Age of Empires III

Age of Empires III
Studio	Ensemble Studios
Publisher	Microsoft MacSoft (Mac OS X port)
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows October 18, 2005 November 4, 2005 Mac OS X November 27, 2006
platform	Windows Mac OS X
Game engine	Bang! Engine
genre	Real time strategy game
Game mode	Single player ; Multiplayer via IPX , TCP / IP , modem , the integrated online mode "Ensemble Studios Online (ESO)"
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	CPU : 1400 MHz, SSE capable; RAM : 256 MB; HDD : 2.5 GB; GPU : 64MB 3D card; OS : Windows XP
medium	3 CDs (PC) 1 DVD (Mac)
language	German
Current version	1.14 (main game: Age of Empires III), 1.06a (expansion: The War Chiefs), 1.03 (expansion: The Asian Dynasties)
Age rating	USK PEGI

Age of Empires III is a computer game that belongs to the group of real-time strategy games and was developed by Ensemble Studios for Microsoft Game Studios.

background

Age of Empires III was published in mid-October 2005, its content begins around 1500 and ends around 1860 with the American Civil War .

It uses a 3D - graphics engine , the DirectX 9-effects and shaders 3.0 and bears the name Bang! . This is an extended version of the Age of Mythology engine , which, according to the manufacturer, has been rewritten to over sixty percent and introduces numerous effects and other innovations (such as higher texture resolution ).

In addition, was Havok - physics engine licensed. Among other things, this should be used to calculate the damage caused by gunfire. For example, the trajectory of cannonballs and the collapse of a tower are realistically and precisely calculated and displayed. This physics is only used for optics, it has no playful effect (in contrast to other real-time strategy games, such as Command & Conquer ).

After the developer Ensemble Studios was closed in 2009 and the official support was ended, the game community tried to maintain the support itself, u. a. with fan patches .

Game setup

The biggest innovation is the so-called "hometown". This differs depending on the people and can be expanded from mission to mission in the campaigns without losing an expansion of the city later. It develops like the character in a role-playing game and enables different bonuses depending on the expansion. For the first time, the resources are different than in the first two Age-of-Empires games: there are now wood, food, coins (instead of gold) and experience points (new); the stones were left out. Experience points are required within a scenario in order to be able to receive bonuses in the form of “ship loads” from the hometown. Cross-mission, they serve to expand the hometown.

There are more "cultures" in this game than in Age of Mythology , and they are much more different than they were in Age of Empires II . There are more special forces and also different technologies that can be requested in the hometown. The following eight races are playable:

flag	people	Ruler	Hometown
	Spaniards	Queen Isabella	Seville
	British	Queen Elisabeth	London
	French people	Napoleon Bonaparte	Paris
	Portuguese	Henry the Navigator	Lisbon
	Dutch	Moritz of Nassau	Amsterdam
	Russians	Ivan the Terrible	St. Petersburg
	German	Frederick the Great	Berlin
	Ottomans	Suleyman the Magnificent	Istanbul

Another aspect is the neutral Indian tribes: By setting up a trading post in an Indian camp, the player has the opportunity to create units of this tribe and to acquire various improvements. The following Indian tribes are available: Aztecs , Cherokee , Cree , Inca , Iroquois , Caribs , Klamath , Komantschen , Lakota , Maya , Nootka , Seminoles and Tupi .

You can also hire mercenaries such as pirates, pistoleros and others in a saloon.

In addition, pirates (Lizzy and her gang), highwaymen, tamed jaguars , Swiss mercenaries, etc. appear in the campaigns .

In addition to these new features, the procurement of resources has been greatly simplified, which shifts the focus from the economic to the military aspects of the game, which are also due to the newly added scouts and the various attack modes of some units (ranged, melee, trample, e.g. in Dragoons ) have gained in depth.

The ages are arranged chronologically according to the story: You start in the Age of Discovery, which follows seamlessly from AoK ( AoE II ). This is followed by the colonial age, the fortress age, the industrial age, and finally the imperial age.

