posted 07-29-08 01:56 PM EDT (US)
In this game you would play in many maps loosely resembling the Middle-East and Sahara desert area of the world.
The game takes place in ancient times, and is something of a remake of Age of Empires, though focused entirely on the Middle-East and Sahara desert. Also, the game ends before the Roman Empire reaches this area.
Stone age
Settlement age
Iron age
Bountiful age
All fifteen civilizations have either two unique units or a unique building. If the civilization has unique units, they replace other units available to other civilizations, but are improved in some way. All civilizations have a wonder and a bonus, which lasts them the whole game. Each civilization, excluding the Tuaregs, has a perfect pair who will share their bonus if they are allied.
Key: Unique Unit Name (What it replaces).
1. Egyptians
UU: Chariot Archer (Horse Archer) and Pharaoh (King)
Wonder: The Great Pyramid
Bonus: Inventors - All techs are much cheaper for the Egyptians.
Pair: Nubians
2. Persians
UU: Immortal (Spearman) and Anusiya (Royal guard)
Wonder: Palace at Persepolis
Bonus: Empire-builders - Citadels and Town Centres are built almost instantly.
Pair: Medeans
3. Sumerians
UB: Ziggurat
Wonder: The Great Ziggurat at Ur
Bonus: City-states - Defensive area around a Town Centre is 2x larger.
Pair: Arabians
4. Babylonians
UB: Kudurru house
Wonder: Ishtar Gate
Bonus: Hammurabi's code - Babylonians do not suffer corruption.
Pair: Assyrians
5. Hittites
UU: Triga (Chariot) and Syrian Archer (Bowman)
Wonder: Lion Gate of Hattusa
Bonus: Grand armies - Everything is a little bit cheaper.
Pair: Lydians
6. Assyrians
UB: Assur temple
Wonder: Great Shedu
Bonus: Lens-makers - All units and buildings have much bigger LOS.
Pair: Babylonians
7. Phonecians
UU: Murex Ship (Fishing boat) and Tyrian Guard (Royal Guard)
Wonder: Tyre Triumphal Arch
Bonus: Greek trade - Everything has bonus HP.
Pair: Carthaginians
8. Carthaginians
UU: War Elephant (Elephant rider) and Iberian Swordsman (Mercenary)
Wonder: Fortress of Byrsa
Bonus: Mediterranean monopoly - All trade routes on the entire map generate a little gold for the Carthaginians.
Pair: Phonecians
9. Nubians
UU: Medjay (Swordsman) and Kushite Archer (Bowman)
Wonder: The Black Pyramids
Bonus: African tactics - Units can become invisible to enemies for a short time.
Pair: Egyptians
10. Tuaregs
UU: Caravan (Merchant) and Yoruba Warrior (Mercenary)
Wonder: City-camp (fictional)
Bonus: Salt trade - All food gathering for Tuaregs is greatly increased.
Pair: None, but allying with another Tuareg doubles their bonus. Only Tuaregs can be played twice on one map.
11. Arabians
UU: Storyteller (Priest) and Camel scout (Scout)
Wonder: Rock-carved house (fictional)
Bonus: Nomads - Most arabian buildings can be moved around the map.
Pair: Sumerians
12. Lydians
UB: Coin mint
Wonder: Permanent Marketplace
Bonus: Religious freedom - Priests and temples are much cheaper and build much faster. Priests convert and heal faster.
Pair: Hittites
13. Medeans
UB: Astrologer
Wonder: Deioces' Palace in Ecbatana
Bonus: Anatolian mines - Gold mining for Medeans is greatly increased.
Pair: Persians
14. Canaanites
UB: Amarna library
Wonder: Bastion of Tel Hazor
Bonus: Pastoralism - Farms and herdable animals are cheaper, herdable animals provide more food, more villagers can gather from a farm at once.
Pair: Hebrews
15. Hebrews
UU: Kohen (Priest) and Nazirite (Sickle-swordsman)
Wonder: Temple of Solomon
Bonus: Monotheism - All units are cheaper, train faster and move faster.
Pair: Canaanites
NOTE: The following three civs, Macedon, Rome and Oko, can only be played through the map editor. They do feature as opponents in some campaigns.
