Interesting tid-bits from Masmorra's interview with Will McCahill

[MadeByJoe]

Great interview, very well done!

Actually interesting to find out Nili put his own line manager into his ‚most influential people‘ list (or whatever it was called).

Just shows how much Nili is sucking up to his own boss. (Apologies, but I do despise this kind of behavior)

The guy responsible for the DE version and the money MS puts into AoE2 was somewhat influential, don't you think?

 

[robo]

The guy responsible for the DE version and the money MS puts into AoE2 was somewhat influential, don't you think?

No, clearly he has done nothing of importance and Nili is once again showing his clear bias and only including him as he pays his wage.
#11 on the list was a conglomeration of every single person who has ever donated or subbed to Nili on Twitch.

 

[ItsYoshi]

....
Is doesnt even have to be a new game that u buy on steam but just a massive patch that overhauls the main menu/lobby system/friends system and completely addresses the whole TG setup.

I think this is one of the main things that is lacking right now is the direct accessibility of some of the other features of aoe2 DE. I wish quickplay / ranked were all in the same menu area rather than one having a completely different UI in a different area. Often i just completely forget quickplay exists and for those getting started in a game having an unranked gamemode is often appealing (for example I used to play unranked blind pick in league starting out).

Further to the league comparison, when they overhauled the client they made regular arcade modes such as the much coveted URF mode appear on rotation. I think aoe2 is really missing out by not having some of the popular and easy to play CS gamemodes (such as CBA) in the quickplay section, or at the very least more erratic RM maps than in standard ranked.

Clans/friends is basically just flavour text at the moment that does seemingly nothing. Feel like it was a feature thought about and then abandoned for attention paid to other stuff.

To me it feels more appropriate to be a big patch than a whole new game, and I don't want to own a 6th edition of this game...

 

[EricDolphy]

Havent seen the interview but on the topic of long term aoe2 i wanted to ask what is the potential for yet another release of aoe2?

Is doesnt even have to be a new game that u buy on steam but just a massive patch that overhauls the main menu/lobby system/friends system and completely addresses the whole TG setup.

I think aoe2 gameplay wise and balance wise is in such a good state right now but going forward player retention feels alot more about community and features rather than gameplay itself.

I had this idea that an Aoe2 ‘Final addition’ as a new game on steam addressing all these issues can really breathe life into the scene and attract new players, whilw also addressing all the issues the current players (both casual, competitive and all in between) have been complaining about. If thats not viable simply a massive patch advertised through the youtube channel and during a big tourney can have a similar effect.

Its ambitious and a big ask for sure but i just remember how the release of DE really snowballed viewership and playerbase despite so many flaws upon release. Is this viable or am i simply coping too much?

you mean liiike.. basic voobly features?

 

[LowEloNobody]

#11 on the list was a conglomeration of every single person who has ever donated or subbed to Nili on Twitch.

Nili is wayyyy to thorough and German for that. He's peobably secretly editing a liquipedia page that lists the top 10,000 most influential people, and 11-10,000 are subs, donaters, and followers

We will have a "check liquipedia my man" soon enough for this as well

 

[akku]

I question I really wanted to know the answer. Sorry if this was addressed somewhere, but any plans for AoM DE?

 

[felix.feroc]

I had a couple takeaways from the interview.

First, I had never thought of the how necessary a strong multi-player scene is for the development of a good single-player experience. To build a good AI, you need a good meta. To get a good meta, you need pros competing against each other to develop it. So the notion from the "why the next RTS will fail" video misses the point because you have to have good multiplayer to make good single player. The business strategy therefore seems to have been to release a game that was "good enough" to get enough players to be able to iterate to make it an actually good game. Sucks for the early adopters, of course.

Second, I thought @MaSmOrRa did a great job in his attempt to rehabilitate Nili's reputation. How, while Nili might make the ultimate decisions, the parameters of those decisions are set by committee and are reconstituted continually based on business needs. And given the first point, I can see why they have to throw money at AoE IV tournaments to make sure the meta is properly developed so the single-player can be good so they can sell the game.

Last, it confirmed to me that AoE IV and the DE's were part of the same play at MS in the RTS space, which itself was part of a move back into PC gaming. It wasn't that "we got DE because of AoE IV", but that making a new game in the space was part and parcel of a larger strategic vision.

Great interview! I also was not so interested in the "I'm a gamer, too!" part, but I can see why it is necessary for establishing a rapport that allows for pressing a bit. I can also see why it took so long for MicroSoft to approve it, especially given this reddit comment.

Thanks for getting it onto Anchor!

 

[Potkeny]

I can also see why it took so long for MicroSoft to approve it

And apparently it was their second try (I would guess the first one didn't get approved by MS), how many other interesting answers we missed... only Masmorra knows :D

 

[MaSmOrRa]

I had a couple takeaways from the interview.

First, I had never thought of the how necessary a strong multi-player scene is for the development of a good single-player experience. To build a good AI, you need a good meta. To get a good meta, you need pros competing against each other to develop it. So the notion from the "why the next RTS will fail" video misses the point because you have to have good multiplayer to make good single player. The business strategy therefore seems to have been to release a game that was "good enough" to get enough players to be able to iterate to make it an actually good game. Sucks for the early adopters, of course.

Second, I thought @MaSmOrRa did a great job in his attempt to rehabilitate Nili's reputation. How, while Nili might make the ultimate decisions, the parameters of those decisions are set by committee and are reconstituted continually based on business needs. And given the first point, I can see why they have to throw money at AoE IV tournaments to make sure the meta is properly developed so the single-player can be good so they can sell the game.

Last, it confirmed to me that AoE IV and the DE's were part of the same play at MS in the RTS space, which itself was part of a move back into PC gaming. It wasn't that "we got DE because of AoE IV", but that making a new game in the space was part and parcel of a larger strategic vision.

Great interview! I also was not so interested in the "I'm a gamer, too!" part, but I can see why it is necessary for establishing a rapport that allows for pressing a bit. I can also see why it took so long for MicroSoft to approve it, especially given this reddit comment.

Thanks for getting it onto Anchor!

Thank you Felix!

I can't possibly imagine a better TL;DW than this!

 

[ninja14]

Any comment about aoe4 player numbers ?

 

[oozkan]

Second, I thought @MaSmOrRa did a great job in his attempt to rehabilitate Nili's reputation. How, while Nili might make the ultimate decisions, the parameters of those decisions are set by committee and are reconstituted continually based on business needs. And given the first point, I can see why they have to throw money at AoE IV tournaments to make sure the meta is properly developed so the single-player can be good so they can sell the game.

Throwing money to AOE4 is something, throwing record amount of money to your own tournament is something else.