Info about Empires Apart:

Official game description:
An exciting free-to-play Real Time Strategy game set in medieval times. Uniquely designed factions, customization options, singleplayer and multiplayer gameplay. Gather resources, raise an army and lead your civilization to victory in a classic RTS, brought to the modern age.  
Empires Apart is a free-to-play Real Time Strategy game set in medieval times.  
Lead uniquely designed factions in outstanding procedurally generated maps. Each game is a totally different experience as you collect resources, assemble your army and wage war against your enemies.  
Play for free as the Byzantines against the AI in Skirmish, Survival and Challenge mode or online in Ranked and Custom matches.  
Collect Food, Wood, Gold and Stone. Build military and economic structures. Trade with allies, collect relics for powerful bonuses. Raise an army of spearmen, archers, knights and catapults. Choose your hero and lead your civilization to victory!  
If you are a fan of RTS games, you will relive memories of classic games of the past while enjoying a modern interface and a brand new approach to fast-paced real time gameplay. If you are new to the genre, Empires Apart is the free-to-play RTS experience you've been waiting for.  
Q: Is Empires Apart free now?  
A: Empires Apart is fully playable for free in every mode and map using the Byzantines. Skirmish, Survival, Unranked and Ranked matches are all available from the start and it is possible to play against every other civilization in the game.  
Q: I bought the game at full price when it first came out!  
A: Everybody who bought the game before October 11th 2018 will be recognized in-game as a Founder. Founders will get immediate access to all the 6 base civilizations (Byzantines, French, Chinese, Arabs, Aztecs, Mongols) and will get access to exclusive content in the future.  
Q: What factions are available for free?  
A: Byzantines are available upon downloading the game and they can be played for free in any game mode. Additional civilizations can be purchased as DLC from the Steam store. Purchasing a civilization unlocks it in every game mode. It is always possible to play against any civilization, wether it’s controlled by the AI or another Player in a multiplayer match.  
Every Civilization can be tried before purchase in a specific custom built scenario.  
Q: Is there new content?  
A: We have a lot of new content coming to Empires Apart and we plan to release it often and at regular intervals. This new content includes both free additions like new maps and game modes as well as new civilizations and cosmetic items which will be available through DLC and in-game items.  
Q: What does the future hold for Empires Apart?  
A: The launch of the Free-to-play version of Empires Apart marks a new beginning for the game. We have big and ambitious plans to support the game in the future and we already have a lot of content scheduled to release very soon. As always, We will keep supporting Empires Apart and keep shaping its future based on player feedback.

Release date: Mar 29, 2018

Categories: Real-time Strategy, Resource Management, Base Building, Multiplayer, Free-to-Play, Single-player, Competitive Multiplayer

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 65; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The game uses a free-to-play base with significant content locked behind paid DLC (most civilizations) and a cash shop with loot boxes. While some players consider it balanced, others highlight aggressive monetization through content gating and randomized purchases. The overall model is aggressive, relying on real-money transactions for core content and cosmetic loot boxes.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $12.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate that the $30 base price is too high given the lack of single-player content and multiplayer population issues. One review explicitly suggests that $12-15 is a fair price ('Worth the price best investment ever done 12 15'), while others label the game as 'overpriced' and not worth buying at full price. The community consensus points to a base-game price range of $12-15 USD as fair.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: 0.4h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first quote directly gives a typical match length of 20-25 minutes, supporting sessionLength. The second quote reports a survival game lasting about 15 minutes, another session duration. The third quote shows a player quitting after 1 hour, indicating a short session length. No reviews provide explicit figures for completing the entire game, completing a story (the game lacks a campaign), or endgame content, so those metrics are null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Player reports are mixed: some enjoy the game immediately due to RTS experience, but many find the fun quickly fades or never materializes due to lack of content, bugs, and dead multiplayer.