16. Macedonians
UU: Hoplite (Spearman), Hetairoi (Camelry) and Trireme (Kebinet)
Wonder: Mausoleum of Mausollos
Bonus: Cataphracts - All cavalry get greatly increased HP.
Pair: none
17. Romans
UU: Legionary (Swordsman), Auxiliary (Bowman) and Prefect (King)
Wonder: Circus Maximus
Bonus: Legion workers - Some Roman infantry can build.
Pair: none
18. Okoans
UU: Babalawo (Priest), Javelin (Spearman) and Pirogue (Galley)
Wonder: Statue of the King
Bonus: Orishas - Okoan population limit can reach 200.
Pair: none
In this game, attack is the general attack done by your units, while defence is the attack they do while in the vicinity of an allied TC.
Civilian:
AGE 1
Villager - Builds most buildings and gathers resources.
King / Egyptian Pharaoh - Can collect treasures and build Town Centres. If he dies, you lose. Only the King / Pharaoh can train Royal Guards.
AGE 2
Priest / Hebrew Kohen / Arabian Storyteller - Slow and expensive holy man who can convert, heal and use a low attack.
AGE 3
Merchant / Tuareg Caravan - Travels between any two allied or neutral markets to generate gold. At least one market must belong to you.
Infantry:
AGE 1
Sentry - Weak but cheap warrior with a club.
Stickfighter - Medium and fairly cheap warrior.
Royal Guard / Persian Anusiya / Phonecian Tyrian Guard - Infantry that is very weak except when near your King / Pharaoh, when they become very strong - especially at defence.
AGE 2
Swordsman / Nubian Medjay - Average all-round soldier
Spearman / Persian Immortal - Good defence and HP, but expensive and has weak aggressive power.
Bowman / Hittite Syrian Arc.her / Nubian Kushite Archer - Cheap and good aggressive power, but low HP and defence.
AGE 3
Mercenary / Carthaginian Iberian Warrior / Tuareg Yoruba Warrior - Very expensive but powerful melee infantry. Costs no population. Good all-rounder.
Sickle-swordsman / Hebrew Nazirite - Incredibly cheap but fairly weak soldier. Trains almost instantly and good at defence.
Axeman - Expensive, but less so than the Mercenary. Low defence, but high attack and HP.
AGE 4
Town Guard - Elite defender. Medium price and moderate attack, but with high HP and huge defence.
Scimitar - Elite attacker. Medium price and moderate defence, but with high HP and huge attack.
Royalist - Master soldier. High cost, but attack, HP and defence all very good. Note: You can only have up to 7 at a time.
Cavalry:
AGE 1
Scout / Arabian Camel Scout - Cheap and weak, but is very fast and has a large LOS.
AGE 2
Horseman - Standard melee cavalry. Fast and quite expensive, but OK at attack and defence.
Horse Archer / Egyptian Chariot Archer - Fast and deadly attacker with quite a large range. Bad at defence and has low HP.
Chariot / Hittite Triga - Heaviest cavalry available until age 4. Good defence and high hitpoints, but slow by cavalry standards and with a bad attack.
AGE 3
Camelry - Good attack and HP, but expensive and bad at defence. Very fast.
Raider - Horseman with a special damage bonus against civilians (excluding Kings) and buildings. Very fast but when not facing its preferred targets, it is weak all-round.
Parthian archer - Mercenary cavalry, good all round but expensive. Can fire in any direction while moving.
AGE 4
Elephant Rider / Carthaginian War Elephant - Heaviest non-siege unit in the game, but also the slowest cavalry. Huge attack and HP with quite good defence. Very expensive.
Elephant Archer - Ranged, defending version of the elephant rider but with slightly better speed and worse attack and HP.
Ships:
AGE 1
Fishing Ship / Phonecian Murex Ship - Gathers food from various sea creatures and gold from shellfish.
AGE 2
Galley - Simple ramming warship.
AGE 3
Kebenit - More powerful and expensive warship full of archers.
Trading Cog - Like a merchant except between ports, not markets.
AGE 4
Royal Barge - Very powerful ship with a built-in catapult.
Siege weapons:
AGE 2
Battering ram - Simple siege unit made of a tree-trunk.
