Thank you, but just some comments from me.
I find that AoC in voobly looks way better since it does not have that ugly blur. What HD textures are you talking about? Those cliffs and the water?Ok if you really just want to know here is what I've seen so far.
1. The HD textures makes it easier on the eyes and is the main draw(it's the game name)
Well?! Voobly does have this as well except for achievements (I doubt, however, that someone seriously cares about that).2. Steam integration brings the following: Achievements, Friendlist, VOIP, mods+workshop.
Ok, nice. I'm not into mods at all however. But sure it's nice for people who like that.3. Workshop items allow further development of the HD part of the game. There are so many that you literally can make age 2 look however you want it to.
4. The new patch separates data files that were originally in one large file. The meant that a lot of mods won't work with each other because even though mods changed different things they were essentially the same file. So you can only have one or the other. Now you can basically micro mod things and add a ton of variation. Ozhara sort of got around this by making mods that included every popular feature in one mod. But this should make it much easier if you don't have to edit everything in the game at once.
Ye. FE is pretty much a failure. It never had the sufficient player numbers to balance it. Not to mention, that the developers changed way too much from AoC when the only thing people wanted was simply 2 or 3 new civs.5. The mod forgotten empires has been added as an official expansion. That means it gets support, integration, and further development. Also adds more achievements(for those that love them).
I don't really see the point in that. Nobody is playing FE in multiplayer, so where's the point in creating another mod that won't be played by anoyone either. But sure a nice way for MS to make some more cash.6. New expansions are being developed aka African Kingdoms.
UP 1.4 and Voobly had that before http://userpatch.aiscripters.net/7. FPS is allowed at higher rates. Due to UI limitations and other older parts of the game that higher rate isn't always realized. Especially in multiplayer. Single player is smooth as glass.
No, the place for people who love the game is called voobly.8. There is talk about removing the tie between the FPS rate and Network traffic. Remember in RTS it's imperative that everyone is moving at the same speed. That's why if one person lags in either FPS or Internet wise everyone suffers. The game has to stay in sync or else people with faster systems would have a major advantage. With the speed of machines and bandwidth back then it probably made sense to tie them together. The FPS was also locked at 20 and remember, no HD textures so less info to send accross the net. That is why they need to rebuild the game to make HD playable in MP. It's not a guarantee they can make it happen but they are taking a look into it.
9. My favorite feature is the integrated lobby. Uniting the FE and standard HD players. An issue with age 3 was they made 2 expansions and split the community into 3 fragments. Reducing population in each and in my opinion giving the game an earlier end that it should have. Thankfully that is also on steam and you can do MP through it.
In summary, HD is for players that love aoe and want to experience new things, but in the framework of the classic game they grew up with. It's that simple.