Age of Wonders 4 [Triumph Studios/Paradox Interactive]

[Max Peck]

Announced today, with a scheduled release date of May 2, 2023.

[Zaxxon]

JFC, you beat me to it. Stoked about this one.

[Skinypupy]

The Age of Wonders series is one of those that I always want to like, but never do. I've bought every game, but never play very far into them before getting frustrated. They're much like Fire Emblem in that regard.

I'm sure this one will be added to the list as well.

[Freyland]

Really liked AOW3 for awhile, then it somehow got... stale. Bounced off Planetfall *hard*. Will need some real incentive to get this.

[TheMix]

I played most of Planetfall. But... apparently it wasn't very memorable. Neither was AoW3. I know I played it. I just don't recall it.

But I played a ton of AoW2 (Shadow Magic). I really enjoyed that one. I played the campaign at least 3 times. So I'm sure I'll pick this one up at some point.

[Baroquen]

The Age of Wonders series is one of those that I always want to like, but never do. I've bought every game, but never play very far into them before getting frustrated. They're much like Fire Emblem in that regard.

I'm sure this one will be added to the list as well.

This is me, but I don't get frustrated - I just wander off. (Not for Fire Emblem - I've finished 4 of them completely). I think I played the first one or two AoW games more than any of the later titles. That said - I'm definitely interested in seeing what they have in store.

[Max Peck]

Gameplay stream featuring mystic elves.

[Max Peck]

They released today, on schedule. The initial reviews seem quite positive.

Metacritic: PC 83 (14 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative).

[Carpet_pissr]

Looks gorgeous. Currently getting slammed on Steam user reviews (44%, ‘mixed’) due to technical issues/crashes, etc.

I’ll wishlist and buy when fully baked.

[Torfish]

I've played a little over an hour with no technical/performance issues yet. I did notice my computer fan ramping up here and there, but nothing else. The game is very colorful and tutorial is very good so far. Looking forward to keep digging into it.

[El Guapo]

I know I could learn this from the videos but don't want to spend the time. Is this kind of like a Civilization 6 / Master of Magic mashup in gameplay?

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[Torfish]

I never played Master of Magic. So far, it seems like Heroes of Might and Magic (deeper) with touches of Civ. All in a good way.

[Skinypupy]

I picked it up and have had two CTDs in the first 20 minutes of play. Not a great start. Lots of other weird interface and design issues.

The tutorial leaves lots to be desired. For example, I received a quest to "Build an Outpost" but it gave me no indication of where to find the option to do that. I checked the city menu, the hero menu, and a bunch of other sub-menus and came up empty. I finally clicked on the ground to deselect my hero, and it popped up with a message "Building an outpost here costs X gold". LOL, okay.

I got a tutorial message about choosing skills from specific skill trees when my hero levels up. No idea where I actually do that or what menu contains those choices, but apparently it's something I'm supposed to choose. And I think I've leveled up...maybe? My hero is at level 2, but I don't see any options or indicators anywhere that I'm supposed to actively do anything for the level up process.

I went looking for the difficulty settings so I could dial it back to Easy while I learned the game. There's no options to change difficulty in any of the in-game menus. You have select that option from the main screen before you start the game. Even then, you have to click a random left arrow (that has no pop-up text telling you what it does) that is next to the "Select Faction" button to find the difficulty options. I never would have found them if I hadn't randomly clicked on that unlabeled arrow.

The Paradox launcher tells me that I have no games installed, but then I click on "Age of Wonders 4" in the left menu bar and it asks if I want to start a game.

Just weird stuff all around. I'll give it an hour or so tonight to see if it clicks, but I'm leaning towards just refunding it.

[Torfish]

I'm finding the information needed to complete beginning quests and figure out the beginning mechanics in the sub menus that are underlined. Tomes seem complex. I like to be slow and read everything before acting on my next move. On hour number 2 and only on turn 20.

Would be great if there was a full-fledged out manual.

I really like the graphics for a 4X game. Overall It's sticking well with me.

[Blackhawk]

Would be great if there was a full-fledged out manual.

Harrumph.

[Zaxxon]

Would be great if there was a full-fledged out manual.

Harrumph.

It stings.

[Fardaza]

Played for 2.5 hours then CTD.
Definitely a lot of figuring it out as you go.
How many hours can you play and still refund? Not sure I want to, just asking. Steam version.

[Skinypupy]

Played for 2.5 hours then CTD.
Definitely a lot of figuring it out as you go.
How many hours can you play and still refund? Not sure I want to, just asking. Steam version.

I think it’s 2 hours.

One more CTDs and a hard lock. I’m going to refund and come back when it’s fully baked.

