The MFO folks have their finger on the pulse of the tournament scene. They have word that members of the Ave Clan are putting together a nomad tournament for January 2nd. Not only that, it's going to be a massive 3on3 event! Grab some pals and get ready to rumble. You'll have the official settings here on their clan page. Best of luck all! ...ok Nomadz fellers, go get em... ; )
Update A helpful link for those who're interested in entering this event: Sign-ups
Thurdl01, one of Heaven Games’ very own cherubs posted a guide to Constant Numbers. Hopefully, it will help out our Random Map Scripters into making excellent RMS’
There's probably a few disappointed souls out there who are eager for a new bit of Age of Mythology to look at today. Well, take a poke around on the ES AOM website and you'll find some great new images. There's a nice shot at the top of their screenshots page with a lighthouse building of sorts, which appears to be brand new! There is also a nice image of the Egyptian Avenger unit there as well, and their previews page seems to be engulfed in Fire Giants. Stop in for a look see, you won't be disappointed. ...ahaha, look at the Cyclops by the lighthouse...he's looking up and the leaping Anubis... ; )
Our thanks to lummir for organizing one heck of a tournament! The big year end bash took place last night and involved some very strong teams, but MoFo_Revolution and MoFo_Losey walked away the champions! They managed to defeat Time_Itself and Flammifer in the final game as well as a few other great teams. Congrats!
Hopefully a recorded game or two will surface from this event, but until them you can stop in on this forum post to see how the brackets unfolded.
While I remember, a very big HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! Many thanks to those of you who've hung out with us here at AOKH for the last year, especially those who've been organizing and taking part in the tournaments of late. You rock! ...c'mon guys, don't make me beg for recordings, it's not pretty... ; )
Many thanks to Mike "Archangel" McCart for keeping us all in the know. As you are all no doubt aware, usually on Mondays the Ensemble Studios folks treat us to a new AOM screenshot, but the holidays are going to muck that up for us this week. We will have to wait until January 7th for the next weekly screenshot. ...oh come now, dry those tears and grab one of the gaming mags with an AOM article! ; )
You may want to pick up a copy of Computer Games magazine! The ever ready SoR_Anarchy has spotted an article in the pages of the latest issue and he shared a few bits of campaign information with us in the forums:
"In the mag 'Computer Games' there is a small article about AoM on page 49. The AoM article by Cindy Yans entiled 'Of Gods and Men' is part of the cover story called 'Masters of Magic'.
There are some interesting things in the article. Something about the single player campaign, 'You'll play a hero trying to get across the Old World. In doing so, You will help in the seige of Troy, meet Odysseus, and reassemble the skeleton of Osiris.'"
So it appears that ES will be giving us a taste of all of the three cultures in the big campaign. It will be interesting to find out if we will play a single culture or switch between them.
At anyrate, many thanks to SoR_Anarchy for sharing with us once again, you're a good man. Keep your eyes peeled for the magazine! ...holiday game rush is over...looks like the ES/MS hype machine is gearing up... ; )
We could all use a little friendly advice to help improve our games, no? Well, newly appointed cherub, Dark Side of Day, has arranged a program that will be of interest to those players who are looking to take their games to a new level, the AOKH Training Camp:
"Each forumer will have there own goals that they want to achieve from this program. It might be to obtain a 1700 rating on the zone. It might be to reach the High Inter or even the Expert category on the AOKH Forumers Ladder. Or it might even be as simple as being able to beat that friend that has always defeated you in AOKTC. Whatever your goal might be, this program can help you achieve it."
A couple of great players are currently signed on to help coach us. Many thanks to Myll_Barka and Myll_Slaghter, who's trashed more than a few forumers around here, for lending their time to help us out!
Don't be shy. If you want to get involved, either to be trained or to help coach less experienced players, just pop into the Training Camp, and you'll find all of the details. ...s'pose this will mean fewer wins for me at forum parties...thanks DSOD... ; P
I woke up this mourning, determined to finish off a huge update download on TacOps, when I checked my Email. GameSpy has finished its Gamers Choice awards, and the results are in. Empire Earth, the first game from Stainless Steel, got Third. Not bad eh? Only beaten by Black & White and Civilization 3.
Forumer Moebius spotted Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne on the cover of the new February issue of Computer Games magazine. Several other upcoming turn-based strategy games are featured as well, such as Heroes of Might & Magic IV, Warlords IV, Warcraft III and Warlords Battlecry II in the magazine's theme this month: who is the new "Master of Magic?"
If you haven't had a chance to pick up the issue, Moebius has reprinted several interesting bits from the article! You can read it all in this thread of our AOW2 General Discussions forum.
Can it be true? Yes folks, for those of you do don't enjoy venturing into the crazy field of multiplayer, or are unable to do so, check out the AOKH Deathwish tournament. The idea is simple, (and borrowed from the AOKcc fellers) survive! Here's the pitch:
"Now this is a unique idea for a tourney, because it's not actually a multiplayer tourney. You play, in fact against seven AI players [using the custom AI, Tiger RM], on DM resources, on a tiny map. The objective: to survive as long as possible. The winner of the tourney would be the one who has the recorded game submitted with the longest time with a unit or production buildings still standing. If by some unprecented occurrence, you should BEAT the seven AI players, the person who does this in the shortest period of time will win."
Drop in on the AOKH Deathwish post to find out the latest fastest time, or where you can download the AI file from. Best of luck everybody! ...current leader: TheShadowDawn: 31:25 ... ; )
Its saturday and time for another Forum Party. This will be the last one of the year 2001. Or the last one of the Holiday Season. Or last one of Winter Break (at least for me )! Whatever, its still the last of the year. We will be using the same server as last time, as it seemed pretty good and had plenty of people to play against. If you forgot where, check here for more details.
