As a multi-decade fan of AoE II and current online player, I'm so disappointed by some of the creative decisions here.<p>The graphics, for one thing, look awful and make it difficult to take in the map at a glance. A lot of units look similar.<p>Why not just use high-res, 2D graphics based on 3D renders? Or even something closer to cell-shading, like what Breath of the Wild did?<p>I'm glad they wanted to support older machines, but this seems like the worst of all worlds.<p>I'm also not sold on the upgrade branches and hero units. The fun of AoE II is the "rock paper scissors" style mechanics, where nothing you do is a guaranteed good decision.<p>In IV, there are so many mechanics at play that outcomes seem more random and farther away from real-time chess.