[Fardaza]

I'm too late now. I already had 2.7 when I asked. I played for another couple hours last night and ended with my second CTD. Should have gone with my gut and not ordered right away.

[Max Peck]

I haven't bought yet it because I'm not in the mood for a new 4X just now, but I've read elsewhere that there is a beta fork available on Steam that seems to have some stability fixes that alleviate the CTD problems.

[baelthazar]

I played for several hours on my PS5 and it was pretty smooth sailing. I thought that I might not like 4X on the console (having only really done the Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdom games) but it is refreshing and easy. I love the big screen of the TV (and I particularly love that they allowed me to up the UI scaling). I've seen some minor bugs and such (a UI thing due to the scaling and some minor issues with the independents sharing my name), but no console lockups or drop to home screen.

The game is pretty fun. If you played Planetfall then you know what to expect (since this is the fantasy version of it). Lots of choices and interesting stuff to see and do.

[Unagi]

I picked it up and have had two CTDs in the first 20 minutes of play. Not a great start. Lots of other weird interface and design issues.

I got it at Release, spend most of the day playing it yesterday, and never had a crash at all.

I wonder what the common element is for the people that are seeing the CTD. My kid also got the game and played (we both have very new rigs) and they actually did have one CTD, but they think they know what they did to do it (they hit esc, out of a certain screen, they think that caused it).

[GreenGoo]

It stings.

I have yours sitting on my bookshelf behind me, fyi. I thought you'd be listed but I guess you're "stratos group".

If BH was involved, then I've forgotten. Apologies if so.

[Zaxxon]

Yep, that's both of us.

[Max Peck]

One of these things is not like the others...

[Skinypupy]

I played for several hours on my PS5 and it was pretty smooth sailing. I thought that I might not like 4X on the console (having only really done the Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the Three Kingdom games) but it is refreshing and easy. I love the big screen of the TV (and I particularly love that they allowed me to up the UI scaling). I've seen some minor bugs and such (a UI thing due to the scaling and some minor issues with the independents sharing my name), but no console lockups or drop to home screen.

The game is pretty fun. If you played Planetfall then you know what to expect (since this is the fantasy version of it). Lots of choices and interesting stuff to see and do.

Thanks for this. I had actually been wondering how it controlled on PS5, but every review I could find was for the PC version. Seems like the menus and navigation would be clunky on a controller. Is it?

I might give that a shot, as what little I was able to play I quite enjoyed.

[Zaxxon]

One of these things is not like the others...

[Torfish]

7 hours in and really enjoying the game. I love the setting, so that helps in my enjoyment. No crashes yet. Fingers crossed that continues.

[Freyland]

Is the combat much different than AOW3? That started getting tedious for me.

[GreenGoo]

Yep, that's both of us.

[El Guapo]

I will probably pick this up, since this is squarely in my wheelhouse, but I'm currently playing Warhammer III and Fortnite a bunch so will give this game more time to simmer.

[Blackhawk]

Yep, that's both of us.

Depending on the game. I was a 'proofreader'/feedback reader for the AoW 2 manual (it was right after I started working with Zaxxon), and co-wrote the AoW:Shadow Magic manual (including the manual for the editing tools, which got cut from the print manual and is on the disk.) It was actually the first thing that I wrote that was actually published, so I'm pretty fond of that one. I do have a copy of every manual I ever wrote sitting on my shelf, although it took me probably 15 years to get Axis & Allies (I eventually had to turn to eBay.)

[Unagi]

Is the combat much different than AOW3? That started getting tedious for me.

I didn't play AoW3, but the combat can be done automatically (I've still not grown tired of fighting them out), and I've heard that it does a good job at it.

Additionally, if you do press the "Auto Resolve" button, and the results upset you, you are allowed to the re-do the battle manually.

Additionally, additionally, when fighting manually - you are also allowed to toggle on/off 'auto-fight' there.


Not sure if that answers your question though.

[Fardaza]

7 hours in and 4 CTDs.
Updated my Nvidia drivers and will see if that helps tomorrow.

When it plays, it's deep and fun, but...

[ydejin]

Thanks for this. I had actually been wondering how it controlled on PS5, but every review I could find was for the PC version. Seems like the menus and navigation would be clunky on a controller. Is it?

I might give that a shot, as what little I was able to play I quite enjoyed.

I’ve got 7 hours in playing on an Xbox Series X. Controller is fine. It’s a little wonkier than playing on a PC. But overall it’s a pretty smooth experience. The vast majority of game interactions like moving units about and carrying out combat all feel reasonably natural. There are a few areas that would probably be more straightforward with mouse and keyboard, but it’s not bad at all. Try playing Stellaris Console Edition — I like that game and have quite a bit of time on it — but they had to do a heck of a job getting all the Stellaris controls doable with a controller. AoW4 isn’t like that, it’s generally fairly straightforward.