AGE 3
Siege tower - Fairly strong siege weapon with a ram. 6 soldiers can garrison inside.
AGE 4
Catapult - The only ranged siege weapon. Does the most damage to buildings.
There are six types of resources you need to gather to build your empire:
1. Food is the most important resource in the early game. You can get it from animals, some plants and from farms.
2. Stone is used for building, as well as for a few units. It is available from quarries and natural mines.
3. Gold is used for many units and technologies. It is more important at the end of the game. Gold appears in mines and shellfish, but you can generate it with Trading Cogs or Merchants. The Lydian Coin Mint also produces a trickle of gold.
4. Iron becomes available in the Iron age. It is used for most more advanced units. It can be mined, but an armoury automatically produces a slow trickle.
5. Wood is not very important except for navies and siege. It can be found in forests, both natural and planted.
6. Population determines how many units you can support. It increases when you build Houses and Town Centres. The maximum population for most civilizations is 160.
AGE 1
*Town Centre - You start with one and your King / Pharaoh can build more from the Iron Age onwards. Trains villagers, provides Age Advancement, researches special technologies and supports 20 population. Trains and upgrades scouts / Arabian Camel Scouts. You can only have up to 3 at one time.
*House - Supports 10 population. You can only have up to 10 at one time. Okoan players can have up to 14.
*Storehouse - Drop-off point for all resources. Improves villager gathering.
*Temple - Trains and upgrades priests / Hebrew Kohenim / Arabian Storytellers. Upgrades buildings.
*Barracks - Trains and upgrades infantry (excluding royal guards, mercenaries and royalists).
*Canaanite Amarna Library - Enables chat and diplomacy with one unmet player per library. Significantly expensive.
*Assyrian Assur Temple - All nearby villagers get increased gather rates.
*Port - Trains and upgrades all ships. Trading cogs use it to trade.
AGE 2
*Caravanserai - Trains and upgrades horse, chariot and camel cavalry units.
*Armoury - Upgrades soldier weapons and armour, produces a slow trickle of iron.
*Inventor's workshop - Trains and upgrades all siege units.
*Bablyonian Kudurru House - Periodically produces villagers.
*Medean Astrologer - You can choose the weather for the area around the astrologer. Every age you get more options.
*Farm - Villagers work to gather food. Acts as its own drop-off.
*Quarry - Villagers work to gather stone. Acts as its own drop-off.
AGE 3
*Market - Trains and upgrades merchants / Tuareg Caravans. You can exchange food, wood and iron for gold and vice versa. Part of a trade route. Trains and upgrades mercenaries / Carthaginian Iberian Swordsmen / Tuareg Yoruba Warriors.
*Sumerian Ziggurat - Build on a Town Centre to make it vastly more effective defensively.
*Lydian Coin Mint - Steadily produces a trickle of coin.
AGE 4
*Citadel - Very strong defensive building, trains and upgrades elephant cavalry and Royalist infantry units.
*Wonder - Begins a victory countdown.
*Tree - Villagers can plant forests, tree by tree from this age.
Weather played an important role in the Ancient Middle-east, as it does in any desert civilization. In this scenario several weather types are possible.
DAYTIME WEATHER - During the day units get an LOS bonus.
1. Sunny - Normal weather. Farms work smoothly and everything runs as normal.
2. Heat Wave - Very hot. Farms work much slower and steadily lose HP, but wild animals are slower and easier to catch.
3. Solar Eclipse - All fighting is postponed by this omen from the gods. This weather effects the whole map.
4. Cloudy - Rare in the desert. All units slightly faster because it isn't so hot.
NIGHT-TIME WEATHER - At night units get a small speed bonus.
1. Moonlight - Normal night weather. Farms work smoothly and everything runs as normal.
2. Full moon - Villagers do all tasks doubly fast. Includes gathering, building, farming and fighting.
WEATHER FOR NIGHT OR DAY
1. Rain - Very precious to desert life. Farms work at 5x their normal speed but ships go half their normal speed.
2. Sandstorm - All units within the vicinity steadily lose health. Evacuate the area as quickly as possible.
3. Windy - All units are slightly slower, except ships which move at double speed.
4. Flood - All land is covered by a few centimetres of water. Farming is 10x faster than normal but land units are slowed considerably. Happens frequently on the Nile map.