Tell me though, should we keep doing the Custom of the Day thing? Noooooo... Winter Break is over. Thats it, no more free time!
STRONGHOLD HEAVEN Castle of the Week: Javier Castle, Navarra Posted 12/28/2001 @ 9:50 AM EST by Jayhawk
GillB has provided us with more information on another of the Siege mission castles. This time it's Javier Castle, in Navarra.
Javier Castle is in the province of Navarre in the Basque region of Spain about 30km from Pamplona. It was originally constructed on a rocky hill in the 10th century as an Arab Fortress. However, there is virtually none of the original Arab buildings left.
The site's Seraph, AoErat, will be away for about a week. He's expected to return around January 3. Until then, we request that all submitted news be sent to me, at pigintrifix@hotmail.com. You can also click my name in the subject for a direct mailto link. Thanks!
COSSACKS HEAVEN GSC Launches Official Cossacks Forum Posted 12/27/2001 @ 12:45 PM EST by TNK
From pepsi of GSC, the developers of Cossacks:
We have launched official forums on our site located at http://www.gsc-game.com Everybody is cordially welcomed to participate in discussions and debates going on there. To get in the forum click on Community, then Forums on top of the screen.
It's been awhile since we've taken a look see at our ladder standings, but this should be more frequent in the months ahead. Dark Side of Day has been doing a bang up job of keeping this updated, and he's got all of our thanks for his dedication! If you're interested in joining the ladder, just pop into the AOKH Ladder post to find out how.
There are quite a few new faces that are now climbing the ladder since our last look at the top ten, but the current ladder champion has been at the top a few times before. The old timer is hanging tough in our latest look at the standings:
Yes indeed, there are still a few familiar names in the top ten, including _Final_Boss, who will have to work hard to keep the top rung to himself with the likes of the StorM folks and LadyWoogy around. We'll have another updated top ten for you next week, so those of you involved have some time to make a run on the top ten, or the top spot. ...the StorMs have been gaining a great many points thanks to the team tournaments...quite the dynamic duo there... ; )
Online multiplayer gaming for Age of Wonders will soon have a new home at the recently launched LeagueAOW. All of the content sections are not up yet, but the site is looking good! Check it out at www.LeagueAOW.com. LeagueAOW uses a point system where you can track your progress against other gamers in a variety of MP and hot seat online gaming competitions. It will eventually support AOW2 when it is released.
LeagueAOW is the brainchild of AOW vet Der_Waggs as a replacement for the defunct Starlance combat league that recently closed. Backing up Der_Waggs at LeagueAOW are a number of experienced gamers: Argammon, Bethgael Amberhair, Elquein Jaradcel and SkullKing will all be administers of the new LeagueAOW.
You can ask questions and discuss matters relating to the new gaming league in our designated LeagueAOW - Online Multiplayer Games forum. Be sure to add your name to AOWH's ICQ/People List (using your registered forum name) to quickly check when your fellow gamers are online and ready to rumble! See you on the battlefield!
The end of 2001 in definitely in sight now, and many gaming sites have been working out their picks for the best games of the year. Among them are the big boys, GameSpot and GameSpy.
GameSpot's picks also include some interesting categories such as the most disappointing game of the year, and their top ten games of the year list. They are also looking for your picks for the best games of the year, and have included a ballot at the end of the feature article for fan picks.
GameSpy's picks have been slowly revealed over the past few weeks, and they've included their console picks in the same list. It seems after a slow start, there are a lot of really good PS2 titles out on the market now. ...holly hell...hard believe Gspot's #1 pick for their top ten list...it was just a crazy little shooter! ; )
Apparently, one of our Forummers, Ykkrosh, has figured out a way to mod SWGB (meaning changing graphics of particular units). For more information, and a few links to some downloads, visit the thread.
Polls appear to be quite popular this week! The folks over at Ensemble Studios have another new one up on their AoM news page, but this time asking for our input on future screenshots. The question is What would you like to see in our Weekly AOM Screenshots? Our options include myth units, god powers, battle scenes and more. Stop in and make sure you cast your vote! ...decisions, decisions... ; )
Darth_Malice and his comrades have written a new Saracen guide to replace the older one that was put up some time ago. This guide gives a good overview of the civilization, focusing on 2 strategies, the SNUFF and SMUSH, along with the general UU, tech tree, units, etc information. If you're just starting out with the civilization, or you're needing to review, this guide is a great one to check out.
Yes, even though it is Christmas Day, I couldn't help but surf the gaming sites (I'm such a nerd like that ) and I came across this little gem. Voodoo Extreme has named Empire Earth Strategy Game of The Year! You can check out the whole list of games in each genre right here. Two awards for Stainless Steel so far, congrats!
From all of here at Empire Earth Heaven I'd just like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Lay around the house, get presents (and ummm...give them or something like that ), and drink hot cocoa; thats what its all about.
Indeed, a present. Together with Gordon Farrell we are excited to present you with the first 3 chapters of the Usurper campaign. Over the coming weeks you will get to play the next episodes of this great story with it's grand climax four weeks from now.
Our favourite game, Stronghold, received one of GameSpy's Best of 2001 PC Strategy Game of the Year: The Runner Up Awards. You can read more about it, here.
Overall winner in the PC game category was Empire Earth a game hosted by one of our sister sites.
A very Merry Christmas indeed! Triumph Studios gave us all an early Christmas gift by launching the newly redesigned Official Age of Wonders II website! Check it out at:
There is a ton of stuff at the new site, like the pre-release beta demo sign-up, music downloads, game features and even more new screen shots! Be sure you check out the two music MP3 downloads, composed by Mason B. Fisher; beautiful! Visit the new official AOW2 site now and then discuss it in our AOW2 Forums!
