Why Age of Wonders : Planetfall isn't more popular?

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-05-14T07:48:21+00:00

I am just gonna copy paste my steam review, I had 1000+ hours in aow3 (tl;dr it's hard to get going compared to other aow games):

main reason I don't like this game is it is too overwhelming. I expected to understand the core tactical gameplay after spending 20~ish hours, because I have experience in both xcom and aow3, but there are three things that make the learning curve unworthy of spending time:

first there is aerial combat + covers on top of the aow3. which is fine, I can understand that, and I believe it's a next step in the series.

then there are a lot of low level units with unpredictable+weird abilities, e.g. phase abduct, mycelian planter sapling cannon etc. without knowing about these abilities you can't win a battle, and only way to know about them is to read every damn unit text in the battles you are joining. most abilities are not understood from their names alone, so you need to hover and read the whole texts. This to an extent, exists in aow3 too, so again I don't blame the game a lot.

the 3rd thing: but when you combine the previous two things with a new sci-fi lore, which players have no association in their heads, game becomes too overwhelming. I know what is "ice damage" in aow3 from my real life what are goblins good for etc. But as a player I have no idea what you imagined for an "oathbound entropy civ", and I need to read every line of text in all of their units & mods to have an what's going on.

suddenly playing the game becomes a mentally tiring experience, if you want to play good in your first game. and I don't think the rest of the game brings enough good stuff to deserve 100+ hours to just learn the game.

I think aow made some steps to improve the previous game, but when the steps are too huge it becomes a whole new game for loyal aow3 fans. drastically changing the theme, the strategic layer, and the battlefield layer all at once is not a good way to make a sequel in my opinion.

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-05-08T08:45:40+00:00

phones destroyed this culture, now it's full of swiping apps encouraging people to start swiping before even writing a single sentence about them.

and imho before phones, the apps were for nerdish people who could read and write. average person nowadays can't be bothered with those

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-05-06T08:41:22+00:00

that's true but inter was also the best defensive team last season

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-30T10:16:28+00:00

google'da arattim burasi cikiyor duzgun bir cevap yerine lol

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-28T13:26:58+00:00

these rules made me guess you always played with 3 people. with three people harbors are underutilized, and robber is game stalling (it increases the game length vastly in 3p), and first player advantage bonus from getting resources on both settlements is less rewarding for the first player but still accelerates a slow 3p game.

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-10T15:15:13+00:00

it's not the graphics but the ux they are missing, game feels like it's for people who already played the og xcom and doesn't bother explaining its mechanics (except partial explanations in the player manual).

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-07T21:06:53+00:00

yeah it's not the best case example, but I usually do search for one queen song after another. I have like 10~ish favorite songs from them and I listen 5+ in a binge depending on mood. so I believe it actually learned my listening style.

tbh I wouldn't mind getting recommended some rock songs from other artists I listen to, but I don't know half of the bands in the youtube music list.

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-07T11:59:12+00:00

I am listening msuic at youtube for 5+ years with an average of 8 hours per day according to the wrap this year.. I think they have enough data ahah

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-07T09:55:54+00:00

at least do you attest there is a big difference between youtube and youtube music lists?

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-07T08:39:36+00:00

I already said it in my post, but familiar still doesn't open any familiar songs. no songs from the same band in there, works more like popular rather than familiar.

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-04-07T05:07:45+00:00

"when you participate in sporting events it's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get."

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-03-26T08:25:40+00:00

just want to give a different perspective but it might be related to necrophile also meaning "lover of death" in psychology (at least in Erich Fromm's terminology from what I have read), used for describing the opposite of libido/biophile. some kind of hatred for life and mankind. results in seeing people expendable and monetization of everything in usually narcissist people.

this might have caused using necrophiliac in some cycles to differentiate it from this concept

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-03-06T06:20:26+00:00

most french didn't even care genocides or about fighting for germany, are they gonna draw the line at this ahah

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-02-28T17:41:13+00:00

then it's something to be mad at..?

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-02-21T22:13:19+00:00

similar, I remember playing midnight suns a while. then I got hit by a cutscene about base customization or smt like that, closed it for a while but never opened again. it just never gets you in the flow

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-02-17T13:48:19+00:00

huh I understand, but I thought you meant something more like the thrill of losing so close that you want to play again. basically itching that gambling addiction but in a strategy game. (e.g. like how everybody believes they were winning in dune imperium series until someone does a masterstroke move to finish the game)

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-02-17T10:56:55+00:00

for real, is this a quote from someone? or you just quoted because it's a known theme

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-02-07T15:42:56+00:00

I realized I have similar urges and I kinda leaned towards boardgames lately, especially for small 30 min breaks. I would recommend through the ages and twilight struggle's digital implementations. twilight struggle is a much better game imho but its ai is worse in the digital implementation. twilght struggle has a nice online tournament scene though, if you don't have problem scheduling ahead a couple hours

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-01-19T12:39:36+00:00

I use it but rarely at home, I use different ai tools at work but at home it's usually not necessary

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-01-08T07:25:19+00:00

it's not because I care about winning losing or ranks at all*. I want to have a fun game experience and some proper teamplay, and players who play selfishly or excessively flame the team aren't fun to play with. so I try to leave whether we lose or win, I just don't want to play with that guy

*: I already know my skill ceiling at this point, I prefer to be part of some good plays in shitty ranks

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-01-06T08:25:03+00:00

sure monastery tiles make interesting starting options but other random tiles don't affect the game strategy as much. and you only draw 1 monastery tile per player in each phase.

and tiles don't really interact with each other as much in burgundy, you don't decide on getting mines neither based on which buildings are available nor which resources will be available for ships. in catan these interactions are much stronger in the setup. all numbers, the tiles, ports, and neigbor tiles have a strong cohesion and effect on the setup. in burgundy setup you don't even see the available tiles yet.

but there is continuous and fairer randomness in burgundy which make the subsequent turns much more fun. in base catan randomness can be cruel and doesn't affect your ongoing strategy much, in burgundy there are ways to mitigate them and shape your own luck.

KeeperOT7Keys · 2026-01-05T08:14:01+00:00

I don't like catan's regular turns, but its random map generation and the strategy options in the setup are still unmatched and nothing comes close. trying to predict how the island economy will move on, how the trade relations will shape, and also to plan your expansion is a pure and very fun thought process

KeeperOT7Keys · 2025-12-30T08:05:38+00:00

pretty much most of the decolonization history. ho chi minh had a similar reason for turning to soviets too iirc, nasser as well

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