We saw the gameplay trailer for Age of Empires IV back in late 2019. The physics of collapsing buildings was impressive and the terrain had rolling hills. Having cities that sit on slopes could work to your advantage, but might cost more resources to build. You may have also noticed the enormous size of commanding armies.
The micro and macro-management of units and the economy are why we love Age of Empires. Age of Empires distinguishes itself from other real-time strategy (RTS) games like Starcraft and Halo Wars by incorporating realism. Ask most people, and they'll tell you Age of Empires is one of the best real-time strategy games of all time. This is our wishlist for Age of Empires IV.
10 More Playable Civilizations
We'd like to see more playable civilizations in the upcoming Age of Empires IV. Moreover, we'd like unique civilizations, rather than similar cultures. To be historically accurate, some civilizations are going to be similar. However, we'd like developer Relic Entertainment to make the empires as different as possible. Age of Empires II had this problem, despite being an excellent game overall.
9 A 2020 Release Date
It seems like games have long development times too often, and they turn out to be a convoluted mess. When games are developed for many years, the technology falls behind and the result is a game that's behind its time.
We want Age of Empires IV to be a priority release for Microsoft. They'll need to form a large development team to work on the game so that it gets released in 2020. We have waited too long for this game, but it looks promising.
8 Modern Civilizations
As a series that started over twenty years ago, Age of Empires is due for changes. The age of the civilizations has mostly stayed the same, but maybe its time for Age of Empires IV to take on a more modern setting. Like the Civilization video game series, Age of Empires IV could include matches with modern-day technology.
7 An Invigorating Soundtrack
It might be redundant at this point, but Age of Empires IV needs a top-notch soundtrack. Video game soundtracks add overtones that breathe new life into a game. We're not proposing that legendary composer John Williams needs to create the soundtrack for this game (although that would be awesome), but it should be a great enough soundtrack that it's worth listening to while not playing Age of Empires IV.
6 No Microtransactions
Contrary to popular belief, microtransactions can work in video games. Microtransactions are great when they provide premium content that wouldn't have been otherwise included in the game. On the other hand, when a developer makes the game pay-to-win or pay-to-progress, microtransactions fail.
In most cases, microtransactions are used as a source of additional revenue for video game developers. They likely wouldn't fit in Age of Empires IV, so they may as well leave it out. According to pcgamesn.com, "one thing it won’t have is microtransactions or in-app purchases."
5 Inspiration From The Old Games
According to American astronomer Carl Sagan, "You have to know the past to understand the present." This quote holds with the upcoming Age of Empires IV. If the game's developers learn from past mistakes, Age of Empires IV could be a masterpiece. If they make too many changes without polishing the game, it could wind up being a disaster.
Market trading is something that worked well in previous games but needs refinement. It's impractical to have numerous trading carts going back and forth. Perhaps markets should generate passive income instead of relying on physical carts. The game could also address the housing issue with bigger homes.
4 Ray-Tracing
Ray tracing is finally becoming ubiquitous on video game platforms now that next-generation consoles are approaching. The technology is already common in PC games, but we'd love to see Age of Empires IV boast the latest technology on the Xbox Series X.
Ray tracing generates paths of light so that they interact with the surfaces of objects. It sounds confusing, but the difference is noticeable. The above screenshot is technically from Minecraft (another Microsoft published game), yet it helps us visualize what ray tracing might entail.
3 More Ages
The dark, feudal, and imperial ages are not as appealing as they were in Age of Empires II. Granted, Age of Empires III added new periods such as the industrial age, yet we want to see more changes in the upcoming Age of Empires IV. Introduce new ages to bring diversity to the game in a way never seen before.
2 Fully Destructible World
When we say "fully destructible," we really mean that we want every structure to collapse with realism. When a trebuchet launches a stone into the field, the surrounding area should leave a hole in the ground. The physics of buildings collapsing should be more realistic than we could've imagined. The trailer looked promising, and we can't stress enough how important this one is.
1 A Bigger Emphasis On Formations
Perhaps the most critical feature we want to see in Age of Empires IV is an emphasis on formations. Garrisoning units in buildings while you send ranged and melee infantry at the enemy is an example of using formations. Infantry automatically goes into attack formation, which is a huge reason why we love Age of Empires.
Age of Empires IV should focus on formations to make the battlefield a realistic place. Infantry should have smart artificial intelligence, so they don't walk into a trap. An option to create custom formations at the main menu before a match is needed.