FirePowa8

I like Rider's idea quite a lot. Just curious, why include both stone and ore? I'm guessing that stone is used for defensive buildings like outposts, fortresses and walls and that ore for units, technologies and the odd special building? And this question is a little irrelevant, but I didn't think that it warranted a new topic - what are the two new unit concept arts of in the GameDev article? Namely the ones at the bottom of page 2. Some of Brendan's best work to date.

Any idea of what the next showcase will be of, also?

EE2 was dreadful... there was so much useless tosh packed into the game (weather and poorly made territories, as examples) that even with about a trillion units, it just wasn't fun to play. Not to mention that it looked awful in comparison to AOE3 and almost every other game on the market when it was released, the graphics weren't much better than the originals. Anti-cannon artillery in AOE3 has been completely useless since ES botched up the patch with uber light cavalry that can defeat just about anything.

If so, hopefully it's not almost completely useless, as it is in AOE3.

Emo - short term for 'emotive hardcore', or something to that effect. Generally misunderstood by everyone. Started in the early 80's with (straightedge) Fugazi and bands like that, but emo today is quite a lot different and more mainstream. I'm not completely sure, I never listen to it.

What if I don't want to be completely selfish? I'd make it so that all colonized countries could still keep more of their heritage, like Australia and the Americas. There's so little of it now, it's sad. So I don't know how to completely do this... ah well, hopefully the Genie will figure something out. Next, I'd wish battles were still fought with ancient and traditional weapons... maybe some early muskets and rifles too, but I mostly want to see some real good old fashioned infantry formations. And lastly... lots and lots of money.

So, how about some of this new and fancy water?

JB Hi-Fi for DVDs and CDs, Borders for books, and as for clothes, depends. I got my beloved leather jacket from Kaos, though. For food... numerous delis, supermarkets, Subways and gourmet Italian restaurants.

Sounds good to me! Spartiate looks perfect, too - only gripe is with the sandals, but I'm hoping something will be done with that before release.

I think you should still keep in the history theme, even if you don't make another RTS. A history based RPG or platform game would be cool... wink wink.

I thought this would be more suitable for Arts and Entertainment, but I don't think there should be a fuss. Music used to be an integral part of any sadness I felt. My mistake was by listening to depressing songs while I had such feelings. All this did was feed the blues, so to speak. My answer now is to rarely listen to depressing songs altogether - it might sound hard, but I now cast my interests in classical, and jazz, with a rare mixture of more contemporary artists (particularly the shoegazing artists of the early 90's, and some that cannot be classified in genres I usually like, such as the Minneapolis trio Husker Du and the Beach Boys). Of course, these artists can still write sad songs, but if I'm actually feeling sad myself, I prefer to put something on that is awe inspiring (Bolero) or triumphant (1812 Overture).

Slice and dice? Sounds like he fights with a sword at short range and uses the spear for a reach. If this is the case, sounds fun! By the way, will it be possible to randomize hoplites with either the xiphos or kopis? You know, maybe one in ten could have a kopis instead, since while they were used in hoplite warfare, they weren't as common as the xiphos. I would love to see some Persian units too... Medes and Immortals in particular. Or if they're not done, anything will work out.

The new Spartiate, of course.

Well, I'm now expecting a powerful tetsudo formation and the best siege weapons in the game for the Romans, as well as some above average infantry.

I expect the Romans to be somewhat capable at all different strategies, but aren't powerful in any particular ones. The Iberians could, somehow, turtle-rush. And the Persians to me will be very similar as the Russians in AOE3, but hopefully not UP.

It would also be good to have some Asian civs - not just Middle Eastern, I'm talking one of the earlier Chinese dynasties, maybe Zhou or Qin, and the Yayoi period of the Yamatos. I agree that the Mycenaeans would be a lot of fun... same with the Minoans and Etruscans.

Definitely Scythians and Thracians. Egypt would be rather cool, too. Other than that, I think the game is already covering the best choices.

Excellent. Yes, I agree that the hoplite and Spartiate looked too similar in the screenshots they both appear on, the only big difference was the lamtha on their aspis, which can only be really only be seen about 50% of the time. Glad the change got across. Can't wait for these showcases, assuming they'll happen.

From the main page: Does this mean my suggestion got across?

Will the Hellenes get mahouts as well, what with the Macedonians using Indian elephants during and after Alexander's conquest? Shouldn't the Spartiate have a bronze cuirass? They rarely wore linothorax, it's a common misconception but they preferred to wear bronze - even into the Persian wars. It was partly to prove how much tougher they were than the other city states, not to mention their tradition. Every soldier statue discovered near or in Sparta made before 450 depicts them with a bronze cuirass and the bottom 'skirt' of their tunics. This is one of the best preserved statues, dating early 5th century, so it's not 'archaic' so to speak. Also notice the locks of hair going over both sides of the shoulder. I like the current model, just think it'd be more accurate if you made a new skin for the torso - hope that's not a hassle. Lastly, how different are the Phalangites and Hoplites ingame? Since you said they're both very strong units, do they counter different units so as to make them both useful ingame? By the way, great video on the main page, just what I wanted to see.

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen a death animation. Very good, nonetheless. Go Demetrios!

If it makes you feel better, I realized it was a joke immediately.

So, just as an estimate, how far have you finished the game, percentage wise? I hope it's still not 20%.

Thanks for answering. This doesn't necessarily apply to the game, but I'm having trouble finding the answers to. What are the traditional Carthaginian names used for their units? Such as their spearmen, swordsmen, etc (for example the terms hoplite/phalangite and ekdromos for the Hellenes). Normally I'd check the concept art of the units, yet it only reads the actual type of unit they are, rather than their names. Also, will all the units have different stats, or say, two civilizations with unremarkable archers have the same stats as each other for those units, and will merely have different art?

The thing is, it's the likes of you and me - the regular supporters - who are meant to help get the word out.