RE: Where Are My Ambassadors?
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 6:59 pm
Look, I am an AGEOD fan. And I do think they've found themselves in an odd position. On the one hand, they have come up with some of the most innovative strategy game designs - WWI Gold, Pride of Nations, and even Great Invasions - that turned out to be technical disasters because of performance issues. On the other hand, they have found one game system that's very reliable - but it's really a war game model and hasn't yet adapted well to the addition of strategy-game elements. EAW, so far, just reinforces that conclusion.
So they have unique designs that don't run and a solid design that's growing a bit stale. Seems to me their challenge is to avoid becoming so enamored with their CW2/EAW engine that they forget what made their other games so different and fun. Or, conversely, finding a way to make their more unique game designs actually run on a PC.
(On the latter, point, I don't know the details of whatever the dispute is over the rights to WWI Gold/CE, but I hope calmer heads will prevail and they'll figure out a way to work together. The release of CE was something of a revelation (for me, at least) because here's this great game that had basically been cast on the garbage heap because of serious performance issues, and then suddenly out of the blue comes some tiny developer that no one's ever heard of who makes the game run like a charm. It's like a long-lost friend suddenly turned up fresh out of rehab. Instead of fighting, I wish they'd partner with these new guys to see what they can do with some of AGEOD's other brilliant but technically-challenged game designs - starting with Pride of Nations.)
So they have unique designs that don't run and a solid design that's growing a bit stale. Seems to me their challenge is to avoid becoming so enamored with their CW2/EAW engine that they forget what made their other games so different and fun. Or, conversely, finding a way to make their more unique game designs actually run on a PC.
(On the latter, point, I don't know the details of whatever the dispute is over the rights to WWI Gold/CE, but I hope calmer heads will prevail and they'll figure out a way to work together. The release of CE was something of a revelation (for me, at least) because here's this great game that had basically been cast on the garbage heap because of serious performance issues, and then suddenly out of the blue comes some tiny developer that no one's ever heard of who makes the game run like a charm. It's like a long-lost friend suddenly turned up fresh out of rehab. Instead of fighting, I wish they'd partner with these new guys to see what they can do with some of AGEOD's other brilliant but technically-challenged game designs - starting with Pride of Nations.)