Archive 1.2008

gamereplays.orgGameReplays Interviews WaCkO

Ensemble Studios balance tester Donnie "WaCkO" Thompson sat down for a chat with the folks over at GameReplays.org. Naturally game balance for The Asian Dynasties was a major focus of the interview, but so too is his job and how he managed to end up at Ensemble Studios.

The GameReplays team has also added to their impressive collection of guides with the following:

TAD Guide about General Improving - a collection of great tips for becoming a better player.

Japanese Yumi Archer Spam - along with tips for adapting the strategy depending on your opponent's civ.

India semi-fast Fortess - for you India fans.

01/31/08

aoe3hBest Selling PC Games of 2007

The NPD group has tallied the numbers for PC games sales for 2007, and then retallied them. Age of Empires got a bit of a boost from sales of the Gold Edition and came in at seventh place:

1. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade* - Vivendi (Blizzard)
2. World of Warcraft* - Vivendi (Blizzard)
3. The Sims 2* - Electronic Arts
4. The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack - Electronic Arts
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare* - Activision
6. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars* - Electronic Arts
7. MS Age of Empires III* - Microsoft
8. Sim City 4* - Electronic Arts
9. MS Flight Simulator X* - Microsoft
10. The Sims 2 Bon Voyage Expansion Pack - Electronic Arts

GameDaily.com | 01/29/08

The Asian DynastiesCommunity Update: Dynasties Patch Plans

As Bruce mentioned in his blog, we are currently working on a balance patch for The Asian Dynasties. We are collaborating closely with a group of expert players from the community. We are currently brainstorming ideas for the patch - trying out changes and investigating some issues - and we will be locking down the changes by the end of February. Due to the nature of trying out new things for a balance patch, information gets outdated quickly. Because of this, our experts have a Non-Disclosure Agreement to not communicate any information out to anyone that is not final. We will be communicating the changes as they are locked down. So, expect some updates around March about the finalized changes.

01/28/08

Oh it's on!Sanctuary Smackdown Invitational

Age Sanctuary continues their Smackdown series and they have announced a season ending invitational tournament that will take place on February 9th. Prizes include an Age of Empires III board game and more. For more information visit Age Sanctuary and best of luck!

01/24/08

Bruce_ShelleyPatch Plans

Another blog update from Bruce Shelley! His latest entry has some information on our patch plans and balance issues that need to be addressed:

"Addressing the balance issues that favor China will be a major focus of a forthcoming TAD patch. At this point we have no critical technical bugs in the game. We anticipate releasing a combination balance and technical patch near the end of this winter season. Thereafter we will split the process into patches for either balance or technical problems, as needed. That will help us get any needed balance patches out faster."

Bruce's Blog | 01/22/08

gamereplays.orgGameReplay Guides

If you're trying to get a handle on dealing with the Chinese or getting the most bang for your buck out of the Consulate in The Asian Dynasties expansion, the folks at GameReplays.org have a few guides available that may help you out:

The Japanese Good Faith Fortress Guide

Japanese Guide for deadling with the Chinese

The Asian Dynasties Consulate Guide

As usual they also have lots of recorded games available for download so you can watch how the truly great players out there do what they do.

01/21/08

Bruce_ShelleyBlogging Bruce

ES Game Designer Bruce Shelley has posted his first blog entry of the New Year. He talks of a recent trip to Uruguay taken by our own Patrick Hudson, and looks back at the Microsoft Game Studios titles that made the biggest impression on us in 2007.

Bruce's Blog | 01/16/08

IconWallpaper Contest Poll

The polls have opened for you to help decide the winner of the iGames $500 wallpaper contest, and possibly a chance for you to refresh that old image on your desktop. The polls remain open until January 19th. Best of luck to all the entrants!

Wallpaper Poll | 01/15/08

workESO Server Maintenance 1/15

The ESO servers are going to be taken offline for regularly scheduled maintenance on 1/15 at 1:00pm GMT (7:00am CST). Server down time is expected to be approximately 30 minutes.

Thank you for your patience as we strive to improve your online experience.

01/14/08

updateMultiplayer Scenario Tips

Moshe Levi has compiled a set of tips for those of you who are interested in creating multiplayer scenarios to be played with your friends over ESO. His tips and workarounds cover a wide variety of situations that designers attempting to create scenarios for multiplayer have run into.

If single player scenario design is something that you're more interested in, Aoe3Champ's thread on the nine most commonly asked questions deals with the basics of getting computer controlled opponents to task their units, etc.

Moshe's Tips | Aoe3Champ's FAQ | 01/14/08

workESO Server Maintenance 1/8

The ESO servers are going to be taken offline for regularly scheduled maintenance on 1/8 at 1:00pm GMT (7:00am CST). Server down time is expected to be approximately 2 hours.

Thank you for your patience as we strive to improve your online experience.

01/07/08