Info about Age of Wonders III:

Official game description:
_**Age of Wonders III** is the long anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy series. Delivering a unique mix of Empire Building, Role Playing and Warfare, Age of Wonders III offers the ultimate in turn-based fantasy strategy for veterans of the series and new players alike!_  
**Create an Empire in your own Image**  
*   **Rule** as one of 6 RPG style leader classes: Sorcerer, Theocrat, Rogue, Warlord, Archdruid, or the tech-focused Dreadnought.  
*   **Research** powerful skills unique to your class to develop your empire and arsenal.  
*   **Choose** your allies from among the six main races - Humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins and Draconians - and fantastical monster dwellings.
**Explore and Exploit a Living Fantasy World**  
*   **Explore** a rich fantasy world that is more detailed and alive than ever with over 50 location types to raid for treasure.  
*   **Expand** your domain by building new settlements, forge pacts with monstrous allies and capture valuable resources.  
*   **Wield** earth shattering magic and terra-form the lands for your needs.
**Fight In-depth Tactical Battles**  
*   **Recruit** legendary heroes, equip them with magical weapons, and let them lead your armies into battle.  
*   **Crush** your enemies using the detailed 3D turn-based Tactical Combat System.  
*   **Become** a master tactician. Crush city defenses. Learn to use flanking and master your army’s hundreds of abilities.
**Master Age of Wonders III’s many Modes!**  
*   **Immerse** yourself in a rich single player story campaign, playable from two sides of an epic conflict.  
*   **Create** endless scenarios using the random map generator.  
*   **Compete** in multiplayer wars with up to 8 players online.
_**Please note that:**  
*   **Level Editing Tools** are provided as a courtesy to fans. They might have different system specifications from the Age of Wonders III game, are not tech supported and have an English only interface.  
*   **Coop:** Random maps and stand-alone scenarios can be played using player alliances versus computer opponents.  
*   **Local Coop:** Random maps and stand-alone scenarios can be played using “Hot Seat” mode on the same computer using player alliances versus computer opponents.
_

Release date: Mar 31, 2014

Categories: Turn-based Strategy, Empire Building, Tactical, 4X, Hero Management, Diplomacy

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 10; verdict: Fair (Traditional DLC only); summary: The user feedback primarily criticizes the pricing of DLC expansions and the necessity of DLC for mods. However, these are traditional DLCs, not microtransactions. The game does not feature any real-money shop, currency obfuscation, or pay-to-win mechanics. Therefore, the monetization is fair and non-predatory.
- Proton/Linux: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game was previously working on Linux but broke after a third-party launcher update. Some users report it is completely non-functional, while others have restored playability by switching to Proton Hotfix or Proton 9.0-4. The developer has not provided an official fix, leaving Linux users reliant on community-discovered workarounds. Overall, the game requires tinkering with Proton versions to run.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game is playable on Steam Deck but requires manual Proton version switching (e.g., Proton Hotfix) and tolerating a problematic third-party launcher. Without these tweaks, it fails to launch or crashes. The experience is inconsistent and demands tinkering.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $20.00
  - Reasoning: Most reviews recommend purchasing the game on a deep sale, often describing it as a good value only when heavily discounted. While one review acknowledges it might be worth the full price, the prevailing sentiment is that the base price is too high for the perceived value. The fair price range should reflect the community's expectation of a reasonable discounted price, typically seen during sales events. The evidence suggests that a range between $10 and $20 USD captures the point where many consider the game a worthwhile purchase.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 30.0h
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 10.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The review containing the difficulty/time table provides explicit game completion times for Age of Wonders III, with 30 hours listed for Medium difficulty, which is used as the typical game completion metric. The second review describes playing for 10 hours in a single session, which is taken as the typical session length. No reliable evidence was found for story/campaign completion (separate from overall completion) or for total endgame hours (only vague mentions of extensive play without specific numbers).
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Age of Wonders III has a steep learning curve and poor tutorial, making the first hour confusing and unrepresentative of the deep strategic fun that follows once players grasp the mechanics.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After overcoming the initial learning curve and understanding the game's systems
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: steep learning curve; poor tutorial; complex mechanics; slow pace
  - Unlock drivers: learning the mechanics through external guides or trial and error; playing through the campaign to understand systems; adjusting difficulty settings
  - Conditions: patience; willingness to learn; playing on easier difficulty; using auto-combat for tedious battles
- Player Archetypes:
  - Tactical Combat Veteran (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastering deep turn-based combat and hero customization.
    - Playstyle: Manually controls every battle, focuses on hero progression and unit synergy, enjoys long sessions of tactical combat.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: tactical player; strategy veteran; combat enthusiast
    - Reference games: Heroes of Might and Magic; Warlord Battlecry 3
  - Multiplayer Competitor (sale)
    - Motivation: Competitive play and community engagement.
    - Playstyle: Plays primarily multiplayer (1v1 or small groups), values strategic variety and community reputation, but is frustrated by long battle times.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: multiplayer enthusiast; competitive player; community member
    - Reference games: Age of Wonders series
  - Creative Customizer (buy)
    - Motivation: Creative expression and infinite replayability through customization.
    - Playstyle: Experiments with race/class combos, uses mods and random maps, roleplays narrative decisions, and enjoys sandbox-style play.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: modder; roleplayer; sandbox player; customization enthusiast
    - Reference games: Lords of Magic; Civilization mods (Fall from Heaven II)