  - Stance: Mixed
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: no singleplayer campaign; dead multiplayer; bugs and crashes; unbalanced civilizations
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: player has RTS background; playing with friends; focus on competitive multiplayer; tolerating technical issues
- Player Archetypes:
  - Competitive Multiplayer Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Mastery and climbing the ranked ladder
    - Playstyle: 1v1 ranked duels, fast-paced, competitive
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: competitive player
    - Reference games: Age of Empires
  - Casual Co-op Player (buy)
    - Motivation: Social fun and nostalgic group play
    - Playstyle: Co-op skirmish, group multiplayer, casual
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Age of Empires 2; Rise of Nations
  - Disappointed Single-Player Fan (no buy)
    - Motivation: Traditional single-player RTS experience with campaign and good AI
    - Playstyle: Single-player skirmish, scenario play
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: playtester
    - Reference games: Age of Empires; Rise of Nations


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:
- Better than Age of Empires (weight 0.61): The game is frequently compared favorably to the Age of Empires series, with players noting it is more accessible, faster-paced, and innovative. These comparisons often position it as a superior alternative.
- Fun free-to-play RTS (weight 0.52): Players enjoy the game as a fun, quality RTS that is free to play. The base game offers sufficient content for a free experience, making it an attractive option for the genre.
- Great music and audio (weight 0.43): The soundtrack and sound design receive positive comments for being beautiful, fitting, and nostalgic. Audio quality is considered a strong point of the game.
- Good graphics and visuals (weight 0.4): Players consistently praise the game's graphics as pleasant, clean, and not tiring to the eyes. These visual qualities are highlighted as meeting or exceeding expectations.
- Addictive multiplayer modes (weight 0.4): Multiplayer is described as addictive, with smooth PvP and PvE experiences. Ranked matchmaking and variety of modes keep the gameplay engaging.
- Classic RTS gameplay (weight 0.35): The game captures the essence of classic 90s RTS titles, with solid mechanics reminiscent of Age of Empires. It provides a nostalgic yet refined experience.
- Fresh take on RTS (weight 0.24): The game offers a fresh and modern twist on classic RTS gameplay, incorporating new mechanics and ideas while retaining the core essence of the genre.
- Intuitive controls and interface (weight 0.23): Controls are described as intuitive and responsive, with a functional interface that is on par with other high-quality RTS games like Age of Empires Definitive Edition and StarCraft 2.
- Good controls and learning curve (weight 0.22): The game is easy to learn with intuitive controls and a helpful tutorial. It is recommended for both new and veteran RTS players.
- Good performance and accessibility (weight 0.22): The game runs smoothly on various hardware and includes features like Steam Cloud, Trading Cards, and Spanish language support, improving accessibility.
- Rich cultural and historical theme (weight 0.2): The game's multicultural historical background and use of native language names for buildings and units add an immersive and educational element.
- Day and night cycle (weight 0.15): A dynamic day/night cycle affects gameplay by altering vision, adding a tactical element not commonly seen in the genre.
- Strategic resource management (weight 0.09): Players enjoy the strategic depth of resource management, which allows for different victory paths like domination or peacekeeping.

Common complaints:
- Pay-to-win and paywalled content (weight 0.95): Many civilizations and factions are locked behind DLC or microtransactions, creating a pay-to-win dynamic. Players feel nickel-and-dimed with expensive DLC packs and lootboxes.
- Game fails to launch or crashes (weight 0.85): Many players cannot launch the game due to black screens or crashes after pressing play. Frequent crashes occur during matches, especially with large armies or in skirmish mode.
- Poor performance and optimization (weight 0.79): The game suffers from severe optimization issues, including FPS drops to 8-12 in larger matches, stuttering on various hardware, and overheating. Many players find the game unplayable due to poor performance.
- Stupid AI with poor behavior (weight 0.69): The AI is widely criticized as being dumb, either cheating with infinite resources or passive on low difficulty. It behaves poorly in survival mode and often makes illogical decisions like attacking walls with holes.