In contrast to Age of Mythology, the village centers can be freely placed. There are now trade routes that can be used to gain experience points or raw materials.

The former villagers now call themselves settlers (in the respective language). The army of the AoE III armies consists of infantry , cavalry , artillery and the navy .

Age of Empires III uses ESO (Ensemble Studios Online, to supplement "Platform") for online play, a platform that is primarily used to locate human opponents. In addition, it is possible to create only one ESO user account with a valid serial number. This account cannot be changed afterwards.

Games can now also be started via DirectIP . Previously, this option could not be used for internet games. Using a VPN to simulate a local network is only possible with modifications such as aoe3loader and Hamachi , as otherwise the game always uses the system's first network connection. Officially, use of the multiplayer mode over the Internet is only intended for ES-Online.

Black family tree

Even if Age of Empires III was produced exclusively for Windows XP , it also runs partially on the previous system Windows 2000 with adjustments .

The three-act campaign tells the story of the Black family. This has to fight again and again against the "Circle of Ossus", which is looking for the fountain of youth . Historical things are only marginally important. Act 1 is about the siege of Malta in 1565 and the settlement of America. Act 2 takes place around 1757 and deals with the French and Indian wars . Act 3 begins in 1819. It includes the construction of the railway and the liberation movement by Simón Bolívar .

criticism

Age of Empires III received consistently above-average reviews from the trade press. The Computer Bild Spiele wrote, the game offers "overwhelming animated scenarios that embellish the historical and tactical experience colorful" and awarded the grade "good" (2,3). According to 4players.de (rating: 82%), Age of Empires III with its “wonderful animations” and “epic background music” is “at first glance the most beautiful […] part of the glorious series”, but there were logical inconsistencies and missing ones tactical finesse the testers displeasure. GameStar (rating: 89%) calls the game "A feast for the senses", but like 4players.de criticizes the graphically beautiful but sometimes unrealistic battles in which terrain properties are irrelevant and soldiers can shoot through obstacles.

The historical correctness of the game met with criticism of a different kind. So contains Age of Empires III , although "numerous points that have a historical kernel of truth", but the reality cover "often major deficiencies" would arise on closer inspection. For example, Henry the Navigator was elected as ruler of the nation Portugal, although he was never ruler of Portugal and only led expeditions to Asia, but not to America, where Age of Empires III only plays.

Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs

Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs logo

The expansion pack (expansion pack) under the name Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs was released in early November 2006. In this add-on it is possible to lead three Indian tribes as a complete people (Aztecs, Sioux and Iroquois) and thus write a different story in the New World. There is also a new campaign that continues the story of the Black family. In addition, there are extensions of the existing European peoples. Here the hometowns have been revised, new units and maps have been added. Another new option for European nations is revolution . Instead of entering the imperial age, the player can choose to call a revolution in order to transform his nation into a revolutionary nation that is strongly militaristic. The British z. B. can become the USA in a revolution. However, a revolution is associated with a sharp decline in the economy, as all settlers are transformed into colonial militiamen and from now on no new settlers can be trained. Here is an overview of the available "revolutionary" nations:

flag	nation	revolutionary	Available for
	Argentina	José de San Martín	German
	Brazil	José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva	Portuguese and Dutch
	Chile	Bernardo O'Higgins	Ottomans and Spaniards
	Venezuela	Francisco de Paula Santander	Ottomans, French and Russians
	Haiti	Toussaint Louverture	French and British
	Mexico	Miguel Hidalgo	Spaniards and Portuguese
	Peru	Simón Bolívar	Russians and Germans
	United States	George Washington	British and Dutch

The campaign from The War Chiefs is also about the Black family. However, the “Circle of Ossus” no longer occurs. Instead, historical events are now of greater importance. The campaign consists of two acts. The first is between the second and third act of Age of Empires III and is about the American War of Independence . The second act deals with the gold rush and the Indian War under George Armstrong Custer .

flag	Indian tribe	Ruler	Hometown
	Aztecs	Cuauhtémoc	Tenochtitlan
	Sioux	Gall	Hunk papa
	Iroquois	Hiawatha	Caughnawaga

There are also seven other Indian tribes to be found in The WarChiefs : Huron , Cheyenne , Zapotec , Klamath , Apache , Navajo and Mapuche .

