Info about Grand Ages: Medieval:

Official game description:
"Grand Ages: Medieval" is an entry in Kalypso's "Grand Ages" series of finely-crafted _strategy games of different genres_ developed by different studios. This game is not a sequel to the 2009 title "Grand Ages: Rome", a classic RTS with a focus on city building. "Grand Ages: Medieval" is a larger scale, _real-time empire simulation_ game combining elements of _trade_, _expansion_ and _exploration_ with a heavy focus on _economical domination_.  
It is the year 1050 AD. At the beginning of the High Middle Ages development in Europe has seen an unprecedented level of progress and a rapidly growing population spreads across the length and breadth of the continent. New frontiers are explored, settlements founded and vast trading routes established. As the head of one of these small settlements, it falls upon you to lead your people towards greatness. Explore a vast world, gather resources, encounter other societies and use your trading expertise to expand and make your fortune. Found new cities, progress your nation with inventive technology and protect your trade routes against barbarian attacks until you are powerful enough to begin your conquest over Europe and forge a bold new empire.  
**Grand Ages: Medieval** is a real-time strategy game from Gaming Minds. Lead your people and advance through the decades by utilising construction, research, expansion and conquest in an area extending from Scandinavia and North Africa; to Portugal, the Caucasus and the Middle East. Rise from the humble role of a simple mayor governing a small settlement and rule over all of Europe. Experience an exciting campaign with elaborately designed cut-scenes, play by your own rules in free play or test your skills in multiplayer against up to 8 players!  
*   Explore a **gigantic game world** of over 20 million square kilometres, plot strategically where to found important cities and defend your kingdom against foreign powers.  
*   Produce and trade **20 different goods** to meet the demands of your citizens and soldiers, such as coal, fruits and pottery.  
*   Research and utilise **50 major technological advancement** of the Middle Ages: including the three-field crop rotation, the low warp loom or the longbow.  
*   Raise an army and fight your opponents with **knights, archers and cavalry**.  
*   Face devastating natural disasters like storms, fires, volcanoes, droughts, earthquakes… or even the Black Death.  
*   Challenging **Multiplayer Mode** for up to 8 players.

Release date: Sep 25, 2015

Categories: Strategy, Real-time Strategy, Economic Simulation, Trade, City Building, Resource Management, Multiplayer, Campaign

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 60; verdict: Caution Advised; summary: The game has potential but raises concerns about its future DLC strategy. Players are wary of the developers' approach to releasing content as paid DLC, which could indicate a trend towards monetization through expansions. While some users find value in DLCs that add significant content, others are skeptical about the game's current state and the perceived intent behind its DLC strategy.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


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:
- Strong Economic and Trade Systems (weight 0.69): The game features a unique and well-developed economic system that is both challenging and enjoyable. The trade mechanics are well-worked and reminiscent of other popular economic strategy games. The economic management and trade routes are highlighted as strong points.
- Beautiful Graphics and Aesthetics (weight 0.63): The game is praised for its beautiful graphics, detailed city views, and aesthetically pleasing visuals. The art style and color palette are well-chosen, contributing to an immersive experience.
- Engaging City-Building and Management (weight 0.63): The game offers enjoyable city-building mechanics, allowing players to found, conquer, or buy cities. The management of buildings, production, and resources is complex and satisfying, providing a deep and engaging experience.
- Stable Performance and Few Bugs (weight 0.6): The game is noted for its stable performance, with no crashes or technical issues reported. It runs well on different platforms, including Linux, and is considered almost bug-free.
- Niche Appeal and Grand Strategy (weight 0.43): The game appeals to specific strategy game fans and has a grand strategy sentiment. It is recommended for those who enjoy economic strategies and complex management systems.

Common complaints:
- Repetitive and boring gameplay (weight 0.97): Players find the gameplay to be repetitive and boring, with monotonous tasks and a lack of variety in activities and challenges.
- Lack of strategic depth (weight 0.86): The game lacks strategic depth in various aspects, including trading, combat, and overall gameplay mechanics, making it feel shallow and repetitive.
- Simplistic and tedious combat (weight 0.83): Combat in the game is simplistic, lacking strategic depth and variety. It often involves repetitive tasks and unit spamming, making it tedious and unengaging.
- Lack of meaningful content (weight 0.8): The game lacks meaningful content and depth, with shallow characters, plotlines, and overall gameplay mechanics, making it feel hollow and incomplete.
- Poor AI and diplomatic systems (weight 0.7): The AI in the game is poorly implemented, leading to lifeless cities and military units. The diplomatic system is also lacking, with limited options and interactions.
- Lack of historical authenticity (weight 0.68): The storyline and elements within the game do not accurately reflect historical events or settings, leading to a lack of immersion and authenticity.
- Economic system flaws (weight 0.67): The economic system in the game is flawed, with issues such as excessive production without proper consumption mechanisms, leading to inevitable bankruptcy and a lack of depth in economic management.
- Lack of cultural diversity (weight 0.66): The game lacks cultural diversity, with limited variety in resources, cultures, and regional goods, making the world feel less immersive and authentic.
- Limited trade options and variety (weight 0.65): The trade system in the game lacks depth and variety, with limited trade goods and repetitive trading mechanics, making it less engaging and strategic.
- Poor translation and guidance (weight 0.62): The game suffers from poor translation quality and lacks proper guidance for players. This includes issues with language accuracy and a lack of helpful tutorials or instructions.
- Misleading marketing and pricing (weight 0.6): The game's marketing is misleading, promising features and depth that are not present. Additionally, the full price of the game is not considered worth it by many players.
- Cliché dialogues and uninteresting interface (weight 0.57): The game features cliché and uninspired dialogues, along with an interface that is uncomfortable and non-intuitive, making the overall experience less engaging.
- Poor graphics and sound (weight 0.54): The graphics in the game are basic, with small and hard-to-see units. The sound design is also unremarkable, contributing to an overall lack of polish.

