I's been a long time coming, but Unofficial Patch 1.2 for AoW Shadow magic is finally out. The Orange Winged Wonder (no, not ChickenMan, just Swolte ;)) has posted and announcement in the General Discussions forum with a direct link. to it on DropBox. I expect it will be added to the Download Section shortly as well. so be sure to check in for the latest status.

Coming up on the end of its first week, so far the press has been fairly quiet but the first post-release reviews of AoW3 are leaking out. Perhaps that's because as a self-publisher Triumph doesn't have the press budget of the big houses, but any news is good news.

The reviews themselves are on the whole generally favorable, though not gushingly so. IGN for example leads off with

For a strategy game, having two distinct modes—a world map and tactical battles—is a risky move. If either the tactical or strategic side is significantly better than the other, then the weaker half can feel like a distraction from the good bits. This is exactly the case with Age of Wonders III. It does all the little things right with its fantasy tactical battles, but it struggles to find its footing on the larger, strategic scale.

Of course, being "weaker" is only relative, and when compared to the superlative, still a high bar to clear. The reviewer's final and admittedly personal verdict:

Still, it's a fairly successful return for a game series and style that seemed undeservedly buried.

Well hey, in a industry gone mad with RTS and FPS games, that's as much as one can hope for.


Polygon despite feeling that "The [campaign] story feels slightly overcooked" concedes that "as a tutorial to the random maps ... it's faultless." And we would hope, to the many fine user created scenarios that are sure to come.

Their overall conclusion? "Age of Wonders 3 is a challenging power fantasy." Well, who here didn't see that coming?

There's also plenty of comments on the Oficial AoW3 Forums, the Steam Forums, and of course AoW Heaven's own AoW3 Sub-forum where, as always, you're invited to join the discussion.

*honk* *honk* *honk* ^(*)

Age of Wonders III is available NOW for download on Steam and GoG!

I think. Don't have Steam here, but the GoG download is reportedly confirmed by Ager Sunicle here. The Official Site is apparently getting hammered, and still waiting on the first reviews. But come visit HG's AoW3 sub-forum for the latest news as it develops.

^* And please don't tell me I'm the only one that gets that. I've already been called a grouchy old man once this week ;)

More news is coming out about the impending release of Age of Wonders III™, but as Ager Edi points out in the PBEM "likely to be added later" thread, warranted or not, there is still a great deal of "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" going around. Hopefully now that The Devs (praise be their names) have loosened up the NDA restrictions on Beta-testers, we may see more of that cleared up. His post is too long to summarize adequately, but you can read the entire thing Here. Comments of course are still welcome.

Originally posted by Lennart Sas, at AgeOfWonders.com

Now, after more than 3 years of development and more than 10 years of waiting from the fans, Triumph Studios is ready to confirm the release date for Age of Wonders III: March 31st!
Pre-orders have started at Steam and GOG.com and at retail in select territories. We have a Digital Regular and Deluxe Edition available. The latter adds the truly epic Dragon’s Throne scenario and a fabulous two hour soundtrack; don’t miss out on this! And we have added a free pre-order gift: The Elven Resurgence scenario, which takes the series’ back to its roots in the ancient Heartwood Forest.

As always, comments in HG's own AoW III subforum are welcome.

I can promise 2014 will be an interesting year filled with many AoWonders for you.

On behalf of the entire HG team, I want to wish you a happy new year!
:D

~ Swolte

Historical day today, as our beloved Triumph Studios announced that they have secretely been working, for over two years already, on the development of the ultimate TBS.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is AGE OF WONDERS III!

Some of the features include:
* Develop your domain, with many classes having the ability to change terrain and climates to suit your needs.
* New styles of play are possible with the introduction of RPG style leader classes like warlord, theocrat, rogue and sorcerer, along with a wide selection of specializations.
* Command a variety of races. Pick your starting race and shape your people’s destiny using your leader’s unique skills.
* A brand-new tactical battle system renders each battlefield and siege in great detail; new rules include flanking and a massive set of special unit abilities.
* An epic story campaign with two playable factions; Choose the mighty Commonwealth Empire or join the Court of the High Elves, founded after the reunion of the Dark Elves and Wood Elves.
* Compete online in extensive multiplayer modes and scenarios.
* High replay value through random maps, difficulty modes and tools allowing user created content.