- Game abandoned by developers (weight 0.64): Multiple players report that the game is abandoned by developers with no updates or fixes, leading to a dead player base and no support.
- Lack of single-player content (weight 0.61): The game lacks a proper campaign, story mode, or map editor, offering only skirmishes and a boring survival mode with one map. Single-player content is considered weak and insufficient.
- Balance issues with civilizations (weight 0.59): Multiple civilizations are imbalanced, with specific issues like Chinese being weak or overpowered, Koreans with mortars being overpowered, and cavalry defeating spearmen despite counter bonuses. Free Byzantines are also considered imbalanced.
- Incomplete and rushed release (weight 0.48): The game was released in an incomplete state with half-finished content, few maps, and missing features like replays, spectating, and tutorial. It feels rushed and lacking polish.
- Buggy pathfinding and unit AI (weight 0.47): Pathfinding is buggy with units getting stuck, clumping together, or circling around. AI behavior is often stupid, with units spinning in circles or failing to navigate properly.
- Dead multiplayer player base (weight 0.43): The game has a very low online player count, making it difficult to find matches in multiplayer. Players report long queue times and an overall dead player base.
- Graphics issues and unit blending (weight 0.39): Graphics are criticized as muddy, cartoonish, or straining on the eyes. Units blend together, making it hard to distinguish them in combat, which hinders micro-management.
- Unresponsive controls and micro-management (weight 0.36): Multi-unit control and formation response are slow, and there is no way to create unit groups. Villagers and soldiers get stuck, hindering gameplay.
- Only one free civilization (weight 0.31): The free version of the game only offers one civilization (Byzantines), which is criticized as limiting and imbalanced. Players must pay for access to other civilizations.
- Bugs and crashes in survival mode (weight 0.31): Survival mode has specific issues like auto doors causing AI to die and few resources, making it boring. The mode is also buggy and crashes frequently.
- Overpriced and gamer-hostile pricing (weight 0.3): The pricing model is considered expensive and gamer-hostile, with high costs for DLC and questionable practices like a EULA attempting to revoke consumer protections. Players feel the game is not worth the money.
- Lack of updates and developer support (weight 0.28): The game receives no updates or additional content, with developers apparently ignoring testers and community feedback. Players feel the game is left to die.
- Historical inaccuracies and poor design (weight 0.26): Players note historical inaccuracies, such as Korean civilization in Byzantine era and incorrect Chinese soldier clothing. Overall design is considered poor and rushed.
- No zoom option and camera issues (weight 0.15): The camera height is too low with no zoom out option, making gameplay difficult. Controls and scrolling are clunky and choppy.

Gameplay feedback:
- Classic RTS with civilizations (weight 0.75): The game is a real-time strategy title with six or seven unique civilizations, reminiscent of Age of Empires and StarCraft. It includes empire development, resource management, building construction, and troop recruitment.
- Unique civilization mechanics (weight 0.64): Civilizations have distinct mechanics, such as Mongols moving buildings and Aztecs upgrading units from combat and sacrificing prisoners. This adds strategic depth and asymmetry.
- Inspired by Age of Empires (weight 0.52): The game heavily borrows from Age of Empires II and Age of Mythology, with similar mechanics, visuals, and gameplay feel. It is often described as an AoE clone or classic formula.
- Multiple single-player modes (weight 0.47): The game includes survival, small battle, challenge, and tutorial modes for single-player. This variety caters to different play styles and learning curves.
- Multiplayer modes available (weight 0.43): The game offers multiplayer modes, including ranked and unranked play, and is described as multiplayer-focused with an active community. This indicates a strong online component.
- Modern visual and gameplay twists (weight 0.43): The game features a low-poly art style for visual clarity, pixel graphics, or cute graphics. It modernizes the classic 90s RTS formula with quality-of-life improvements.
- Resource system with four resources (weight 0.42): The classic resource system includes food, wood, gold, and stone. Resources are gathered for building and military, with an option for streamlined economy via unified storage.