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Graphics and aesthetics praised (weight 0.27): Players consistently praise the game's visual presentation, noting it is better than previous titles and makes a very good impression, though some find it merely okay. The aesthetic quality is considered well done overall.
- Game is captivating and high quality (weight 0.21): The game is described as captivating and of generally high quality, with brief statements calling it a good game.
- Music is well received (weight 0.16): The music is highlighted as a positive aspect, contributing to the game's overall aesthetic quality.
- Generally positive but not outstanding (weight 0.14): Overall, the game is described as pretty good or normal, indicating a positive but not exceptional reception.
- Good value compared to sequels (weight 0.09): The game is considered cheap and of better quality than subsequent titles in the series.
- Content is solid and well done (weight 0.09): The content is largely solid and well done, indicating consistent quality across features.
- Leader voice acting praised (weight 0.08): The voice acting for the leader is specifically praised as good.
- Manual battles fun early (weight 0.08): Manual battles are fun early in the game, though this may diminish later.

Common complaints:
- Tactical combat lacks depth (weight 0.97): Players report that tactical combat lacks depth and strategic options, with small battlefields, fast unit engagement, and tedious battles that feel unrewarding and unfun. The game is described as a sad parody of Heroes of Might and Magic, with boring gameplay and no real power scaling.
- AI cheating and unfair advantages (weight 0.79): The AI cheats with infinite reserves, maphacks, omniscience, and unfair advantages. It torches cities before player arrives, starts wars even when losing, and cannot be ambushed. The game feels rigged against normal players.
- General quality and support issues (weight 0.63): General complaints include outdated graphics, occasional bugs, high system load, poor customer support, account progress resets, monetization practices, and not recommending the game. It took 5 hours to get working.
- External account and launcher issues (weight 0.63): Multiple players complain about the requirement to create a Triumph account and use an external launcher, which causes launch failures, connection issues, and data harvesting concerns. Some spent hours trying to get the game to work.
- Slow pacing and tedious gameplay (weight 0.48): Battles and unit building take too long, AI is very slow, and the UI is sluggish, leading to tedious gameplay. Large maps are especially time-consuming.
- Poor tutorial and new player experience (weight 0.48): The tutorial gives too much freedom, is confusing, and fails to explain everything, overwhelming new players. Some could not figure out how to complete the first mission or get into the game.
- Shallow empire building and progression (weight 0.48): City progression is minimal and ends within an hour, resource system is simplistic, tech tree is limited, unit variety is poor, race system is cosmetic, and the game becomes a boring attrition battle. Only blitzing works.
- Multiplayer is unplayable (weight 0.43): Multiplayer is broken, with connection issues even with Hamachi and port forwarding, inability to connect with friends, and borderline unplayability beyond 2-3 players due to combat locking.
- Spells and units are unbalanced (weight 0.4): Most spells are useless, the tech tree is limited to passive modifiers, unit variety is poor (only T4 units matter), and the race system is cosmetic. Tier IV units are absurdly strong, discouraging strategic play.
- Technical issues and poor support (weight 0.37): The game crashes every turn, has occasional bugs, causes high system load, and support is poor with outdated threads and 404 errors.
- Short and linear campaigns (weight 0.37): Campaigns are linear, short, bland, and have limited options. DLCs are even shorter, and there is no motivation to replay.
