It’s a busy day in games having their beta launches. While Back 4 Blood kicks off for those who preordered, another major title will also be busy collecting a ton of feedback from real-life players: Age of Empires 4.
The closed beta for Age of Empires 4 has started from today, and if you had signed up via Microsoft’s slightly arcane insider protocols (which involves uploading Dxdiag files) then it’s worth checking your spam folder — some of the beta invites have reportedly been flagged.
For everyone who didn’t get preselected, don’t expect to hear much about what AOE 4 is like. The restrictions on the closed beta include a pretty hefty NDA, although it’s likely that Relic will run an open beta for Age Of Empires 4 before its official release on October 28.
Here’s everything that’ll be accessible in the closed beta, which runs from today until the morning of August 17 Australian time:
- Brush up on the basics with our tutorial mission, Mission Zero. Arm yourself with knowledge by rebuilding a township, learning important lessons on economics, early combat, and other core skills.
- Test your mettle in multiplayer or vs. AI matches, including up to eight human or AI players. You can play against other Insiders or take the AI for a spin — we’re collecting data on a variety of match types so we encourage you to try out all the different modes!
- Experience a wide range of maps that allow you to customize your own experience. You’ll be able to select from only a sample of our intended release maps during the closed beta, but don’t fret for choices: each map allows the user to select a variety of sizes and appearances (called “biomes” in-game).
- Try out four of the eight launch day civilizations. Hone your strategies with the Mongol, English, Delhi Sultanate, and Chinese civilizations – all of which you can learn more about here.
- Observe the games of others. Given its importance to the Age community, the closed beta build will allow participants to check in on the games of others (so long as the match host approves!).
Unsurprisingly, AOE 4 doesn’t need a beast of a PC to run. Here’s what Relic and World’s Edge are quoting for what I’m going to assume is the minimum specs — they don’t explicitly say minimums, but these are so low it’s hard to imagine they’d be the recommended specs.
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: 1.7-2.7GHz (turbo) 4 core: Intel Core i5-4460T (35w) / AMD FX-6300 or better
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 760 / AMD Radeon R7 260X or better with at least 2 GB of VRAM
Small tip for all of those if you do get into the beta: monks need to be holding relics to get the Wololo train going. Just FYI. And if you did miss out on all of this, head over to the Age Insiders page to register and flag your account for future betas.
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