder to reach.
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Chatagni gives your hand cannoneers +2 range.
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It's a very powerful technology, so it does kind of make sense
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for this technology to be more expensive.
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As for the Huns, I just made a new podcast about them recently
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and luckily everything still applies.
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Only Tarkins got a boost in, well, style, I guess.
12:46
The torch fire looks more impressive now, and their attack
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sound is much deeper than before.
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I think this is pure fan service and I think this is a very nice
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thing. It's it's, it has a nice ring to
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it and it's a nice touch from the developers.
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Next nerf goes to the Khmer. Their ballista elephants now
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have only 10 instead of 20 heavy siege armor and 10 less HP in
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their elite form. Heavy siege armor was introduced
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to make Hussite wagons more vulnerable to Manganel's bombed
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cannons and even villagers. It was later also applied to
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Ballista elephants. It does make some sense to
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reduce it I think. So counter units are a bit more
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stronger against them, but to be honest with ballista elephants,
13:30
once you mass them the game is basically over anyway, and this
13:34
nurse probably won't change anything about that.
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Still, it's not exactly easy to get there, so I assume this
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mostly effects maps like I guess Black Forest.
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Sometimes the developers make good changes and sometimes they
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are bad. The changes to Korean
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turtleships apparently fall into the latter category.
13:55
Let's be honest, they had become completely useless and nobody
14:00
played them anymore. The update reverts them to their
14:04
old state, not exactly, but almost giving them their merely
14:07
damaged back so they can fight much better again against fire
14:12
ships. I think I heard Spirit of the
14:14
Law say that these well, new old turtle ships are a little better
14:22
than they were when before the change they did recently.
14:26
The devs also played right into the hands of Red Phosphoru with
14:30
a huge Majar Hussar buff. This Hungarian unique unit now
14:35
has more HP, more attack and trains even faster.
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If you have a castle, there's really no reason not to use
14:44
them. They're much cheaper than
14:45
Knights and now definitely offer better cost efficiency.
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I think they have almost the same stats as a knight, but they
14:52
are way cheaper and if you research the castle age unique
14:55
technology that converts gold cost into food cost of the major
14:58
hussar. You just need to spam farms,
15:01
gather a bit of wood and suddenly you're spamming trash
15:04
nights. I'm very curious to see how this
15:07
will play out. Speaking of farms, the Poles
15:11
farms bonus was restored when building a farm.
15:14
You now get 10% of the food immediately, up from 8% before.
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This is back to the release level, when it was considered
15:21
too strong and was nerfed. How times have changed.
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The upgrade for Persian Savas is now more expensive, costing 1200
15:32
food and 600 gold, only slightly cheaper than the Palinder
15:36
upgrade. I'm not sure if this was
15:38
necessary though it might be more relevant for team games.
15:42
Roman scorpions are now less discounted.
15:45
Instead of 60% off, they're only 50% off.
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Sure, Romans do spam scorpions, but I don't think this will
15:53
change a lot. They are still dirt cheap and
15:56
there's no reason for the Romans not to build them.
15:59
It feels to me more like the beginning of a series of nerves
16:03
and they just wanted to tread very carefully.
16:06
With that, a much bigger nerve hit the Portuguese organ guns
16:11
lost one range, making them far more vulnerable to Manganiels
16:16
and unable to safely hit TCS. I think organ guns just dropped
16:20
from super strong to average at best, especially on closed maps
16:26
since Manganiels can now completely stop their push as we
16:29
already saw in some sudden disaster games.
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The Saracen Mamelukes were also adjusted.
16:36
They now have fewer HP but to take a less bonus damage from
16:40
pycman and halberdiers. My problem with Mamelukes has
16:44
always been their range since they are heart counted by
16:47
crossbows and that hasn't changed a lot.
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I think it just makes them a little easier to play against
16:54
pycman spam, but you still really need to babysit them or
16:58
park them under your castles. The shoe were nerfed too, almost
17:02
certainly thanks to red Phosphoru.
17:04
War Chariots, once mocked as the worst unit in the game, are now
17:08
slightly more expensive in food. That makes the phosphorus rush
17:13
weaker, but I think this is only in theory.
17:15
I I believe this hardly stops it.
17:18
Also, shoe villages now gather 9% instead of 10% food while
17:22
chopping wood. This is probably very
17:25
insignificant and looks like a nerf just for the sake of having
17:28
one. Let's go back to some buffs.
17:31
Sicilians now take 40% less bonus damage, Sergeants cost 5
17:35
less food and dungeons can now research elite sergeants as well
17:40
as Pikes and helb deers. This saves you from building a
17:44
barracks if you want to take into Pikes and in my opinion
17:47
they should just add arsen, squies and gambesons to the
17:50
dungeon and I think then you'd be pretty much set if you want
17:55
to just go for sergeants and pikeman and don't need a
17:57
barracks. Conquistadors also have some
18:02
changes. They have actually been swapped
18:04
in their resource costs, which means 70 foot and 60 gold
18:07
instead of 60 foot and 70 gold. A little less gold, a little
18:10
more food. Likely no big change to their
18:13
use cases because conks are mainly used in small groups
18:17
anyway. You don't.