Lead programmer Josh Farley laid down some info on the 3D game engine used for Age of Wonders II and its capabilities in our forums. Here's a snippet:
The movement of objects, as well as all of the particle effects, are in 3D-space. So arrows arc properly, units walk up and down slopes, particles can move with gravity and depth, etc. AoW1 had a very simple particle system. AoW2 has a much more complex and powerful particle-effect engine, capable of some really spectacular real-time effects. The screenshots only give you a hint of what 1000's of particles animating at 100FPS looks like.
The crazy crew at Voodoo Extreme has a new poll up, and good ol' Age of Mythology is one of the options! The big question is: What's your most wanted PC game of 2002? There are a ton of great titles listed. Right now Warcraft III is leading the pack, and AoM is way down at the bottom of the list, so get over there and cast a vote! ...big thanks to Angel Chooch for pointing out the poll! ; )
Christmas is almost here, and it's time for another forum party! This time around we will be using the North America West server because its much less lagged. Check the Forum Party Thread for complete details.
See you there! And Happy Holidays... I've been getting rusty. Need to practice for a secret tourny ;-).
Empire Earth has one new title to add to the champions belt this evening. One of the most respected gaming site on the net, Gamespy, has voted Empire Earth the PC Game of The Year! Congrats to Stainless Steel on the award; Empire Earth has been around for a little more than a month and it has earned the recognition and praise of so many in the industry. Heres to more great things to come from SSSI and the Empire Earth Community. ...if you'd like to give them a round of applause, stop by this thread in the forums... ; )
This guy is fresh out of the package! Nathan "Natedawg" Stefan only recently joined Ensemble Studios, found by talent scouts in the wilds of Canada. He is one of the many artists currently at work on Age of Mythology:
"Full Name: Nathan Stefan Nick Name: Natedawg Joined Ensemble Studios: Sept. 20 2001 Job Title: Artist Home Town: Burford, Ontario, Canada
Short Bio: Born in the old country (Canada). After leaving the backwoods I went to school at Sheridan College for five years, taking an assortment of art related courses. Shortly following graduation the first time, I left for a summer and worked at a television production studio. I then went back to school and took a computer course while some friends went to work in Dallas. I was lucky enough to join up with them a year later."
Stop in a check out the full spotlight feature. See if you can find anything interesting on the dry-erase board behind Nathan in his photo.
I believe that news will be a little slow from now until after the 25th of December, as the ES folks run off to celebrate the holidays. Have a good one! ...humbug...if they worked weekends and through Christmas we'd have the game sooner... ; )
An early gift from the folks at Ensemble Studios! Today they posted five new screenshots, all with a holiday theme. There are lots of fun findings in this set,including the mighty Santa Claus unit, lots of new sounds, the red bearded giant is being called the Mountain Giant, and plenty of monkey business. Buildings have all sorts of decorations on them, giving every screenshot quite the festive look.
After you have loaded up all of the screenshots for a look and a listen, drop your findings in this post in the forums. ...the croc sleighs are just hilarious...check them out in the fifth screenshot! ; )
A little birdy told me today's the birthday of FireFly's Darren Thompson. We wish him many more years of happy gaming. If you want to wish Darren a happy birthday yourself, you can do so here.
GillB takes us with her to Germany for this week's Castle of the Week
Heidelberg Castle, which is also known as the Red Walled Castle, is built on a 195m (640 feet) high hill called Jettenbühl which overlooks the eastern side of the city in south west Germany. It has beautiful views down into the Altstadt and along the Neckar River.
Another member of the Ensemble Studios programming team has put his best foot forward, or toe as the case may be, and entered the spotlight. Richard "IronToe" Gyger is a long time member of the ES team, and gives us a look into how he got into programming as well as his personal picks for fav computer games:
"Full Name: Richard Gyger Nick Name: (Internet Handle) IronToe Joined Ensemble Studios: June 1997 Job Title: Programmer Home Town: Hemphill, TX
Interests / Hobbies: PC gaming, building the ultimate LAN Party box, spending time with my family.
Favorite Computer Games: Many and varied. Currently: Age of Kings (of course), Quake III, Baldur's Gate II, Max Payne."
The full spotlight article includes a short bio, and a little bit on Richard's current project at the studios. ...da Toe...sounds like a mobster... ; )
Was just surfing the gaming sites when I came upon something at Gamespot. Empire Earth is currently the 3rd most popular viewed PC game at Gamespot when before it wasn't even on the list. You can see what I'm talking about here.
Also, Gamespy will be announcing the Strategy Game of the Year Award as well as Overall Game of the Year award on December 22. When Gamespy showed their pre-results, EE was at third, hopefully it went up.
More reviews on Empire Earth have been done the last few days. Here's a run down of them:
Khabal Gaming gave Empire Earth a 7.5 mostly because of sound.
Empire Earth is a game will definitely stay in the hearts and mind of RTS players for a long time to come. I have already spent nearly countless hours trying out the finer points of the game. And I believe I am only at the tip of the iceberg. Before you become a competent player in your own right, get ready for a rough time as you battle for the survival of your race!
Gamezilla reviewed EE and gave it an overall score of 91.
A well balanced mix of harvesting/building and war will keep you busy building the awesome number of units that are available - and the sheer depth of the game means you can spend a very long time playing indeed. If you like you can opt to actually start the game half-a-million years ago and play through to 2200, in reality it's a little unlikely you'd finish the game like that as it represents a huge amount of playing time. You're more likely to find yourself playing in one of the particular time periods, or skirmishing against the computer - both of which are fantastic fun.
I believe thats it for now. Be sure to send me an email if you see any more.
