Age of Wonders 4 - Celebrating 25 Years

HiddenX

HiddenX

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The Age of Wonders series is 25 years old:

Today, a quarter-century ago...

The first Age of Wonders game was released! The series began as a dream from a small group of computer science students, driven by the idea to create a strategy role-playing game with the epic scope of the fantasy books we grew up reading. It was a mammoth project for us as inexperienced developers, taking over six years of development - including a full rewrite after we finished our studies and officially founded Triumph Studios. With support from Epic Games, Gathering of Developers, and like-minded young talent, we managed to bring the game from our dorms and bedrooms to a global audience.

We never imagined that this labor of love would still be keeping us busy 25 years later in a drastically changed world. Through each new chapter, Age of Wonders evolved, embracing new technology and, perhaps most importantly, finding a balance between innovation and staying true to the spirit of the original. We achieved this by welcoming fresh talent to the veteran developers and by incorporating invaluable feedback from players like you.

With the 2023 release of Age of Wonders 4 under the Paradox Interactive umbrella, the series reached new heights. We feel that this fourth iteration truly delivers on the original promise of allowing players to role-play as the ruler of a fantasy realm. AoW4 has become the most successful title in the franchise’s history, proving that some dreams only grow stronger with time. We hope to continue supporting it for a long time to come!

To all the incredibly talented developers and publishing partners who poured their skill and creativity into this journey over the years - thank you. And to you, the players - thank you for supporting us, for every conquest, alliance, and story you’ve created within this universe. Without your passion and loyalty, none of this would have been possible.

Here’s to Age of Wonders - may the legacy live on, and may the adventures continue for many years to come!

[...]
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Thanks Couchpotato!



More information.
 
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Good for them but I enjoy the older games more then their fourth game.
 
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Uh ... is it 25 years already ??? I *loved* the very first game ! It was like a hybrid between RPG and strategy to me !
I *really* need to dig it out again !

Fun fact : AOW1 was - as far as I know and remember - developed using Borland Delphi ...
I contributed to fan-made mods at one point - plus, I once wrote a review for RPGDot !
 
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JFarrell71 said:
I mean, they did. They lasted from 1997 to 2023. That's 26 years.
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Up to this point and to a certain degree yes. I would've loved it if PB was still developing stuff. And they could somehow monetize smaller expansions, to keep them on the green in-between major titles.
They lost a lot of the people that were behind the initial games. And they were never the same.
I was going to say another difference is PB was owned by a big publisher, but Triumph is also owned; by Paradox.
 
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JFarrell71 said:
What do you mean "a certain degree?" They lasted as long as Triumph, making niche games they wanted to make. There is no difference in longevity.
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No difference in longevity? :D
Isn't one studio buried and gone, and the other just started selling a Season 2 pass for their 9th game, with 3-4 more future mini-expansions?

Also, the level of quality vs jank in PB games, after and including Gothic 3, is significantly higher than anything in the AoW games. PB was never the same after G3.
Of course, it's undeniable that PB games were significantly harder to pull off than a systems-based turn-based strategy game; that they can monetize piece by piece, and thus have some more regular income than simply selling one copy every couple of years.

Too bad they got the raw-end of the deal with Embracer. Though I do wonder how they were faring outside of Embracer. Too bad they couldn't be picked up by a different publisher.
 
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PB was owned by two different studios though weren't they? First it was Deep Sliver who imposed their will on the Risen Saga, and then Embracer who bought them.

Also yeah Paradox owns Triumph Studious though that's not something to worry about yet. As they've been one of Paradox's top earners because of AoW 4.
 
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danutz_plusplus said:
Was it Deep Silver as well? I know it was Jowood as a first.
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Wait ... a minute your right.

First it was JoWood with the first Gothic games, followed by Deep Silver for the Risen games, and then Embracer for the Elex Saga. They were never independent. :unsure:
 
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danutz_plusplus said:
No difference in longevity? :D
Isn't one studio buried and gone, and the other just started selling a Season 2 pass for their 9th game, with 3-4 more future mini-expansions?
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As soon as Triumph has lasted 27 years there will be a difference. As of this moment, Piranha lasted longer. :)

In any case, it's odd to me to say of a company that lasted 25 years that you wish they'd been able to "manage a similar path", as if they had no success.
 
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Ah... good times. :)

I remember that the undead faction had a hero I liked. Can anyone remember his name?
 
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Good question he was the fallen elven prince and brother to even queen in the last two games. I think he was based on the bastard son of King Arthur Mordred. :unsure:
 
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After searching for a few minutes I was close his name was Meandor.
 
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Carnifex said:
Haven't played this one yet I thoroughly enjoyed most of the earlier games.
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Just a heads-up it's not bad but it is vastly different from past games.

If you enjoy 4x strategy games you'll love it.
 
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I still have the original boxes for Age of Wonders 1 and Shadow Magic, I loved those games!
I just bought the latest version AoW4 with all the dlc now that I have some spare time to get into the game as they tend to be major time sucks for me.
I like the look of the new game graphically it's like a combination of AoW 1 and AoW 3...
 
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SSIGuy said:
I dunno Couch... as a 4x game it's decent but not great imo, but that's just me.
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That's fine and I agree somewhat as I mentioned before were the game falls flat.

Though for what you get it's a decent game. I should have gone with that instead.
 
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