Rapport d'éclaireur

Recently on Reddit i saw a post with the focus on “what if AoE4”. Someone asked what people would like if something could be added that people would want. And several people including myself answered with a Dutch Variant of the HRE. This would mean early medieval times and middle and high medieval time/age of the Netherlands. Mostly focused on the Center, East, South and North of the Netherlands. Outruling the counties of Holland and Zeeland which were Burgundian and hence should be a French variant. The early Netherlands, Lower Lotharingia was a part of Frankish HRE. A part of (Middle) Franconia. The early naming would be The County of Frisia. Which started with the Christening of this area through the Prince Bishopry of Utrecht which influenced the whole country, in good and bad ways. We’ve had different forms of governement in the early medieval times and i would like to try to implement those in this variant. For example the Bishopry churches power, the secondary counties that were formed by the influence of the HRE neighbours to the east and south, and as last part the Duchies that became powerful until the 80 years war with Spain. Excluding the influence of the Burgundians Hapsburgers. In general i think they should have the following bonusses: Food dropped off at mills also grants a small amount of gold. An earthen wall as a new building, works like a stone wall. But can be walked on at one (inner) slope/side, the other side isn’t walkable, and farms can be placed on the walkable part. Units can walk on the top which is flat like a stonewall. The earthen wall and the units on top take less damage from ships and ranged siege weapons. Villagers can be changed into Guild Archers for a price. (Then your farmerss can defend your dykes). Houses can be upgraded to Housecastles which give them a short range attack. The Barracks has an extra upgrade for your Man-At-Arms and Spearman: Gothic Man-At-Arms and Gothic Pikeman. Which gives them additional melee and pierce a

Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts! As a huge fan who owns all the DLCs, I’ve really enjoyed the journey so far, even if the latest expansion was a bit polarizing. I love the new QoL updates and biomes, but I have a few specific dreams for the game’s future. Immersive Day/Night Cycle: Inspired by the stunning atmosphere of the campaign missions, a dynamic day/night cycle would be incredible. Seeing torches on city walls automatically light up at dusk would add a magnificent layer of detail. Dynamic Weather: Adding rain or snow (perhaps as a toggle-able option or map-specific feature to protect performance) would make the world feel much more alive. UI Overhaul for Post-Game Stats: The current endgame screen is quite clunky due to the horizontal scrolling. A cleaner, more intuitive layout—similar to Age of Mythology: Retold —would be a huge improvement. Advanced AI Commands: Reintroducing the ability to give specific orders to AI allies (like requesting resources or coordinating attacks), similar to the system in Age of Empires III , would greatly enhance the tactical depth and overall enjoyment. Feel free to share what features you would like to see in the comments below. Happy gaming, everyone!

Just wanted to throw some thoughts out there. Obviously none of this is confirmed or anything, just speculation based on how the newer civs/variants are being designed. The more I look at Jin, the more I feel like it sits in a weird middle ground between a full civ and a variant. On paper it is treated more like a new civ, and mechanically it has a lot going on with Mounted Villagers, Emissaries, Tributaries, Meng’an Mouke, Iron Pagoda, Mounted Grenadiers, and its own music. But it also shares some models and voice lines with China/Zhu Xi, so presentation-wise it still has that “related civ” feeling. Honestly, I don’t think that is a bad thing. If anything, I think Jin might be showing where the devs are going with this idea: reuse some assets where it makes sense historically, but make the civ play differently enough that it feels like its own thing. That is also why I kind of wish Knights Templar and House of Lancaster had released in this same era of variant design. Both of those civs feel much more distinct than some of the older variants, and if they had released alongside something like Jin, who knows — maybe they would have gotten their own soundtrack or at least more unique music layers. Knights Templar especially feels like it deserves its own audio identity. The civ is already very different from France in gameplay and theme. It has a crusader-state/military-order fantasy that could have sounded amazing with Latin chant, heavier percussion, and maybe some Levantine influence. It feels like one of the variants that most deserved unique music. House of Lancaster is similar. It is obviously tied to the English, but it has its own War of the Roses flavor. I do not think it needs to sound completely unrelated to England, but a darker, more martial Lancastrian version of the English soundtrack would have made it feel more premium. Even a unique motif or age-up stinger would help. That is what makes Jin interesting to me. Jin sharing some assets with China/Zhu Xi

