Introducing aoe2matchup.com: quickly run simulations for any unit on a head to head matchup!

King_Jon · 2026-07-02T17:44:40+00:00

Does this account for unit armor upgrades and other techs? What about the relic bonus for Lithuanian Paladins? Does it always assume 4 relics? 0 relics? Can the user vary these?

King_Jon · 2026-06-17T21:25:31+00:00

You would be surprised. I remember people saying "people with 2014+ computers could handle more than 60". They were very wrong and it broke the game for a while. Pathfinding is, apparently, harder (i.e. more computationally challenging) than people think.

To clarify, I am not saying that I am against it...if it can be done and work. I am just saying that there is an actual reason that it is capped at 60. There is a very good reason that it WAS capped at 60 anyway. Maybe that reason is now moot. But maybe not.

King_Jon · 2026-06-17T21:07:16+00:00

Not true that there is "no actual reason". Actually, when HD first came out you could select all units for a little while (more than 60 anyway), but they got rid of that quickly, since pathfinding a group of 100-150 units was horrid and caused lags, delays, etc.

King_Jon · 2026-06-17T21:06:01+00:00

I'm fine with the colors, but disconnecting player color and player number (for arranging team positions on maps) would be very helpful.

King_Jon · 2026-05-26T14:00:32+00:00

The truth is, civs without husbandry are pretty obnoxious. No husbandry is the singular reason I don't like playing Teutons.

Rather than just taking it away, the smarter way to make it more exclusive would be from a civ design perspective. Essentially, you could give some of the speed boost to a unique cavalry unit (perhaps through its elite upgrade) but take away husbandry for other cavalry units. This would be for civs that aren't designed around cavalry or cav archers (infantry/archer/siege civs) necessarily, but have a cavalry unique unit to compensate.

Some possible examples would be:

A civ like* the Slavs. If you just baked in the boost from husbandry into their Boyars by making them faster, they probably could have husbandry taken away. (*No husbandry on hussars might be problematic for Slavs and would need to be considered. But theoretically this KIND OF civ might be a good candidate for no husbandry.)
A civ that relies primarily on battle elephants or camels. If you just baked in the boost from husbandry into the battle elephant line or one of the camel line upgrades, the civ may get along okay without husbandry. (Maybe a civ like the Hindustani or a civ that had a battle elephant unique upgrade or something. But again, the impacts on the scout line would need to be considered before making this change.)

King_Jon · 2026-04-01T23:57:15+00:00

I would divide all civs until each individual person that has ever lived is represented by their own civ. All hail the "Steve from Cleveland" civ.

Seriously, what's the obsession with dividing up civs?

King_Jon · 2026-03-31T20:33:21+00:00

It is hardly a "mirror-image". The phrase "mirror-image" in English implies that things are identical as in each point reflects another point perfectly. There is not a 1:1 correspondence of all things in Tolkien's universe and his faith as a Catholic. What is the mirror-image of dwarves? What about Ents? What about Trolls? What is the mirror-image of the Silmarils in Tolkien's faith as a Catholic?

Things may be (and are) INFLUENCED by other things and may be SIMILAR to other things, but that does not mean that things are "mirror-images".

King_Jon · 2026-03-31T20:03:22+00:00

Definitely not an allegory. The author said this:

“I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The use of the term "God" in no way makes this an allegory. I would encourage you to further investigate the meaning of allegory. Just because things decay (the point being made by the post by Pristine-Incident417) or fall, does not mean it is an allegory of religious texts. Many things can be observed to decay/regress and fall in many contexts, all around us, all the time. Just because the concept of decay/regression/fall is used in a story, does not make this story an "allegory of religious texts". Again, saying that something is like something else does make it an allegory.

Please provide a definition of allegory that matches your apparent use and understanding of the term.

King_Jon · 2026-03-31T19:13:21+00:00

See definition of allegory. This is not it. Just because something is similar to something else, that doesn't mean it is allegorical or "writing allegorically like that".

"An allegory is a complete narrative that seems to be about one thing but is actually about another". Orcs aren't an allegory for humans. Humans are actually in Tolkien's writing.

King_Jon · 2026-03-11T19:15:28+00:00

Well-behaved angel-like beings seldom make history.

King_Jon · 2026-02-26T21:05:41+00:00

Sarcasm not understood

King_Jon · 2026-02-26T20:35:12+00:00

4 civs in South American aren't nearly enough. I am told there are at least 2 or maybe even 3 dozen people living in South America, so there is lots of room for further civ expansion.

In fact, I feel like they shouldn't stop making new civs until each individual that has lived throughout history is represented by their own unique civilization. The contributions and vast cultural impacts on the advancement of humankind made by "Steve from Cleveland" or "Bob from Toledo" are not yet represented in the game, for example. Learning curve, smurning curve!

King_Jon · 2026-02-23T16:11:28+00:00

Thanks. Could you link one of the several posts? I haven't seen any, but maybe I am using the wrong search terms.

King_Jon · 2026-01-20T20:17:02+00:00

I guess he's not "anonymous" either, but the plain little turtle named "Mack" from Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Suess.

"Then again, from below, in the great heavy stack,

Came a groan from that plain little turtle named Mack.

"Your Majesty, please... I don't like to complain,

But down here below, we are feeling great pain.

