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Rohag's Rise of Nations Page
Rise of Nations: Advancing the Genre
Rise of Nations™ "vs." Empire Earth™
Rise of Nations Debates
Rise of Nations Resources
Other Great Games!
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A Genre Enters History
Though the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) computer game genre was born and popularized in sci-fi/fantasy settings (Herzog Zwei™, Dune 2™, WarCraft™, StarCraft™, Command & Conquer™, Total Annihilation™, etc.), developers also began to cater to gamers of more historical interests.
Ensemble Studios' 1997 mega-hit Age of Empires™ (AoE) demonstrated a serious market existed for RTS games grounded in history. Age of Empires' success spawned sequels and many imitators.
Clones?
Sierra published Stainless Steel Studios' ambitious Empire Earth™ (EE) in late 2001. In many respects EE refined the AoE formula and extended it to include all human history from the Stone Age to the near-future "Nano Age." EE has sold well - over a million copies. It can boast a community of dedicated, competitive gamers.
Several months after Empire Earth's release, Big Huge Games backed by Microsoft Game Studios announced the development and scheduled spring 2003 publication of Rise of Nations (RoN), a historical RTS game spanning ancient times to the present. Sound familiar? "Clone!" "Been there, done that!" "Rip-off!" and other comments have frequently surfaced in pre-publication discussions of RoN. After all, the announced historical scope of RoN, its interface and 3D graphics as seen in released screenshots all invite immediate comparison with EE.
Rise of Nations' announcement, however, has also raised the hopes of gamers who feel that Empire Earth cannot be the only model of a history-spanning RTS.
Some of those gamers initially found a home at Rise of Nations Pantheon (now long defunct). Veteran forum member "Inculcator" channeled his frustration with repeated clone denunciations of RoN into the following comparative list (below, left column), for which I provide sympathetic commentary (below right):
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Inculcator's List
RoN Distinguished from EE "A thousand thanks and one more" to Inculcator for his permission to use this list! Though the commentary has been updated to reflect RoN's released state, both the list and basic commentary originally date from summer 2002.
| Borders |
RoN features visible national borders similar to those in turn-based strategy games like Alpha Centauri™ and Civilization III™ (not surprising; Brian Reynolds was Alpha Centauri's primary designer and worked on Civ3 in its early stages before leaving Firaxis to found Big Huge Games). |
Unique regional art for buildings and land/air units;
unique units |
EE fell short for many because it has no nation-specific art for units and buildings, though all models are at least inspired by history. RoN features four different regional/cultural graphic templates with additional specific models for each of it's 18 nations. Additionally, RoN's nations each have 4-7 unique units of their own. |
| Unique techs |
RoN approaches the classic RTS "tech tree" differently. Apart from "aging up" and unit-specific upgrades, RoN features four broad developmental streams - science, commerce, military, civics - each allowing eight level upgrades. Players can mix upgrades from the four areas to develop a unique character for their nation, though all are interwoven such that advancing will be more difficult if any are ignored. |
| Different and more historically correct ages |
EE divided human time into 14 epochs (you can configure the game to play through all, some, or only one), paying what some might call flawed attention to the finer points of conventional historical nomenclature. RoN runs eight ages - Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Gunpowder, Enlightenment, Industrial, Modern & Information. This scheme of historical division is at least more academically neutral. |
| No questionable future junk |
EE's inclusion of two quasi-sci-fi near-future ages (Digital & Nano Ages; EE's The Art of Conquest expansion will feature another future Space Age) offended the historical sensibilities of a number of gamers. Others obviously love those speculative epochs. In any event, RoN's designers have decided to stay in firm historical territory though - as a way to prevent games from becoming interminable stalemates - a player may acquire a handful of super-powerful "future" technologies once everything else has been researched. |
Command structure,
In-depth tactics,
In-depth strategy,
Flanking |
RoN's control of military units is more sophisticated than many previous RTS games of similar scope. RoN depicts infantry units as a trio of figures, and all units will have "front" and "flank" aspects affecting combat. Generals are able to temporarily hide forces for surprise attacks, create decoys to confuse enemies, give friendly troops a defensive boost and enable forced marches. Armies can bring along supply wagons/trucks to counter "attrition" while in enemy territory. EE features two types of "hero" modeled on historical leaders: Warriors who decrease the amount of damage nearby friendly units take in combat, and Strategists who automatically heal nearby units and may "attack" enemy units by increasing the amount of damage they take. |
Non-senseless warfare,
Situations arise that model what has happened in history |
Here is the primary source of my personal dissatisfaction with EE - a game I otherwise found enjoyable. EE seems like one long opera of violence. There's no real diplomacy, and all development is subordinate to military power. I'm not a gamer whose fulfillment derives from unbridled competition. I had hoped EE would provide me a sense of participation in an evolving historical spectacle. War IS an essential theme in history, but de-contexted warfare damages the sense of in-game reality I seek in an epic strategy game, as opposed to a wargame. I find it more satisfying when economics, politics and culture provide a meaningful framework for military exploits.
