Kingdom Ages

kingdomages.gif

[22:15:20] soccerstar2222: arhhhh have u guys ever heard of a guy named cybermonsters
[22:15:35] soccerstar2222: he killed 2 of my kings in my new set of villages

www.KingdomAges.com

I’ve been checking out different free strategy and rpg games online after toying with the idea of investing in a dev team for a game. KingdomAges is one of the games I checked out.

If you’re into games, you know the big trick is to keep long term players satisfied while still attracting new players. KingdomAges does not appear to do a very good job of this.

Several problems I identified are:

  • Soldiers deprecated – There are four military types: Infantry, Cavalry, Archers and Cataupults. The infantry are no match for cavalry so no one buys them.
  • Slow Army Movement – Military pieces must each be moved separately, there is no group move function. It literally can take an hour just to instruct an army to move across the map (then many, many hours for the army to move – that part is fine). But who wants to spend so much time buried in the mouse?
  • Awkward coordinate entry – To move a military piece you have to highlight it individually, then click “move”, then click coordinates in TWO steps. It’s mind-numbingly boring.
  • Moderators attack players – This is unbelievable to me. I had a moderator attack me just a couple weeks into the game and gloat over wiping out an entire village. It’s a setup of megalomaniacs wanting to keep control over their private game. In that respect, it will never branch out to being a long term public game. Moderators should moderate – not use their backend moderator advantages for game play.
  • Lack of depth – Once you start taking over towns, there is no more depth to the game play. There is little nuance to attacks with massive armies and becomes primarily a number game. Those that want to spent their time round the clock on the game can rack up units.
  • Server Crashes – over two week of game play the server crashed three times.

This game would be more fun with a piece of paper and a calculator.*NOTE – Their server keeps crashing and it takes weeks to get into this game, it’s a very slow pace. In two weeks I saw the servers crash three times.*

116 thoughts on “Kingdom Ages”

  1. I agree, I’ve seen my share of control-freak moderators on this game. It ruins the play for everyone. Too many little kids on this game.

  2. What a wonderful review, which captures the essence of KA. To sum up the game in one word would be “boring”. But it can be addicting don’t you agree?

  3. Although a few points such as soldier depriciation may be accuarate, steps have been and still are being taken to improve the game. Yes the troops move slowly, but if movement and selection are done properly the awkard coordinate entry can be minimized to only once. As for the moderator attacks, from my point of view it was probably your own fault. Noobs like you arent usually attacked. The only times i have ever seen that happen is when the noob is VERY direspectful. The lack of depth issue that you had was because you got yourself killed before you could even start. Anyways that is all i have to say. Thank you for your incredibly skewed review.

  4. First off, I would like to introduce myself as a moderator of this game, Stargateanubis14.
    To your first statement, about the game not keeping players, that is not true. This game has a very large crowd of people, i personally know about 100 of these people, as we have kept in contact since the beginning at KingdomEras. There are many people who join, but never play. Those who actually do play, play and KEEP playing, until they die, or run out of time for the game. I have NEVER seen someone quit because the game is “boring” or “buggy”.

    soldiers deprecated: Yes the game is a little lobsided. The game should have the archers weak against cavalry, and cavalry weak against soldiers…etc etc. But i can say that Gabriel is coming out with a new KingdomAges (to be released in 2-3 weeks)

    Slow Army Movement: This is just a way the game was made. Yes it is slow, but there is the possibility to use tabs, and you can cut the time into a tenth of what it would have been to move troops. Also, the new KingdomAges will give you the ability to group troops into bigger battalions, and the map will be draggable, for easier mobility.

    Awkward coordinate entry: Same reason as to the above stated.

