Age of Empires Online Message Board

This rather unfortunate bomb dropped last week while each member of the RPS team was still out colonizing a different region of space, but I think it certainly bears mentioning. Age of Empires Online, sadly, is history. Or at least, the part where it continues to actively grow and evolve is now another footnote in the series’ lengthy legacy. The free-to-play revamp of the storied RTS series isn’t headed for the more contemplative region of Valhalla just yet, but – from now on – what you see is what you get. No more new content.

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Freemium title Age of Empires Online has invaded Steam, complete with discounts during its launch week. Until April 3, the Persian, Greek, Egyptian and Celtic civilizations are half-off for $5 each. If you like what you get from the free download, you can purchase the "All-in-Wonder Bundle" for $16.99.

You might remember that our Brendy thought free-to-play strategy Age Of Empires Online was a bit of alright, but he was a bit uncomfortable with the general “having other people in it” sort of feel. Of course that’s not stopped the seventy bajillion people who did sign up, and some of those probably even spent money on it. They’re going to have a new option for spending money this month because there’s a new bolt-on expansion called the “Skirmish Pack” (enthusiastically trailered below) which will, surprisingly, unlock all the races in the game (although not level you up to unlock all content) and allow you to customise all starting conditions for your game, allowing you to taste all the possible options for Empire-building.

I’m going to speculate that this is going to cost about £5, although there doesn’t seem to be a price announced for it yet. Ooh, we should totally run a sweepstake on which RTS will go F2P next!(more…)

#ageofempires The Persians are coming to the Age of Empires Online next week, Microsoft confirmed today. More »

#fineart When opting for "cartoon" graphics, there's a fine line between looking stylish and looking childish. Age of Empires Online, I think, gets it just right. More »

A long, long time ago last Wednesday, I got a message from Jim. I enjoy Jim’s messages because they come with the promise of coin. [We call this the "the editor called me" intro in the business. War, eh? What's it good for. Don't RTS names sound the same? Is the adventure dead? Is the PC Dead? Etc. - Ed] And he is not one to waste his breath, like a lot of people. He simply asked, “Age of Empires Online: review?” I wrote him back 15,000 words on ‘How much I would like to review Age of Empires Online.’ He replied: “Sounds good.” And now here we are. I will now tell you what I thought about the game. Because that is how these things go.(more…)

I think I had the same reaction as many of our readers when the very first screens of Age of Empires Online drifted into the fanged, slathering maw of the internet. It was a kneejerk reaction --Age of Empires wasn't meant to be bright and colorful! It was meant to look realistic, and play like Deadl...

Now that the free-to-play Age of Empires Online MMORTS is out (and it's not all bad, apparently), let's start talking about how you can pay for it, shall we? Of course, the game is free to download, and you get the game's two empires to play with right away. But developer Gas Powered Games are working on releasing new content all the time, of course, and Microsoft has announced at Gamescom that those really interested in the game will be able to pick up a "Season Pass" that will grant access to all premium content currently available. That pass will cost $99.99, and last for the first six months of the game.

At this point, we only know about a few different content packs, and there's a deal for a free Defense of Crete Booster Pack when you buy both Premium Civs, so everything on the market right now will set you back only about $60. But keep in mind that the Season Pass lasts until February of next year, so everything Gas Powered releases before then is yours to keep. If you like the game a lot, that will probably be worth the deal.

One note of warning: Gas Powered also says that buying the Season Pass won't keep you from rebuying content accidentally, so don't forget and buy more stuff when your Christmas cards come in. But hopefully if you spend $100 on a free-to-play game, you won't really be tempted to spend any more than that, right?

In reading online discussions surrounding Age of Empires Online, you'd think that the developers had taken to traveling the country with the express intent of running over kittens.

Clearly, players have taken issue with this latest in the Ensemble-created historical strategy franchise, which layers the series' core formula beneath a highly stylized coat of paint and free-to-play business model. However, much of the mechanics that made Age of Empires a household name remain, though now alongside new features designed explicitly to both ease new players into the experience as well as capture the attention of the coveted MMO crowd.