Many fans have asked in the past just how different the civilizations of each culture will be, and the answers have been a vague confirmation that they will be very different. Well we have been given a bit of a look at in what ways they will be different, and it seems that scouts and scouting will be part of it all:
"The 3 cultures in AOM are very different from each other. This can present a huge learning curve for trying to play the game, so we decided 1 of the 3 (the Greeks) should play more or less like AOK. The Norse and Egyptians have some major departures from this model.
So, yes, the Greeks start with a Scout. The Norse and Egyptians have to scout in other, secret for now, ways. Does this make the Greeks better at rushing? Perhaps, but other aspects of their culture make them not so good at rushing, while other aspects of the Norse and Egyptians give them methods to rush as well.
I think I have said this before, but we like early combat. Early fighting can be fun. Always having to wait until the late game to fight can be really boring. What we *don't* like is for players of equal skill level to be able to consistently put each other out of the game in 5 minutes just by training huge numbers of the game's earliest and weakest units. That was the original (from C&C) use of the word "rush". Now days we all tend to use the word "rush" to mean "any attack that I wasn't prepared for". Will AOM still have those kind of attacks? Of course." - Greg Street
Ahhh, some tantilizing words there from Greg "DeathShrimp" Street. Many thanks to the ES folks who stop in when they can, we all appreciate it greatly. Happy holidays to you fellas!
On a side note, I flipped through the January issue of PC Gamer and caught their AoM article. It's short and sweet, with a single screenshot that seems to show some sort of god power that looks like a tornado, or water spout since it's occuring over water, and a battle scene. It won't rock your world, but hopefully this will mean more from them on the game in the future, since they seemed to be looking forward to it. ...remember...new screenshots are coming on Friday! ; )
A big welcome aboard to Dark Side of Day, the latest addition to the AOKH team. He has been doing a great job managing the AOKH Ladder and organizing tournaments, and we're happy to have as part of our team here! ...nicely done... ; )
Programmer John "MrPinchy" Evanson has stepped into the spotlight today over at Ensemble Studios. He has been working on Age of Mythology for several years now, and currently is up to his elbows in the random map generator. His spotlight covers how he got his start, and a little on the early start on AoM:
"Full Name: John Evanson Nick Name: various (MrPinchy, an obscure Simpsons reference, is a common one) Joined Ensemble Studios: June 1997 Job Title: Programmer Home Town: Bethany, CT.
Currently working on: Right now I am working on the random map generator for AOM. I can't spill the beans too much, but I think the new system we are working on is very cool and much more flexible than the AOK random map generator. I expect fans will make random map scripts that will surprise us even more than the high-quality fan-generated maps we've seen for AOK."
Yes, the movie is in theatres now, and my hat goes off to Angel Zen who has just returned from a midnight screening. (he loved it btw)
Tolkien's books create a wonderful world, and so to will an ambitious modpack by Josef_Bugman, inspired by the Lord of the Rings. This project has been underway for quite sometime now, and is progressing beautifully as you can see by these images included in forum posts. He is out to recreate everything from hobbit holes to Orcs! The LOTR project page at Wildfire Studios outlines in detail just how all encompassing the completed modpack will be.
If the new movie has you in a frenzy, keep your eyes open for news on this wonderful mod. ...sift through the forum post for progress updates and even more images/screenshots of this amazing project! ; )
He's been making the rounds at gaming sites today. Bruce Shelley has now had lengthy chats with the folks at IGN and now Voodoo Extreme. In both of these Q&A sessions he goes over the reasons for the September release date for AoM and where the ES team is currently in the development cycle. Both articles have many more comments from Bruce himself than the GameSpot write-up from yesterday. ...both worth reading to be sure... ; )
The long thirst for more news about AOW2 has finally been quenched with two new online previews at Gamespot and IGN!
Here is a sample from the Gamespot preview (with 41 screenshots!):
AOW2 features a revamped graphics engine that blends two-dimensional sprites with full three-dimensional backgrounds, but also boasts a random map generator, a streamlined interface, and a series of other improvements that you'd typically find in a sequel. The development team at Triumph Studios has also made an effort to place more focus on the role-playing and empire-building elements in Age of Wonders II--though, fans will find that most of the gameplay from the original game remains intact.
After you've cleaned off all the drool from your keyboard, hit the IGN preview!
As fun as the tactical portion of the game is, the version of empire building presented in the game is "much more detailed" than it used to be according to Josh. In the various towns there are "Forges for building items, libraries for researching faster, halls of enchantment to give extra skills and abilities to the units coming out of the town. You also have the ability to upgrade the town structures themselves, things like barracks, which give you access to better units."
I'm overwhelmed by the number of new units (Dracolich!). Gamespot is listing a March 2002 release date; a few short months away! Discuss all of this new information and post your questions to the developers in the AoW 2 General Discussions forum!
The infamous monkey, which has appeared in many of the recent AoM screenshots, could very well be in hot water by the end of the week. There is a brand new poll up at the ES AoM site that could have some very serious consequences for the little scamp:
"Forget about the Press Release, the new art and images. Its time to get serious! Do we include the ES Monkey in Friday's holiday screenshots, or is he our holiday Dinner?"
So far, the monkey appears to be on his way to starring in a new set of screenshots, but a few votes could send him to the ES cafeteria. Stop by and decide the little feller's fate!
If you feel the need to debate animal cruelty, plead the monkey's case, or tell us how good monkey meat is, pop into this post by the Archangel. ...60 - 40 split in the votes right now... ; )
Bloomberg.com is reporting that Microsoft may be eyeing Take-Two Interactive as a possible acquisition. Take-Two recently acquired GOD Games (which published AOW1) and publishes some of the top-selling games today, like Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto 3 and Stronghold:
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. may be a take-over target for Microsoft Corp., which wants to become a major player in the video-game software market, Business Week said in its Inside Wall Street column.