    Moderators attack players: first off, i would like to say that you had a bad experience… you got your butt kicked by a moderator who played the game. Also, the moderators are CHAT moderators. We do not moderate the game, only chat. We are not role models in any respect but that of the words we use. Also, i am slightly offended that you strike at all moderators of the game, just because of the action of one. There are multiple moderators for each server, and each has their own style of playing and interaction. I personally have control of the strongest players on server 2 in my kingdom, and i have morals i have established. We do not attack players with more force then they can defend with. We do not attack noobs (or players with under 4-5 villages). I look at things at several standpoints before acting.
    Also, what moderator abilities are you talking about that can be used to our advantage in an attack? We can only ban…and gabriel (the creator) watches the bans that are made, and the reasons behind them…so the only way a moderator can use their powers against you would be to ban you. (NOTE: The moderators on the new KA will be chosen very carefully, and an extensive background check will be performed)

    Lack of depth: As for depth, this game’s point is to build troops… yes this will give an advantage to the player who plays longer, but so will better technology or more depth…the more playing you do, the deeper you go, and better you get. If the depth didn’t make you better/stronger, then why would anyone want to play the game? It would be pointless and boring. The troops is just 1 of 2 equally accessible road that can be taken when creating a game.

    Server Crashes: This game has only crashed during times when it was expected to do so. One time was when the game was being transferred to a newer, better server. Another time was when Gabriel took the game off line to change a few things with the chat box. A third time was when Gabriel took the game off line to update the moderator abilities/add a moderator panel. A fourth time was when Gabriel took the data for his other game, White Templars, off the server (sharing some data with KA). These were all expeced server down times, but the lenght was unspecified.) Just because the server is down and you dont know why doesn’t mean that the game is crashing….assumptions are bad… assume=ass+u+ me….if you get my drift…hurts you and the person/thing you assume about when you assume.

    Yes, it is a slow paced game, but that is the way it is. All games are slow paced. This is NOT a game where you start out and you sit down for 5 hours and play. This progresses at time increments of 45 minutes and longer. So many times you start, and come back an hour later. All games start out slowly, its all about your patience.

    So my ending…the game isn’t the best, but its not as bad as you make it out to be. If possible, i would request that you change your review to be more accurate and unbiased. Take the fact that you lost in the game out of the story… face the fact that you lost, and judge the game as a game…not how it treated you.

  8. Stargate. I agree completely with you.
    Ka is being upgraded.
    And were CHAT mods.
    Theres a difference.
    Please dont exaggerate. Also, the game is that way. Live with it. 🙂

  9. why is the ka server down again? i need an answer for when it will be back on again

  14. I agree fully with what Stargate said, the mods are chat mods, not game mods. They do the best they can to make the game fun for everyone. Sure there are some flaws, as there is with all games. If you stayed with the game for longer and chatted with people and read forums, you would be up to date with things and the game would be more fun.

  15. yes, the whole point of the game is making alliances, threatening others with your almighty forces and playing the king with power. And argueing eternally whether to ban or not ban or to obliterste or not obliterste each other.

    If you want you can go sims city and not be bothered

    the objective of the game is up to you ^^

    When the **** is KA being reinstated???
    Or at least KA2????

  16. Gabriel has taken the game offline for a while, until he can find a server that has enough dedicated memory for the game (which could takea while). He was also working on KAII. KA has taken up so much time because he had to keep up the server, which wouldn’t let him work on KAII. So see this break from KA, as the next step to KAII.
    There is also the other possibility that gab has gotten tired of the KA-style game, and is working on his RPG game.(He seemed to be getting tired of all the problems KA had been presenting).

    As of right now, i just know that Gab has PURPOSEFULLY taken KA offline because he can not upkeep the game right now (for one reason or another)

    Your faithful mod,
    Stargateanubis14

  22. I am currently working on creating a new and improved KingdomAges(with no coordination from gabriel). As of right now, thins are progressing fairly slowly because i’m starting from scratch… So far, i have a working registration/login system, a chat, and have almost finished a PM system.

    I am in need of the following:
    *Graphics design (for the entire essence of the site…in-game graphics, as well as backgrounds/advertisements for the site)
    *Code help: php/mysql and javascript. I will need as much help as i can to get the actual game made.(mostly in javascript).

    Help me make a new KA for the world to love!

