Originally posted as a reply on AoKHeaven forums topic, rephrased a bit here to be a standalone one.
As people around the (inter)net are referring to "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" (AoFE) as either an expansion or a mod, I`d like to point to some clear differences between the two, hear others` opinions and hopefully help people understand it for themselves.
While "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" are mods indeed (modifications of the AoC, changing it into something really great and pretty different), "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" is just an expansion (expanding the original game, AoFE is still at least 99% AoC, just highly improved thanks to (1) UserPatch (two teams work together), (2) balance tweaks and (3) possibility of regular updates through updating system).
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but it is a simple fact that "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" are aiming for a different audience than AoFE - first two will be played by people who like mod(ification)s, enjoy the "themes" those mods represent or would like to try something a bit different than core AoC (yet still being the same game in a way), while AoFE is simply for people that enjoy playing original AoC in general, providing them bug fixes and balance changes they dreamed of for years.
And not to get me wrong - there is nothing bad in being a "mod", nor expansion means something is better or "official" (yet AoFE even says unofficial expansion, just to make it clear), and I`m not even sure why some people got offended by AoFE calling itself an expansion rather than a mod...? Huge effort, time and creativity is involved in creating both, and mods probably even more as it is almost like inventing a whole new game.
I just think that we shouldn`t confuse people and call all of these "mods", as not every slight modification is a "mod", and saying that, even original expansion (AoC) might be called a "mod" (modification) of original AoK in a way - yet, it is just an expansion of the original "Age of Empires II" game =)
Here are three major points to make a difference between a mod and an expansion:
The three titles mentioned are all great community work, and yet they`re different in a way - "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" as true masterpiece mods of the core game, and "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" as an (unofficial) expansion of the core game.
With that said, I`m just happy we have such an active community after more than a decade!
Really good job, guys!
p.s. You can read more about "Age of Chivalry: Hegemony" mod here and here, "Tales of Middle Earth" mod here and here, and "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" expansion here and here.
[edit] After some discussion, this came up as a more up to the point explanation of the topic (posted here).
It might be overanalyzed, but when you want something to succeed because of what it is, and not being disadvantaged because of what it actually isn`t, then analyzing and overanalyzing is a bit needed
Regarding the terminology used my main concern about all this is that in AoC there were very little (if any, I really don`t know) "expansions" (at least no so many so eagerly expected and so widely accepted), and many user made changes ("mods") were aimed to change some core gameplay feature a bit more than it is in the original game, so the term "mod" in AoC became a synonym for something like that, user content that changes the original game into something a bit different. The best mods were usually total conversions -- pure masterpieces on their own, but different than original AoC (as that was the starting idea anyway).
Calling AoFE a "mod" might (1) confuse people not familiar with the word, and (2) turn down people familiar with (usual) usage of the word in the past (changing the core of AoC into something different) and not being fans of that. Having people not wanting to actually try it out just because being misinformed is the last thing AoFE needs.
Of course that "mod" is not bad at all, many people like playing mods (and many don`t), but AoFE needs a way to clearly point out a difference between what`s been usually done so far and what AoFE wanted to accomplish (expand the original game, not change it). Term "unofficial expansion" was the right word to describe it so everyone understands it immediately
As people around the (inter)net are referring to "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" (AoFE) as either an expansion or a mod, I`d like to point to some clear differences between the two, hear others` opinions and hopefully help people understand it for themselves.
While "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" are mods indeed (modifications of the AoC, changing it into something really great and pretty different), "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" is just an expansion (expanding the original game, AoFE is still at least 99% AoC, just highly improved thanks to (1) UserPatch (two teams work together), (2) balance tweaks and (3) possibility of regular updates through updating system).
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but it is a simple fact that "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" are aiming for a different audience than AoFE - first two will be played by people who like mod(ification)s, enjoy the "themes" those mods represent or would like to try something a bit different than core AoC (yet still being the same game in a way), while AoFE is simply for people that enjoy playing original AoC in general, providing them bug fixes and balance changes they dreamed of for years.
And not to get me wrong - there is nothing bad in being a "mod", nor expansion means something is better or "official" (yet AoFE even says unofficial expansion, just to make it clear), and I`m not even sure why some people got offended by AoFE calling itself an expansion rather than a mod...? Huge effort, time and creativity is involved in creating both, and mods probably even more as it is almost like inventing a whole new game.
I just think that we shouldn`t confuse people and call all of these "mods", as not every slight modification is a "mod", and saying that, even original expansion (AoC) might be called a "mod" (modification) of original AoK in a way - yet, it is just an expansion of the original "Age of Empires II" game =)
Here are three major points to make a difference between a mod and an expansion:
- The basic idea is different - modify the original game and do some major or minor things differently, maybe even do a total overhaul (mod), or expand the original game, leaving the core intact, fix bugs, improve balance, add some features (expansion),
- Targeted audience is different - those who would like to try something a bit different (mod), or those who would like to stick with the same thing but refreshed a bit (expansion), and
- Implementation/realization is different - the difference in things that "could", "should" or "must not" be changed in order to make (1) the idea come true and (2) satisfy the audience.
The three titles mentioned are all great community work, and yet they`re different in a way - "Age of Chivalry" and "Tales of Middle Earth" as true masterpiece mods of the core game, and "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" as an (unofficial) expansion of the core game.
With that said, I`m just happy we have such an active community after more than a decade!
Really good job, guys!
p.s. You can read more about "Age of Chivalry: Hegemony" mod here and here, "Tales of Middle Earth" mod here and here, and "Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires" expansion here and here.
* * * * *
[edit] After some discussion, this came up as a more up to the point explanation of the topic (posted here).
It might be overanalyzed, but when you want something to succeed because of what it is, and not being disadvantaged because of what it actually isn`t, then analyzing and overanalyzing is a bit needed
Regarding the terminology used my main concern about all this is that in AoC there were very little (if any, I really don`t know) "expansions" (at least no so many so eagerly expected and so widely accepted), and many user made changes ("mods") were aimed to change some core gameplay feature a bit more than it is in the original game, so the term "mod" in AoC became a synonym for something like that, user content that changes the original game into something a bit different. The best mods were usually total conversions -- pure masterpieces on their own, but different than original AoC (as that was the starting idea anyway).
Calling AoFE a "mod" might (1) confuse people not familiar with the word, and (2) turn down people familiar with (usual) usage of the word in the past (changing the core of AoC into something different) and not being fans of that. Having people not wanting to actually try it out just because being misinformed is the last thing AoFE needs.
Of course that "mod" is not bad at all, many people like playing mods (and many don`t), but AoFE needs a way to clearly point out a difference between what`s been usually done so far and what AoFE wanted to accomplish (expand the original game, not change it). Term "unofficial expansion" was the right word to describe it so everyone understands it immediately