5. Thunderstorm - The rarest weather type. A huge storm damages all units and buildings in the area. This can sometimes flatten a small village.
6. Snowstorm / Blizzard - Only available in the map editor. Increases all unit abilities.
MEDEAN ASTROLOGER'S ABILITIES
Age 1: none (unbuildable)
Age 2: Sunny, Moonlight, Windy
Age 3: Heat Wave, Cloudy, Rain
Age 4: Solar Eclipse, Full Moon, Sandstorm, Thunderstorm
1. Nile - a tall and quite thin map featuring a long river all the way down the middle. Flood happens more frequently and Wonder construction is increased.
2. Mesopotamia - two rivers run from the southeast to the northwest. All buildings build faster and cities flourish. The weather is varied.
3. Libya - The north half of the map is a sea, and merchants and trading cogs move faster. Look out for pirates and windy weather coming in from the waves.
4. Iran - A stretch of semi-desert runs from east to west, with two seas in the north and south. Goats are abundant and trees are relatively common.
5. Halys - A broad river runs from north to south, but doesn't reach the southernmost point. Units train faster but battles may be called off by a Solar Eclipse.
6. Sahara - No water to speak of and farming is slowed, but trade brings more gold. Huntable animals are rare, and an occasional sandstorm can be a hazard to players.
Five civilisations have their own campaign, and the other 10 have a single scenario.
CAMPAIGNS
Uniting the Nile (Egypt) - Play as Narmer to unite Upper and Lower Egypt. (Opponents: Nubia, Egypt, Hebrew)
Achaemenid Sovereignty (Persia) - Play as Darius III and attempt to fight off the Macedonian invaders. (Opponents: Egypt, Macedon, Canaan, Arabia)
A New Empire (Hatti) - Play as Mursili as you conquer most of the middle-east. (Opponents: Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, Persia)
A Maritime Threat (Carthage) - Play as Hannibal while destroying the new threat of Rome across the sea. (Opponents: Rome, Phonecia, Tuareg)
The Children of Israel (Hebrew) - Lead the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt to a better life in an new land. (Opponents: Egypt, Nubia, Canaan, Lydia)
SINGLE SCENARIOS
Battle of the Eclipse (Lydia/Medea) - Play as Cyaxares or Alyattes II and try to defeat your opponent before the Gods stop the conflict with an eclipse. (Opponents: Medea/Lydia)
The First City (Sumer) - You don't have long to establish your town before the nomads try to destroy it. (Opponents: Arabians)
The Salt Road (Tuareg) - Time is short and you have to get three caravans of salt to the city of Oko from Thebes, without the Nubians stealing them. If you fail to bring the salt, Oko will turn hostile and attack you. (Opponents: Egypt, Nubia, Oko|
Crime and Punishment (Babylon) - In a city as large as Babylon, crime is inevitable. Lead your small police force to try and prevent the world's first Mafia from continuing their activities. (Opponents: Assyria|
Rebellion (Assyria) - The Assyrian empire has stood for years, but now Medean and Babylonian rebels are posing a threat to its survival. Crush both of the rebel groups before time runs out. (Opponents: Medea, Babylon)
Foreign trade (Phonecia/Canaan) - As Phonecia you must establish and hold a trade route with Greece, over the water. As Canaan, you must establish and hold a trade route with Egypt, over land. Canaanite rebels will attack Phonecian players and Phonecian rebels will attack Canaanite players. (Opponents: Canaan and Egypt/Phonecia and Macedon|
The Black Pharaohs (Nubia) - For too long Nubia has been overshadowed by great Egypt. Now as Egypt's rulers engage in petty squabbles, Piye, King of Nubia, will invade and become the mightiest Pharaoh Egypt has ever seen. (Opponents: Egypt)
The Precious fuel of Life (Arabia) - An Arabian tribe's nomadic lifestyle is threatened by the cities in the north and more violent tribes closer to home. Secure two of the oases to make sure your people can survive while you build an army to beat back two sets of invaders. (Opponents: Hatti, Arabia|
MORE TO COME...
[This message has been edited by NotInvolved (edited 08-04-2008 @ 07:33 AM).]
