Profile of SturmtigerCobra

IGN interview Adam Isgreen:

Age of Empires 4 has a “wide spectrum” of civs, from familiar to very different:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/age-of-empires-4/civilizations

It sounds like civilisations in Age of Empires 4 will be both new and familiar, with some behaving as series veterans would expect in terms of their tech trees and unique bonuses, while others will take a very different approach. That’s according to Age of Empires creative director Adam Isgreen, who spoke to PCGamesN at X019 about the upcoming game.

Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/dwr0jb/age_of_empires_4_has_a_wide_spectrum_of_civs_from/

Negative PR is better than no attention?
Nice watch and informative vid why Bethesda is insanely greedy:

Bethesda Is Just ... Evil ... | Luke Stephens


Broken game, broken promises and now a broken community (Fallout 76 civil war):

BETHESDA have managed to create a Civil War within FALLOUT 76 with the addition of the 1st Membership. People who purchased this $ 100 annual fee are now being targeted by "76ers" for doing so

Fallout 1st subscribers in Fallout 76 are being targeted by non-paying players:
https://www.vg247.com/2019/10/28/fallout-76-fallout-1st-players-targeted-grief/

Fallout 76’s Fallout 1st subscription service has created class warfare within the game’s world.
The launch of Fallout 1st, a a $99-a-year subscription to Fallout 76 that grants members private servers, unlimited stash and other benefits has been very rocky.

Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/fo76/comments/dnidl0/fallout_1st_players_are_being_targeted_in/
People are ganging up on Fallout 1st players in adventure mode and grieving anyone with the icon lol

Full Gamestar AoE4 Preview:
https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe4/comments/dwuwe6/gamestar_age_of_empires_iv_preview_english/
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AewnQprFTVFps82Ne50CTNlyoQssDKKHzd52BW_H6mA/edit

pierrebrassau
Some really interesting bits:

There are four ages, but not all civilizations will advance through all four. It sounds like Mongols are stronger in the beginning (possibly able to build cavalry early?) but can only advance to the third age.

Melee units will switch to torches when they're attacking buildings (so you won't have a knight hitting a building with his sword).

There are special and hero units of some sort. Mongols have Khan units for instance, and one of their special abilities is sending an eagle to scout an area.

The developer didn't confirm but did suggest that the Mongols move around the map like nomads rather than building permanent settlements.

There are the four traditional resources, but not all civilizations collect them the same way or use them the same way.

Height plays a large role, with ranged units having a bonus when firing from walls or high elevation.

Seems like we will have AoK style campaigns, focused on historical figures, with Joan of Arc as an example.

The interviewer asked if Asia and Africa are included but the developer didn't confirm either way.

The card systems of AoE3 and AoEO don't seen to be included in multiplayer.

After two years of waiting this is what we get:

AoE4 First Preview Behind A Paywall

https://www.gamestar.de/artikel/age-of-empires-4-preview-modernes-mittelalter,3351229.html
"Even before gameplay from Age of Empires 4 was released for the first time, we talked to the developers. AoE 4 becomes AoE 2 - in modern! (using google translate)"

• Age of Empires 4, set in the Middle Ages , offers the finest 3D graphics with height differences, and is set to set new dramaturgical standards in the real-time strategy genre with its story campaigns.
  

• GameStar talked to the creative minds at Xbox Game Studios about AoE4, got the first gameplay trailer in front of everyone else, and explained in the big preview what's new and promising in Age of Empires 4.

• We'll tell you the most important information about the new medieval strategy game: There are so many resources and ages, these are the new civilizations and they are so different.

• Also, after reading, you'll know why Age of Empires 4 does not have a release date yet - and why Microsoft and Relic took extra time to perfect the technique and engine.

In Age of Empires 4, there are large-scale medieval battles, the real-time strategy game packs the scenario and virtues of Age of Kings into the finest 3D graphics. GameStar Plus was allowed to see the trailer in advance and the developers with questions hole. Will that be the savior of the genre?

Sometimes it surprises me how popular GameStar is around the world . Anyway, Chris Rubyor, design director at Xbox Game Studios and new real-time strategy developer World's Edge, remembers Jörg Langer and Martin Deppe well.

For both of them have visited the game shops for the last 25 years, where Rubyor has been working on RTS pearls such as Command & Conquer, Star Wars: Empire at War and The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth.

Now Rubyor is awarding Age of Empires 4 together with Relic Entertainment, the creators of Company of Heroes, the finishing touches - and he's not the only developer involved in this mammoth project who made the genre big in the '90s and early' 2000s.

Age of Empires 4 will be like AoE2, but prettier
Adam Isgreen can not wait. He wants me to see the first AoE4 gameplay trailer before all the other journalists and viewers at the XO London event on November 14, 2019. Isgreen, Creative Director for the entire franchise, sits me the night before the show in a restaurant opposite, between us the appetizer plate. He pulls out his cell phone.

"Woe!" Threatens Shannon Loftis. The studio boss of World's Edge, Microsoft's new RTS division, can not believe it: "It's not okay to show the game to the very first person outside the studio on a cell phone!" Adam Isgreen grudges: "Yeah, okay, you want Probably will not see this beautiful 4K trailer on my small smartphone display. "Then they show me Age of Empires 4 on a laptop they brought along - and it looks like the best of Age of Empires 2 in modern 3D .

AoE4, however, faces a much more difficult task than all the old classics: it should bring the real-time strategy out of the crisis, modernize the mix of grassroots building and giant battles, awake a deep-seated genre and inspire millions of potential RTS players.

And for that Age of Empires 4 returns to the most popular scenario of the series: the Middle Ages.

The rest of the first preview cost money. Is this a joke?

Whatever it be intentional or not MS is hiding first AoE4 preview behind a stupid paywall. https://www.gamestar.de/ is clearly abusing this as "exclusive AoE4 preview".
This is terrible optics after 2 years of waiting!.
Abuse of fan passion? Not cool.

I could say more but MS want to play the long game?
Focus on talking with AoE fans and streamers/influencers first and almost.
Game journos/old guard do not sell games anymore and are on the way out.
Even EA executives now understand this, look at how Respawn Entertainment stealth launch Apex Legends.

Report: EA Paid Ninja $1 Million To Play 'Apex Legends', Which Is Way Too Little:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2019/03/14/report-ea-paid-ninja-1-million-to-play-apex-legends-which-is-way-too-little/

This is not organic growth but it shows the future of game marketing.
Streamers/YouTubers today are modern day rock stars to the younger generation of players.
Adapt or die!

What is Influencer Marketing: An in Depth Look at Marketing’s Next Big Thing:
https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-influencer-marketing/