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    HeavenGames
    News Archive 1999 April – December

    July 17, 1999
    4:30PM EST – 
    Age of Kings Betatest Sign-ups in 5 Days!

    This was the big announcement at the Zone chat last night.  Better yet, you can sign up for this beta test at Age of Kings Heaven and gamestats, doubling your chances to get in!   Be sure to get in quick once the beta sign up day comes!  Here are a few nice quotes from the chat.  Here is the scoop from our reporter on the scene, news Cherub Seraphac:

    A lot went on last night as the Chat with Senior Designer Bruce Shelley and 
    Lead Designer Mark Terrano. For those that didn’t get a chance to tune into 
    this great event, the big announcement is that the beta test will be 
    starting July 22. It will be from 30 different sites from around the world 
    with 10 from each site. A total of 300 all together. Any one has a chance 
    to win because it is picked randomly.

    Another big announcement is that Sandy Petersen and Chris Taylor won the
    first ever “Battle of Kings” Congrats to them! – Cherub Seraphac

    4:30PM EST – Big News at Tzar Heaven !
    What cool news could be coming concerning Tzar:   Burden of the Crown?  Tzar Heaven,the site for Tzar info, will very soon give you the scoop on this exciting new RTS fromHaemimont.  Hmm…. what could it be….

    4:30PM EST – I Just Got My Heaven’s Gaming Sites T-Shirt!
    Surprised that I’m just getting one now?  I didn’t go to E3, so I waited until my trip to Chicago to snag a few shirts from Angel Spineman.  I’m not just saying this because I am a member of the HGS staff, but these shirts are really cool.  If you’d like to find out how to get one, check out the HGS Marketplace.

    I saw Eyes Wide Shut last night.  Nicole Kidman looked fantastic.
    Angel Washizu

    July 16, 1999
    5:30PM EST – 
    Washizu is Back!

    After a nice vacation visiting relatives, Angel Washizu has returned to the news helm.  Many thanks to Angel Algernon for posting news, and maybe he’ll treat us to news more often 🙂  Many may have noticed we were down for a few hours this morning.  It was due to a fire at one of the Bell routers from what I hear.  Everything seems under control now, and gamestats is taking measures to ensure we don’t lose air time in the future.

    5:30PM EST – Persian Showcase!
    Once again, gamespot gives us a glimpse into playing the Persians during the Age of Kings.  You can check out some comments in the Age of Kings Heaven forum here.

    5:30PM EST – Angel Archaic Leaves His Heavenly Post!
    A long, longtime member of the Heaven staff, Angel Archaic (aka blackrider), has decided to step down from his post in the town center.   He’ll be missed, but swears he’ll be around to take his nightly beatings on the battlefield during the Age of Kings.

    5:30PM EST – New Gamestats Contest!
    This is something strange that gamestats is giving away this time, and I don’t pretend to understand it completely, but yet at the same time I feel interested all the same.  It’s a CD full of stuff you see on shows like America’s Funniest Home Videos.  Check it out.

    5:30PM EST – Zone Chat Tonight!
    Tonight’s Zone Chat should be one to remember with guests like Bruce Shelley, Mark Terrano and Harter Ryan tonight at at 6 pm (PST).  As reported earlier, Bruce Shelley is going to make a big announcement regarding Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The chat can be accessed from the Zone home page  Or use this special link to get right into the chat!  

    5:30PM EST – New Gamestats Contest!
    Got this from Steve “Vidguy” Cherrier.

    Ensemble Studios, creators of the award-winning “Age of Empires” game
    franchise, announced today that it has hired game industry expert Joe
    Ybarra
    .  A 17-year veteran of the games industry, Ybarra brings a wealth of
    knowledge in both management and design to the already seasoned Ensemble
    Studios team. The news comes prior to a separate announcement being made by Bruce Shelley during a chat with fans on the MSN Gaming Zone
    (http://www.zone.com) tomorrow, July 16, at 6pm PST.

    Ybarra’s credits include being employee number five and one of the chief
    architects of Electronic Arts; vice president and executive producer at The
    3DO Company; and head of Microprose’s design studios in Austin, Texas. He
    has also produced more than 30 computer and video game titles, including
    such classics as “M.U.L.E,” “Bard’s Tale I and II,” “Julius Irving and
    Larry Bird Go One on One,” and “Starflight.”

