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MS announces Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight [Up 3: More New Invites Out]

T

Teknopathetic

Member
Yes, they nixed Ensemble and ACES just to have some of the talent make them new games anyway. Trailers for both at the following link.

http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-us/community/pages/gamescom.aspx

Age of Empires Online

"Exciting news from GamesCom! The best-selling real-time strategy series of all time continues with Age of Empires Online! Join friends and friendly rivals from around the world as you create a living, growing online empire. Centered around your unique online capital city, embark on quests, play with or against friends, and immerse yourself in epic tales, quirky characters, adventure, history and strategy. Age of Empires Online will offer free-to-play experiences via Games for Windows - LIVE. Visit the Age of Empires Online site or read the full press release to get more details."

screenshot02.jpg

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Microsoft Flight

"The Microsoft Flight Simulator series has captured the imaginations of millions of fans. Now Microsoft Flight brings a new perspective to the long-standing genre, welcoming new pilots and long-time fans to experience the magic of flight!"


 
I thought the common thinking was that Ensemble hire ups ran that company to the ground, constantly missed deadlines, and had poor management of the studio overall, and that it's closure was to make way for the actual talent there to shine
 
Actually, it pretty much is AoE by Ensemble, considering that Robot Entertainment is made up of ex-Ensemble staffers.
 
For those worrying if this is like farmville,

This is JUST like age of empires ii

Fans of the series will not be disappointed at all. You have a "main hub world" where there are quests etc.
 
as long as the music lives up to the rest of the franchise (AoE I's soundtrack, in particular, is one of my favourites), it's all good :P: Looks very, um.... social game-ish or something, but it's still nice. Cartoonish. Certainly different from the "realistic" approach Ensemble had with the previous installments.

edit: and I don't mean that in a negative way. I like the look. And, again, it's all about the soundtrack for me :D
 
New Age of Empires looks really cool. A fun art style with back to basics gameplay, and free to play to boot. It's being made by Robot Entertainment, which is the best they can hope for at this point, though it's still a shell of the former Ensemble. I once again have to wonder why they shut the studio down, considering they're chasing down the scraps to work on the same types of games they were known for in the first place.

But whatever. More Age of Empires!
 
Teknopathetic said:
If that MS Flight trailer is realtime, They'll finally be delivering on those DX10 water bullshots from what...3 and a half years ago?
Click to expand...

that's the first thing that crossed my mind.....I was hoping they would show more footage.
 
Age of Empires looks cool. I've never been into the "Age of ___" games. Although maybe I will now that Starcraft II has finally gotten me into RTSs.
 
mysticwhip said:
What's MS flight?
Click to expand...

I don't know, maybe a less complex version of the Flight Simulator series....

if they were smart they would release a 360 Kinect version that uses a first person view....then kids could literally swore through the skies.
 
Is Microsoft suffering from a bipolar disorder?

MS in 2009: We hate PC games. Let's close Ensemble Studios and ACES Game Studio and stop development of all 360 to PC ports. Sorry, no Fable II on PC.

MS in 2010: PC gaming? Love it. Let's have another Age of Empires and Flight Simulator game. Yay for Fable III on PC!
 
ymmv said:
Is Microsoft suffering from a bipolar disorder?

MS in 2009: We hate PC games. Let's close Ensemble Studios and ACES Game Studio and stop development of all 360 to PC ports. Sorry, no Fable II on PC.

MS in 2010: PC gaming? Love it. Let's have another Age of Empires and Flight Simulator game. Yay for Fable III on PC!
Click to expand...

I think it was always known they closed ensemble because the studio was too big and costing too much to run..... so they let them go independent (or maybe even part of mgs still.... dont remember) and get them to do all future age/halo wars games. Robot did the halo wars dlc and now this so I am pretty sure they will do the same type of games for xbox/microsoft w/o the massive costs associated with ensemble.

Altazor said:
looks great. I still like my AoE not that cartoony, but daaaaamn. Bullshot or not, looks beautiful.
Click to expand...

I think it looks great.... the look is something different while still familiar.
 
Oh, and regarding my previous comment on the music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zomU75zcv10 THIS SONG. I know most people like the redbook audio soundtrack more than the MIDI one, but I gotta say that MIDI song is my favourite off both soundtracks. It practically DEFINES my childhood. So fucking epic. And the melody that starts around 1:20... amazing.

so yeah, I like AoE's soundtrack. In case you haven't noticed yet :P
 
Teknopathetic said:
"Not AoE by Ensemble but... hmm... it looks cool."

It's by Robot which has ex Ensemble employees.
Click to expand...
So they fire them, and then contract them to do this game?

Is that really better for them? Doesn't in-house stuff usually cost less?
 
I wonder what the whole philosophy behind these recent moves has been? Dissolve these teams, let them go independent, and depend on their desperation for financing their new projects to get them to basically make a MS owned IP but not owning the companies themselves? I do not get it.

Ensemble made a bit of sense. They seemed to use them during the 360 era as a R&D studio to see if Halo could be translated into an MMO. Probably spent several million in resources, but that failure does not explain completely dissolving the studio and then ....
 
I like the art style but I' ve got concerns with the gameplay. Based on the trailer, I'm getting a farmville vibe. Seems like MS' return into the PC is going to be through the more casual space...While I don't hate casual games, I do hope they do adhere to the easy to pick up, difficult to master mantra...
 
"Why is it down? I want to sign up for the beta."

It's been down for me as well. I managed to get in after trying awhile and finishing the beta signup, but immediately after that I couldn't connect to the site anymore.
 
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