Take-Two, which publishes ``Grand Theft Auto 3'' and other titles, is an attractive acquisition because it's undervalued compared to competitors such as Electronic Arts Inc. and Activision Inc., the magazine said, citing an unidentified strategist with an investment bank. Take-Two President Paul Eibeler didn't want to say whether Microsoft is interested in buying the company, Business Week reported. Microsoft, which earlier this year started shipping its Xbox video-game console, couldn't be reached to comment, the magazine said.
Microsoft burst into the game publishing business just a few years ago with the award-winning Age of Empires series developed by Ensemble Studios (who just unveiled a revamped website with new Age of Mythology screen shots. Check 'em out!)
EE Net Center are doing a contest with the prize being 2001 calendars signed by Rick Goodman. Go read the rest here. Also, their EE Files (Download Section) has been redone and released.
EE Gamer, run by Disturbed Roach & Bosbel, has somehow died out. Local word is that their hosts pulled the plug, no doubt they'll find a better home somewhere.
Senior designer with Ensemble Studios, Bruce Shelley, had a quick chat with one of the curious folks at GameSpot about Age of Mythology being released later than expected. It's a brief article, but it does serve to clear up some of the reasoning behind the move:
"According to Shelley, the primary reason for the schedule change is that the game's single-player campaign is going to take longer than originally anticipated since several elements such as art and other game systems must be completed before the campaign can be completed. When asked if the game would really make the new release date, Shelley said he felt 'really confident' that the game would be ready by September. Approximately 80 percent of the developers at Ensemble are currently working on the game, with the remaining 20 percent working on another unannounced project."
The article goes on to mention that AoM is expected to be feature complete by the end of January, and it also touches briefly on the topic of beta testing. Make sure you stop in and get the goods straight from the Bruce's mouth. ...sounds like they are leaving themselves lots of time to work on the monster single player campaign...and of course to balance, balance, balance... ; )
The latest Ensemble Studios spotlight features none other than young Matthew "topaz_monkey" Hemby. I believe he mentioned he's the youngest member of the whole ES team, and he's working on the quality assurance end of AoM. He mentions several parts of the game he is currently working on, which makes for some interesting reading:
"Full Name: Matthew Hemby Nick Name: topaz_monkey Joined Ensemble Studios: Just in time for the 2001 E3 crunch Job Title: AstroChimp / QA Core Tester Home Town: Greenville, TX
Currently working on: Testing AoM! We’re gearing up for another milestone, and lots of incredible things are coming online at a feverous pace (as always… has anyone mentioned how incredible this team is?). Specifically, I’m currently testing an in-house tool for build management, as well as AoM-specific goodies like the Sound and Music Engine (and content), the MiniMap, Save/Load/Record-related stuff, and the Scenario Editor. Let me speak to my testing areas a bit for you. The sound engine is solid, and the in-game tools associated with it are incredibly slick and easy to use, and just wait until you hear the stuff we can do with music. The MiniMap surpasses the pinnacle of MiniMap goodness that is AoK – it’s sharp, easy to read, informative, and has a few tricks up it’s sleeves. The Save, Load, and Record game-stuff is dressed to impress, and it too has some features that would get me in trouble if I were to snitch. The RTS world hasn’t seen anything like the AoM Scenario Editor; the ease at which worlds are created is almost silly. Prepare to be blown away."
It sounds as though they are tweaking and adding to a great many standard parts of RTS games, this should be interesting. The full spotlight article is available here on the ES site. ...ES needs to hire a few snitches to keep us fans happy... ; )
The new design for Ensemble Studios' Age of Mythology site is now LIVE! It contains plenty of concept art and in game shots on nearly every page as well as the new movie we were all expecting in the downloads section. Make sure you grab this one! It features a Norse coastal town, and includes several giants, what appears to be a hero waving his banner over a fire, and a shift from day to night complete with falling snow. It is about 50 seconds long, and also features some lovely music.
If that's not enough for you, Mike "Archangel" McCart has revealed that we will be seeing more new AoM screenshots later this week as well! He will be handing out some "holiday screenshots" on Friday, December 21st.
That was about all the cool stuff we were anticipating, but in addition Microsoft has also narrowed down when the game will be available. It may not be quite what people were wanting to hear, as the wait may be longer than most expected, but at least we have a better idea of when to look for the game in stores:
"Microsoft today announced that Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios' latest real-time strategy game, will be available in September of 2002. Age of Mythology is set in a mythological past when heroes battled monsters of legend, and gods intervened in the affairs of mortal men. To celebrate this announcement, Microsoft is unveiling a movie that showcases the ancient Norse civilization. The AVI is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/games/PC/ageofmythology.asp.
Using familiar elements of classical mythology, Age of Mythology casts players as ancient Greeks, the Norse and Egyptians. Call upon the mighty powers of gods such as Zeus to rain down lightning bolts on unsuspecting enemies. Age of Mythology also incorporates Ensemble Studios' trademark features from previous Age of Empires games, including a compelling economic model, a massive army and battle system, unequaled artificial intelligence, random maps, intuitive gameplay and extreme attention to detail.
Age of Mythology's 3-D engine delivers impressive graphical detail in a fully 3-D environment, including realistic terrain and lighting adjusted to produce the look of any time of day. In-game cinematics create a seamless, story-based and character-driven campaign. In addition, the game features incredible special effects with astonishing levels of detail, including fluid ocean waves, waterspouts, infernos, lava, tornadoes, earthquakes and smoke.
'By using a new state-of-the-art 3-D engine, our designers are able to do more than what was ever possible with the previous Age of Empires games,' said Bruce Shelley, co-founder and senior game designer for Ensemble Studios. 'We are now able to produce stunning visual effects, wild mythological beasts and hundreds of on-screen units.'"