18:18
You only need two or three of them to harass the economy of
18:21
your enemy, especially on maps like Nomad where you probably
18:25
most prevalently see them. So I'm not sure what triggered
18:29
this change, but well, we'll see what happens.
18:33
Interestingly, the way now get a few more villages since
18:36
wheelbarrow, handcart and gillnets also count.
18:40
If I'm correct, that's thirteen extra villages total if you
18:43
research every eco upgrade and I I honestly doubt it will make a
18:49
real difference, but at least the bonus is more consistent and
18:53
easier to understand, which is something that I like.
18:55
So in my book this is a very good change just to make the
18:59
game more consistent, unlike the way the Woo are performing very
19:04
well on the ladder. So they have been nerfed.
19:07
Military buildings and docks now give 10 less food and the Jian
19:11
swordsmen are a bit weaker with reduced armor making other
19:15
infantry stronger against them, though ranged units still don't
19:19
counter them any better. Jian swordsman just killed me in
19:23
a very very difficult game when I played against the wool with
19:26
the Goths on Arabia and Oh my God I had so much trouble
19:32
fighting against them. I ultimately lost that game, but
19:35
it was a good one. As I said, there were lots of
19:38
other changes I won't go into here, but did you notice that
19:43
the Chronicle Civilizations now appear in the ranked
19:45
Civilization selection screen? It looks like they'll be added
19:49
to ranked soon, probably, hopefully in their own category.
19:53
But there's also a tab for all civilizations, including the
19:58
Chronicle civilizations. Hopefully only usable in
20:01
unranked lobbies. I'm curious what the devs have
20:05
in mind. But I'm guessing this feature
20:09
will only be released once the update the update the DLC of the
20:13
Second Chronicles edition will be released.
20:16
Finally, let's briefly talk about pathing.
20:20
I think it's a consensus that pathing improved with this
20:22
update. The developers worked hard to
20:25
document everything, posting before and after videos of the
20:28
problems they addressed. Pathing still isn't perfect.
20:31
There's still room to improve. For example, I had a game where
20:34
my scorpions couldn't path away from the wood line, and my TC
20:38
and my sheep still blocked by villages pretty consistently.
20:41
But according to Nearly, this was only the first of two
20:45
pathing patches. With Malay pathing improved this
20:48
much, I'm quite optimistic for the first time that the second
20:52
patch will make things significantly better.
20:55
People are already asking whether merely units are
20:59
suddenly too strong, and I also feel like my cava just have it
21:03
much harder now, fighting against Knights and camels.
21:07
But honestly it's quite refreshing.
21:10
That's my first impression of the pathing.
21:12
I think this is very good direction we're heading to.
21:16
I think these improvements are already noticeable and good
21:19
overall, and I'm sure I'll have more stories about it in the
21:23
future. Oh right, I almost forgot to
21:26
mention the update has taken realism in Age of Empires 2 to a
21:30
new level. The polls are now the first of
21:34
the 50 civilizations to represent the gender pay gap.
21:38
Female villagers can no longer generate gold Wild mining stone.
21:42
But like in real life, I'm sure this will be patched right away,
21:47
right? Let's talk about the Ling Yuan
21:50
Cup. Last month, the qualifiers for
21:52
the Ling Yuan Cup took place at the Big Land event in China
21:55
happening this October. Already invited were Hera,
21:58
Viper, Leery and Mr. Yo. In the international qualifiers,
22:03
ACCM, Hart, Nikov, Frickin, Andy and Sebastian secured their
22:07
spots in the Chinese mainland qualifier.
22:10
Vivi managed to earn his ticket as the second Chinese player
22:13
alongside Mr. Yo, who was already invited to the event.
22:17
I already covered the first qualifiers in the previous
22:20
magazine, so I'd just like to highlight a few key moments from
22:23
the second international qualifier.
22:25
Sebastian delivered a very strong performance, sweeping not
22:28
only Balls but also Tado. He was the only player in the
22:33
second qualifier who didn't lose a single match.
22:36
Considering his opponents, that's a clear statement that
22:39
Sebastian has big ambitions in the main event.
22:42
The surprise, on the other hand, was that Tatto failed to qualify
22:46
for the main event. This is his absence, his very
22:50
first absence in a long, long time in STR events.
22:54
Sudden disaster too. And hello, this tournament
22:58
delivered exactly what it promised.
23:01
What an awesome experience it is to watch.
23:04
The first sudden disaster was already a huge success in my
23:07
books and the second one lives up to it as well, especially
23:10
since the price pool was significantly increased.