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| Multiple cities not settlements |
RoN's turn-based parentage clearly shows here - cities, their founding and development, are at the heart of the game. In EE (and the Age series before it) one can construct individual buildings just about anywhere. This will not be possible in RoN. RoN's cities will be distinct, will serve as nodes of trade and progress, and be subject to capture rather than destruction. |
Trade routes,
Roads |
From its strategic zoom, RoN looks more like a hypothetical Sim Empire game (apologies to Maxis). Trade augmented by taxation upgrades is the only consistent source of wealth (formerly called 'gold') in the game, and era-appropriate roads appear automatically on well-traveled routes. No roads or trade appear in EE (EE's expansion will feature a trade-market for the United States alone). |
Idle ppl actions,
Smart citz |
Relative to the Age series of RTS games, EE reduced citizen micromanagement by making mineral, stone and grain resources functionally inexhaustible. RoN goes further by automatically sending new citizens to whatever the nation requires at that time in the event players don't intervene with their own assignments. This "smart citizens" option can be turned off, and citizens will remain idle until assigned by the player. |
| Realistic nuke warfare |
Some gamers have faulted EE for not featuring ICBMs in normal play. EE's weapons of mass destruction take the form of aircraft-delivered bombs and submarine-launched missiles of lesser lethality, both of which can be easily countered. This was probably done for game-balance. Nevertheless, EE's nukes are "just another weapon" to develop and employ if possible. RoN's nuclear weapons, of increasing destructiveness, not only require massive research & development outlays, but exact a political/diplomatic cost for their use in the form of a trade embargo - the using nation may not trade on the world market for a time, and might even bring about Armageddon - everyone loses. |
Spies,
Counter-spies |
EE has some stealthy units, but RoN has several specially trainable units for espionage (learning what rivals are doing & researching), counter-espionage (preventing the same), assassinating enemy generals and other units as well as bribing them.