    Ybarra will join Dallas-based Ensemble Studios as a Producer, where will be
    involved in the daily management and direction of Ensemble’s current and
    future projects, which include the upcoming “Age of Empires II: The Age of
    Kings,” published by Microsoft.

    I think I’ll retire the -==-
    Angel Washizu

    July 15, 1999
    5:00PM EST – 
    Fall of Rome Tourney Update!

    -=§=-Angel_Zeus-=§=- asked me to announce that the signups for the Fall of Rome, a tournament of the Ages will continue through this weekend (until the 18th of July) and will allow players and teams to sign up for both RM and DM matches. Also, players should check the player’s lists to verify they are on there under the correct day & time.   So if you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not to late … just visit the Fall of Rome & get in on all the fun!

    3:00PM EST – News Flash!
    Just posted on the Zone Events page … the official Chat room link for Fridays big event… so don’t forget to join in on the MSN Gaming Zone live chat with Bruce Shelley, Mark Terrano and Harter Ryan on Friday July 16th beginning at 6 pm (PST), where Bruce Shelley is going to make a big announcement regarding Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. The chat can be accessed from the Zone home page  Or use this special link to get right into the chat!  
    Then stick around afterwards and watch Ensemble Studio’s Bruce Shelley and Sandy Petersen crush the competition (Ion Storm’s John Romero and Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor) in the First ever Microsoft Age of Empires II “BATTLE OF THE KINGS” Beta Tournament. The MSN Gaming Zone will post live pictures and updates from the tournament starting at 6:30 pm (PST) at http://events.zone.com/age2!

    3:00PM EST – Want an Early Taste of AoK?
    Then check out AoE2.com … they are offering an AoE/RoR modpack (use at your own risk … I haven’t tried it) that was sent in by Spy_Oz.  This modpack clams to convert the buildings in AoE/RoR into AoK buildings.

    No warranty implied or expressed 
     – Angel Algernon

    July 14, 1999
    5:30PM EST – Stooge_Breydel’s Roman Guide!
    A Recent upgrade to Heavens Academy is Stooge_Breydel’s Roman Guide. It covers everything any aspiring Caesar would want to know … from scouting, fighting units & strategies, to all of the technologies you need to upgrade while mastering the Roman civilization. Stop by the Heavens Academy and get some more of this.

    Let’s rock!
    When you have 6 short swordsmen (from 3 barracks), mix them with your slingers and start attacking your opponent. First go after his villagers, especially his woodies. If they run away – which they probably will do – you won’t be able to follow them because they probably have wheel by now. Just concentrate on his houses, farms and other buildings then. Order every series of 3 new swordsmen to join your army. And when you have both the broad swordsmen upgrade and metalworking the fun really starts…

    5:30PM EST – Persian AoK Showcase up @ Gamespot!
    The Gamespot AoK Showcase has once again turned out a truly awesome report. The latest update is of the Persians and a Unique Unit that you might remember from AoE and RoR … Here are a few excerpts from Ensemble Studios Designer Greg Street

    Persians are a lot of fun in the first few minutes of the game because their extra resources give them a great deal of versatility. You can afford to explore a bit more before laying down that first mill or lumber camp or switch to a fishing ship strategy earlier. Fishing ships are not quite as effective as they were in ROR, due to their cost and build time, but a Persian player can offset this bonus a bit.

    For More on the Persian Bonuses see AgeofKings.com or Gamespot but for now here is a little about one of my favorite units … those plodding pachyderms

    This is one of those areas where fun wins out over historical accuracy. When we were first coming up with unique units for all the different civilizations, a lot of the units we came up with were fairly indistinguishable. A unique unit needs to be truly unique; not only should it look like nothing else, but it should play like nothing else in the game. Unique units are not the same as superunits, like the paladin and arbalest … While it is true that Persia did not use war elephants much past the time period of the AOK Dark Age, once you see an army of elephants stride boldly into an enemy town, it is pretty easy to forgive the anachronism. Elephants elicit fear like few other units.

    War elephants can destroy most units and buildings with relative impunity. They have so many hit points and do so much damage, that even if an enemy can bring down your pachyderms, he can’t defeat them all quickly enough before you have leveled his barracks, stable, and castle… If an enemy lets you make 30 or 40 of them, he probably deserves what he is about to receive.

