I stopped playing online due to the enormous amount of players that have adopted the “rushing” strategy. Rushing itself is tolerated if used occasionally, but when it is the only style of play employed by players it becomes a nuisance. Rushing sucks the fun out of playing. First, the games are usually over within fifteen minutes. Second, when so little time is invested into the game, a huge portion of game content is left unplayed, therefore, a big waste of money. Finally, rushing conditions the player’s mind to focus on one formula until victory. The player does not develop a sense of strategy or tactics.
When I sit down to play Age of Empires, I expect to start with a lowly town center and build up my town until it becomes a sprawling empire with massive armies and resource supplies. I don’t expect to build a few buildings, train a handful of men, and not even make it out of the colonial age. With the way players play the game, developers should have named it Age of Towns. It is no fun when your opponent rushes. All you’re worrying about is how fast your villagers are gathering. By letting you and your opponent time to develop each other’s civilizations you get the chance to face you opponent in all his glory and vice versa. I find it to be more of a challenge trying to outwit my opponent rather than outrun him.
The game cost me $40 when I bought it. It came with ships, technologies, units, and more. When you don’t let the game progress more than ten minutes, how much of that content is left unused? What a waste if you’re only going to use what is provided in the first two ages. Maybe there are some who start the game in the Imperial Age. Still, how much of the game to they use? Do they build a whole city and have 150 population armies, or do they quickly ship 10 halberdiers and sack the enemies town center before he even builds a house? Why let so much fun content go to waste?
Finally, most of the so-called “strategies” I’ve seen in Strategy Central are not strategies but formulas. A formula is designed so that when worked correctly the outcome is always the same. This is the problem: 4x2 + 16x – 9 = 0. This is the formula: x=(-b±√(b^2-4ac))/2a. If you plug the variables into the formula you will always get this: (x = ˝, -9/2). Likewise the problem is: you are playing the French, and John Smith is playing the English. The formula is: some “strategy” you found online. You follow the formula and you win. Wow that took skill!!! All you did was do what someone told you to do! It involved no thinking, strategic planning, or analyzing. By letting the game develop, you allow yourself the opportunities to adjust to changing situations, conditioning your mind to think creatively and quickly.
I only hate rushing because no one will play otherwise. The games are, who can land the first punch. In the real world, you want to destroy your enemy before they have a chance to retaliate. Then again, that is war and it is not fun and games. Age of Empires is a game of wills. Take advantage of the playful nature of the game and have some fun by sending forth hordes of adversaries against your opponent rather than bitch-slapping him with a handful of pikemen. It is much more fun, you get the most of your money, and you can have a real battle of skills and wits when you employ strategies not formulas. Don’t be that guy who thinks he’s awesome because he can end a game in five minutes. Have fun by utilizing all the developers put into the game.
When I sit down to play Age of Empires, I expect to start with a lowly town center and build up my town until it becomes a sprawling empire with massive armies and resource supplies. I don’t expect to build a few buildings, train a handful of men, and not even make it out of the colonial age. With the way players play the game, developers should have named it Age of Towns. It is no fun when your opponent rushes. All you’re worrying about is how fast your villagers are gathering. By letting you and your opponent time to develop each other’s civilizations you get the chance to face you opponent in all his glory and vice versa. I find it to be more of a challenge trying to outwit my opponent rather than outrun him.
The game cost me $40 when I bought it. It came with ships, technologies, units, and more. When you don’t let the game progress more than ten minutes, how much of that content is left unused? What a waste if you’re only going to use what is provided in the first two ages. Maybe there are some who start the game in the Imperial Age. Still, how much of the game to they use? Do they build a whole city and have 150 population armies, or do they quickly ship 10 halberdiers and sack the enemies town center before he even builds a house? Why let so much fun content go to waste?
Finally, most of the so-called “strategies” I’ve seen in Strategy Central are not strategies but formulas. A formula is designed so that when worked correctly the outcome is always the same. This is the problem: 4x2 + 16x – 9 = 0. This is the formula: x=(-b±√
I only hate rushing because no one will play otherwise. The games are, who can land the first punch. In the real world, you want to destroy your enemy before they have a chance to retaliate. Then again, that is war and it is not fun and games. Age of Empires is a game of wills. Take advantage of the playful nature of the game and have some fun by sending forth hordes of adversaries against your opponent rather than bitch-slapping him with a handful of pikemen. It is much more fun, you get the most of your money, and you can have a real battle of skills and wits when you employ strategies not formulas. Don’t be that guy who thinks he’s awesome because he can end a game in five minutes. Have fun by utilizing all the developers put into the game.