- Online connectivity problems (weight 0.37): Players cannot play online due to registration/linking issues, manual router/firewall/VPN configuration, and poor connection errors. Multiple VPN attempts failed.
- Frustrating combat mechanics (weight 0.34): Ranged units cannot attack certain enemies (wisps), flanking rules allow ping-pong damage, siege equipment is used as combat units, there is no proper retreat, and simultaneous turns allow instant AI attacks. These mechanics are frustrating.
- Unit fragility and poor design (weight 0.32): Losing a single unit is devastating, units feel useless and prone to instant death, units are now squads instead of single entities, and designs are uninspired (man with sword, bow, horse, staff). Unit variety is lacking.
- UI and autosave problems (weight 0.21): The UI is unnecessarily complicated and sluggish, and the autosave mechanic is bad, overwriting at end of turn.
- Missing pre-order content (weight 0.06): One player reports missing the pre-order map 'Elven Resurgence', indicating a potential content delivery issue.
- Loud explosion sound issue (weight 0.06): The explosion sound is dangerously loud when multiple tiles are hit simultaneously, causing discomfort.
- Political content complaints (weight 0.06): One player complains about political content in campaigns, including communist/marxist themes, feminist garbage, and interracial relations. This is a review bombing point with no gameplay value.

Gameplay feedback:
- Turn-based tactical fantasy 4X (weight 0.4): The game is described as a turn-based tactical strategy game with fantasy elements, blending tactical battles with 4X empire building.
- Diverse factions and unit types (weight 0.23): There is a variety of factions and units, including class-based units and unique racial types such as infantry, cavalry, support casters, and ranged.
- Tactical combat and empire building (weight 0.16): The game combines tactical combat with empire building, aiming to balance both aspects for a cohesive experience.
- Similar to Heroes of Might & Magic (weight 0.09): The game is similar to Heroes of Might & Magic, a classic turn-based strategy series.
- Hero system (weight 0.09): The game includes a hero system, allowing heroes to lead armies and gain abilities.
- Gold and mana resource system (weight 0.09): The resource system uses gold and mana, which are used for building, recruiting, and casting spells.
- Global spellcasting for terraforming (weight 0.09): Global spellcasting allows for terraforming, buffs, and summons, impacting the entire map.
- Battlefield size impacts tactics (weight 0.09): The size of the battlefield affects tactical decisions, influencing unit positioning and strategy.
- Two campaigns included (weight 0.09): The game includes two campaigns, offering different storylines or factions to play through.
- Learnable spells (weight 0.09): Players can learn spells, adding a magical element to combat and strategy.
- AI reserves for fortress defense (weight 0.09): The AI uses reserves to counter fortress attacks, making defensive strategies more challenging.
- Fog of war mechanic (weight 0.09): A fog of war mechanic is present, hiding unexplored areas and requiring reconnaissance.
- Diplomacy system (weight 0.09): Diplomacy is a feature, enabling players to negotiate with other factions.
- Unit tiers (weight 0.09): Units are organized into tiers, indicating their strength and progression.
- City management with expanding radius (weight 0.09): City management includes an expanding radius, affecting territory control and resource gathering.
- Mission-based gameplay structure (weight 0.08): The game features mission-based gameplay, providing structured objectives for players.
- Allies with special troops (weight 0.08): Allies have special troops, providing unique support in battles.
- AI difficulty levels (weight 0.08): AI difficulty levels are available, allowing players to adjust the challenge.
- Obtainable neutral units (weight 0.08): Neutral units can be obtained, adding variety to army composition.