  23. according to stargateanubis gab23 has sold all her equipment and ka will not be coming back on, however stargateanubis is creating his own version of the game that will be coming out soon stay tuned and ill keep everyone updated!! 😀

    taylor

  24. STILL looking for a graphics designer…that is willing to be on and active. I may have one, but he is currently very inactive.

  25. Hah, this is reminding me of our messageboards.
    Without the… ya know… screaming and cursing. :/

  26. Hey guys! It’s me KV! ;D

    Ya know… The guy who decimated you all with 2 other players on the first server. 😛

    Anyway, Anubis, I have no graphics/designing experience. But if I can help in anyway, let me know. ^^ I love KingdomAges, and would love to have it back online.

  27. has anyone ever spoken to gab recently?
    I dont think that KA 1 will ever come back, with the looks of things now. But thats just my theory.
    Star, mabye you can get graphics from other games and stuff, like aoe or Civilazatioj

    Everyones asking, WHEN?

  28. Acutally, people have been saying that Gab sold his equiment. So I dont think ka will ever come back.

  29. lol hey people i was rlly confused but remember me from KE its good to see people like stargateanubis who have stuck to this game from KE to KA and to all those h8ers this game is good give it a try and it take like what 30 mins a day to update your stuff, hope its back!

  30. This guy’s right, KA wasn’t that great, but I think Gab bit off more than he could chew. It’s a shame he collapsed it, it could’ve developed into something if he had a few helping hands that actually could’ve helped with coding and administration.

    But I’m glad to see all the lads still here, and that people haven’t forgotten it. I’d be happy to help bring back KA bigger, better and patching up all these holes.

    I always held out on the hope KA would one day be a game well known, for all it’s faults it had one thing, and that was a fairly solid fanbase. Star, if you’re still serious about a reborn KA, count me in.

  31. when is ka back i miss it and im playing wow now but i wanna play ka as well and no ones ever on the chat room anymore go on there and talk then guys lol

  32. What is KE? is it Kingdom Empires? Is it good? do I just type KE? on google? Ill try it If its same as KA. I thought KA was a very good game, for someone alone like Gab. He could get more ads and earn money. So sad, my fellow KA veterans. Anyone play AOE2 Conquerors?

  33. kingdom eras was the original version of kingdom ages which crashed.
    Seems that the kingdom games dont have much luck.

  34. Whats the name of the new Kingdom Ages site cause its not working when i type in kingdomages.com. can anyone tell me what it is.

  36. Great to see you guys again and wow. i been talking with star and helping him with the game. and hey king V

  39. KA was a good and addictive game yes there was a great deal that could have been improved on. as stargate was saying it is fun when you had firneds and allies to tlak to and stuff bu tit is a war game and ppl get annoyed when there kingdom is crushed

    homzi20
    2nd largest player on server 2

  40. Whoa, Hi guyz, this is the playa from KA (the original). I gotta get in touch with u guyz again. Ganna try getting my hotmail back and getting ur contacts again.

    As for the comments on KA, KA is one of the very best games I’ve played(and I’ve played a dang lot). Had been playing it for months, but unfortunatly quit because of the amount of time it took from me. Hope it comes back soon though, better and improved 🙂

  42. So i herd start new game is up and running.. Wow there is many old faces on this bulletin… So what is the site to star new game.?

  43. It doesn’t look like KA is gonna be back up…i’ve been looking for any contact information…but EVERYWHERE gab went, the places he’s registered with say he requested to not be able to be contacted….
    on a brighter note, the domain name KingdomAges is reserved until 2010 and it was renewed not too long ago. So there IS a chance gab is still out there working on it.

  46. no news yet on any new KA…last official thing was that it would be a few years….

    anyone got any contact info so we can stay in touch?

  48. READ THIS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO KA…

    this is the last time i’m telling you all

    (this is what is believed to be true and is said to be from gab)
    Kingdomages server crashed, causing gab to lose all of his data. Thus, in order for KA to come back, he would have to re-make it. He says this will take several years, since he has other things in life he’s doing.