#ageofempires Be warned: I am a strident fan of classic computer real-time strategy series Age of Empires and when finally given the opportunity to play a new take on the game I will go to great lengths to make sure it sticks around. More »

In case you weren’t aware, Age of Empires Online is shaping up to be a deeply different kettle of papyrus from the original Age of Empires games. That should be made clear by the following dev diary, explaining how MMORPG-style loot and equipment work in the game, as well as where you’ll be getting it from and how you can trade it with your lovely friends. Ooh, it’s lovely and friendly, this online world of ours, when it’s not busy being mercenary and horrible.(more…)

Microsoft's reboot of its Age of Empires franchise officially goes live later this August, and in the meantime we managed to catch up with Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor. GPG is currently developing the game, having taken over from Robot Entertainment. The game is a free-to-play experience, built with stylized visuals as well as an optional payment structure...

#wololo Age of Empires Online, which is a lot more enjoyable than it sounds on paper, will be out in August. Here's a damn fine trailer to go with that announcement. More »

Age of Empires Online is ready to be ushered out of beta and onto PCs worldwide on August 16. The game, which will initially launch with the Greek and Egyptian factions, will be available at retail and online at AgeofEmpiresOnline.com.

The freemium title will offer "more than 40 hours" of free co-op and competitive gameplay, but if you're looking to upgrade straight out the gate, Microsoft has booster bundles available.

Gas Powered Games today announced the release date for Age of Empires Online, an attempt at combining classic real-time strategy with the persistent world of a massively multiplayer online game. Age of Empires Online is currently only being offered through digital distribution, and will be available for download on August 16, 2011...

Outlining the game's contents and more!

In this week’s Spotlight on Biscuit, inimitable UK games commenter Total Biscuit (inimitable unless you have a thick British accent and a pot of coffee that’s more sugar than liquid, anyway) has taken a closer look at Age of Empires Online. A wise choice, seeing as it’s a curious game that’s better seen in motion than read about. Also, I put a rare biscuit to the test- the Boland’s Jam Mallow.(more…)

Age of Empires Online's march to retail will conclude this fall, the game's official Twitter announced, with a Microsoft rep informing us a specific launch date is expected to be revealed May 31.

After launch, the freemium title will have "a parade of Premium Content" at under $20. The additions include two more civs to keep the Greeks and Egyptians company by the end of 2011, along with a "Premium 'Pro' Civilization" pack that will advance players immediately to level 20 for "expert play."

Check out our Age of Empires Online preview for what to expect from the initial experience.

Just a morning quickie for you, dearie. Microsoft’s free to play, levelling up-based resurrection of its mysteriously-killed RTS franchise Age of Empires now bears a more-or-less release date, and that is this Autumn, or Tumble, or whatever it is that the colonies insist on calling it. The Gas Powered Games co-developed Age of Empires Online is a free to play jobbie, funded by paid-for DLC – primarily in the form of extra playable civs, modes and willy-waving cosmetic upgrades for units.(more…)

Age of Empires Online, currently in closed beta, will this weekend throw open its doors and let any old person who downloads the game client in. I've been playing for a few weeks and...it's not bad, not bad at all, so you could do worse things. [Age Of Empires] More »

The Age of Empires Online Beta is publicly available for download over the next two days. The beta will continue past that time, but if you've been curious about the title, now's your chance to grab it without needing tokens or a special invite, through the morning of Saturday, May 7 at 9:01am (presumably London time, since the press release was issued from London, so ... 4:01am Eastern).

We were impressed during our Age of Empires Online preview and, despite its cartoony exterior, found something that isn't Age of Empires "Lite." We've appreciated that it's trying to be a core "casual" title that, in Microsoft's own words, is "not a nickel and dimey microtransaction thing."

[Thanks, Sean]

This is your “last chance” get on the Age Of Empires Online beta. You can do that, should you wish, by going to GFWM and hitting that “Add to Cart” button. Apparently it’s pretty good. That said, I believe it’s going to be free-to-play anyway, it’s not as if there’s any great rush to leap in for a free sample at this stage in proceedings.

