They've hinted several times there may be little connections. Heck, it's right here in this thread; Lennart's post.
Any connections to the "old" AoW?
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They've hinted several times there may be little connections. Heck, it's right here in this thread; Lennart's post.
That's correct. We were already working on Age of Wonders: Planetfall before the acquisition, planning to release it under our own steam.
After PF they might get to do AoW5 (I assume AoWF is AoW4, not AoW3.5, might be wrong there). The numbering gets confusing. Let's not forget AoW:SM was also numberless, though sort of a sequel.
We consider AoW:SM to be a stand-alone expansion. So you can see that as AoW2:SM.
AoW : Planetfall being numberless is more like AoW - the first one - not having a number.
But in that same post he said that it's in a different timeline/verse and that the only connections are through the "multiverse". Little easter-egg references are cool, but not "brand the game Age of Wonders" cool, IMO. It's not sounding like the Endless series/verse where every game is directly connected, the same universe, same lore, etc -- Which is probably one of the most effective connections for story and universe I've seen.
Now what would be neat, is some kind of easter egg portal that takes you to the Age of Wonders verse or something, where it could be hinted that the main "lost peoples" in Planetfall turn out to be Archons or Azracs or something. The first "Mood Image" in the "World Building" thread already looks like a ruined Tigran/Azrac or even Dwarven city (Look at the way the city is laid out, and all the housing being flat-rooved), or something.
Off topic; There seems to be no profile badges for AoW 2 or Shadow Magic, but there is for AoW 1 and 3?
Well, we do appear to have the Dvar. We know that the Archons, Elves and Humans, at the very least, are 'aliens' to Athla, and there's some good reason to believe the dwarves are too. It's possible that the dwarves of Athla are a refugee population of dvar that found itself in a position to ally with the Archons or Elves some time in distant history, or the Archons retrieved some dvar from the dvar homeworld before the dvar developed advanced technology, or some dwarfs made their way through the Shadow Realm into Star Union-controlled space and became dvar.
Alternatively, the Star Union could have been born from an Archon-cultivated human population that went industrial revolution rather than undergoing the apotheosis, leaving the archons watching over them scratching their heads and trying to figure out whether this was a good thing or not (after all, advanced technology is probably a big edge against the enemies that the archons usually fight, at least until said enemies start picking it up themselves, but it could be a sword that swings back if said enemies do start adopting it). Could be interesting if what brought down the Star Union turns out to be that the archons decided that the Star Union was a bad thing, and found some way to bring it down despite the technological disparity. (What if the archons actually know how to build advanced technology, but choose not to use it in warfare because they'd rather fight with swords and armour than more advanced technology, and they don't want to risk more advanced technology being acquired by their enemies?)
On the off topic question: There don't appear to be. Possibly because there hasn't been time to come up with any yet.
I find the idea of having some sort of meta plot or meta universe very intriguing. I'd like there to be some sort of link. Having said that, the meta story-line shouldn't really impact someone's enjoyment of the game. Unless the idea of goblins took off into space turns people off... I personally don't think Triumph will make it so... literal in that sense. There might be a vague link and that's the way it should be.
Meta universes should be subtle and not in your face.
Meta universes should be subtle and not in your face.
I hope not this game becomes another universalis.Then there is a unik ip that is going in to a bigger dev and becomes generic for that company. I have seen this thing happen over a decade with EA. I hope not that paradox makes it in to another universalis, it have never been my type of game. If i whated to play risk I just pick up my bord game. I do want to have age of wonder as it is. If it just age of wonders that gets a sci fi skin im totaly fine whit it, but then the name does not fitt does it now? I have so many questions about paradox geting games and devs and what will happen to thier ips. Will they get paradoxed or will they stay the same?
I feel like they can just do a name change to something else then age of wonders that feels like stories in a established seting. It is the same devs that makes it I hope. Then I hope that there is not going to be a dlc galore then im not even going to tuch that game.
I feel like they can just do a name change to something else then age of wonders that feels like stories in a established seting. It is the same devs that makes it I hope. Then I hope that there is not going to be a dlc galore then im not even going to tuch that game.
Well, to (hopefully) relieve the worry a bit, Paradox basically bought Triumph because they were like "hey, we tried to make a turn-based strategy game and got completely pushed out of the market by those Triumph guys, let's just buy them instead because they seem to know what they're doing".
Also, Triumph has been working on this game for about two years before Paradox bought them, so it's safe to say it's their own game, not Paradox's game.
Triumph has said many times that they wanted to do a sci-fi game for a long time, and that they already started working on this project before pdx acquired Triumph. There are 4 dev diaries (for now), plus some interviews during the pdxcon where you can find some more information
Then, maybe some of your fears disappear. Anyway, it seems quite early to know all the answers (especially about the lore, as the dev's said is part of the plot/campaign to uncover).
In the original AoW universe, I assume the Archons, and maybe pre fall Elves, near the top of the "tech tree", considering both have been around long enough to discover all there is. So there likely is a rule of nature or magical interference, preventing so called advanced technology.