We have created a forum where you can speak your heart, release your suggestions and fears, and perhaps influence a game in the making:
Heavengames AoW-III forum

For the official website, and its forums, go visit the
official AoW3 site.

Hurray!

For anyone here that might be interested (and I assume that will be a few <g> King Blatent VII over at Dawn of Fantasy Heaven has gotten a special deal from developer Reverie to give away 2,000 free CD keys. Here's his original News Post over there:

Konstantin Fomenko, the Executive Producer of Dawn of Fantasy, has given us 2,000 CD keys to download Dawn of Fantasy for free (a $30 value). The game needs PvP balancing and polishing more than anything right now, and Kon reasoned that HG would be the perfect place to find people to help with that.

Simply follow the link, make an account, and you'll be able to grab a CD key right away!

CD key link: http://dof.reverieworld.com/giveaway.php

Go, take a look. If nothing elese, it might suggest a few ideas for the modmakers.

...EVER!!!

Check out this news item on gamer.nl

Not that WE are suprised about this, but still, congratulations are in place for our team. Also check out the comments, and add a few, on their facebook page!

A brilliant, addictive app is spreading like an infectuous disease across the globe. It's called Plague Inc., developed by Ndemic Creations, and our very own JamieJME created it. Of course, we have an exclusive interview!

Swolte: Hi James, we miss you around here, but can you tell us what you have been concocting, what your role was, and why it could interest strategy gamers like us?

James:: It has been ages. AoWSM is still a game that is very close to my heart and I take a look at the news every now and again but don't have the time to play. For the last 9 months or so, I have spending my spare time working on a high strategy game for iPhone and iPad. It is called Plague Inc. and I am very proud of it. It is really storming the App store - #2 paid app at time of writing!

My role is hard to put a name on as it was my project and I was heavily involved in everything. I lacked the skills to do the high quality graphics, sound and programming myself so I found 3 very talented people to join my team and work with me to make Plague Inc. Aside from the initial vision, the management of the project, the high level design/development of the app and the reviewing of everything - my key focus was in programming and balancing the game mechanics within the engine that Mario (the programmer) had made. This took a long time as balance is key to any strategy game as you well know!

I think it can interest AoW games as its the type of game which is easy to pick up but hard to master, it has a lot of deep strategic options and a strong narrative. I find that fans of TBS and other complex strategy games really love this.

Swolte: Aren't you giving bioterrorists ideas with this thing? I mean, what message are you sending to the world and its children?

James: Hah, I agree that it is a game topic which does sound a bit nasty at first. However, you can look at it in a number of different ways - example - it is an educational hand washing encouragement programme . "Wash your hands otherwise Plague Inc. might happen for real!" :)

Swolte: As a player, what is your favourite gaming moment in your game so far?

James: The feeling of satisfaction when humanity is racing to develop a cure for your plague but you just stop them by evolving the insanity trait. The development of the cure slows and slows as doctors go mad - leaving the world vulnerable!

Swolte: As a developer, what is it like developing a game for iOS, and what were the most challenging aspects of the development?

James: It is challenging, exciting, fun and a real learning experience. I would recommend it to anyone. One of the hardest parts of development is finding the right team of people to work with- I was extremely lucky with my team (Mario, Sofiya, Josh) and together we were able to produce a hit game. Without good people - this would have been impossible

Swolte: Did any of your experience with AoW help you? If so, how?

James: Well, I did a lot of map/scenario development (Battle of Creation, etc...) for AoW SM which was very popular. In my maps, I pushed the map creator to its limits to create a really compelling and fun story. That mentality of pushing the engine to the limits really helped me do the same thing with Plague Inc. (and annoy Mario!) "How can I make this even better!? - ah, I could make an event which simulates a nuclear explosion - wiping out a large segment of a countries population by doing this and this and this... etc"

Swolte: Now that you've become so successful with this. Do you remember you promised Swolte half of your possessions when he let you win that one epic MP-game after much begging?

James: I seem to remember consistently beating you at MP games and having to put up with you crying down the mic actually! :P

Swolte: Thank you very much! Now, go forth and mutate!
*washes his hands*

James: Great talking to you - if anyone is interested they can check out Ndemic Creations. Please share your comments and feedback with me - it helps me make Plague Inc. even better. I also want to call out that Plague Inc. was inspired by an older but very successful flash game - Pandemic 2. If you don't have an iPhone / iPad - I suggest checking it out online!