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| Over 160 unique units |
EE did have a few "unique units" in the campaigns and in the editor. Using EE's editor a player could tweak unit stats, sizes, names, etc. Also, EE players could upgrade different aspects of their units, even if they looked the same as everyone else's. RoN is much more visually diverse. In addition to about 160 different units, each nation has three to seven units unique to that nation. In the words of Dave Inscore, Co-founder and Vice-President of Graphics of Big Huge Games and RoN Art Director: "Once you calculate all of the historical units, with their various racial and ethnic variations, RoN should have upwards of 450 distinct units." (Apolyton interview, 20 July 2002) |
| Units can fire from fortresses |
Both EE and RoN feature fortresses, but they play different roles in each game. EE's fortresses acted as immobile troop carriers; garrisoned troops cannot fight, but do not count against your population cap – a way to hold an army in reserve. RoN's fortresses have an intrinsic "border pushing" effect and may garrison troops, who may add their firepower to that of the fortress itself. |
| Micromanage or not - your choice |
EE reduces game micromanagement through several devices, such as nearly inexhaustible resources. RoN has a more robust collection of micromanagement-minimizing features, "Smart Citizens" being only one of them, and offers players the option to adjust or turn off many of these features. |
"No rush" option;
"Booming" and "rushing" strategies made perfectly viable |
RTS gamers are divided on the question of the legitimacy of the "Rush" strategy - quickly building a military force and sending it to cripple or even destroy an enemy's home base in the early stages of a game. RoN's standard game setup will not prevent rushing, but has a number of built-in features (borders, the relative strength of early-game defenses, the requirement to expend resources to declare war, etc.) that discourage ill-prepared rushes. Additionally, RoN will allow players to set up a game to disallow any fighting prior to a certain age. This ensures that, when war finally does break, the clashing armies will be larger and players (hopefully!) better prepared. |
| Trade with your own cities or trade with allies' cities |
The original edition of EE featured no trade at all; the expansion allows the United States to build a market to trade one resource for another. In contrast, trade is the only consistent source of wealth in RoN. Wealth is generated by caravans traveling among your cities and may be augmented through "Taxation" upgrades. If you have entered into an alliance - the closest form of international relationship in RoN, you may also trade with your ally's cities. Just build caravan units, and they automatically find open trade routes. |
| Interact with the AI in diplomacy |
EE, in keeping with its highly competitive goals, offered only two inter-national stances: "at war" and "allied." In RoN, nations may be "at peace" - a default status where military transit of borders is not allowed; "at war" - one player has paid resources for a declaration of war upon another nation; or "allied" - the outcome of a customizable agreement between nations. Inter-national proposals include "make (or sue for) peace," "become allies," and "mutually declare war" on another nation. An offer or demand for various resources may accompany each proposal, and computer players actually make counter offers/demands. |
Gain different advantages by different formations of war units;
Natural "counter unit" relationships but no RPS (Rock, Paper, Scissors) |
In earlier generations of RTS games, successful player strategies could employ mass armies composed of a single unit type (e.g. "Tank Rushes" in Command & Conquer™, "Champion Flooding" in Age of Kings™). EE attempted to ensure players would build more diverse armies and fleets by extensively applying a "rock, paper, scissors" model (RPS) to unit counters: shock weapons beat missile weapons beat piercing weapons beat shock, and so on. Though EE's RPS model branched and became more complex in later epochs, it still left many players with a feeling of historical artificiality. RoN aspires to maintain historical counter relationships (e.g. pikes vs. cavalry) without the rigid imposition of an RPS system. In RoN, the combat multipliers applied to unit counter relationships are an order of magnitude less than those applied to tactical advantages such as flanking. That means a weaker force may, through superior tactical positioning, gain an advantage over and defeat a stronger force. |
Planes will have the most realistic speed possible;
No more micromanaging aircraft; just assign a target and go
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EE did some groundbreaking work in RTS aircraft employment, and RoN seeks to go further. At times it seemed as if EE's aircraft flew no faster than ground units traveled; RoN's aircraft possess relatively greater, if not perfectly realistic, speeds. |
| Set preferences for what your units will attack |
Few things are more frustrating - and humorous - that watching RTS units blast away at the nearest enemy, whether or not that enemy can do them any damage, while being rapidly destroyed by another enemy slightly further away. RoN improves the intelligence of unit-level AI and allows players some control over unit target preferences through the "Raid" (attack enemy civilians) and "Raze" (attack enemy buildings) and other stances. |
Massing one type of unit is more difficult;
the more you build of that unit the more expensive it gets |