    So..

    Q: what happened to KA?
    A: The server crashed causing all data to be lost

    Q: When is KA coming back?
    A: If it comes back, it will be a few years

    Q: Is there any thing LIKE KA out there?
    A: Not YET.

  49. I agree with everything except the mod thing. Mods on KA are just chat mods. They don’t have any power that a regular person doesn’t have. (except banning people who break rules in the shoutbox) I was a mod on that game and I attacked people. What’s the point of playing if you can’t attack people?

    The mass movement, coordiant imput, weakness of non-bk & lb’s, lack of depth for advance players, and getting attacked on vacation, and sever problems were the problems of the game.

    The lack of depth and the incredible time of making bk’s and moving bk’s is why I quit. I wish I knew a place where I could chat with my old friends from KA.

    This place is the closest I’ve come so far.

  51. if the moderator for this site would permit me to,i would like to post my sites address to get a KA reunion…i would be willing to put a banner or something up for this site….

  52. the last time the KA site crashed, It said that KA 2 was 15% finished. When you typed in Kingdomages.com, it said KA was 15% finished, only 5 months ago. What the heck happened then? Was that a lie to keep the players occupied?

    By the way, how old is Gab now? It always questioned me. I heard hes 16 or something. If he gets old enough to make time to make KA or KA2, we would all die of old age.

    Good thing people still have their KA spirit here.

    Happy New Year!

  53. i agree on the chat thing miss all of u guys wish their was just a chat room or something for us until their is another game made or something

  54. I think KA and KA2 is gone for good because it has been down fo like ever so i have given up all hope of it coming back

  55. also why take about it any more the chance of it coming back are slim to none with none having the higher precent

  56. the KingdomAges Domain name was renewed until like 2010…
    there is another game being made out there like it, called empirebattles (by me). Whenever the kingdomages domain is released, i’ll probably take it and re-route it to mine.

  58. its good too see you guys again 🙂 I hope ka comes back or at least have another good game to play in the meantime

  59. lol i see people from ka are still intrested in ka

    but when i typed in gabriels other site exodgames it led me too a whole new game

    maby the system has worked new round starts too morow ill tell you how it look when i get into the round ill take screen shot

    till then take care

  60. the new “exodgames” is, i’m 99% sure, NOT Gabs work…lol

    I keep track of domain names, owners, coding style…. not only is this new owner of exodgames have his info out in the open, but the codiing style is different, and relies heavily on flash….
    Also, the domain for exodgames was to expire on the 22nd of january (a 1 year license). This domain was purchased on that day, this time, from a person who doesn’t have any interest in hiding his/her identity.

    Another thing…these graphics actually seem good….gab didn’t have the time to focus on graphics this much…

    overall, not a gab site anymore…lol

  62. the problem with that is that getting graphics from already made games such as that, i cant do any sort of profitable form of the game. (meaning no registered stuff). Not to mention, not even THEY have enough graphics for me! lol. I’m gonna try to get a MASSIVE list out of every possible thing to do in this game…but that will be a while, since as i develop the empires, more and more things come about.
    This wont be a game that you can play for 2 months and get bored… You will HAVE to be on constantly to help defend from thief’s, pay your taxes (normally automatic though), get random events, research new upgrades, etc etc…and thats just as a player. The “better” empires will have higher tech to develop, to help them obtain global domination. This game WAS a simple idea, but has grown into a massively involved project. (which is why its taking so long). I’m gonna start over from scratch to make room for all these upgrades (once i get the time! lol)

  63. Hey guys!!! long time no talk!!! AHHHHHHH i hate this… i finaly got to the top 3 and the server goes down LOL. Anyways… cant wait intell stars game comes out!