Gameplay feedback:
- Resource and production management (weight 0.71): Players must manage resources and production efficiently to ensure the growth and sustainability of their cities. This includes setting up production chains and optimizing trade routes.
- Economic focus with trade routes (weight 0.65): The game heavily emphasizes economic management and the establishment of trade routes. Players need to balance resources, manage trade, and ensure the economic stability of their cities.
- City building and management (weight 0.6): Players are tasked with building and managing cities, including resource management, population growth, and infrastructure development. This involves constructing various buildings and ensuring the city's prosperity.
- Diplomacy and AI interactions (weight 0.58): The game includes diplomatic options such as forming alliances, conquering cities, or buying them out. AI interactions are present but may lack depth and complexity.
- Simplistic combat mechanics (weight 0.55): Combat in the game is relatively simple and follows a rock-paper-scissors mechanic. Players cannot control military units directly during battles, which are resolved automatically.
- Campaign and advisory content (weight 0.39): The campaign mode helps players learn the basics of the game and provides advisory content to guide them through the gameplay mechanics and strategies.
- Historical setting and campaign mode (weight 0.19): The game is set in a historical context and includes a campaign mode that guides players through various scenarios and challenges, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Multiplayer and scoring system (weight 0.18): The game features a multiplayer mode with a scoring system, allowing players to compete against each other in economic and strategic challenges.
- Minimal product with potential DLC (weight 0.01): The game feels like a minimal product with content that may have been removed or planned for future DLC releases. This can affect the overall completeness and satisfaction of the gameplay experience.
- Adventure sites and small combats (weight 0.01): The game includes adventure sites that offer small combat scenarios and loot, adding a layer of exploration and minor combat challenges to the gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Technical performance issues (weight 0.08): Several players reported issues with the game's performance, including loading problems in the main menu, poor optimization, and mouse cursor misalignment. Additionally, some players experienced the game repeatedly restarting and randomly crashing.
- Stable performance on Linux (weight 0.04): A number of players indicated that the game runs well and has stable performance, particularly on Linux. These players reported no crashes or technical issues.

Recommendations:
- Mixed recommendations on purchase (weight 0.25): Players have varying opinions on whether to buy the game. Some highly recommend it, especially on sale, while others do not recommend it at full price due to lack of depth and poor value for money.
- Recommended for specific player types (weight 0.23): The game is recommended for players interested in historical settings, economic management, and trading systems. It is also suggested for those who enjoy multiplayer and empire expansion.
- Not recommended for strategy or combat fans (weight 0.22): The game is not recommended for those seeking a strategic or tactical combat experience. It lacks depth in military strategy and building aspects.
- Conditional recommendation for niche fans (weight 0.21): The game is conditionally recommended for niche fans of economic simulations and collectors. It is suggested to buy the game under 5€ or during a sale.

Other player notes:
- Unique gameplay experience (weight 0.01): The game is not a clone of Total War, offering a distinct gameplay experience.
- Multiplayer mode untested (weight 0.01): The multiplayer mode has not been tested yet, so its quality and performance are unknown.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.42): Players feel disappointed due to the game's lack of depth and repetitive gameplay. Many expected a more complex and engaging experience, similar to other strategy games, but found the combat, economy, and diplomatic systems shallow and unfulfilling. Additionally, misleading marketing and unfulfilled promises of updates contributed to this sentiment.
- Frustration (weight 0.23): Frustration stems from various technical and gameplay issues, such as the game not starting properly, tedious and repetitive tasks, and poor game balance. Players also struggle with the economic system, AI behavior, and lack of strategic depth, leading to a sense of the game being unfinished and not worth the price.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.11): Players find satisfaction in the game's enjoyable city-building and trading management aspects. The game's complexity, strategic depth, and unique economic system are appreciated by those who enjoy niche and challenging gameplay. The aesthetic beauty and stability of the game also contribute to this positive sentiment.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.08): Enjoyment is derived from the game's unique economic system and initial gameplay mechanics. Players appreciate the trade mechanics and the overall fun experience tailored for specific types of players.
- Anger (weight 0.05): Anger is primarily caused by misleading advertising and poor value for money. Players also express frustration over quests that cannot be completed, poor translations, and optimization issues, leading to a sense of being misled and disappointed.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Players are excited by the game's vast map and the variety of choices and new aspects that unlock as they advance. The potential for many hours of absorbing gameplay and the recommendation for fans of economic strategies contribute to this excitement.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom sets in due to the repetitive gameplay and limited content. The oversimplified trading system and AI behavior further contribute to a lack of engagement and interest.}