Citing the "bureaucratic effect" of large organizations and his desire to build into RoN game mechanisms making it more a challenge for players to stay ahead while facilitating the catch-up efforts of those who lag, Brian Reynolds has designed RoN with "ramping costs": Each subsequent building or unit produced by the same type of production building will cost a bit more than the previous one. This means a player with a big army will have a more difficult time adding to that army, whereas a player who has lost much of his/her army will have a relatively easier time replacing losses. |
| "Allied victories" will not be forced on players |
A game of RoN need not be one long war. Depending on how players set the victory conditions, there can be periods of complete peace in the game. In RoN players can expand their borders and compete with other nations both through violent and peaceful means. |
| Absolutely no "dead" unit lines |
All units in RoN belong to "lines" that continue the length of the game. No line of units ever becomes obsolete; new unit lines appear and old lines merge as the game progresses through the ages, but it is always possible to upgrade older units into useful newer versions - for a price, of course. In time your cavalry can become tanks. In contrast, I remember several games of EE where stone age rock-throwers survived to fight (feebly) among futuristic laser-armed infantrymen. |
| AI will not cheat and get extra resources |
EE did a great job of building a tenacious, challenging AI. EE did this, however, by granting extra resources to the AI such that it was not fettered by the same economic constraints as human players. RoN is attempting to make a challenging, believable AI by other means; RoN AIs may get extra CPU clock cycles, but they will have to abide by the same economic and physical laws as any other player.UPDATE, February 2003: RoN has several difficulty settings - Easiest, Easy, Moderate, Tough, Tougher, Toughest. BHG is granting the AI resource accumulation bonuses on the two hardest settings, much as they're allowing with the handicapping of experts contesting newer players online. |
| Sandbox mode |
BHG incorporated several developmental tools in the early builds of RoN to facilitate troubleshooting and testing, such as the ability to switch control of factions at will. RoN's developers have decided to leave some of these tools in the game as a "Sandbox Mode," allowing players the opportunity to "play" with and try out game elements without enemy national-level AIs seeking to thwart them. Brian Reynolds suggests this is an excellent mode for trying out various build strategies to employ in standard competitive games. |
| Entrenching |
RoN may not feature WWI-style trench lines stretching across the landscape, but generals will be able to order infantry units to entrench, strengthening their defenses and providing immunity from artillery splash damage. Beware flamethrowers, though - they'll flush units out of their prepared positions! |
Give orders while paused in single-player;
option to allow for this in multiplayer - "Cannon Time" |
BHG is trying something revolutionary - allowing the hosts of multiplayer games to permit a limited number of pauses and/or a budget of "Cannon Time" to each player. Cannon Time will be bursts of slow-motion allowing players to more effectively micromanage critical developments in games. Hosts, of course, need not enable pauses or Cannon Time. |
| Post-game graphs of your nation vs. other nations |
BHG promises as many statistics as we want - if we want. |
| Resources at sea |
Apart from fish, RoN players will find whales as a special resource and the standard resource oil at sea - critical for building modern militaries. This will enhance the oceans as an arena of significant conflict. |
| More! Fully-customizable hotkeys, Conquer the World campaign, Name your cities or have the game do it for you, Capture enemies' wonders or destroy them, Multiple paths to victory, Resources do not deplete, Record games and play them back, Scenario Editor and a full scripting language, Wide range of random map variants... |
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One "vs." the Other?
An Opinion: Though the similarities invite comparison, Empire Earth and Rise of Nations represent two different elaborations of the Age of Empires RTS game tradition. EE refines and enhances the classic RTS conventions, producing a streamlined, highly competitive gaming experience with few distracting elements. RoN, in contrast, has a dual heritage - AoE and turn-based empire-building games. RoN's ambition is to provide a multi-layered, deeper strategic experience, flexible enough to satisfy several gaming types - competitors, historians, warlords, city (nation) planners. Each game deserves judgment in its own right rather than a comparative face-off. EE didn't hold my attention long, but that's because I was really looking for something different, and that's what RoN is - different, not "a better EE."
You can find more information about RoN at the Microsoft Games RoN Site.
Developments: After releasing EE, SSSI linked up with a new publisher, Activision, and developed another epic historical RTS, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World. Sierra, the original publisher of Empire Earth, placed the development of Empire Earth II into the hands of Mad Doc Software, who completed their work on that game in Spring 2005. Mad Doc has an expansion, Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy in the pipeline for 2006.
Mad Doc's Empire Earth III is now available (November 2007). Critics have received it with less enthusiasm than the first two games in the series.
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