Yesterday, february the 6th Age of Wonders 3 (AoW3 for short) was announced to be scheduled for release in autumn 2013.
AoW3 will be, like it's predecesors a turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy world wherin you play a powerful king themed in it's own special niche without limiting to certain fantasy cliché's.
Trailer:
(embedding this vid created frameloss for some reason, so I gave the clean link)
The critically acclaimed fantasy series makes its long prophesied return, taking its strategy/RPG formula to the next level, powered by a new proprietary 3D engine.
Age of Wonders 3® marks a modern reimagining of the series, where players join a clash of kings, queens and dark lords for the spoils of an ancient paradise. By introducing unique RPG-inspired classes and specializations, players are able to craft empires of their own design, developing unique strategies and play styles. The world-changing conflict plays out on sweeping landscapes, loaded with mythical locations waiting to be uncovered, conquered and exploited.
In Age of Wonders 3, we extrapolate RPG style classes to be the leaders of fantasy empires. For example: as a Goblin Theocrat you can build your own holy empire, recruit little goblin crusaders or cute winged goblin angels equipped with flaming weapons, and wage war on your heathen enemies. We want players to be able to choose between lots of different play styles, without being restricted by fantasy clichés, like All Goblins Are Evil.
The new engine truly reflects the choices players have made by affecting how their realm and units are represented. It makes the gameplay on both the strategic and battle maps more immersive than ever, while retaining the gameplay and feel of the previous games.
Key features include:
- Explore, expand and exploit a living fantasy world. Discover wondrous locations and gather legendary heroes.
- Develop your domain, with many classes having the ability to change terrain and climates to suit your needs.
- All new 3D graphics that provide a crisper and more detailed overview of the world and battle maps.
- New styles of play are possible with the introduction of RPG style leader classes like warlord, theocrat, rogue and sorcerer, along with a wide selection of specializations.
- Command a variety of races. Pick your starting race and shape your people’s destiny using your leader’s unique skills.
- A brand-new tactical battle system renders each battlefield and siege in great detail; new rules include flanking and a massive set of special unit abilities.
- An epic story campaign with two playable factions; Choose the mighty Commonwealth Empire or join the Court of the High Elves, founded after the reunion of the Dark Elves and Wood Elves.
- Compete online in extensive multiplayer modes and scenarios.
- High replay value through random maps, difficulty modes and tools allowing user created content.
Leader Classes
Sorceror - A scion of Magic that rules through raw arcane power.
Dreadnought - A herald of Technology that rules through the might of inventivity.
Theocrat - A prophetic leader that inspires their people to zealots with undying Faith.
Rogue - A greedy tyrant that rules his people with Fear.
Archdruid - A leader that wields the forces of Nature.
Warlord - A ruthless leader that resorts to sheer Violence through the sword.
On February 10 2013 03:43 markwell wrote: Can't wait to see the sequel! I loved the Shadow magic with the unofficial patch, especially the multiplayer part. The leader classes you listed sound exciting. I have started to run a fanpage for the Age of wonders 3 where i collect all the screenshots, reviews, press releases. It might be worth a look: Age of wonders 3 fanpage
On February 07 2013 19:52 -Archangel- wrote: I loved combat in previous games. I hope they didn't frack it up in this game.
Yeah they didn't reveal anything of that type yet, I'll keep track of their updates on that and post them as they come. I recall the projectile pathing over heights and against certain objects to add a great amount of depth to the game. I hope they get rid of chance factors as much as possible and let direct hits be possible (like in chess) if the positioning of the opponent is outplayed.
On February 07 2013 20:49 tyr wrote: AoW 2 is in my list of best games of all times. I really hope they dont fuck up this one.
Same here, I played that game for ages, especially when I had no internet in the past. There is a lot that can go wrong in making a strategy game as complex as this one, so I hope they stick to the basics and add on weird expansion content at a calculated and slow pace after initial release.
I spent a really long time modding Age of Wonders 2. I really hope they stick to that game's tried and true methodology of using formats that make sense, and don't use a bunch of garbage like the Granny model format or any of the innumerable stupid EA audio formats. AoW2 really relied on a smartly designed editor and its simple formats. It was fast and worked really well for what it could do. A lot better than, say, Starcraft 2's editor, even though the latter is more powerful. Sc2 was very unenjoyable to work with, but AoW2's editor designers clearly actually had experience in user interface.
I honestly don't think the transition to 3d is even necessary, but the same could be said with most games. It will be a long wait to see how this turns out. My skepticism says the age of games like AoW2 is long over, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
On February 07 2013 22:31 IskatuMesk wrote: I spent a really long time modding Age of Wonders 2. I really hope they stick to that game's tried and true methodology of using formats that make sense, and don't use a bunch of garbage like the Granny model format or any of the innumerable stupid EA audio formats. AoW2 really relied on a smartly designed editor and its simple formats. It was fast and worked really well for what it could do. A lot better than, say, Starcraft 2's editor, even though the latter is more powerful. Sc2 was very unenjoyable to work with, but AoW2's editor designers clearly actually had experience in user interface.
I honestly don't think the transition to 3d is even necessary, but the same could be said with most games. It will be a long wait to see how this turns out. My skepticism says the age of games like AoW2 is long over, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Totally agree. The market today is scared of kids tossing a game aside for it's looks but tbh, the target group for this game is 20 years or above - at least if they are aiming for the old aow1 and aow2 players.
AoW1 had far, far superior story and plot. It's not even comparable in that regard to AoW2 & SM - especially SM which just shat on the lore of AoW1. It was just like the transition from Diablo2 --> Diablo3
AoW2 & SM ofcourse had awesome combat and mechanics though.
I hope they take the story&plot of AoW1 and combine it with AoW2's mechanics...
On February 08 2013 00:26 andrewlt wrote: I wonder if they're going to continue the story or do a full reboot. Some of the screenshots do look similar to AoW2, which is very nice.
Judging from the teaser vid, this takes place 2000 years after the last wizard king was crowned. It's about a new era in the world of AoW with two major alliances that is completely different from the AoW 'every species for himself' theme. To this end I believe they are going for an almost complete reboot of the story while retaining the races from AoW.
Can't wait to see the sequel! I loved the Shadow magic with the unofficial patch, especially the multiplayer part. The leader classes you listed sound exciting. I have started to run a fanpage for the Age of wonders 3 where i collect all the screenshots, reviews, press releases. It might be worth a look: Age of wonders 3 fanpage
YES! The art style / info looks promising. Age of Wonders has always been the closest to the unobtainable "Ideal Game" that I've been having in the back of my mind for a long time. However ideal often clash with reality and I think AoW is a great compromise for me.