But choosing not to use, or even develope something like that would also make sense, since while really learning a traditional weapon requires many virtues(some available to both good and evil ppl, like perseverence to slowly rebuild ones body, others only available to more or less good... it is said that compassion, and the ability to truly read an opponent come from the same source). While part of the real terror of things like guns lies in how ridiculiously easy they are to learn and use, making their full power also available to the least worthy, and furthest from any kind of ascension.
On the off topic question: If you mean thouse symbols below our names, there are: you can see I have AoW:SM, and Rheag(hope I spelled the name right) has AoW2.
Getting the Symbol might only work for games bought either here or on steam. Don´t think theres a way for the forums to recognise my old boxed version of AoW2, but I didn´t try.
Almost got the name right
I re-bought both AOW2 and AOW:SM in recent weeks because I was tired of having to use those ancient disks and wanted them on Steam. For some reason AOW2 does appear as owned game here and SM does not. Maybe something went wrong in syncing with Steam or the system could just be buggy. I don't mind much myself about these lil' symbols, but I do wish we had some AOW options for our avatars here...On topic: for me a contrived link between 2 obviously different settings is about the last thing I wish to see. Before you know it we'll have the traitorous wizard conspirators returning from the void to conquer the Star Union or other such nonsense. Creating a good story in full freedom will work better than having to do so while being chained to all kinds of stuff from a completely different setting. I also can't see any benefit to a link between the old fantasy and Planetfall lores.
Edit: I manually resynced with my Steam account and that seems to have done the trick.
On the symbols: The Steam stuff seems to also require that you have it installed through Steam to register for the Triumph games. I have all three on Steam, but it doesn't seem to be registering that I have AoW2/SM because I currently have the GOG version installed rather than the Steam version.
There is a common trope that the presence of advanced magic hinders the development of technology - not necessarily because of a direct incompatibility, but more out of a quasi-economic reasoning. Magic is generally presented as something that favours intelligence and mental capabilities in general, so people who make good magic-users are often also the people who would be good inventors, engineers, and scientists: those that choose to specialise in magic are therefore not contributing to scientific and technological development. Furthermore, depending on the attitude of magic-users, use of magic can also substitute for some of the things that science and technology would otherwise do, lessening the demand for technology and the impetus towards technological development.
We see hints towards this in AoW, since the more technologically advanced races tend to be the least magically adept (although you could say that this is also a factor of game balance). As a result, it is possible that the elves and archons, despite being races that have evidently been civilised for longer than the recorded history of Athla, might not have developed technology because they never needed to. Or... they might not use it because they felt that the risks (potentially including the enemy getting it) were greater than the benefit.
That said, it's also possible that there's something about technology that prevents ascension. We don't know much about the process except that people need to have the choice to do evil and actively choose to do good instead: it's possible that there's some level of technological development where that no longer becomes possible for some reason. Which could mean that while technological civilisations like the Star Union exist, archons are not generated by these civilisations.
Which could, as I noted previously, lead to the possibility that the archons dislike such technological civilisations and will sabotage them given the opportunity.
On the symbols:
I've bought every Age of Wonders through Steam to support Triumph, and bought them a long time ago, too. I also have them installed at all times because I like to keep those brilliant classics on hand as I play them frequently (Although I never play AoW 1 because of the poor performance on Win 10). I have symbols for things I didn't even buy through steam but merely unlocked with a code, and don't have installed (Like CK2 and some DLCs for other games), so that explanation doesn't add up in my case. I will try resyncing my steam account and see if that works out for me.
On "Paradoxing" and "2 years in development" -- I hope the "2 years in development" isn't an overexaduration to try quelling the public fears. But, the game's UI currently looks like a typical Paradox UI -- The Government button in the top left, followed by the categories next to it? Come on; They have Influence as a resource, and even want to use that stupid "Casus Belli" term that I believe has no place in a sci-fi game. And you tell me they've been developing it for 2 years? Was a clause in their contract with Paradox to include that nonsense? I had to google what that even meant when it suddenly appeared in Stellaris instead of implementing an actual decent Diplomacy system ala GalCiv. I don't want to play Europa Universalis, so why are they trying to force it into every new game now? Things don't add up to make the "2 years" story seem true, there's no evidence of it besides the very sparse comments we've heard that "a game has been in development that fans of Age of Wonders would like".
On "Magic" -- I agree that Magic in Age of Wonders could easily progress into futuristic, other-worldly technology for naming terms. After-all, AoW is rich with sci-fi elements, time and world travel, etc. It fits quite nicely. I wonder if Planetfall will have some kind of spell casting system, with a sci-fi "Technology" flair to it.
I've bought every Age of Wonders through Steam to support Triumph, and bought them a long time ago, too. I also have them installed at all times because I like to keep those brilliant classics on hand as I play them frequently (Although I never play AoW 1 because of the poor performance on Win 10). I have symbols for things I didn't even buy through steam but merely unlocked with a code, and don't have installed (Like CK2 and some DLCs for other games), so that explanation doesn't add up in my case. I will try resyncing my steam account and see if that works out for me.