23:13
A total of $10,000 will be awarded, with two and a half
23:17
$1000 going to the window when the finals then take place on
23:20
September 14th. The twist of this tournament, if
23:23
you don't already know, is that it's played in Sudden Death
23:26
mode. In this mode, no new town
23:29
centres can be built and the game ends immediately if you
23:32
lose your starting TC or TCS if you start with multiple ones.
23:36
As a result, the games play out completely differently,
23:39
especially on the many well chosen maps like my personal
23:43
favorite Canberra. The mode encourages high risk,
23:46
high reward strategies where players take the initiative and
23:50
try to end the game quickly without booming.
23:53
You can already see how great the games are from the round of
23:56
64. In other tournaments, this round
23:58
usually consists of only sweeps or mainly sweeps, but in Sudden
24:03
Disaster 2, underdogs were often able to take at least one game.
24:07
I also noticed that even sweeps were very entertaining in this
24:11
tournament. It's fascinating to see the
24:13
strategies players come up with and how they act under
24:16
unpredictable pressure. A great example was the set
24:19
between Viper and Dobbs, which a listener from the community
24:22
pointed out to me. Dobbs, a complete underdog in
24:25
this match up, really made Viper sweat and all the games were
24:29
highly entertaining, even though I already knew who won in that
24:34
match up. Right now, we're still in the
24:36
round of 16, and despite the resistance of the underdogs, the
24:40
usual pros have ultimately advanced.
24:43
Well, not entirely, there was the one and the other upset, but
24:49
I won't spoil you with these details because the tournament
24:52
is still ongoing and you probably want to rewatch those
24:54
games if you haven't. It's very, very advised.
24:58
The tournament remains primarily a fun event despite the
25:01
impressive prize pool, but it's still played at the highest
25:04
level for me. It combines the best of both
25:07
worlds of Age of Empires 2 competitiveness, but also fun
25:11
and excitement. I'm very excited to see who will
25:14
be crowned the champion of this tournament in the end.
25:17
But one thing is certain, the real winners, that's us, the
25:20
viewers. Midweek Madness This tournament
25:25
is a weekly tournament hosted by Daniela and Robo, giving us
25:28
three weeks of competitive pro play each month during the
25:31
middle of the week. The first two weeks were won by
25:34
ACCM, while the third week was claimed by the Viper in an an
25:38
exciting final against Mihai. Daniella, as far as I've heard,
25:42
is very pleased with the first month, and rightly so.
25:45
Not only was the prize pool slightly increased, but the
25:48
tournament also delivered fantastic games.
25:51
The concept of changing the map pool every week ensures that
25:55
different players are favoured each and every time, which keeps
25:58
things varied. For me, Midweek Madness will
26:01
always be the tournament I point to when I argue that Age of M
26:05
bias 2 sets need to be shorter. Here matches are played as best
26:10
of threes with I believe only the final was a best of five and
26:15
I find this so much better than the long sets from STA
26:18
tournament. So Daniela, well done.
26:22
Franchise News August brought major news for the franchise as
26:26
we received announcement at games.com for both the second
26:29
Age of Mythology DLC and the next Age of Empires for DLC.
26:34
Let's begin with Age of Mythology.
26:37
The DLC is called Heavenly Spear and focuses on Japanese
26:41
mythology. It will be released on September
26:43
the 30th for both PC and consoles.
26:46
As a big Japan fan, the theme is naturally very exciting for me.
26:50
We've just booked our next trip to Japan and are already eagerly
26:54
awaiting March, and this DLC will surely help me bridge the
26:58
weight. It's also the second of two DLCS
27:01
included in the Premium edition, so for me it's, well, it's not
27:04
free. I pay for it with the Premium
27:06
edition, but you know what I mean.
27:07
It feels good. And I have to say, first China,
27:10
now Japan. For me, the premium version has
27:13
definitely paid off. At the heart of the DLC are of
27:17
course the mythological creatures, and in this case
27:20
those are Yokai, supernatural beings from Japanese folklore.
27:25
Naruto fans like me were probably thrilled to see the 9
27:29
Tailed Fox Kitsune. She will be a scout unit
27:32
available available from the start for all Japanese guards
27:36
from the Classical age onwards. Ameno Uzumar can summon
27:39
Kamaitachi, a weasel with two sickle like Blaze on its arms
27:43
that deals damage over time. Mina Katatomi can summon 1 Nudo
27:48
instead, a flaming wheel with a terrifying face at its centre,
27:52
which can unleash a fire blast that sets units ablaze and
27:56
causes ongoing damage. Inari Okami, the the Third God
28:01
The Third Japanese God, on the other hand, can summon Jorogumu
28:05
from the Classical Age, a spider woman who traps her victims and
28:09
webs and deals damage. From the Heroic Age onward,
28:13
there will be two water creatures available to all
28:17
Japanese gods. Honengyo is a Yokai that
28:20
resembles Godzilla and functions like a water based battering ram
28:25
that can hit groups of ships at once.