Performance notes:
- Linux compatibility broken (weight 0.24): The game no longer boots under Linux after a launcher update, with users reporting it as completely incompatible. A Proton Hotfix has been found to resolve the issue, suggesting the problem lies with the launcher rather than the game itself.
- Frequent crashes and freezes (weight 0.17): Players report frequent crashes and game freezes, including after selecting a class. These stability issues are common and detract from the overall experience.
- Developer unresponsive to fixes (weight 0.1): Users express frustration that the developer has not released a fix for the ongoing issues, particularly the Linux compatibility problems. This lack of response damages trust and satisfaction.
- Frame drops from menu to gameplay (weight 0.09): Significant frame drops occur when transitioning from the menu into gameplay, making the start of a session unpleasant and indicative of optimization issues.
- Mod support causes crashes (weight 0.09): Using mods causes the game to crash, preventing players from customizing their experience. This instability discourages mod usage.
- High system resource usage (weight 0.09): The game consumes excessive system resources, potentially slowing down computers and causing performance issues for players with less powerful hardware.
- Slow startup with multiple approvals (weight 0.08): Slow startup times are exacerbated by multiple approval prompts, making the launch process tedious and time-consuming.

Recommendations:
- Better alternatives exist (weight 0.27): Several reviewers suggest playing alternative games like Heroes of Might and Magic 1, Warlock II: The Exiled, or Age of Wonders IV instead.
- Not for casual players (weight 0.16): The game is not suitable for casual players or those who dislike complex tutorials, as it can be confusing and difficult.
- Hearing damage risk (weight 0.15): The game has audio issues that may pose a hearing damage risk, and players are advised to play on mute if necessary.
- Unrewarding combat (weight 0.09): Combat is unrewarding and unit loss is punishing, making the gameplay frustrating.
- Account requirement boring (weight 0.09): The game requires an account and has boring gameplay, leading to a negative recommendation.
- Worth on discount (weight 0.09): The game is worth buying on discount, especially if played with simultaneous turns turned off.
- Recommended for genre fans (weight 0.08): The game is recommended for players who enjoy the genre and are willing to invest significant time to learn its mechanics.
- Not for tempo players (weight 0.08): The game is not recommended for players who prefer a fast-paced, tempo-focused experience.
- Scenarios recommended (weight 0.08): The scenarios and random scenarios are recommended, but players should be aware of political content in the campaigns.
- Not worth 4X label (weight 0.08): The game hardly lives up to the 4X strategy genre expectations.
- Bland long campaign (weight 0.08): The campaign is decent but bland and overly long, failing to engage players.
- Reset policy criticized (weight 0.08): The game's reset policy is criticized, and reviewers advise keeping others away from it.
- Tier IV unit issues (weight 0.08): Issues with Tier IV units and other problems contribute to a negative recommendation.
- Suggests cracking game (weight 0.07): One reviewer suggests cracking the game rather than purchasing it, indicating dissatisfaction with value.
- Advises not to play (weight 0.07): One reviewer simply advises not to play the game at all.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.86): Players are frustrated by a catastrophic account reset that erased all progress, compounded by the inability to bypass a mandatory external launcher. Unfair AI and ally behavior, aggressive monetization, and poor multiplayer connectivity further exacerbate the experience, while the game fails to warn players about nearby enemy armies.
- Disappointment (weight 0.29): Players feel disappointed due to a lack of content and useful spells, making the game feel shallow. Even when winning, the gameplay is not enjoyable, indicating a fundamental failure in game design.
- Annoyance (weight 0.14): The requirement to use an external launcher is a persistent source of annoyance, as it adds an unnecessary barrier to accessing the game.
- Boredom (weight 0.14): The game is described as an overall boring experience with no replay value, suggesting repetitive mechanics and a lack of engaging content.
- Rage (weight 0.14): Extreme frustration with setup and performance issues, such as crashes or bugs, triggers rage in players who feel the game is unplayable.
- Hatred (weight 0.14): Players express hatred after wasting 5 hours on a broken game, feeling that their time was completely wasted due to severe technical or design flaws.}