Build Number: Updated May 7, 2026 Platform: Steam Operating System: Windows 11 Issue: Since the May 7, 2026 update, I’ve been experiencing periodic micro-freezes exclusively in online multiplayer matches. The game freezes for about 1 second every 2-3 minutes and then resumes normally. The issue is worse in team games with more players. It does NOT occur in single player or offline modes. Trigger Event: The freeze happens periodically during online matches with no specific player action triggering it. It occurs automatically at regular intervals, more frequently in team games with more human players connected. Repro Steps: Start any online multiplayer match (worse in team games with 4+ players) Play for approximately 2-3 minutes The game will freeze for ~1 second and resume on its own This repeats consistently throughout the entire match Issue does NOT reproduce in single player or vs AI offline modes Reproduced in 100% of online matches since the May 7 update Log Evidence: The following was found in the log file, showing the freeze moments: 11:14:39.849 BattleServerRelay::Process - 360 ms between calls! 11:14:39.850 BattleServerRelay::Process - 360 ms between calls! 11:14:45.482 BattleServerRelay::Process - 189 ms between calls! 11:14:49.602 NetworkManagerInternal::FlushJobs - flushing remaining (11) dynamic jobs: 11:14:49.602 Dynamic job UploadCloudMatchReplay-REPLAY still running 11:14:49.602 Dynamic job UploadCloudMatchReplay-DATA still running 11:14:49.602 Dynamic job WorldwideUploadReplayAsync still running The log shows BattleServerRelay taking up to 360ms between calls (normal should be under 16ms), coinciding with UploadCloudMatchReplay jobs running during the match. It appears the cloud replay upload process is blocking the game’s server relay during online matches. There is no option in the game settings to disable cloud replay uploads, so there is currently no workaround available from the player side. This issue started specifically after the May 7 updat

A $100 Fan’s Plea: Stop Turning History into a “Shallow Sport” – Total Overhaul Requested I have invested over $100 in Age of Empires IV, including the base game and all DLCs. However, the current state of the game, especially with the “Yue Fei’s Legacy” DLC, is a deep insult to history. AoE was never meant to be just a “numbers game” or an “e-sport.” It was a historical simulation. World’s Edge, it is time to stop making “balanced puzzles” and start making a True RTS . I demand a total overhaul based on historical reality: 1. Abolish Universal Gold Mining (Historical Economies) It is absurd to see a Mongol Khan’s people digging in a gold pit like it’s 1997. Mongols: Remove mining. They should earn gold through “Looting” and “Tribute” from conquered lands. China (Song/Jin): They should earn wealth through “Taxation” and “Bureaucracy” reflecting their massive population. Byzantines: Stop the “Olive Oil for Food” nonsense. Armies don’t drink oil. Make it a luxury trade resource. 2. Asymmetrical Population Limits (Strategic Reality) A flat 200-cap for everyone kills the soul of history. China/Jin: Increase the cap to 400 to represent their overwhelming demographic and defensive power. Mongols: Limit the cap to 100 , but make each unit 4x stronger with superior stats. Genghis Khan crushed 400,000 Jin soldiers with 100,000 men not because he had high APM, but because of the terrifying quality of his cavalry. 3. Correct the “Range Lies” and Western Bias The Bow Inversion: A Mongol Composite Bow had a range of 600m. Why does the English Longbow (300m) outrange it in-game? This is blatant Western revisionism. Siege Tech: Mongols should not “research” cannons. They should “Capture” them from enemies or kidnap engineers to produce them. 4. Reject “Pro-Gamer” Logic over “Civilization Soul” Pro players only care about numbers and harassment. By listening only to them, you have turned AoE into a “Harassment Simulator.” Why is Joan of Arc a standalone civilization while the man w

The garden doesn’t provide 25% attack speed to units. Much like old tower of victory it depends on the unit. It is anywhere from 17%-25% AS.

Extract from a post on another topic I listed some of the problems of the game Problem : less and less content for the same price There is less and less content. (I will write civilization for any faction regardless if it’s a civilization or a variant) Release of the game (2021) : 8 civilizations Anniversary edition (2022) : 2 civilizations price : free. One of the most wanted civilizations (Ottoman) and Malians. The sultan ascend (2023) : 1 campaign (8 scenarios), 6 civilizations, 10 random maps, 2 biomes, price : 15$ The first real DLC because he is not free. Good content with two of the most wanted civilizations : Byzantine and Japanese (and 4 variant as bonus), one campaign. Best DLC in term of price for content. Knights of Cross and Rose (2025) : 4 scenarios, 2 civilizations, 10 random maps, price : 15$ One nice crusader civilization, another good civilization but less content for the same price. Dynasties of the East (2025) : 4 civilizations, 8 random maps, 6 biomes, 1 new game mod (crucible with 4 scenarios), price : 20$ Two civilizations more than the former DLC. Also less random maps but one new game mode, a sort of improved single player skirmish with randomized the side quest. Also an increase of the price, too high in my opinion. Yue Fei’s Legacy (2026) : 1 campaign (8 scenarios), 1 civilization, 4 random maps, 2 biomes, price : 15$ Good campaign but very low content with only 1 new civilization and the lowest number of random maps of all the DLC. End of the year 2026 DLC : at least 2 civilizations and 1 crucible scenario, price unknown. One of the most wanted civilization (the vikings). Problem : the most wanted civilizations are missing Most of the steam reviewer of Yue Fei’s Legacy DLC put a negative review because they want a specific civilization (Spanish). They add one of the most wanted civilization in 2022 (Ottoman), 2 in 2023 ( Byzantine and Japanese) and at least one in late 2026 (Viking) I understand that they add no one in 2024 (AoM retold ne