28:27
When you use its ability, Honengyo dives underwater and
28:31
dashes to a previously targeted point, damaging all ships in its
28:35
path, and when it resurfaces at the point you've targeted it to,
28:39
it throws nearby ships into the air.
28:42
To be honest, I'm already looking forward to that
28:45
spectacle. Then there's Umubuzu, a giant
28:48
that can move both on land and in water.
28:51
It can teleport back to the sea at any time though, causing a
28:54
massive impact that damages ships.
28:57
Again, to me, this is all single player content, but I'm quite
29:01
excited to be playing it in October when I get back from my
29:04
vacation. As previously mentioned, Age
29:07
Vampires 4 also had big news with two announcements.
29:11
First, a PlayStation 5 version will be released on November the
29:15
4th in the Anniversary Edition with all DLCS included, just
29:19
like Age of Empires 2 did when it released on the consoles.
29:23
This finally puts an end to the Reddit threads demanding APS 5
29:28
release for Age of Empires 4. Ever since Age of Empires 2 and
29:32
Age of Mythology came to the PlayStation at the same time,
29:35
the newest Age 4 DLC was announced, launching alongside
29:39
the PS-5 version Dynasties of the East.
29:43
It introduces 4 new civilization variants from the Far East.
29:48
The Golden Horde is a Mongol variant, no longer nomadic but
29:53
hyper aggressive. They get something like the
29:56
pastures in Age of Empires 2 I believe and can train multiple
29:59
units at once. They also resemble the Kitan for
30:03
me and will likely be very all inish.
30:07
The Sengoku Daimyo is the Japanese variant strongly
30:10
economy focused. They can build the matsuri and
30:13
economic building that boosts food production.
30:16
Depending on which Daimyo you choose, you unlock different
30:19
bonuses and technologies from age to onward, and Daimyos can
30:24
also support units with buffs on the battlefield.
30:28
Then there's the Taglag Dynasty, which is the Delhi Sultanate
30:32
variant, the ultimate elephant civilization.
30:35
They have worker elephants, which the way I see it, function
30:40
like new cards in Age of Empires 2.
30:43
Their upgrades are more expensive, but to research
30:46
almost instantly, they can train healing elephants from mosques
30:50
which heal 2 units at once, and they also have ballista
30:54
elephants like the Khmer in Age of Empires 2.
30:57
And at last, the Macedonian dynasty is the Byzantines
31:01
variant. Whenever they mine gold and
31:05
stone, they also additionally mine silver 1/5 resource used
31:10
for special technologies for Virangian warriors.
31:13
They can also build Virangian war camps on the battlefield
31:17
which spawn free units. I'm not completely sure how this
31:21
game mechanic works, but I guess we'll find out.
31:26
Also new is a game mode described by the developers as a
31:29
rogue light RTS experience that's very interesting.
31:34
Called the Crucible. It's a single player mode likely
31:37
consisting of a series of challenges.
31:40
There will also be 8 new maps and six new biomes.
31:44
And yes, I know they are only promo screenshots, but man, the
31:49
Greek islands already look absolutely stunning.
31:55
Games news In August, Stormgate went into full release.
32:00
Stormgate is the somewhat controversial game from Frost
32:04
Giant Studios and the spiritual successor to StarCraft 2.
32:08
The game is free to play, so you can play it anytime you want.
32:11
It can be played in multiplayer or you can run the campaign.
32:15
There are three races to choose from and like StarCraft, the
32:19
setting is science fiction. When I started the campaign I
32:22
was initially a bit confused though because it felt more like
32:25
a Command and Conquer game. But once you reach the hub and
32:29
the game goes into full swing, the StarCraft like feel becomes
32:32
unmistakably clear. So far the game has not been
32:36
received particularly well and the full release has not changed
32:40
that in any significant way. As Edge Vampire has two players,
32:44
we know all too well that an RTS lives and dies by its core
32:49
mechanics. For us, pathfinding is a huge
32:52
issue, and it seems that Stormgate, as expected, has
32:55
excellent pathfinding, but at the same time it suffers from
33:00
severe input lag, so commands entered too quickly are just not
33:05
registered by the game. That is obviously not a good
33:08
sign for an RTS. In addition, the competitive
33:12
community has already criticized the balancing.
33:15
While the three races appear to be fairly well balanced overall,
33:18
some individual units are not. The Infernals remain a cheesy
33:23
rush race, just like when I played Stormgate in the better.
33:26
In certain mirror matchups, you might not see any unit
33:29
transitions because there is clearly a strongest unit, and
33:33
once you try to get away from that unit or transition into
33:37
another one, even to even if it's just a compliment your very
33:40
strong unit, you probably lose the game.