On "Paradoxing" and "2 years in development" -- I hope the "2 years in development" isn't an overexaduration to try quelling the public fears. But, the game's UI currently looks like a typical Paradox UI -- The Government button in the top left, followed by the categories next to it? Come on; They have Influence as a resource, and even want to use that stupid "Casus Belli" term that I believe has no place in a sci-fi game. And you tell me they've been developing it for 2 years? Was a clause in their contract with Paradox to include that nonsense? I had to google what that even meant when it suddenly appeared in Stellaris instead of implementing an actual decent Diplomacy system ala GalCiv. I don't want to play Europa Universalis, so why are they trying to force it into every new game now? Things don't add up to make the "2 years" story seem true, there's no evidence of it besides the very sparse comments we've heard that "a game has been in development that fans of Age of Wonders would like".
On "Magic" -- I agree that Magic in Age of Wonders could easily progress into futuristic, other-worldly technology for naming terms. After-all, AoW is rich with sci-fi elements, time and world travel, etc. It fits quite nicely. I wonder if Planetfall will have some kind of spell casting system, with a sci-fi "Technology" flair to it.
About 2 years ago they stopped updating AoW3 so much, took a bunch of surveys on the AoW3 website and started working on their super secret project.
Much more recently they were acquired by Paradox.
One thing people were pushing for, since forever, was a "better" form of diplomacy and city management. Hence cassus belli and influence. I'm personally thinking and hoping influence is used to recruit and maintain late game units and powers. As an aside, I also hope the sector system works as a TBS version of sectors in Company of heroes. So fuel+munitions+food etc come from sectors, not cities. Units come from cities.
Go read the surveys if you get a chance, very interesting.
The UI is supposed to look sci-fi like, and so far isn't actually very different from the AoW3 UI, from what I've seen.
Much more recently they were acquired by Paradox.
One thing people were pushing for, since forever, was a "better" form of diplomacy and city management. Hence cassus belli and influence. I'm personally thinking and hoping influence is used to recruit and maintain late game units and powers. As an aside, I also hope the sector system works as a TBS version of sectors in Company of heroes. So fuel+munitions+food etc come from sectors, not cities. Units come from cities.
Go read the surveys if you get a chance, very interesting.
The UI is supposed to look sci-fi like, and so far isn't actually very different from the AoW3 UI, from what I've seen.
I'll look up those surveys, It'll be interesting to see the results and questions asked. I never really followed the forums much before becoming more involved with AoW3 modding and such. I always hung around the Heavengames forums for the other games in the series.
I would suggest to you to do some side-by-side comparrisons to Stellaris' UI, and Planetfall's.
I would suggest to you to do some side-by-side comparrisons to Stellaris' UI, and Planetfall's.
Top steam review has a link to a fix for the frequent crashing. Try it out.
Sci-fi look is sci-fi.
How did someone explain that elsewhere? Something along the lines of "I think the designers tried to make a sci-fi UI that wasn't blue, but gave up".
Also, casus belli are in Civilization VI as well, which is made by Firaxis. It's also the logical term to use for the mechanic (as it's, y'know, the actual term for it), and the mechanic is a logical aspect of more complex diplomacy. Edit: Oh, and Influence Points are also in Civ VI. So to claim it's Paradox derivative is just not correct; it's simply becoming more common in the genre.
Honestly, what we've seen isn't very similar to Stellaris. It's blue with yellow-brown highlights, and a bunch of visual elements, while Stellaris is mostly green, and very minimalistic. Stellaris also has much less information on the default screen, and tends to concentrate information displays to the top and sides, while the ones we have seen put most information in the top, centre, and bottom bar.
I'm not meaning the visual flair, I'm talking about the button and resource layouts, that kind of thing. it's almost 1-to-1, that entire top bar in Planetfall's UI screenshots is straight out of EU and Stellaris. Sorry, that's just an obvious thing I immediately noticed.
Great that there's a fix for age of wonders 1. I quite enjoyed the dungeons in that game.
I'm not surprised Civ 6 mentions Casus Belli, given what other inspirations it takes from other more popular games.
Great that there's a fix for age of wonders 1. I quite enjoyed the dungeons in that game.
I'm not surprised Civ 6 mentions Casus Belli, given what other inspirations it takes from other more popular games.
Yes, but having a top bar with menu buttons in the corners and resource icons along the top is by no means a signature of paradox games-its pretty widely used in the stratagy game space. AOW3 had a pretty similar UI, only with less resources all in the centre instead of spread out on the sides.
Yes but, look at the specifics. The button positions, slanted style of the tabs with the round main button in the top left, the almost identical resource number placements with the symbols and counters, it just seems too much to be a coincidence is my observation..
It's just a co-incidence. To be pedantic, the big round button is clearly labelled the research button, not the government button, and no paradox ui has slanted tabs, or resources offset from the tabs-it's either directly above or after. At the end of the day there are only so many ways to lay out the menu buttons and resource indicators needed to play a large scale strategy game, and using a broadly conventional layout makes it easier for players to learn the UI. Reading this as some sort of grand paradox conspiracy to make every game the same is paranoid.