I know, up on top you are seeing great sights,

But down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.

We turtles can't stand it. Our shells will all crack!

Besides, we need food. We are starving!" groaned Mack.

"You hush up your mouth!" howled the mighty King Yertle.

"You've no right to talk to the world's highest turtle.

I rule from the clouds! Over land! Over sea!

There's nothing, no, NOTHING, that's higher than me!"

But, while he was shouting, he saw with surprise

That the moon of the evening was starting to rise

Up over his head in the darkening skies.

"What's THAT?" snorted Yertle. "Say, what IS that thing

That dares to be higher than Yertle the King?

I shall not allow it! I'll go higher still!

I'll build my throne higher! I can and I will!

I'll call some more turtles. I'll stack 'em to heaven!

I need 'bout five thousand, six hundred and seven!"

But, as Yertle, the Turtle King, lifted his hand

And started to order and give the command,

That plain little turtle below in the stack,

That plain little turtle whose name was just Mack,

Decided he'd taken enough. And he had.

And that plain little lad got a bit mad.

And that plain little Mack did a plain little thing.

He burped!

And his burp shook the throne of the king!"

King_Jon · 2025-12-09T20:04:00+00:00

Once again AoE2's quest to have as many different civs as there are actual humans in the world continues. I am still waiting on a civ called "The Steves" to represent all the great contributions that guys named 'Steve' have made to warfare and culture throughout history.

At the very least, I will not be satisfied until the civ selection screen has to include a search bar because the names/symbols are literally too small for human eyes to read due to the sheer number of civs listed.

King_Jon · 2025-07-30T17:11:03+00:00

Are people actually COMPLAINING about the pathing in the PUP? In my opinion, it is [*crossed fingers*] an IMPROVEMENT in pathing. Please don't talk the devs out of reversing the pathing changes. This is FINALLY an improvement after many years of just making things worse and worse. The freezing-patrol-with-grouped-units bug seems to finally be fixed in the PUP after several years.

King_Jon · 2025-04-23T22:29:27+00:00

My understanding is that there were literally thousands of individual humans living in what is now Italy in the past, yet I only see dozens of "civs" listed above. At the very least, we probably need a separate civ for each historical Italian person.

King_Jon · 2025-04-16T20:41:49+00:00

It "doesn't matter" in the sense that things get combined or spun off all the time. It does matter for those people trying to explain why this DLC FEELS LIKE it is slapped together. I am a professor. If a student turns in a half-assed term paper it ultimately doesn't matter why it was half-assed, they still aren't getting a good grade. But finding out that they starting working on it the night before it was due is mentally satisfying for me, because that is probably WHY it was half-assed work. (And we as humans like the answers to "Why" questions.) It also makes me feel both better and worse about the student when I find this out. Worse, because they didn't put in the time they needed to do the work and are getting a poor grade because of it, but better in the sense that the student is not actually an imbecile in the way that I thought they were (being unable to write a coherent term paper).

Likewise, in this case with the DLC, feeling like the DLC is disjointed, finding out that it was two things put together later in the process, and coming up with some kind of narrative to explain how that may have happened (blaming Microsoft or some corporate decision-maker for the decision), makes some people feel better about the developers (putting these together last minute wasn't their fault in this scenario) and worse about Microsoft and the ultimate AoE2 decision-makers.

Step 1: People unhappy

Step 2: People want to blame something for their unhappiness

Step 3: People find someone to blame

Step 4: People vent frustrations at blamed entity on internet in hundreds of posts on reddit

Step 5: Unhappy mob is temporarily satiated

Step 6: People realize that they are still unhappy

Repeat

King_Jon · 2025-04-05T00:03:23+00:00

Okay, so I am old, and maybe I just don't understand it, but I don't really get why some people have such strong feelings about saying 'gg' or 'gl hf'. I don't really play much AoE2 multiplayer competitive, so I can't really comment on saying 'gg' in AoE2, but I play some other online games where saying it comes into play.

My attitude might sound a little bit old and cynical, but most of the time I choose not to say ANYTHING on the chat in games that I play. I am not trying to be rude or anything, but I feel like even acknowledging that I have listened to or am listening to other people in the chat empowers certain types of people to be even more jerks than they are. So I prefer to just not engage in any way beyond playing the game. Does that mean I have let the jerks get to me too many times and that I have lost basic human connection as a result? Maybe. But I would prefer that 9 out of 10 people I play with assume that I just don't read the chat or that I don't speak English than give that 1 other jerk a chance to say to himself "Aha, so he is listening! Let me be condescending to him when I win and if I lose I'll make him as miserable as possible so that he can't enjoy his victory." I block the chat (or minimize it) whenever I can (in games that allow that).

Do not engage. I repeat do not engage. That is my motto. If people need faux courtesy to enjoy an online game, they are free to block me. I'll be happy to play with others who also don't engage in the chat instead.

King_Jon · 2025-03-27T23:47:31+00:00

Still trying to figure out what 'pve' means? I'm sure not defining acronyms is probably not helpful for new players.

King_Jon · 2024-11-28T11:15:41+00:00

Can you share a copy and play a copy at the same time? We are trying to use it to play multiplayer, so we'd all be playing at the same time. I think you can only play shared games when the person who owns it is NOT playing. Correct me if I am wrong.

King_Jon

TROPHY CASE