    5:30PM EST – Heaven Welcomes Some New Cherubs!
    There are 3 new News Cherubs that will be helping out Washizu, Spiney & Me. The lucky 3 are Cherub TigerLily better known as TigerLily in the forums, Cherub ZuL, and Cherub Seraphac. Congratulations or should I say condolences (not ready for the burden were you  ) to the 3 new Cherubs & thanks for scouting around for news. 

     Plodding Pachyderms 
     – Angel Algernon

    July 13, 1999
    6:15PM EST – Special Zone Chat!
    Don’t miss the special Zone Chat on Friday, July 16th with Bruce Shelley and Mark Terrano of Ensemble Studios!  These events are always a riot & full of interesting bantering … so be there or be Zone fodder!

    On Friday, July 16th from 6:00-6:30 PST there will be a special Zone Chat with Ensemble Studios Senior Designer Bruce Shelley and Lead Designer Mark Terrano. Fans will be able to tune into a special event Zone Chat Room and find out just what this upcoming very special announcement is, in addition to asking Bruce and Mark Age II related questions. All Agers are welcome to come and ask questions and celebrate the Ensemble Studios open house.

    6:15PM EST – Don’t Miss the Fall of Rome Tourney Signups!
    There are only a few more days left to sign up for the Fall of Rome, a tournament of the Ages! This could be the last great Age of Empires Tournament ever & you don’t want to miss it.  Besides we’re giving away lots of really cool prizes 

     Oh Man, It’s been awhile since I did this 
     – Angel Algernon

    July 7, 1999
    6:15PM EST – Granary Update!
    Angel Grenadier mentions of a grand Granary Update with the following goods for download:

    “12 new ROR campaigns, 1 new AOE campaign, 8 new ROR single player scenarios, 4 new AOE single player scenarios, and 8 new ROR multiplayer scenarios today! Sorry for the long delay, but your Granary Angel had to move to a new cloud, and was unable to spend time on Heavenly duties. I’m on my way to catching up with your submissions though, as you can see from this update.”

    6:15PM EST – Gamestats Contest!
    Sorry, I’m in a huge hurry.  Here you can win a bunch of stuff from gamestats.

     Off to the the Phillies game
    -=Angel Washizu=-

    July 6, 1999
    8:30PM EST – They’re Looking For A Few Good Agers!
    At the Ensemble Studios web site, you can check out a bunch of Marines packing heat and copies of the Age of Empires Gold Version, thanks to forumer “Entwaidamela.”  You got to check out these pics.

    8:30PM EST – TA: Kingdoms
    I’m almost ready to write my review that I promised, so stay tuned.  I’ll give you a sneak peak if you are planning to buy it right away, though.  This game will bring even high end machines to a crawl when many units are in motion.  Even on my P2 450, an 8 player game is literally unplayable, and this is against the computer, not multiplayer  (Note:  This is my opinion, and not of AOE Heaven or Gamestats).   My full review will be pretty detailed, and it isn’t that bad of a game actually, just a CPU hog.

    8:30PM EST – HGS Presents the Following Events
    Just a reminder to all of you out there:

    The Fall of Rome Tournament

    The Mongolian Campaign Contest

    Heaven’s Gaming Sites shirts available

     

    Quake 3 looks phenominal
    -=Angel Washizu=-

    5th of July, 1999
    2:00PM EST – Thorfinn’s Theory of Pointgrubbing!
    A very interesting subject was brought up in this thread.   There are strategies for DM, RM, Iron Start, Nomad Start, etc., etc, but none really exist for point-games.  Thorfinn has taken it upon himself to come up with a few “point-grubbing” strategies.

    “Micromanagement of combat gets a lot more free points. Deleting your attackers just prior to their death still gives you the loss, but costs your opponent his 1/2 point/kill, and, more importantly, cripples his (kills-losses), meaning that even if both generals leave the battlefield with no survivors, the general who is better at the Delete key is way ahead in points.”

    While this may not be the most fun way to play all the time, the best thing about ROR is that there are many of different settings and ways of playing.

    2:00PM EST – Strategic Taunts!
    Many people use taunts in pre-game chat or after the outcome has been decided, and rarely during actual play.  Jaheed makes the call for taunts that help you out in thisthread.

    Just bought a Riva TNT2 🙂
    -=Angel Washizu=-

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