33:43
One final criticism from a spectator's point of view, which
33:46
is my point of view of the games I watched.
33:49
The matches were usually between 5 and 10 minutes long, and I
33:53
only watched plays with a pretty high MMR.
33:56
At first I thought that was great, but after a short while I
34:00
realized that it was mainly because the game often
34:02
snowballs, and it snowballs hard.
34:05
All of this feels a bit unpolished to me because these
34:10
games usually build up, then there's one fight or even just a
34:14
mistake someone does in their build and that basically
34:17
snowballs the game into right to the end.
34:21
This, of course, having a game that is not polished when it's
34:24
released. This is not nothing new for an
34:27
RTS. Typically an RTS needs a few
34:29
years at least to reach a stable and mature state.
34:34
But it does raise the question of whether Stormgate will be
34:37
able to endure that long, whether it's just that kind of
34:40
game and whether it has a player base that is that's dedicated to
34:45
play this game even in a state that is not very good.
34:48
In mid August, another really good looking RTS entered early
34:52
access called The Scouring, and it has so far received positive
34:56
criticism. It plays a bit like a mixture of
34:59
Warcraft 3 and Age of Empires Two.
35:02
There are orcs and humans at war, that's the setting as far
35:05
as I know, and the economy is more complex than Warcraft 3,
35:10
but less complex than an Age of Empires 2.
35:13
It has the army control feel of Age of Empires 2, so you're
35:16
micromanaging a lot, but it also has units that level up like in
35:22
Warcraft 3. And from everything I've seen so
35:25
far, which is not a lot, I'm quite impressed.
35:29
I really look forward to playing this game when it gets into the
35:32
full release. We don't know how long the LA
35:36
Access will be going on, it just started, but I have added the
35:41
game to my wish list just for monitoring it.
35:45
If you're looking for new games in September, I also have some
35:48
recommendations there, even though.
35:51
Just so you know, these are both early access games.
35:55
Pompeii the Legacy is a city building simulation game in
36:00
which the lost city of Pompeii is rebuilt while the player must
36:04
contend with Roman society and it's political power struggles.
36:09
The game features a campaign that spans almost 200 years and
36:14
anyone who is familiar with history will know that Pompeii
36:19
did not just disappear by chance.
36:22
And there's a big volcano involved and I'm pretty sure
36:25
that volcano won't stay dormant in this game.
36:29
The game enters early access on the 16th of September and is
36:33
expected to remain there for about 6 months before moving
36:36
into the full release. Consequentially, the early
36:39
access version should already be fairly complete.
36:42
I hope so, because otherwise that would be a horrendous full
36:45
release. On the same day, the game Town
36:48
to City will also enter early access.
36:51
It's a cosy vibe city building simulation with a Minecraft
36:55
style aesthetics and city skyline type gameplay, albeit
36:59
considerably less complex. This title is on my watch list
37:03
because it's major selling point is the organic growth of a small
37:07
village into a large city In many games.
37:11
In my experience, this progression feels very scripted.
37:15
Here it seems almost as if you develop a genuine connection to
37:18
a city that continually evolves. As with many other Access
37:22
titles, I'm just going to be observing it from a distance,
37:25
but the demo already looks very promising.
37:29
Finally, a little note in the last magazine I told you about
37:33
Aztecs, The Last Sun. But its early access release is
37:36
now scheduled for the 23rd September and is expected to run
37:40
for roughly a year. Podcast news.
37:45
There are also a few podcast updates.
37:48
First of all, I want to thank everyone for the many kind words
37:51
of the Hun Wars episode that was actually quite moving.
37:55
I've never received this many messages concerning just one
37:59
single episode. I'd like to mention Grieco,
38:02
Brave Demon, Pathfinder, Ivy, Loki, Tungstaler, Mashmora, Itsu
38:06
and Cobra who all sent me very nice messages and compliments
38:10
about the Hunt War episode, which honestly really flattered
38:13
me. I'm very proud to announce that
38:16
not just you, but also our protagonist, Chris and Slap both
38:21
seemed to appear very pleased with the episode and think that
38:26
this episode turned out very well.
38:28
So I'm glad, I'm really glad I put the hours into that one.
38:32
So I'm heading into the new podcast month with lots of
38:35
motivation. But seriously, those messages
38:38
don't just feel very nice, so keep them coming.
38:42
They're solid feedback that motivates me to produce more
38:45
episodes like that, because I now know that this kind of
38:49
episode has gotten you to respond to me in a way that you
38:54
haven't before, which is a good and clear sign that this is
38:58
probably a good direction to go into.
39:01
It also concerns me a little because it takes way more time
39:04
to produce those kind of episodes than your regular
39:08
magazine or anything else. But hey, I'm a crowd pleaser so
39:13
I'll try to get more of those done.
