0 A.D. is a very unsearchable name and may impact the game population negatively

[Foxooo]

When people search, they might type "zero ad," "oh ad," "0 ad," or even "zero a d." The numeral "0" itself can be tricky for search engines, as it might be interpreted differently or ignored, "A.D." (Anno Domini) is a historical abbreviation, but it's not a common gaming term. People might not immediately associate it with a video game.

A catchy, memorable name helps with word-of-mouth marketing. "0 A.D." isn't particularly catchy or easy to recommend quickly without further explanation

I think changing the name of this game to something better like, Ancient Empires, Stuff like that can improve the game significantly in the long run 

[Gurken Khan]

We only want the brightest of players in our community!

jk. I think the concept of the name is quite memorable, and typing "0 a.d." (with quotation marks) into duckduckgo.com (not based on tracking) gave excellent results.

That said, I suggested before we rename it "0 CE", alas it hasn't caught on.

[Deicide4u]

The full name of the game is "0 A. D. Empires Ascendant". This is the first part, from 500 B. C. to 1 A.D.

Typing "0ad" in google also shows good results for me. 

Edited July 8 by Deicide4u

[Foxooo]

3 minutes ago, Deicide4u said:

The full name of the game is "0 A. D. Empires Ascendant". This is the first part, from 500 B. C. to 1 A.D.

Typing "0ad" in google also shows good results for me. 

Empires Ascendant is a fine name, 0 A.D is pretty bad for SEO and not very easy to reach 

[real_tabasco_sauce]

I disagree, 0ad is very searchable. You pretty much cannot miss it in a google search unless you heard about it via word of mouth (zero ay dee, maybe). Using just three characters means the game is very easy to search and remember. While a full set of words might at first seem easy to remember, "Ancient Empires", "Empires at war", and even "Empires Ascendant" come across as fairly generic and thus not memorable.

unfortunately this topic comes up very often in google searches of "0ad", maybe we should consider renaming it, since the discussion proves 0ad will not in fact die, at least not in the foreseeable future.

If the name was "Ancient Empires", we would be in conflict with not only real history information, but also a history channel television series, books, and another videogame.

[ffm2]

I just installed it because it shows up on top right when you open synaptic (package manager on ubuntu some time ago) alphabetic listed. But I admit I rarely type it the correct way "0 A.D."

 

3 hours ago, Deicide4u said:

This is the first part, from 500 B. C. to 1 A.D.

This is written in the English Wikipedia article citing websites from 2010, so I doubt it's the current plan. The current civilizations and heroes are from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. afaik. E.g. Boudica reigned from 60 - 61 A.D. and she doesn't look older than 60 in game.

 

I don't think the game needs fancy advertisement, articles or such. Just focus on quality of the game and community.

[chrstgtr]

8 minutes ago, ffm2 said:

This is written in the English Wikipedia article citing websites from 2010, so I doubt it's the current plan. The current civilizations and heroes are from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. afaik. E.g. Boudica reigned from 60 - 61 A.D. and she doesn't look older than 60 in game.

 

My understanding is that it is the current plan. But there are exceptions to it. This most often comes up in the context of whether Rome should represent parts of the Roman Empire or just the Roman Republic. 

[Foxooo]

Guys i'm what i'm talking about is Because of the ambiguity, very few people are likely to search for the exact term "0 A.D." when looking for a game. This means the organic search volume for the specific name is naturally very low, limiting the game's discoverability, Which is pretty bad for SEO.

Didn't say that the game will die or something, you clearly didn't understand me real_tabasco_sauce

[Genava55]

6 hours ago, Foxooo said:

A catchy, memorable name helps with word-of-mouth marketing. "0 A.D." isn't particularly catchy or easy to recommend quickly without further explanation

I disagree with you.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

41 minutes ago, Foxooo said:

Guys i'm what i'm talking about is Because of the ambiguity, very few people are likely to search for the exact term "0 A.D." when looking for a game. This means the organic search volume for the specific name is naturally very low, limiting the game's discoverability, Which is pretty bad for SEO.

Didn't say that the game will die or something, you clearly didn't understand me real_tabasco_sauce

I understood you perfectly well. I was bringing up an issue related to browser searching which is a little suboptimal.

Its good that people don't need to search exactly "0 A.D." to find the game. 0ad, oad, zero ad, Oad, o ad, Zero A.D. all get to the game too.

I don't think "Ancient Empires" will be more discoverable, I'd think quite the opposite for the reasons i brought up earlier.

[chrstgtr]

4 hours ago, Foxooo said:

Which is pretty bad for SEO.

When I google "0 AD" the first result if the game. When I google "zero AD," the game is the second result. 

What you're claiming doesn't appear to be empirically backed, which makes sense since 0 AD is not an actual date. 

[Classic-Burger]

Rise of cliche civili-Nations.

War of...

Age of...

Empires...

Siege of...

Legions of...

Ashes of empires...

Games of Empires...

 

Edited July 9 by Classic-Burger

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

On 08/07/2025 at 9:59 PM, Classic-Burger said:

Rise of cliche civili-Nations.

War of...

Age of...

Empires...

Siege of...

Legions of...

Ashes of empires...

Games of Empires...

 

lol indeed. So, when I proposed "Empires Ascendant" many years ago for "part 1", I wanted to convey the fact that the game had empires, etc. and was even related to all those types of "Empires" games, but adding "Ascendant" is rather unique, and adds a bit of poetry and vigor I think. These are empires who have ascended to new heights and glory.

[Deicide4u]

3 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

but adding "Ascendant" is rather unique, and adds a bit of poetry and vigor I think. These are empires who have ascended to new heights and glory.

Isn't "Ascendant" related to the fact that each civilization in the game is depicted as they were at the height of their power? 

[Classic-Burger]

13 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

lol indeed. So, when I proposed "Empires Ascendant" many years ago for "part 1", I wanted to convey the fact that the game had empires, etc. and was even related to all those types of "Empires" games, but adding "Ascendant" is rather unique, and adds a bit of poetry and vigor I think. These are empires who have ascended to new heights and glory.

But that's not bad, it's like a middle name.

Edited July 10 by Classic-Burger

[Foxooo]

On 09/07/2025 at 3:46 AM, chrstgtr said:

When I google "0 AD" the first result if the game. When I google "zero AD," the game is the second result. 

What you're claiming doesn't appear to be empirically backed, which makes sense since 0 AD is not an actual date. 

I didn't say that you won't find the game if you typed 0ad, read the post 100 times more. 

 

[Deicide4u]

On 08/07/2025 at 10:09 AM, Foxooo said:

When people search, they might type "zero ad," "oh ad," "0 ad," or even "zero a d."

 

 

18 minutes ago, Foxooo said:

I didn't say that you won't find the game if you typed 0ad

True, you spelled it "0 ad".

Irrelevant, since the game is well recognized, even by Google's AI.