wowgetoffyourcellphone

I don't think it would be that hard to do for one who has the code knowledge.

To piggyback on what @Stan` has said, imagine it's a hierarchal structure. Everything you do on a higher level of the pyramid trickles down to the templates on the lower levels unless you specify something different in those templates.

Care for a critique/advice?

Nice, I must've overlooked that in all of the options you are bombarded with at the beginning. lol It's over, unfortunately.

That one wasn't my fault.

DE does this in the templates and prevents units from attacking the Shrine and Merc Camp map objects. In template_unit_cavalry_melee.xml <Attack> <Melee> <AttackName>Knife</AttackName> <Damage> <Hack>8.0</Hack> <Pierce>0.0</Pierce> <Crush>0.0</Crush> </Damage> <MaxRange>6.0</MaxRange> <PrepareTime>500</PrepareTime> <RepeatTime>1000</RepeatTime> <Bonuses> <ElephantStench> <Classes>Elephant</Classes> <Multiplier>0.5</Multiplier> </ElephantStench> <CamelStench> <Classes>Camel</Classes> <Multiplier>0.5</Multiplier> </CamelStench> <BonusSiege> <Classes>Siege</Classes> <Multiplier>2.0</Multiplier> </BonusSiege> </Bonuses> <PreferredClasses datatype="tokens">Ranged+Unit Siege</PreferredClasses> <RestrictedClasses datatype="tokens">Permanent Ship</RestrictedClasses> </Melee> </Attack> I have a custom class called Permanent for certain things in DE. You can put Field there instead.

Yep, Total War and Battle for Middle Earth 2 had drag and place, which was really nice. 0 A.D. is the only classic RTS that I've seen with it! And if the game ever has hard battalions or semi-hard formations, drag n place will definitely be a necessity.

But AOM's minor god system is so amazing and dynamic, nothing in 0 A.D. comes close.

Oh yeah, and 0 A.D.'s right-drag-click to draw units into a line or shape is super super awesome. No Age game has that. I find it is very crucial to properly microing your dudes at a mid-level.

Another thing I like in 0 A.D. that AOMR doesn't have (as far as I know) is the Spacebar focus to the last notification feature (and clicking the chat to focus).

Another thing I forgot to mention is that AOMR has what amounts to macros. Villagers will auto-gather stuff without you telling them to. You can set this behavior in the settings and give ratios to their behavior, which resources they will prefer over others. I... kinda hated it. Villagers felt out of my control. One time a whole group of idle villagers walked away from my base to gather a gold mine and I was confused on what they were doing. It was odd. Not sure if this behavior can be turned off. I suspect so. AOMR's tooltips are better, more ubiquitous, more organized, and give you just the right amount of information.

So, I played the stress test. The UI is nice. A lot more polished than 0 A.D.'s UI. We can probably take a lot of cues for AOMR's UI design. I prefer 0 A.D.'s centered HUD though and DE's/BoonGUI's nice big minimap on the left. AOMR's is on the right, and it bothered me, though it does have some nice features. Like, you see rally point/waypoint animations on the minimap. Something 0 A.D. should have. There were things I liked more in 0 A.D., though, specifically quality of life things, like WASD camera movement, which I missed sorely in AOMR. Like, I reeeeally missed the WASD camera controls in AOMR. Not a fan of pushing the cursor to the edge of the screen to move the camera. I like how 0 A.D. has right-click on an icon to open the info panel. Other things in 0 A.D. that I miss in AOMR are the rally point lines on the ground and cursor changing to the action when hovering over a target to set a rally point. Everything is well done in AOMR, but I honestly like 0 A.D.'s aesthetics more (not biased at all). AOMR has wayyyyy better particles and very nice shore waves for beaches. While 0 A.D.'s water is very nice, one thing it lacks is nice shore waves and ship wakes. I liked AOMR's zoom, how it lets you zoom right up on the units and the camera tilts upward slightly. Liked that. Showed off the really quality textures the game has. I'd like to do that for 0 A.D., but go even further to where you can zoom really far out and the camera tilts downward and sounds fade out a bit and you hear wind over everything. All-in-all, once I get used to AOM's controls again, I'm going to really like it. It's way ahead of 0 A.D. on some things, but in other ways I really like 0 A.D.'s controls and QOL things more.