Here’s something that slipped through the cracks last week. Which cracks? The ones in space and time which mean that even though RPS diligently covers every single piece of PC gaming news long before any other site, sometimes it appears as though we haven’t. But we have. I actually wrote this post a week last Wednesday, for instance.

Anyway – Age of Empires Online. That’s the project ex-Ensemble Guys Robot Entertainment were working on before turning their attentions to Orcs Must Die. Turns out, however, that they weren’t the only studio working on it. You know how SupCom/Dungeon Siege studio Gas Powered Guys put Kings and Castles on hold? This, I’m guessing, is why. (more…)

Build your empire from the ground up in the online rendition of Age of Empires!

#odddevelopments With two civilizations under its belt, Robot Entertainment tags in Chris Taylor's Gas Powered Games to handle further development of Microsoft's eagerly anticipated strategy game Age of Empires Online. What gives? More »

Chris Taylor's Gas Powered Games (makers of the original Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander) has taken over development of the upcoming free-to-play Age of Empires Online title, according to the game's official blog. Microsoft says that it became clear during development of some of the game's content packs that the GPG team "share our long-term commitment to make this a success," and that the move has been "the plan for some time," and won't delay the game at all.

This, of course, leaves previous developer Robot Entertainment - comprised of AoE veterans from the now-shuttered Ensemble Studios - in the lurch, as Microsoft has shown them the door. On its official message board, Robot confirms that "this was always in the plan," and says that the goal all along has been to work on original titles. Now that they've handed off the reins to Taylor and GPG, the company is reportedly hard at work on a new title called Orcs Must Die! Still no word on how close we are to a release date for Age of Empires Online, but Microsoft is still pushing beta signups on its website.

#interview Age of Empires Online is a free-to-play online game, but every free-to-play game needs to make money somehow. Kotaku spoke to members of the game's development team about the newly-unveiled Egyptian civilization and how gamers can pay to play. More »

Despite its cartoon look and smiling warmongers -- not to mention its free-to-play gameplay model -- Age of Empires Online is undeniably an Age of Empires game. The new direction doesn't much change the series' core gameplay, as this real-time strategy title is still all about resource management, with a pretty steep learning curve. This is not Age of Empires "Lite."

So, imagine my pleasant surprise when, below the coat of cute and colorful paint, I found a deep gameplay experience that quickly summoned my dormant nostalgia for Age of Empires 2 and 3. I jumped right into the Egyptian faction's first mission -- a skirmish in which I had to rid the map of the opposing Greeks -- without issue, despite never having played AoE Online before.

Microsoft has revealed the identity of the Greeks' co-star (nemesis?) in Age of Empires Online, its two-faction freemium revamp of the series: the Egyptians, a.k.a. the "blue guys." The Egyptians will oppose the read team (obviously), which is hellbent on expanding Greece's borders across the whole world. Stay tuned -- we'll be posting our preview of the Egyptians gameplay later today.

Additionally, Microsoft has detailed some of the social and MMO features planned for AoE Online, which center on players' capitol cities, in addition to confirming Game for Windows Live support (including Achievements). The capitol city -- you can have two; one for your Greek and Egyptian civilization -- will be the player's persistent headquarters, used to access quests and rule over the empire, but its more interesting function is as a travel destination and interaction point for other players.

Aside from marveling at your flower gardens (think of your capitol as "Farmville Lite"), visiting players can join up with you in co-op missions or simply shop at your unique store fronts. Paying players will have incentive to encourage visitors to shop, too, as the premium faction upgrade adds kickbacks: You'll receive in-game currency for purchases made from your stores. Microsoft's detailed "cheat sheet" of the differences between free and paid play is posted after the break.

Importantly, Microsoft has said it won't "nickel-and-dime" players -- upgrading from the free-to-play version of a faction is done through a one-time premium add-on, the "Premium Civilization Pack." Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for the upgrades, however. Age of Empires Online is currently in beta and planned for release this year.

Familiar gameplay, new style and structure.