  65. HEY STARGATE ITS ME FROM KA I COULD HELP YOU WITH GRAPHICS I HAVE EXPERIANCE IN MAKING GAMES(not to good but eccelent for a first try and am curently working on a zombie game (not online))WE WERE MATES ON KA BUT I GOT WIPED OUT B A NOOB WHO HAD LIKE 500 VILLAGES IHAD 4 I HAD 1 VILLAE LEFT BUT QUIT HOPE YOU RESPOND ILE CHEK THIS PLACE DAILY OK.

  66. Okay…instead of bugging down the blog, go to the forums he’s opened for us…

    as a reward, i will let you in on the latest news about KA!!

    and minteds123, no need for caps….if you wanna help out with the game, you can get better details at the forums, and give me a way to contact you….

  67. Stargateanubis just gave me the link to this post. I can’t believe that many people are still interested in KA. Reminds me great times.

  68. wasup gab are you makin a game and stargate ile post my email address in a sec (not my main email adress)

  69. please no body else other than gab and stargate a freind request for hotmail it isnt my main account but i dont want it getting spammed

  71. SG14 – I can make you a moderator on the forum, and if things ever get out of hand I’ll just make it a private forum for you so you can speak freely.

    On blog comments here, emails and most website URL’s are redacted to prevent spam. But you can post whatever you want in the forums or PM each other. In general, better to PM things like emails so spambots don’t pick them up.

  73. Minteds…you never sent me any messages on the forums through the link that we’ve provided….

  75. Okay…if you check both daily, then why haven’t you replied to my PM?….that of which i sent about 4 days ago….lol! doesn’t sound very daily to me! lol

  76. so it seems like this place finally died…lol…who woulda guessed…

  78. Lol even though its been a year i still check that Empire battles page every now and than

  79. Lol…has it already been a year? wow…luckily i’m actually making headway into the actual game parts…but its slow with school and such. I’m doin my school stuff AND trying to make sure the game is set up propperly. I could easily make a chop-shop game and have a whole bunch of bugs and leaks. But I’m trying to take my time and make sure the foundations are good, and that there aren’t any bugs in the systems i’m making.

  80. Has gabriel come out with a new game? Will KA ever be seen again? I hate tribal wars. I need my KA again. That sv-2 agme wasn’t that great either.

    Whatever happened to that white-castle game he was coming out with?

    Oh well…

  81. I agree… I have been waiting very patiently in the hopes that KA will return… I have almost abandond all hope.. but I still keep an ear to the ground incase it opens again….. oh well.. here is hoping!

  84. I have a fast question star… how long before you estimate that eb will be opperational.. I know that you have a life outside of making this game. so nothing would be set in stone.. but just a rough estimate..
    good to talk to you again btw… good to talk to you all again.. its been to long 🙂
    flip

  86. i’m hoping a beta will be up by the end of the week/beginning of next… i just pushed most of the past day tryin to find an operational, secure chat, then i worked on the “who’s online” box…by the end of today, however, you should be able to join a world, and navigate, looking at other peoples castles and the tree’s

  88. sounds awsome star 🙂 ty for the inpute… btw if you need any mods let me know.. as you know I was a KA mod and I would be happy to assist anyway I can.
    flip

  91. woooooo hey guys im making a website about space but i am going to advertise empire battles there aswell ile post the link when its done and im also helping with empire battles

  93. OMG!!! Guys I have missed you all so much, it really sucks that the game isn’t up and running, but at least we can all talk on this! We need a live chat area where we can all go and hang out. I miss talking with you guys. I see so many familiar names! Stargate, Computergeeker, Playa, omg I miss you guys.

  94. wasup ppl realy miss kingdom ages thank god i got ma XBOX 360 with live if eny1 else has it then msg your gamertag btw i have a mike so i can talk cya soon.

  95. You guys may not remimber me, but I was gith in KA…. I caused a bit of trouble, but I’ve changed a lot… matured a lot to…

    Anyhow Star, we used to be friends, hows it going?

    and if you guys need anything… just let me know

    If you need a graphics designer Star, I’m it… I just need to get a few programs and get used to them and you just mail me your ideas and what you want them to look like and you got them.

