posted 06-28-09 12:56 PM EDT (US)
No continent has as long a human history as that of Africa, the world’s second largest continent. It was here, approximately 200,000 years ago, that modern humans first evolved. Some 130,000 years later, one party of humans migrated out of Africa to populate Eurasia, Australasia, and the Americas. This game is not about them. This game is about those who stayed behind.
There are four resources to gather in AoEIV. The first and most important of these is food. Food can come from the following sources:
•Berry bushes
•Hunted wild animals
•Cattle that you can tame and herd or create at a building called a Cattle Pen
•Farming (in later ages)
Food is spent to train most units and to research most technologies. Be warned, however, as your food supply will tend to dwindle over time if you do not have enough villagers gathering food. Your food stockpile’s rate of decline is positively correlated with the number of units you have; the more units you have, the faster your food stockpile decreases. If your food stockpile completely empties, all your units will gradually lose health.
The second resource is wood. Wood is used for most buildings, ships, ladders, and battering rams. Wood is usually gathered from trees, but you can also loot wood from the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The third resource is stone, which is used for fortified buildings in the late game. Stone can be mined from rocks, but, like wood, can also be collected from rubble.
The last resource is metal. Metal is used for certain military units as well as researching some technologies. One way to obtain metal is by mining from ore-bearing rocks. Another is commerce; you can create caravans to move between your Markets and Town Centers, adding to your metal stockpile when they reach the Town Center. The amount of metal deposited at the Town Center increases with the distance between the Town Center and the Market.
There will be three ages:
•
•
•
Every one of your Town Centers produces a sort of aura called territory. Your buildings can only be built within your territory. Territory also affects morale, as will be explained shortly.
Your military units’ performance in battle is affected by their morale level. Units with higher morale with strike at a faster rate, hit their targets with greater accuracy (if they have a ranged attack), and move faster. When units are created, they have a moderate level of morale. Morale increases when they are in your territory, decreases slowly in “neutral” territory not controlled by any player, and decreases at a faster rate in enemy territory. To counter morale loss, you may train Generals. Generals, though they have a weak attack, produce a special aura that slows morale loss for any unit within it.
Units are no longer represented by single individuals. Instead, one unit may consist of multiple individuals. The number of individuals within a unit may be increased by researching certain technologies. Keep in mind, though, that larger units consume more food from your stockpile.
If players select multiple units, they may choose to group them together into a formation. Once a formation has been created, selecting any unit within it will select the entire formation. Units may be added to formations or expelled from them. Formations can also be disbanded. The concept of formations should allow you to more easily move large numbers of units.
The following units are common to all civilizations in AoEIV:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
There are five playable civilizations in AoEIV: the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, the Mande, the Bantu, and the Ashanti.
The Egyptians are the most famous African civilization, perhaps because they had the most influence on the Western world.
In AoEIV, Egyptians have the following bonuses:
•Technological research is cheaper
•Ships and buildings have more hitpoints
•Farms are accessible at an earlier age
However, they suffer the following disadvantages:
•Units have a weaker attack
•Buildings and ships are constructed more slowly
The Egyptians can train the following military units:
•
•
•
•
•
The Egyptian Wonder is the
Ethiopia used to be a kingdom located in northeastern Africa that has historically received a lot of influence from southern Arabia.
In AoEIV, the Ethiopians have the following bonuses:
•Resources sold at the Market are cheaper
•Cavalry have more hitpoints
•Finally, they can train war elephants (Islamic tradition holds that an Ethiopian king once tried to destroy the Kaaba with elephants)
Their drawbacks are:
•Food is consumed at a faster rate
•The elephants are very expensive
The Ethiopians can train the following military units:
•
•
•
•
•
The Ethiopian Wonder is the
The Mande live along the Niger River in western Africa. They are the people responsible for the Kingdom of Mali, which was famous for the gold it exported.
The Mande have the following bonuses:
•Caravans deposit more metal
•Cavalry have a stronger attack
•Archers are cheaper
The weaknesses of the Mande are:
•Cavalry and archers are more expensive
•Stone-mining rates are slower
The Mande military units are:
•
•
•
•
•
The Mande Wonder is the
The speakers of the Bantu languages (a linguistic group to which Zulu and Swahili belong) have their origins in western Africa, but between 1500 and 1000 BC they migrated to parts of southern and eastern Africa, bringing their iron technology along with them.
The Bantu in AoEIV experience the following bonuses:
•Infantry have a stronger attack
•Buildings are cheaper and constructed more quickly
•Morale loss is slower
However, the Bantu also suffer these weaknesses:
•Technological research is more expensive
•No cavalry
The Bantu can train the following military units:
•
•
•
The Bantu Wonder is the
The Ashanti Empire was an empire in the jungles of West Africa that existed between 1701 and 1896. Unlike the other African civilizations here, their military used firearms quite extensively.
The Ashanti in AoEIV experience the following bonuses:
•Ranged military units have stronger attack
•Faster food-gathering rates
•More individual soldiers per military unit
However, the Ashanti also suffer these weaknesses:
•Firearms are inaccurate
•No cavalry
The Ashanti can train the following military units:
•
•
•
•
The Ashanti Wonder is the Kumasi Circle.
These are like the Native tribes in AoEIII. They are not playable, but can be allied with to train units that do not consume food or fill in your population cap. The non-playable tribes in AoEIV are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Suggestions appreciated.
* My astounding adventures of amazing awesomeness (aka my main website)
* And here's my linktr.ee of even more awesomeness
* And don't forget to buy my goddamn books
[This message has been edited by Kahotep (edited 08-12-2009 @ 10:30 PM).]