39:16
As always, you can support me in doing so, not just by supporting
39:19
me in a financial way, but also just by sending in topic
39:24
suggestions. I'm pretty much open to anything
39:27
and actually prefer to be inspired by you, so if there are
39:31
any topics you want me to discuss to make an episode on or
39:35
maybe to discuss here in the magazine, just write me a
39:38
message. I think I already mentioned that
39:41
I will be going on vacation from mid-september.
39:45
This time my wife and I are doing a relaxing beach holiday,
39:50
which means my plan is to do as little as possible.
39:55
I'll bring my Switch along and we'll probably Stardew Valley
39:58
because I believe it's bound to receive a fairly big update,
40:03
which is a great time to get back into the game.
40:06
Plus, I'll have a few books with me, and when I'm not reading or
40:09
playing, I'll be alternating between swimming, lounging, and
40:14
eating. For the podcast, this means I'll
40:18
be taking a little break and no episode will be released for a
40:23
week. The last September episode will
40:25
drop on the 17th of September, and the October issue of this
40:29
magazine will start on October 1st.
40:32
In the meantime, there's still three more episodes to come.
40:36
One will be the conclusion of the ASTA campaign, and I'm also
40:39
working on the new Masterpiece episode and a new Civilization
40:43
episode, which will likely be my farewell episode for the
40:47
vacation. Assuming everything goes
40:50
smoothly, then let's take a look.
40:53
There were no emails this month, aside from the many praises of
40:57
course, for the episode. Again, I'm very thankful.
40:59
Keep them coming. I also received a message from
41:03
Zeros and Zalat, who would like to know how the pros differ in
41:07
their play styles and what their individual perspectives on the
41:11
games are. I found this topic so intriguing
41:15
that I started researching right away.
41:18
For about a month now, I've been keeping a sort of observation
41:22
list, noting everything I can about the players and trying to
41:26
spot patterns and everything that sticks out.
41:29
It will take a while, but I'd like to pick up this subject for
41:33
one or perhaps several future episode.
41:37
So thank you for that great suggestion.
41:40
I'm also planning on maybe talking to the pros that I'm
41:45
observing. I'm not sure.
41:47
They don't always have time or response to my emails or
41:50
messages, but I'll try to include them as much as I can.
41:55
This will take a while, that's for sure, because I want to
41:57
observe them very carefully and have something to tell you that
42:02
is more than the usual well Wiper builds castles on hills
42:06
and Hera does hussar rates. I want to go more into detail
42:09
and into the depth and psychology of the players, but
42:13
as you can imagine, that is a lot of research.
42:15
So if you have suggestions for how to characterize the players,
42:21
please again, send me messages. Help me out if you want.
42:25
And if you have similar ideas like Seal Rosen's A Lot or other
42:30
ideas, really, feel free to drop me a message on Discord or at
42:35
age of cast@gmail.com, ageofcast@gmail.com.
42:40
That's the emails you can the e-mail address you can send me
42:43
emails to. And I'll make sure to answer
42:47
your questions here in this very magazine format or use them as
42:51
inspiration for new episodes. Tournament outlook for the
42:57
September of 2025. I've got some great news for you
43:01
because in Age of Empires 2, the September is packed with three
43:04
eight-year tournaments. I've already mentioned sudden
43:07
disaster two in the news, so I'm not going to bother giving you
43:11
the details to this one. The tournament runs until the
43:15
14th of September, which is when the finals will take place and
43:18
this tournament is ongoing, so make sure to check it out.
43:21
It's actually it's just honestly a very fun experience.
43:25
Then there's the quintessential cookout.
43:28
This tournament is starting one day after the Sudden Disaster
43:32
tournament has concluded on the 15th of September, and it will
43:37
be held with a modest price pool of two and a half, $1000.
43:41
The four GL players doubt, Hera, Tattoo and Viper are already
43:46
invited, and another 24 players can sign up.
43:50
The rather unusual name of the event is reflected in the Sieve
43:53
Draft. Quintets are banned and drafted.
43:57
No concrete details have been released yet, so we'll just have
44:01
to be surprised by what's coming for us.
44:05
I'm pretty sure this is just some sort of fun test tournament
44:09
for something that might come up later this year or the next
44:13
year, but I haven't heard any rumours, this is just my
44:16
speculation. The tournament quintessential
44:19
Cookout ends on the 21st of September, lasting roughly one
44:23
week. Qualifier runs are already being
44:25
played in the background, but they are not public and will be
44:29
shown as recordings when the tournament start in the middle
44:32
of September. Our third A tier tournament is
44:37
Hyper Random 3. Just like Sudden Disaster 2,
44:40
Masters of Hyper Random, in its third iteration, has joined the
44:45
roster of top A tier events and offers a generous prize pool of
44:49
$10,000. As the name suggests, the
44:53
competition is played on a single map type.