- Heroes with special abilities (weight 0.3): Heroes include a fighter and an economic booster, with auras and abilities similar to Warcraft 3. This adds a layer of micro-management and tactical choice.
- Free-to-play with no pay-to-win (weight 0.28): The game is free-to-play with loot boxes for cosmetic rewards, but it is not pay-to-win. This monetization model appeals to a broad audience.
- Unique technology and upgrade paths (weight 0.24): The technology system splits into economic and military lines, each with two levels. This allows faster matches and strategic specialization.
- Day/night cycle affects vision (weight 0.23): A day/night cycle influences unit and building vision, adding a tactical layer to gameplay. This is a unique twist not present in all RTS games.
- Large-scale battles and skirmishes (weight 0.22): The game supports large-scale battles and skirmish mode against CPU, emphasizing epic confrontations and strategic depth.
- Unit progression and abilities (weight 0.22): Units have special skills and a progression system, allowing them to upgrade or gain ranks through combat. This adds depth to unit management.
- Streamlined economy for faster matches (weight 0.16): The economy is streamlined with a unified storage building and separate upgrade paths, enabling quicker matches. This appeals to players wanting less downtime.
- Ages split into eco and military (weight 0.15): The age-up system is divided into economic and military lines, allowing players to specialize their advancement. This adds strategic variety.
- Procedural maps for replayability (weight 0.09): Procedurally generated maps enhance replayability, offering varied terrain and strategic opportunities in each match.
- Market trade system present (weight 0.09): A market trade system similar to Age of Empires IV allows resource exchange. This provides an alternative economy strategy.
- Active community and support (weight 0.09): The game has a multiplayer-focused community that is active, indicating ongoing player engagement and potential for longevity.
- Basic mechanics identical to AoE2 (weight 0.09): Core mechanics like resource gathering, building, and research are nearly identical to Age of Empires II, making it familiar for veterans.
- Auto-seeding and idle villager alerts (weight 0.09): Quality-of-life features include auto-seeding farms, visible idle villagers, and research/build queues. These reduce micro-management burden.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes and instability (weight 0.39): The game crashes constantly during gameplay, with some players experiencing errors within 20 minutes. Auto-save provides some relief, but crashes remain a major issue.
- Poor overall optimization (weight 0.32): General poor optimization leads to lag, stuttering, and unplayability. Performance patches have not resolved these issues, and problems persist on both low-end and high-end systems.
- Severe FPS drops (weight 0.26): FPS drops to below 10 every 10 minutes regardless of graphics settings, making the game unplayable. The issue affects various hardware configurations.
- Game fails to launch (weight 0.26): Players report that the game will not start or launch properly from the launcher. This issue affects multiple computers, suggesting a widespread launch problem.
- Server crashes in multiplayer (weight 0.19): Engaging large armies in multiplayer causes server crashes, and there is general lag and bugs in multiplayer modes. This severely impacts the multiplayer experience.
- Lag and stuttering on specific hardware (weight 0.18): Players with GTX 1050 Ti, Pentium G4560, 8GB RAM, and Windows 8.1 report game stutters. Also, AMD CPUs cause performance issues, indicating hardware-specific optimization gaps.
- Unplayable framerates (weight 0.11): Unplayable framerates are reported, consistent with other performance complaints. The game fails to maintain smooth gameplay even on capable systems.
- Performance issues on high-end systems (weight 0.11): Even systems with Windows 10, i7, GTX 1060, and 16GB RAM experience poor performance, highlighting that optimization is insufficient for modern hardware.

Recommendations:
- Not recommended overall (weight 0.61): Multiple reviews express a lack of recommendation for the game, citing various issues such as quality, monetization, or abandonment.
- Recommended for RTS fans (weight 0.55): Players who enjoy real-time strategy games, especially competitive or multiplayer aspects, find the game enjoyable and recommend it to fellow RTS enthusiasts.
