Good Old Games - Age of Wonders Released

[Dhruin]

As rumoured, Age of Wonders has been released on GOG (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/age_of_wonders/pp/f6e1126cedebf23e1463aee73f9df08783640400) with the later games from Triumph Studios to come along soon. It's been a long time since I dabbled with it but it was a pretty sweet fantasy TBS game, as I recall and worth a look if Elemental has piqued your interest in the genre.
More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=15800)

[Scrav]

I think it was also released on Impulse today as well.

[KayAU]

I have this one on disc, but I will probably be rebuying it to have it in "GOG-format".

I'd just like to say that I highly recommend GOG.com, which is easily my favorite games shop. Their games come completely DRM free, you may download whenever and however many times you want, their prices are good, and they often provide extras. There's no client or other nonesense required, the games mostly come as single installation files.

Kay

[Korplem]

I loved Age of Wonders! I originally passed on it because I thought they were just trying to sell the hot elf chick on the cover... Turns out there is an awesome game to go with the hot elf chick on the cover.

[Maylander]

I'm actually replaying Age of Wonders 2 right now. Excellent game. I still have my original AoW disc, but I might just buy this and replay it after AoW2 (I know, I know, I should've played it before AoW2, but I didn't think I was going to get this hooked).

[Korplem]

Despite my love for AoW, I never got into AoW2. I think it was the art in AoW2 that turned me off. It didn't have the same feel...

[ikbenrichard]

Since i got a family nowadays i dont have the time i would like to have to play games.
So can someone be so kind to tell me which is better to play, AoW 1 or AoW2+ addons.?

[Maylander]

Actually, Shadow Magic is a stand alone game, not really an add-on. It's pretty much identical to AoW2 in terms of gameplay though (with a few additions).

I personally prefer the campaign of AoW2, but since it's now possible to grab AoW1 for a small sum, I'd probably go with that one. All AoW games are rock solid.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

AOW 1 has a far more "tolkienesque" feel to it, than the other two games. And in some respects both "lines" differ from one another.

I think, AOW2 & AOW: SM don't include giving experience points (or what was it ?) to heroes anymore. But I don't remember this anymore, it's too long now since I've played the games.

But there core is still there in all of them.


There are lots of maps & mods (for example including more hero pictures from various sources for the games) in the community.

AOW 1 portal : http://aow.heavengames.com/

AOW 2 portal : http://aow2.heavengames.com/


Hackers don't even spare these niche games, it seems :

July 19, 2009 Posted @ 2:40 PM | Enginerd
Security Breach

Angel Zen, HG's Chief Technology Officer, has confirmed a security breach of our servers which left virus-infected files in our database. At this time, we are not prepared to release any details as to the origin of the breach or the specific threat level, however we strongly recommend that that all users, particularly those who have accessed the site since 16 July, run deep virus scans, as well as a current spyware scanner such as Spybot Search & Destroy as there is a chance you may have been affected.

[ikbenrichard]

In other words, there equally good ;)
O well, gonna play 1 first then.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Equally good ;) , only a tiny bit different. ;)

[coaster]

Brilliant games. IIRC the first game has branching campaigns which are great for replayability. The only minor negative is that heroes are overpowered (I ended up clearing some maps with my hero alone) but what the hell, I quite enjoyed that :)

[Dwagginz]

It's an unusual release for Gog.com as it's got no extras. How odd!

[Alrik Fassbauer]

What do you mean with "no extras" ? There weren't any.

[Dwagginz]

Gog.com usually bundles things like manuals, wallpapers, soundtracks and so forth with the products they sell. It's rare (I've not seen it before, actually) for them to sell just a game.

[ikbenrichard]

I think it was also released on Impulse today as well.

That is correct.
http://impulsedriven.com/aow1

Or even better
http://www.impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W701

[xSamhainx]

I didnt like AOW, just sold my bargain-bin copy on Amazon for double what I bought it for (a whole 5.oo) ='.'=

If they put up the sequel or Shadow Magic I'm willling to give it a shot tho, curious about what improvements to the formula they made

[Thrasher]

It's an unusual release for Gog.com as it's got no extras. How odd!

Yes, I noticed that too! I almost jumped on AoW (original), but not without a manual!

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Manual & Addendum are downloadable elsewhere : http://aow.heavengames.com/links/aowresources.shtml

[Thrasher]

404 Not Found...

I wanted a printed manual anyway.

I'll just keep trolling ebay. ;)

[Dwagginz]

I'll just keep trolling ebay. ;)
I think you mean trawling ;)

[chamr]

Another post for AoW. Only played SM a significant amount. A fantastic game. Works on many levels. And one of the few PBEMs worth PBEM'ing, even without the tactical battle map.

[wynams]

AOW 1 has a far more "tolkienesque" feel to it, than the other two games.

QFE

Been playing tons of SM post-Elemental piquing my interest in the genre, but I played weeks of vanilla AoW2 and a fair amount of AoW 1 back in the day.

If this had a PDF manual I would buy it right now, waiting to see if Steam version perhaps includes a manual (or if GOG gets around to including one).

I totally get why folks have a preference of 1 vs 2 vs 2SM ... Tolkienessence & better art vs. shadowlands, races such as syrons, more spells/better balancing. Some just do not care for such fantasy deviance :] It doesn't bother me, and I much enjoy the 1.4 SM Community Patch.

All AoW games are rock solid.
Also QFE ... this is my RPGWatch.com line of the week

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Hm, why don't you write an e-mail to GOG and ask if they could bundle it with a manual ?
As long as they don't know, they can't know that there's something missing. ;)

[redman5427]

Good Old games is now gone

Dear GOG users,

We have recently had to give serious thought to whether we could really keep GOG.com the way it is. We've debated on it for quite some time and, unfortunately, we've decided that GOG.com simply cannot remain in its current form.

We're very grateful for all support we've received from all of you in the past two years. Working on GOG.com was a great adventure for all of us and an unforgettable journey to the past, through the long and wonderful history of PC gaming.

This doesn't mean the idea behind GOG.com is gone forever. We're closing down the service and putting this era behind us as new challenges await.

On a technical note, this week we'll put in place a solution to allow everyone to re-download their games. Stay tuned to this page and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

All the best,
GOG.com Team

[Dwagginz]

We've got a topic on the "closure" (http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11435) :)

[wynams]

Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere, but Impulse has an Age of Wonders Trilogy for $20.

http://www.impulsedriven.com/products/ESD-IMP-W701
The Trilogy pack contains:
Age of Wonders,
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
The Soundtrack of each individual game

edit: but apparently you can not yet add this product to cart ... meh

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Is Impulse trying to buy GOG ?

[SveNitoR]

Would be very unexpected to say the least... Of course Stardock has a pretty good view on DRM: do not annoy your customers.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

They seem to annoy with half-finished products instead ?

Only to be sarcastic. ;)

Or : Patches as indirect DRM ?

[Dwagginz]

Impulse is terrible for patching. I got Eschalon Book II during a sale, and it's still on 1.03. It should be on 1.04 :(

[SveNitoR]

They seem to annoy with half-finished products instead ?

Only to be sarcastic. ;)

Or : Patches as indirect DRM ?

Haha, yeah a lot of people suggested the same thing.