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties logo

On October 30, 2007, the second expansion pack for Age of Empires III was released in Europe . The Asian Dynasties takes place in Asia and, in addition to Asian peoples (Japan, China and India) and playing cards, also contains new gameplay functions. The Asians have the additional raw material “export”, which allows them to enter into alliances with European peoples and thereby acquire certain European units, buildings or technologies. Japanese also have the option of isolation . The add-on was developed by Ensemble Studios and Big Huge Games ( Rise of Nations ).

The expansion adds three campaigns to the game, one for each new civilization. The Japanese campaign is pretty close to the story by AoE3 standards . It deals with the unification of Japan under Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu , also Torii Mototada occurs. The Chinese campaign tells a fictional story according to which the treasure ships sailed as far as America under the Ming Dynasty. The Indian campaign is about the 1857 uprising against the British East India Company . Bahadur Shah II appears as a historical person .

With the new races there are also new units, e.g. B. Japanese samurai and Indian war elephants. On the new maps of Asia there are no Indians, but religious communities: Bhakti , Jesuits , Shaolin , Sufi , Udasi and Zen .

flag	nation	Ruler	Hometown
	Japan	Tokugawa Ieyasu	Edo
	Chinese Empire	Kangxi	Beijing
	India	Akbar I.	Delhi

Age of Empires III Mobile

Age of Empires III Mobile is a variant of Age of Empires III that was specially developed for mobile phones and was launched in Germany in the first quarter of 2008. It ran on Java- enabled cell phones from all major providers at the time. The range of functions and the graphics had greatly improved compared to the previous mobile version of Age of Empires . Battles between the units were represented more realistically, and the selection of units and buildings had increased.

The mobile version of Age of Empires III contained a campaign with over 15 missions and a skirmish mode. Five two-player and eleven three-player maps were available in combat mode. The aim of the campaign was to protect Western Europe from invasion by the Ottoman Empire.

Except for the title and the timing, this variant had little to do with the actual game.

Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition

The Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition was announced at Gamescom 2017 on August 21, 2017 .

Web links

• Age of Empires III official website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Age of Empires III for Mac Ships to Stores. Destineer, Inc., November 27, 2006, archived from the original on March 22, 2016 ; accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
2. ^ Ensemble Studios: Age of Empires III: Game Updates . agecommunity.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
3. ^ Age Of Empires . agecommunity.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
4. ^ Age Of Empires . agecommunity.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
5. ^ Bruce Shelley: Ensemble Studios Closing . In: Ensemble Studios Blog . Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
6. ↑ Added: AgeSanctuary TAD Fan Patch 1.2 ( English ) rts-sanctuary.com. March 10, 2010. Retrieved on September 2, 2014: " We developed this fan patch because of the fact that Ensemble Studios closed down in February 2009, and their successors Robot Entertainment have made few balance changes "
7. ↑ The name “Moritz von Nassau” is used in the game. What is meant, however, is "Moritz (Orange-Nassau)", and not "Johann Moritz (Nassau-Siegen)". This can be seen in the background information on the story, where it not only says that Moritz was born in 1567, but also that his other name is called “Moritz von Oranien”.
8. ↑ computerbild.de. Retrieved August 12, 2016 . 
9. ↑ 4players.de. Retrieved August 12, 2016 . 
10. ↑ gamestar.de. Retrieved August 12, 2016 . 
11. ↑ Sebastian Herbst: Henry the Navigator and the Portuguese Expansion: A Comparison between Reality and Age of Empires III . GRIN Verlag GmbH, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-656-23181-3 , p. 20 .
12. ↑ Herbst, ibid., P. 7ff.
13. ↑ Age of Empires 4 - Officially announced, first information on gamestar.de, accessed on August 21, 2017