Well there you have it, September. Spring 2002 is definitely out, and those of you expecting the game in the early part of the summer will have to wait for the latter part. As those of you who followed the develoment of Age II know, the Ensemble Studios crew will be using every minute of this time to polish and test the heck out of the game, to make it as good as it came be. In the meantime, we will have to make do with screenshots, movies, the impending GameSpot civilization showcases, and a little news on how the development is going. The tid bits that make up the diet of us fans. ...the monkey made the news page...hopefully Ian Fischer survived the encounter.... ; )
He's back on his horse once again! Time_Itself is getting ready to set up another tournament for this Saturday, December 22nd. It will be a 2v2 event this time around, but not all of the settings have been decided just yet. If you have a map suggestion, or other insightful comments, pop in on Time's Tourney Post in ye olde forums and give him your two bits. ...team glaciers might be kinda festive... ; )
PC Gamer UK's January issue will feature a CD with tons of Empire Earth add-ons, scenarios, and tons of other goodies. Some of the items included will be the D-Day scenario by Fireball, the world maps by EE Dragon, along with some Random Map Scripts by EE Punk. If you have access to this magazine, be sure to grab a copy!
Wow, that would be great for all parties involved! If anyone lives in the UK and can verify this, let me know and I'll edit this newspost.
LuckyNewbie:P sent word of a BattleReport he wrote up from the perspective of a Starcraft player. The BattleReport follows a game between YoungGunz and Player_Rho from their starting tactics through the endgame. Good game played from both sides!
A little birdie over at EENC let me know that they are holding a tournament which starts at the end of this week. You must sign up by sign up by this Friday, so head over to EENC's Tourney Page for details!
Apache from Vooodoo Extreme has listed Empire Earth in his top 10 games of 2001. If you don't know who Apache is, he does all sorts of reviews, previews, and gaming news over at VE everyday. Empire Earth came in as number 3, as he apparently loves the game.
Over the years there have been very few innovations in the traditional real-time strategy scene (you know - build up your base, gather resources and crush your enemy type of deal) but every once in awhile you come across a game that really seems to do it well; Empire Earth is one of those games. It's easily the biggest RTS I have ever played, and with the excellent multiplayer support and flexible map editor, it is easily one of the best games of its kind. For replay value and sheer size, Empire Earth should keep the average strategy gamer busy for hundreds, if not thousands of hours.
You can check the rest of the list out over at VE. ...also on the list is Dark Age of Camelot, which I would highly suggest to anyone into mmorpg's...28 Champion here... ; )
Forumer Congadrummer is currently developing a campaign titled Bolivar: El Libertador:
Bolivar: El Libertador, is the epic tale of the liberation of Venezuela and much of South America from the Spaniards. Simon Bolivar, one of the greatest military leaders and statesmen ever, leads an army to liberate Caracas and establish a world power. Follow his career, from Venezuela to the failure of his republic of Latin America.
Hello once again! I've just updated the poll, so be sure to get your votes in. This poll gives you, the readers, the chance to tell us what you want to see more of on the site!
Also, some have been requesting that the Game Info be updated. We're just finishing up on getting the histories and other information complete, so look forward to that as well!
As announced by Mike "Archangel" McCart in the forums just today, a brand new design is in the works for the Official AoM site. You can visit the site for sneak peek at what the new design will look like, as well as some new concept art for a building called the "Norse Dwarven Forge" and a great looking in-game scene of a Greek base.
The new design will be revealed on Monday, the same day we are all expecting a new AoM movie! Make sure you get online on Dec. 17th to find out the latest.
Also revealed in this forum post, Mike "Archangel" McCart mentions that later the same week, we can expect to see new screenshots! ...ahhh, quite the holiday gift... ; )
A little birdy came by and told me there will be a forum party today!
Custom of the Day: Team Islands Download at: The Blacksmith ReadMe At: Click here: read installation notes Where:Sierra East Alpha Server Europe Server, in Random Map Room 2 When: Saturday, December 15th
Party will begin at 1pm EST, which is 10am PST, 3pm GMT, 6pm Europe/London, and 8PM Europe/Ukraine.
Everyone's invited!
... and a certain Dark Angel told me something big might be happening on EEH soon...
Congratulations to Jerry "Iron" Terry, who is now one of the members of the Ensemble Studios crew! He earned the right to represent the USA at the MS Conquerors Tournament back in November, getting knocked out in the semi-finals by Grunt who went on to win the event. He posted the exciting news here over at MFO, which is a good place to leave him your congrats.
Iron joins the likes of Kevin "The_Sheriff" Holme and Chris "Swinger" Rupp on the ES quality assurance team. No doubt he will soon be up to his elbows in Age of Mythology! ...can't call him lucky...takes far more than that to get a gig with ES...congrats dude! ; )
Those of you making use of Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 should take note of this article by the fine folks at ZDNet regarding some major security holes in the browser and an available fix:
"Microsoft said customers using Internet Explorer versions 5.5 and 6.0 should install the patch immediately. The patch, released Thursday, can be found on Microsoft's Web site.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant, which in recent months has patched a wide range of security holes in its Web browser and Web server software, said the patch eliminates all previously known security problems affecting the two versions of IE and plugs three new holes"
Those dudes over at GameSpot have had a brief Q&A session with a Microsoft rep about the recent switch over to the passport log in system on the Zone. They discuss several issues, including "WHY? WHY? WHY?" and security.
