HK AI, even at highest difficulty stops being a threat starting in the medieval era and lags in fame. I played the game for hundreds of hours and collected enough data on this pattern to say quite confidently that is the case (until the devs improve it). Which is why I stopped playing for now because every game is pretty much the same. Old World AI on the other hands keeps me on my toes through the very late game - one mess up in military strength or diplomacy and the AI pounces on you like a vulture, and you do not want that to happen trust me.

After a few undreds of hours of Amplitude games, even if I am a bad player (don't go over the Empire difficulty), I have to say that the AI never felt like a threat because it was smart or competent. It's usualy because you are in a bad position, or because the AI has specific troops (Huns, Cravers, Necrophages...) that make them problematic. I might be wrong, but higher difficulties, as I understand it, just allow the AI to cheat.

Aeram wrote:

After a few undreds of hours of Amplitude games, even if I am a bad player (don't go over the Empire difficulty), I have to say that the AI never felt like a threat because it was smart or competent. It's usualy because you are in a bad position, or because the AI has specific troops (Huns, Cravers, Necrophages...) that make them problematic. I might be wrong, but higher difficulties, as I understand it, just allow the AI to cheat.

If Amplitude hopes to turn this around, they have really get things going fast.

The line between "I want/wanted this game to succeed" and "this game is dead/doomed/a failure" is becoming more glaring, and more people apparently are crossing into the latter. 

kryton24 wrote:

Old world I don't think I'll ever get to play since epic exclusive and I'm one of those people unfortunately that really despises epic. Not a steam fanboy, I just really don't like Tim Sweeney. If it ever comes onto other platforms I'll give it a whirl I've heard good things, main negative I've heard is just graphics so if that's true it's nothing that wouldn't get me to try it.

Not to highjack the thread, but just letting you know it was announced Old World is coming to Steam and GOG.

Current Steam ratings update:

68% Mixed (All Reviews)

57% Mixed (All Reviews)

It's admittedly disappointing how the game is both being received and turning out.

Hopefully the devs do something to win back people's goodwill, as the longer they dally, the harder it'll be to rebound.

Md1957 wrote:
Hopefully the devs do something to win back people's goodwill, as the longer they dally, the harder it'll be to rebound.

Being at work under heavy scrutiny and in an very sceptical environment is not something that I would call "dally". Besides, this is Amplitude, not Rockstar or Cd Project Red. I doubt people work 60 hours a week at minimum, and that's a good thing.

You can be disappointed by the game, being criticall of it, but please, do respect the devs. They failed with Humankind, okay, but it's not like they are disrespecting us with a radio silence. They are on the forums and are handling the situation as a "buisness as usual thing", without any glaringly insincere apologies. Do not take them to trial without evidence.

They are on the forums, they are at work, and they try to fix something that is arguably infixable.

And the sad thing is, even if they succeed, there is only one shoot at first perception. In the same manner, if the game goes trough a dramatic overall, it can be a success, as it was with Stellaris and the warp system for example, or a dramatic failure, leaving some the player base behind that liked the older systems, while not having satisfying ones for those who remain.

The devs are professionnals. Amplitude is in buisness for 10 years now. The founders where at Ubisoft before that. I think they are at least somewhat aware of this. I heavely doubt they "dally".

Why’s it infixable? I don’t buy that.. any game is fixable as long as you put in the right amount of resources to it. As far as I’m concerned if the devs can make the AI more competitive at HK level and not lag behind in fame starting in Medieval era, I’m coming back to the game. 

Morgawr wrote:

Why’s it infixable? I don’t buy that.. any game is fixable as long as you put in the right amount of resources to it. As far as I’m concerned if the devs can make the AI more competitive at HK level and not lag behind in fame starting in Medieval era, I’m coming back to the game. 

I put the link with the argument. The problem whith "as long as you put in the right amount of ressources to it" is that the amount of ressources a dev. team can put into a game cannot be infinite. Ideas, themselves, are not a finite and defined ressources. Dev. time cost the proverbial money™ so you can't do it forever and ever.

Besides, do keep in mind that your issues with the games are not the only issues many people have with the game. What you would find enough is barely a step in the right direction for most people, because most people (on the forums) are not concerned with the AI, but with the overdominance of industry, for example, of the tech tree, and the longer you read the forums, the more you find deeprooted issues that seem to bother people. How many people ? Hard to say. But enough for it to be posted again and again by different people how has not read each other, which mean that separate people came to the same conclusion. For player base not that larger, it might be significative.

Look guys, the game got nominated for best strategy game at game awards despite multiplayer not working at all after around turn 150. Means the game is being received actually very well Steam is just... you know... that doesn't count!

Also, it's competing against Microsoft flight simulator... Which won last year.... *Noticed new world is nominated for best multiplayer game*

I think game awards aren't a good indicator for anything nm.

Aeram wrote:

Md1957 wrote:
Hopefully the devs do something to win back people's goodwill, as the longer they dally, the harder it'll be to rebound.

Being at work under heavy scrutiny and in an very sceptical environment is not something that I would call "dally". Besides, this is Amplitude, not Rockstar or Cd Project Red. I doubt people work 60 hours a week at minimum, and that's a good thing.

You can be disappointed by the game, being criticall of it, but please, do respect the devs. They failed with Humankind, okay, but it's not like they are disrespecting us with a radio silence. They are on the forums and are handling the situation as a "buisness as usual thing", without any glaringly insincere apologies. Do not take them to trial without evidence.

They are on the forums, they are at work, and they try to fix something that is arguably infixable.

And the sad thing is, even if they succeed, there is only one shoot at first perception. In the same manner, if the game goes trough a dramatic overall, it can be a success, as it was with Stellaris and the warp system for example, or a dramatic failure, leaving some the player base behind that liked the older systems, while not having satisfying ones for those who remain.

The devs are professionnals. Amplitude is in buisness for 10 years now. The founders where at Ubisoft before that. I think they are at least somewhat aware of this. I heavely doubt they "dally".

Don't get me wrong. I respect and support the devs. They're clearly trying their best.

Problem is, with how divided and increasingly hostile the reception is, they'll be having an ever-harder time winning people back the longer this...malaise for lack of a better word drags on.

They can still turn things around. But that window of opportunity is narrowing.

Now 58% this is dropping down that sad maybe that's why they share a demo .

Arphenix wrote:

Now 58% this is dropping down that sad maybe that's why they share a demo .

58% in recent reviews right? because it still says 68% in overall reviews.

DragonGaming wrote:

Isn't this the very first game Amplitude made that's been given a demo?

I just checked, it is. Love Thyself is free, but it's a "standalone" Virtual Novel, not a demo.

I am having tons of fun after the latest patch.  Set the end game stuff to anything I want (turned off 300 turn limit); could finally afford (just barely, which is perfect) to buy quick build buildings; and was actually able to afford to join 2 different cities (again, just barely, which is how it should be).  AI forced me to resign my first game, and I am in 4th place my current second game (again, that's new, I usually always am in 1-3rd place easy).  I was complaining about civ 6/7 for YEARS after release, and this has only been a couple months.