— Ch. 1 · The Birth Of The Bang Engine —
Age of Mythology.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Ensemble Studios began work on their first fully 3D engine in January 2001. This new technology was named the BANG! Engine and marked a departure from previous historical simulations. Developers announced the engine for use in a project codenamed RTSIII before revealing it as Age of Mythology later that year. The team decided to move away from centering the game on actual history to avoid becoming stale and repetitive. They wanted to explore new ideas involving mythology and legends instead of strict historical events. A trial version containing five campaign scenarios appeared after the September 2002 announcement. Players could only select Zeus during this early testing phase despite nine gods existing in the final product. Greg T. Street noted that the development team spent many hours working through active testing rather than relying on advice from distant management figures.
Four Ages And Resource Flows
Players advance their tribe through four distinct ages starting with the Archaic Age. Upgrading to the Classical Age, then the Heroic Age, and finally the Mythic Age unlocks new units and technologies. Each age upgrade requires paying a sum of resources and constructing specific prerequisite buildings. Four major resources drive the economy: food, wood, gold, and favor. Unlike previous Ensemble titles, stone does not appear as a resource type here. Greek villagers gather food by hunting animals or harvesting berries while Norse gatherers chop trees for wood. Egyptian laborers farm and fish to sustain their settlements. Favor is acquired differently across cultures; Greeks pray at temples while Egyptians build monuments. Norse players receive favor by fighting animals or possessing heroes. Resources can be exchanged at markets except for favor which remains unique to each culture.