The new system was not implemented in a smooth fashion, but it seems that most of the bugs have been worked out now. If you gave up trying to play on the Zone earlier in the week due to sign in problems, give it a shot now. ...you get what you pay for doesn't seem to apply here...paying subscribers were having the same problems with passport... ; )
Whoops! Mike "Archangel" McCart was quick to correct himself today as he realized that the impending AoM movie, which we will get to see on Monday, will not have the new Fire Giant in it afterall. Apparently that portion of the movie has ended up on the cutting room floor. Ahhh well, we won't have long to wait to see the whole damn thing!
While sifting around in the forum I found a few other interesting items. Forumer Stone_Giant has made an intersting post regarding just how much innovation and strategy there will be in AoM, or if massive economies will still rule the game. Greg "DeathShrimp" Street stopped in to offer some explanation of which direction they want AoM to head in. You can find the post here, a great read. ...economies are a part of strategy...less econ microing instead of less econ would be fine by me... ; )
Gamespy, one of the biggest site networks has reviewed SWGB.
They gave it 77% because of the graphics and sounds mainly, but the reviewer seemed to like the gameplay and the Star Wars twist.
Well, here's a short part of the review :
This is Star Wars as you never imagined it. Tank clad Wookies fighting a horde of Gungan Warriors as the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance join forces to stop a vicious assault from the combined forces of the Trade Federation and Royal Naboo armies. Sure, the game isn't pre-designed with such a scenario in mind, but it's a possible situation. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds takes on an almost irreverent twist as it successfully brings the Star Wars franchise to a very playable and entertaining RTS.
The final ES spotlight for the week falls on Sandy "Sandyman" Petersen, another of the studios game designers. Although he is working on a top secret second game, as you can see by his picture, he is still helping to put Age of Mythology through its paces. Here's the basics from his feature:
"Full Name: Carl Sanford Joslyn Petersen Nick Name: Sandyman & Honcho Joined Ensemble Studios: June 1997 Job Title: Game Designer Home Town: Rockwall, Texas
Interests / Hobbies: Horror films, games, military history, reading, zoology, chasing wife around bedroom, annoying my children
Currently working on: A totally separate project from Age of Mythology. This project has yet to be announced."
Ahhh, tis a fine read, and his article includes a nice bio mentioning the many places and projects that he's had a hand in. Do stop in for the full read. ...and looky there, he even spelled "Beatles" correctly, unlike some other shmucks out there...*cough*me*cough* ; )
Gamer's Voice has done an interview with Rick Goodman himself. The interview asks some good questions although a few answers you may already know. Here's one of Rick's replies:
Game designers come up with many of the concepts, rules, and details of a game's design, but it is the development team that implements it all and makes it all work. The team also contributes their own great ideas. It's therefore the team's effort that brings a game like Empire Earth to life. I can't praise the team here at Stainless Steel Studios enough. It's amazing how many of my "unreasonable demands" they actually met!
STRONGHOLD HEAVEN Castle of the Week 4 - Chateau Haut-Königsburg Posted 12/14/2001 @ 7:12 AM EST by Jayhawk
Yes, it's that time of the week again, time for another Castle of the Week. This time it's a castle in France and GillB found us a fair amount of information.
In 1114, Friedrich of Hohenstaufen recognised the strategic importance of Staufenberg, the hill on which the castle is built. He had become Duke of Swabia in 1105 and, to make himself secure, he built a whole series of castles.
Enjoy!
Oh, one more thing, I'll be adding the small map from the scenarios to the descriptions. They are amazingly lifelike.
We are all waiting impatiently for Monday, December 17th, when we will be treated to a new AoM movie and screenshots. Yes, that's plural, meaning more than just one screenie! There's a little speculation and wishful thinking of just what we will get to see in the new movie. While stopping in to comment on the new art for the Fire Giant, Mike "Archangel" McCart left behind this little tid bit:
"Yes Mr Fire Giant does make an appearance in the new AVI."
We will get to see the new Fire Giant art in motion, and this may also mean that the Norse will play a starring role in the new movie. Make sure the 17th is highlighted on your calendar, and perpare for some new stuff! ...what better holiday gift could an AoM fan ask for? ...ok, aside from the finished game... ; )
It's been quite awhile since we've seen AoM featured in any magazine articles, but it looks like the drought has come to an end thanks to PC Gamer! Forumer Foe_Hammer has posted his findings, which include a cool new screenshot that is part of the layout:
"its a little battle between the norse and egyptians near the coast..what struck me was the beutiful tornado/hurricane type deal coming off of the ocean..they refer to the Kraken as " the tentacled deep water specialty unit" so i am guessing it is a greek unique unit.."
Well that screenshot certainly sounds like it's worth a few thousand words. Keep your eyes on newsstands, or your mailbox if you have a subscription to PC Gamer, for the latest issue! ...their website appears to be a little behind... : \
Another artist has stepped into the spotlight over at Ensemble Studios, but this time around it is a veteran of the Age series. Brad "Crow" Crow has been with the ES team since those early days, and in a great variety of positions:
"Full Name: Brad Crow Nick Name: (Crow) Joined Ensemble Studios: 95 Job Title: Animation Lead Home Town: Houston
Short Bio: Luckily I stumbled into Ensemble in 95, helped develop the art team and contributed to first Age game as a Lead Artist. Contributed to Age of Kings as a Lead Artist. Served as Lead artist, External Cinematic Lead, and Animation Lead at various intervals of Age of Mythology project. Hoping to be 'soft drink' boy next, or whatever I benefit the team most as! :P"
He's obviously a busy bloke, but did manage to drop a few interesting lines in his spotlight feature. ...jeez, you'd expect an ES vet to have some grey hairs... ; )
I'm personally hoping all the EEH fans can read English at least
Although posted at least twice before at EEH, Gamespy is still taking votes for the Best Game of the Year Award. Last time Gamespy showed us early results Empire Earth was in third place, a few thousand away from Civ III. So be sure to vote here.