    ~G~

  96. I’ve gotten a gamertag as ’empirebattles’ . Just letting people know for contact purposes.

  97. Wow, I can’t beleive there are so man of us KA players here and still posting.

    I’m not sure if you guys remember me but I used to go by the crappy name of Dragonheart.

    KingV, when you say you dominated us, it was really only due to the flawed system of whoever plays longer will be better.

    I’ve gotten a lot older in this year+ (?) and cringe when I recall how much of kid I used to be.

    I hope KA comes back in some form of another.

    I’m not sure if I still have your email addresses because I think I automatically had the people I hadn’t talked to in so long deleted I think. If you guys are still reading this and want to add me:

    harvir-singh@hotmail.co.uk

  98. Hey Dragonheart! i added you on msn, and sent you an email…yet you haven’t replied. Are you possibly dead?

  99. “KingV, when you say you dominated us, it was really only due to the flawed system of whoever plays longer will be better.”

    Bullshit. I brought an entirely new set of tactics and strategies to KingdomAges. I dominated the entire server with my kingdom of four players. It is true that I had an advantage as I was able to devote more time to the game. HOWEVER, that is not the sole reason as to why I was the best player on Kingdom Ages.

    Anyway, whats up stargate?

  100. lol.. not much… just workin on EB bit by bit within school schedules
    I saw you just registered 😀

  101. King V, I don’t know what you mean by new strategies and such so I can’t comment on that.

    I do remember you being like 10 times larger than everyone else though and I don’t doubt you could’ve done what you did exactly by your own.

    I think most people were too scared to attack you too… I remember attacking your village with nothing but mines or whatever, I went to sleep and when I got back there were a huge load of black knights that had wiped them out…

    Also, I’m not sure if many people knew this but there was a glitch where you could move other people’s units but it was quite annoying so wasn’t worth it except for maybe kings or something. I can’t remember who told me how it worked but I remember accidently doing it to move the king of the leader of the first large kingdom (I forget the name) which caused him to think it was an ally who killed it which resulted in his death.

  102. lol… people people people…. no need to fight over stupid stuff like that now and here…. its almost 2 years old news XD

    just letting you know, i’m contemplating buying the KingdomAges domain once it ends, and using it as a redirect over to empirebattles.

  105. lol…i remember when infection moved my king to attack KingV, and KingV obliterated me on S1 😛

  107. Ok Ive been playing Kings Age for a bit now, I cant remember what Name I used in KA but I was one of the higher ranked and if I could remember you all would know me, A few that have posted here I recognize.

    As I recall just before it went down I was in a alliance that we were taking over like crazy even attack the top 10 ranked players.

    Dont think was in same as Stargate and if wasnt did have some settlements next to some of his

  108. hey guys im back i totaly forgot about this game so stargate hows your game going

  109. Lol… its doin pretty good… getting close to some sort of an ‘official’ release 🙂 The open beta sandbox is still doin good too 😛

  110. For everyone who hasn’t noticed, KA seems to be coming back 🙂
    And no… i will not attempt to combat KA or steal its glory… i’ll continue to work on my game in my spare time, and possibly work together with Gab if he wishes it.

    I’ll keep everyone informed, and nearly every single contact i have will be getting an email if KA does indeed re-open 🙂

    Here’s to the future 😀

  111. oh dang this is still going! hey whats up stargate

    I believe my name was Valenzuela ingame I remember I was the big blob on most north part of map aligned with KingV and we both got bored and decided to attack everyone in the server! haha that was fun and it created some content for you all!

  112. It appears that KA site is down/gone… maybe it is undergoing the final touches? 😀

  115. Hello, everyone.

    I have to admit, the game was slow. But it was the best, and most addicting game I have ever played.

    I am Portugal737, the rank 1 – 3 player of S1 >:D

    Good to see discussion is still going on

  116. Just went to Kingdoages.com

    Man, those screenshots bring back some great memories, huh?

    And lmao at that KingV debate. Obvisously people who put more time into a game will be better. But that wasn’t the only reason.

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