Kingdom Ages
[22:15:20] soccerstar2222: arhhhh have u guys ever heard of a guy named cybermonsters
[22:15:35] soccerstar2222: he killed 2 of my kings in my new set of villages
www.KingdomAges.com
I’ve been checking out different free strategy and rpg games online after toying with the idea of investing in a dev team for a game. KingdomAges is one of the games I checked out.
If you’re into games, you know the big trick is to keep long term players satisfied while still attracting new players. KingdomAges does not appear to do a very good job of this.
Several problems I identified are:
- Soldiers deprecated - There are four military types: Infantry, Cavalry, Archers and Cataupults. The infantry are no match for cavalry so no one buys them.
- Slow Army Movement - Military pieces must each be moved separately, there is no group move function. It literally can take an hour just to instruct an army to move across the map (then many, many hours for the army to move - that part is fine). But who wants to spend so much time buried in the mouse?
- Awkward coordinate entry - To move a military piece you have to highlight it individually, then click “move”, then click coordinates in TWO steps. It’s mind-numbingly boring.
- Moderators attack players - This is unbelievable to me. I had a moderator attack me just a couple weeks into the game and gloat over wiping out an entire village. It’s a setup of megalomaniacs wanting to keep control over their private game. In that respect, it will never branch out to being a long term public game. Moderators should moderate - not use their backend moderator advantages for game play.
- Lack of depth - Once you start taking over towns, there is no more depth to the game play. There is little nuance to attacks with massive armies and becomes primarily a number game. Those that want to spent their time round the clock on the game can rack up units.
- Server Crashes - over two week of game play the server crashed three times.
This game would be more fun with a piece of paper and a calculator.*NOTE - Their server keeps crashing and it takes weeks to get into this game, it’s a very slow pace. In two weeks I saw the servers crash three times.*
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April 1st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I agree, I’ve seen my share of control-freak moderators on this game. It ruins the play for everyone. Too many little kids on this game.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:44 pm
What a wonderful review, which captures the essence of KA. To sum up the game in one word would be “boring”. But it can be addicting don’t you agree?
April 1st, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Although a few points such as soldier depriciation may be accuarate, steps have been and still are being taken to improve the game. Yes the troops move slowly, but if movement and selection are done properly the awkard coordinate entry can be minimized to only once. As for the moderator attacks, from my point of view it was probably your own fault. Noobs like you arent usually attacked. The only times i have ever seen that happen is when the noob is VERY direspectful. The lack of depth issue that you had was because you got yourself killed before you could even start. Anyways that is all i have to say. Thank you for your incredibly skewed review.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:08 pm
First off, I would like to introduce myself as a moderator of this game, Stargateanubis14.
To your first statement, about the game not keeping players, that is not true. This game has a very large crowd of people, i personally know about 100 of these people, as we have kept in contact since the beginning at KingdomEras. There are many people who join, but never play. Those who actually do play, play and KEEP playing, until they die, or run out of time for the game. I have NEVER seen someone quit because the game is “boring” or “buggy”.
soldiers deprecated: Yes the game is a little lobsided. The game should have the archers weak against cavalry, and cavalry weak against soldiers…etc etc. But i can say that Gabriel is coming out with a new KingdomAges (to be released in 2-3 weeks)
Slow Army Movement: This is just a way the game was made. Yes it is slow, but there is the possibility to use tabs, and you can cut the time into a tenth of what it would have been to move troops. Also, the new KingdomAges will give you the ability to group troops into bigger battalions, and the map will be draggable, for easier mobility.
Awkward coordinate entry: Same reason as to the above stated.
Moderators attack players: first off, i would like to say that you had a bad experience… you got your butt kicked by a moderator who played the game. Also, the moderators are CHAT moderators. We do not moderate the game, only chat. We are not role models in any respect but that of the words we use. Also, i am slightly offended that you strike at all moderators of the game, just because of the action of one. There are multiple moderators for each server, and each has their own style of playing and interaction. I personally have control of the strongest players on server 2 in my kingdom, and i have morals i have established. We do not attack players with more force then they can defend with. We do not attack noobs (or players with under 4-5 villages). I look at things at several standpoints before acting.
Also, what moderator abilities are you talking about that can be used to our advantage in an attack? We can only ban…and gabriel (the creator) watches the bans that are made, and the reasons behind them…so the only way a moderator can use their powers against you would be to ban you. (NOTE: The moderators on the new KA will be chosen very carefully, and an extensive background check will be performed)
Lack of depth: As for depth, this game’s point is to build troops… yes this will give an advantage to the player who plays longer, but so will better technology or more depth…the more playing you do, the deeper you go, and better you get. If the depth didn’t make you better/stronger, then why would anyone want to play the game? It would be pointless and boring. The troops is just 1 of 2 equally accessible road that can be taken when creating a game.
Server Crashes: This game has only crashed during times when it was expected to do so. One time was when the game was being transferred to a newer, better server. Another time was when Gabriel took the game off line to change a few things with the chat box. A third time was when Gabriel took the game off line to update the moderator abilities/add a moderator panel. A fourth time was when Gabriel took the data for his other game, White Templars, off the server (sharing some data with KA). These were all expeced server down times, but the lenght was unspecified.) Just because the server is down and you dont know why doesn’t mean that the game is crashing….assumptions are bad… assume=ass+u+ me….if you get my drift…hurts you and the person/thing you assume about when you assume.
Yes, it is a slow paced game, but that is the way it is. All games are slow paced. This is NOT a game where you start out and you sit down for 5 hours and play. This progresses at time increments of 45 minutes and longer. So many times you start, and come back an hour later. All games start out slowly, its all about your patience.
So my ending…the game isn’t the best, but its not as bad as you make it out to be. If possible, i would request that you change your review to be more accurate and unbiased. Take the fact that you lost in the game out of the story… face the fact that you lost, and judge the game as a game…not how it treated you.
April 14th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The servers are down again. What is their problem?
April 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
KA servers still down. This game has been a big waste of time.
April 17th, 2008 at 5:20 am
i didnt say that
April 20th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Stargate. I agree completely with you.
Ka is being upgraded.
And were CHAT mods.
Theres a difference.
Please dont exaggerate. Also, the game is that way. Live with it.