Also, there's one at Voodoo Extreme that Chooch talked about.
Well, not exactly the most interesting piece of news for people that already have EE, but it was too fancy not to post. Empire Earth Center have created an Online Shockwave Simulation of the EE Editor. Currently, it doesn't have many features and pretty much only get to see the different sections of the editor but no interaction/changing. Still might be nice for you hardcore designers that don't have EE. I'ld suggest you have broadband, or it might take a while.
A couple of days old, but Gx Farmer posted a rather great long thread over at EE Command Center covering variety of sort of.. misc. information I guess. Still a great read, that you can find here.
YoungGunZ, part of the SSS staff and one hck of a multiplayer, created an EE Ladder less than a week ago or so. Seems already he has gotten 50 other people to join him including a number of expert players. If you're serious about EE multiplayer, should no doubt give it a look at here. EE Gamer also has quite a nice ladder as well although won't find as many experts.
Also, for a long time now people have known the trick about saving a scenario and playing it with friends. Guess it was only time before someone fiquared out how to use this.. feature to be able to edit/look at scenarios from a campaign. Obviously kind of defeats the entire purpose of putting a password on a campaign. Anyway, the Roach a forumer at EE Aeon fiquared it out:
Make a savegame of the level you want to edit. [Alt]+[Tab] out of the game and go into the savegames folder in your EE directory (../data/Saved Games). Rename the savegame's prefix (.ees) to .scn and move the new scenario file into the scenarios folder (../data/Scenarios). Now go back into the game and go into the scenario editor. You can now load the map in it.
Thats pretty much all the news I could find for now. Be sure to send any major news you have to me at park305@heavengames.com.
Gamers Press have done a review on Empire Earth. The reviewer gave EE a score of 7, and unlike almost all reviews I've seen, the reviewer didn't seem to like the game very much. I personally think Spike (reviewer) must not like RTS games or know very much about them since he has a good number of references to Civilization game-type features such as diplomacy as well as saying that there's too much micromanaging in EE, although most say so far it is the one with the least. Well either one, Gamers Press thought it had some good features but in the end called it an AOE Clone. Good thing a number of fans have posted their views on EE with pretty much all of it being positive. You can read the review here.
Homelan posted up a review of Empire Earth this morning, and they give it an 88%. I thought this was an interesting comparison:
I love WKRP in Cincinnati. It’s one of the funniest TV sitcoms ever made. (OK, what does this have to do with Empire Earth? Wait and see). In an episode where Mr. Carlson (the owner of the radio station WKRP) is running for Cincinnati city council, news director Les Nessman tells him how he should answer questions that he doesn’t know how to answer. "You should say, ‘I have a plan that will deal with that, one that is simple yet complex, flexible and above all fair to everyone in America.’"
Our second review today comes from The Gamers Press, which describes what they believe are the good and bad points of EE.
In Voodoo Extremes latest poll, they ask: Who is the 2001 Developer of the year? If you have enjoyed playing Empire Earth then head on over and vote for Stainless Steel!
Forumer Time_Itself is gearing up for this big event. He's just posted the official rules and settings for the 3v3 RM tournament he will be running this Saturday. Grab a few of your friends and get your act together for this showdown:
"The Tournament will begin SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th at 3PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME, with sign ups starting at 2PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME, in Agincourt. I will be in Agincourt taking signups, and you can also contact me via ZMs, my zone name is Time_Itself."
Now, for those of you elsewhere in the world, 3pm EST is 8pm GMT I believe, so that should help give you an idea of when to show up. Make sure you stop by the official post for the full rules and settings list!
Of course, hopefully the folks at the Zone will have all of the bugs with the sign in system fixed by then. If you're still having problems, you aren't alone. The transition has been anything but smooth. ...I'm sure that comes as a total shock to everyone... ; )
Ray Bringham, Triumph Studios writer, stopped by the forums to comment on the story of AOW2's single-player campaign, and on one of the primary changes in gameplay between AOW1 and AOW2; less focus on race vs. race and more focus on player vs. player:
In AoW2 the races aren't as predominant in terms of the tendency of the enemies as are the wizards themselves... There are still varying races, but they take a backseat to rival Wizards and the [quest for the] Wizard's Throne.
...I think that's a fundamental change from AOW (AoW was very set upon races, humans were forced neutral, etc), and one that I think will work well, as this way you could have rebel factions from any race, it's the leaders that make them your enemy or not, with the races being less constrained to hate your guts.
Activision, PC gamer and Galacticbattlegrounds.co.uk have teamed up to make a scenario design contest for SWGB.
The winner will receive a 110x85 screen art picture of Galactic Battlegrounds™, signed by the Developers themselves, and the acknowledgement of the gaming and Lucas world that they are the Scenario masters. PC gamer are going to be putting the scenarios onto their cover mount CD.
To enter, you need to create a scenario(single or multiplayer) and send it in before February 15th 2002.
It seems to be restricted to UK residents but I got no confirmation on that one.
Armchair Empire has done a review on Empire Earth. They gave it a 8.7 although the reviewer didn't have much negative things to say about the game. Here's a small quote:
EE takes RTS games to another level. With upwards of 200 distinctly different units, more resources to manage, a scenario editor, and much, much “history”, EE is going to keep you busy for years. After putting in more hours than I care to mention, I can truly say EE’s one fine game. Of course, every silver lining, no matter how big, has a cloud somewhere.
You can read the rest here. It really isn't that long compared to other reviews.
At last the weekly screenshot has arrived! This week we get our first look at the Norse Fire Giants in quite some time, and they have been outfitted with n
)! Whatever, its still the last of the year.
) and I came across this little gem. 
First of all, I'd like to wish all of you a 
A little birdy told me today's the birthday of FireFly's Darren Thompson. 