44:56
Well, not map type on a single map, Hyper Random.
45:00
Although, let's be honest, you could argue that basically every
45:04
map is being played effectively because Hyper Random is famously
45:09
the most random map available. Anything can happen, and
45:13
Zetness's map scripting is advanced enough that in general
45:17
the generated maps are quite playable.
45:20
Participants must accept that the maps will not always be
45:23
fair, which kind of feels like a throwback to the 2010 years.
45:29
Invited are the two best players from the previous tournaments,
45:32
Villesa and Tarto from the first tournament and Winchester and
45:35
Frickin Andy from the second. Four more players will receive
45:40
invitations and a spots are open for qualifiers.
45:44
Qualifiers start on the 22nd September and run for a week.
45:49
Anyone brave enough might, if luck allows, pull off an upset
45:52
against a pro, because you never know with these maps.
45:56
The appeal of hyperandom lies in watching how the pros react to
46:00
unpredictable maps, how well they scout, and what spontaneous
46:04
plans they can devise. Be aware that civilization
46:08
victories are more common here than in other events, but still
46:13
the games will be highly entertaining.
46:15
The main event kicks off on the 29th of September and runs out
46:19
until the October 19th, just before the land in China will
46:24
start. Midweek Madness will also
46:28
continue throughout September. They will start on Monday next
46:31
week and have once again three weeks of Midweek madness,
46:35
providing us much needed entertainment during the week.
46:38
The map pool for the first week is already published and you can
46:40
find all information on Wikipedia.
46:43
I'm a very big fan of this tournament because I am
46:47
genuinely entertained by the games.
46:50
I think they are very high class games and what's also fun is
46:54
that because the maps change throughout every week, different
46:59
players feel inclined to sign up for the tournament, probably
47:03
depending on the map and to whether they have time or not.
47:06
So there is a lot of variation in what's being played and what
47:10
players you see. Next up we've got a land
47:13
tournament, Dynamic Battle 3. This land will take place in
47:18
Spain on the 15th and 16th November, hosted by Leon Roma,
47:25
ROA and his partner. The venue appears to be a cool
47:29
Marcia location. Frickin Andy, Jordan, Tato and
47:33
Doubt will be on site and compete, which should be fun
47:36
because the event uses dynamic maps featuring volcanic
47:40
eruptions and plagues and who knows what other crazy twists
47:43
the organizers or map scriptters have dreamt up.
47:47
If you feel like a post summer getaway in November, tickets are
47:51
on sale now. Which is why I which is why I am
47:55
highlighting this in this magazine.
47:58
The host kindly sent me the program in advance.
48:00
There will be communal meals after parties, so a lot of fun
48:05
and the game start around midstay or afternoon, leaving
48:08
plenty of time for other activities if you wish.
48:11
Tickets, as I said, can be purchased now via a certain
48:15
website which I have linked for you in the episode description.
48:19
Not only Spain but also Italy will host a LAN event in Italy.
48:25
It's called Empires Village 2025, and I've got some good
48:29
news because the host of the tournaments wants to invite you
48:33
to the event personally. Hello Christian, this is Torso
48:37
on. Hi, I really thank you for your
48:40
invitation to explain about my event Empires Village.
48:47
This year is the third time that we organise this is an event and
48:54
the reason is just enjoy and meeting people with you.
48:59
Play online on this order and share this passion on the Age of
49:05
Empires. So what this mean?
49:08
It mean that is not only a tournament.
49:12
As you can see our player list, there are all the ELO players
49:17
from 500 ELO to 2800 like CITO professional players and that we
49:26
will make a lot of tournament with.
49:30
Of course we will balance the team to everybody must enjoy and
49:36
then we will share also other other things, other fun because
49:42
we we are doing this in a village is a resort, very
49:46
beautiful. We have pools, we have Tennis
49:49
Club, we have football. There is really, really a lot of
49:54
things to do. We have also spa, so if you want
49:58
to come with your family, with your wife, with your girlfriend,
50:02
you can of course come and enjoy.
50:04
This is a town in Italy. The name is Loano.
50:08
We have also a beach from here. So this is the really faster
50:16
explaining about the the event that we organise.
50:22
If you want more information, you can contact me every day.
50:26
We can do also a direct on which or whatever you want.
50:33
Let me know and thanks a lot for your invitation and have a good
50:37
night. For German speaking players, a
50:40
new tournament from AOE to Germany has started.