- Decent free alternative (weight 0.3): The game is seen as a worthwhile free option to pass time or for RTS fans seeking faster matches without cost.
- Needs more polish (weight 0.28): Reviews indicate the game requires further updates and improvements to be fully recommended, especially for non-RTS or historical fans.
- Good for multiplayer (weight 0.23): The game is considered ideal for playing with friends in multiplayer, but less suited for solo or single-player experiences.
- Inferior to Age classics (weight 0.22): Players compare this game unfavorably to Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, Age of Empires 3, and Age of Mythology, suggesting returning to those classics instead.
- Free-to-play model issues (weight 0.22): Some players do not like the free-to-play monetization, mentioning microtransactions and suggesting the game would be better if sold outright or only via DLC.
- Wait for updates (weight 0.22): Several players suggest holding off on purchase or play until the developers release more patches and content to improve the game.
- Mixed but worth trying (weight 0.17): Despite mixed reviews, the free version is recommended for RTS fans to try, and some suggest buying DLC or faction packs on sale.
- Avoid microtransactions (weight 0.13): Players advise against spending money on in-game purchases, suggesting they do not support the developers or the game's model.
- Investment or good value (weight 0.13): A small number of reviews consider the game a good investment or a worthy purchase, especially when on sale.
- Single-player AI weak (weight 0.09): The single-player experience suffers due to weak artificial intelligence, making it less appealing for solo players.
- Abandoned by devs (weight 0.09): A review claims the game has been abandoned by its developers, leading to a do-not-recommend verdict.
- Only for new players (weight 0.08): The game is deemed acceptable for newcomers to the genre, while veterans are directed to play Age of Empires or Empire Earth instead.
- Dead multiplayer (weight 0.08): One review mentions that the multiplayer is dead, contributing to a negative recommendation.
- Refund requested (weight 0.07): One player explicitly requests a refund, indicating dissatisfaction with the game's value or quality.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.44): Players frequently cite technical issues like the game not launching, crashes, and severe FPS drops as major sources of frustration. Balance and design problems such as pay-to-win mechanics, unbalanced civilizations, and buggy unit pathing also contribute to a negative experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.26): The game is seen as abandoned by its developers, with no updates or support, which squanders its potential as a great RTS. Players are disappointed by the lack of single-player campaigns, dead multiplayer, and expensive microtransactions that ruin replayability.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.15): Players enjoy the game when playing with friends in custom matches against AI, appreciating classic Age of Empires gameplay and modern graphics. The engaging multiplayer, diverse units, and intuitive controls also provide fun experiences.
- Annoyance (weight 0.07): A specific annoyance is the inability to train scouts, making their loss highly detrimental. Additionally, the Chinese faction is criticized for having mixed cultural elements that break immersion.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Players are excited by the tactical experimentation offered by unique civilizations and the modern innovations that fill a gap for Age of Empires fans. The game's fresh ideas generate enthusiasm.
- Anger (weight 0.04): The presence of overpowered mortars and the free Byzantines faction sparks anger among players, as these elements are seen as balance-breaking and unfair.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Appreciation comes from the game's fresh take on classic RTS with stylish pixel graphics and asymmetric nations. This combination is valued for its visual and gameplay appeal.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.04): General dissatisfaction stems from a perceived lack of content in the game, making it feel incomplete or shallow.
- Confusion (weight 0.04): New players find the game confusing at the start, likely due to unclear tutorials or overwhelming mechanics.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Repetitive music is a cause of boredom, making the gameplay experience feel monotonous over time.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.04): Satisfaction arises because standard classes are sufficient for gameplay, and paid content can be earned through play instead of requiring purchases.
- Regret (weight 0.04): Players regret supporting developers who charge for content in an abandoned game, feeling that their money was wasted on a dead product.
- Surprise (weight 0.04): Some players are pleasantly surprised by how complete the game is relative to their low expectations, exceeding what they anticipated.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Despite issues, some players hold hope for future updates that might address problems and improve the game.}