Like @baelthazar, I really like playing on a big screen. I spend too much time sitting at a desk staring at a computer for work.

Also so far no crashes.

[ChuckB]

Thanks for this. I had actually been wondering how it controlled on PS5, but every review I could find was for the PC version. Seems like the menus and navigation would be clunky on a controller. Is it?

I might give that a shot, as what little I was able to play I quite enjoyed.

I’ve got 7 hours in playing on an Xbox Series X. Controller is fine. It’s a little wonkier than playing on a PC. But overall it’s a pretty smooth experience. The vast majority of game interactions like moving units about and carrying out combat all feel reasonably natural. There are a few areas that would probably be more straightforward with mouse and keyboard, but it’s not bad at all. Try playing Stellaris Console Edition — I like that game and have quite a bit of time on it — but they had to do a heck of a job getting all the Stellaris controls doable with a controller. AoW4 isn’t like that, it’s generally fairly straightforward.

Like @baelthazar, I really like playing on a big screen. I spend too much time sitting at a desk staring at a computer for work.

Also so far no crashes.

I played a number of strategy games (Crusader Kings, Stellaris, Age of Wonders Planetfall, Surviving Mars) on my Playstation over the years when I did not have a gaming computer and most of them work better with a controller than you would think (and I expected) - BUT: they are still so much better with a mouse, in my opinion, especially when it comes to the additional information from tooltips. I find the tooltips implementation generally the weakest point when it comes to the controller support (very few games have a mouse pointer that you actually control with teh thumbstick, as that is generally a terrible experience), so you have to navigate to the right spot in the menus and then either press another button or wait. Nested tooltips are making this even worse.

The other thing that I disliked about playing these games on the console was the lack of mods. I don't like to heavily mod my games but especially with Paradox games, some mods are really huge quality of life providers.

Just as an additional point: I played Shadow Tactics https://store.steampowered.com/app/4182 ... he_Shogun/ on my Playstation and while you indirectly control the characters with mouse clicks on the location you want to move to on the PC, they switched that to a direct control for the consoles (you control the characters directly) and that worked amazingly well.

[baelthazar]

Nested tooltips are making this even worse.

Here is where, IMHO, Age of Wonders on the PS5 shines. Paradox has been doing this "nested tooltip" thing for a while now, and on the PC you either "hover long enough to open the tool tip to your mouse cursor" or "click the middle mouse button/mouse wheel button" to open. I hate both of these - the hover mode adds time and I'm just not a fan of the middle mouse button.

On the PS5, you click on the large pad in the middle of the controller (easy) and you can then take the cursor to the nested tips. I am finding this way easier than the mouse methods.

[Torfish]

After trying and failing twice on the first tutorial scenario, I went to the next one. I think called Rise of the Godir Valley of Wonder. That one is much shorter and to me it's a better scenario to learn the game. I recommend going to that second scenario as a first time playthrough.

Still learning the game, but each hour I learn more. Diplomacy seems to be deep. Tomes are awesome. Doesn't look like there's a penalty to pick tomes from different orders? I think that will create some powerful synergies between tomes of different orders.

Combat is fun and it's simpler than Planetfall. Level progression of the heroes and inventory items are very cool. Variety is good.

[Torfish]

After you win, the game gives you 'pantheon' points that you can use to unlock stuff. Looks like cosmetics and new realm types.

[Skinypupy]

I picked this up on PS5 to hopefully avoid the bugs in the PC version. Took a bit of getting used to (I still think the tutorial sucks) but it all works quite well on console. Certainly has some quirks, the strangest being that when I go into the submenu to get more info on keywords, it skips every other one as I scroll down through them. I have to get down to end of the list then scroll back up to be able to select the ones it skipped.

I thought I was doing well on my first game as Human Paladins. I was allied with the ruler of the frog people and had taken out the other elven ruler in combat. About 10 turns after that battle, however, he popped up again out of the blue (he moved and attacked before I even knew he was there) with a full army and absolutely decimated my hero. That was a little frustrating tbh, as I don’t really have any idea how he did that or what I could have done different to avoid it.

Two quick questions:

1. The only way I’ve seen to get a new hero is to advance an Outpost into a City, then one appears. Is there another way?
2. How do I adjust which units are in my Hero’s army? I start with a couple melee units, a ranged unit, and a couple healers. If I want to swap out a healer for a ranged unit, how do I do that? I can’t see any way to drop a unit out of an army.