50:44
It's called Boom, It stands for Brands Noyo Original on Ofizzi
50:49
Le Carton and it uses the map pool that includes the maps
50:52
added to the standard map pool in the latest update and takes
50:56
place in September. Registration is open until the
50:59
5th of September and the tournament begins on the 7th of
51:03
September. All details once again are in
51:06
the episode description. There's also an International
51:09
League for amateur players called the AOE Leagues and the
51:13
14th season is starting soon. You can still sign up for it if
51:18
you want to participate until the September the 5th of
51:22
September. It's A1V1 league catering to all
51:25
elos and spreads over 8 weeks. But there's more, more
51:30
tournaments for amateur players like me and you probably Arabia
51:34
Lovers too. Dino is starting another amateur
51:37
tournament, the second edition of Arabia Lovers, and you can
51:40
still sign up for it if you fancy some more competition.
51:44
But let me just hand it over to the host real quick.
51:48
Hello everybody, I'm Dino, I am streaming and also I'm a
51:51
tournament host and that's why I got invited to promote my
51:55
tournament here. It's Arabia only tournament
51:57
called Arabia levels two. You might have heard about it
52:00
already via the AE2 dot inside side or some discords where I
52:04
spread the word. And yeah, I want to invite you
52:07
to join the tournament as well. We are currently at 60 sign ups
52:11
and we're looking for something more than 70.
52:14
If it's eighty, that's wonderful too.
52:16
Of course, we will find a bracket for everybody and sign
52:19
ups are still open till the 5th of September, So only a couple
52:22
of days when you hear this and the tournament start will be the
52:26
7th of September and it will last till the 19th of October.
52:30
Every player is guaranteed at least two sets, one best of
52:33
three and one best of five. And then it depends if you're
52:36
going to the next rounds or not, right?
52:38
So Arabia only and there's also a specific draft sift draft for
52:43
this tournament to spice it up a little bit, but we're still
52:46
using captain's mode. It's not too complicated.
52:48
You can check out the details in the handbook that you will find
52:52
below or on the AOE 2 dot inside side, for example.
52:56
OK, so that was it for me. Have a nice day everybody and
53:01
looking forward to see you in the tournament.
53:02
Bye bye. We've also got some tournaments
53:05
coming up in Age of Empires 4. There's the Apple Hairs World
53:09
Cup which will start in a few days on the 6th and 7th of
53:13
September with the GSL format group stage, and the week after
53:17
with the playoffs on the 13th and 14th of September.
53:20
The games start at 15 GMT and this is a tournament that's
53:24
short and intense, just the way I like it.
53:27
This is a lower 8 year tournament with three and a half
53:30
$1000 in the price pool. KP's Midweek Muster has also
53:35
started its second season in August and continues to provide
53:38
games on a weekly basis, so make sure to check out Killer Pigeon
53:42
Stream during the week. The biggest tournament however
53:45
is the EGC Masters Fall. After the summer edition had
53:49
delivered spectacularly. I'm hoping for the same in this
53:53
edition. Qualifiers start mid-september.
53:56
The main event starts on the 20th of September.
53:58
This is an STA tournament with $20,000 in the prize pool.
54:02
The group stage is the usual GSL group format with four groups
54:06
consisting of each four players each, and the top 2 of each
54:10
group will advance to the playoffs.
54:12
Lucky me. The playoffs start in the
54:14
beginning of October, which is just when I come back from my
54:17
vacation. And that's it.
54:21
And that's going to do it for the show for this month's
54:23
magazine. I hope you enjoyed listening.
54:26
At the end of the episode, there's a bit of housekeeping to
54:29
be done. If you have any questions for me
54:32
or just want to me give me feedback or inspiration for
54:34
episodes, you can reach me in two ways.
54:37
Either join the podcast's Discord server, the link is in
54:41
the episode description, or simply drop me an e-mail at age
54:45
of cast@gmail.com. A quick reminder that this
54:49
podcast is completely ad free and funded solely by listeners.
54:54
You like the show and want to help keep it going.
54:57
You can become a Patreon on Patreon and pick from a number
55:01
of support tiers. Each come coming with a small
55:03
token of appreciation from me. Just pick the tier that is right
55:08
for you and help me support this podcast.
55:12
German speaking listeners can support us on study and receive
55:15
German language versions of the English episodes as a thank you.
55:20
Depending on which Patreon austerity you're in, I also read
55:23
out your name in this magazine proudly.
55:27
So I am very proud to announce this month's especially generous
55:32
benefactors, Matt Kanak, Tom Luke, Yannick Schultz, Stefan
55:37
Voitel, Irish Mueller, Lawrence Erlin, Jan Tucha Marikener,
55:41
Pathfinder, and Limbonic. I am very, very grateful for
55:46
your ongoing support at this level and above.
55:50
Without you, this podcast project wouldn't exist.
55:54
Thank you everyone also for just listening to this episode.
55:57
Please make sure to share and tell your friends about this
56:01
podcast. That helps me out a lot.
56:03
And the next magazine will be released in early October and
56:06
until my vacation at the end of September, there will still be
56:10
weekly episodes here. I hope I will hear from you or
56:14
you will hear from me in other episodes very soon.
56:18
Thanks again and have a great week.