Not sure I understand how it is "neo-racism."

Also, "unique" doesn't have to be gimmicky. Some special aura or ability is good, while the base usage of the unit mostly still conforms to its type. So, for instance, the Iberian champ cav still has its Jav Cav usage and stats, but also its ability to damage buildings which is unique among the Jav Cav type. Macedonian Hypaspists can be upgraded to Silver Shields. Perhaps in this mode they have a small aura that boosts nearby troops a little. In the later Macedonian kingdom, Hypaspists became administrators and officers, so this small feature could indicate that. The Macedonian Companion Cavalry could be slightly faster than other champ cavs and have a small (10%?) attack bonus vs. infantry, but costs slightly more. Persian Immortals can already switch between Spear and Bow. Maybe also give them a "Campaign Panoply" tech that upgrades their look (and stats) from palace guard robes to scale mail (this is in DE). And also give the player the ability to train either the melee or ranged version by default, so if they actually want the ranged version they don't always have to train the melee version first. The Bactrian Cataphract's attack could have some splash damage. Perhaps a feature of all Cataphracts (the other being the Seleucid Cataphract). Spartan Spartiate hoplites could give an armor boost to other hoplites nearby. I mean a very very small radius, like 3 meters, to simulate a "shield wall"/"phalanx" effect. Also, look into how DE makes the Skiritai Runner more interesting. Brythonic Chariot could have its rider jump off when the chariot is killed. He then runs at the enemy with a sword, maybe getting a kill before himself getting killed. Seleucid Scythe Chariots could have a trample aura. This needs extra code, but has been desired for some time.

I'd suggesting looking into what DE has done with Hoplites and Phalangites.

I agree with this. They take way too darn long to train compared to citizen soldiers and unlocking is a pain. It would be different if citizen soldiers took longer too. The ratio is what's important, and 2x training time is too much. What if.... Unlock tech available in P2 for barracks, get them unlocked for free at the Fortress in P3. So, they're available by default in P3 from expensive Fortresses, but have the option to unlock them early in P2. Also, lower train time: Infantry Champs 20s -> 15 seconds. Cavalry Champs 25s -> 20 seconds. Elephant Champs 36s -> 25 seconds.

Not bad. Maybe bigger forests though? I wish we could make terrain painting less blotchy.

My general feeling is that Champs could be a little weaker and a lot cheaper. I have no hard data to show, though. Just my general feeling. I like Age of Mythology's "champ" cost ratio to standard units better than 0 A.D.'s. So, that colors my view, for sure.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Never been a big fan of the EA forge tech tree and never could put my finger on it. This articulates one of the reasons I don't like it. Specialization allows you to opt for specialized (and smaller) armies.

I think smaller battles makes sense for a game like AOM:Retold, because you got monsters and heroes and god powers and all kinds of things like that happening that you need to reserve APM for. 0 A.D. has virtually none of that.

Nope!

Maybe an easier way of doing this would be to simply double the population cost of all units?

Sure, but this is essentially the same system, right? Just different naming. What if we made Fortresses have 8000 health, have more arrows, but shorter attack range.

Developing is proceeding nicely. I've recently added ranks for Leonidas: Untested, Heroic, Legendary, and Mythical. He gets super stronk by the final rank and can be upgraded to "Frenzy" mode where he slices through dozens of fools, 300-style, but constantly loses health. I really only have 1 tooltip bug, and that feature is complete. Leonidas' other features include his "Royal Marriage" tech, which unlocks a secondary hero, Gorgo, his "Agoge" bonus, which gives him +10% attack more than other heroes, and his "Last Stand" aura, which boosts the health of closely nearby hoplites by +50%. Sadly, no one seems to be posting videos of the mod or even the base game.