Disclaimer: this post does not cover civ switching, as I believe it's a separate thing. The post is a draft of my thoughts on the current implementation of ages and legacy paths, and I'll keep working on it when I have time. I figured it's a lot to process and support in the long run, so I decided to share this incomplete version hoping to get some useful feedback and early impressions. To everyone who reads the post till the end and shares thoughts in a constructive way, thank you 
What are the characteristics of age transitions now?
What is being criticized?
What insights can we extract from the feedback?
Where does the streamlining come from?
Let’s create a few hypotheses:
The points in red above are those that I suggest addressing to get rid of the issue.
So, how do we fix it without breaking the game for players enjoying the race, goals, obstacles, etc.? Let’s attempt to create directions from hypotheses:
Let’s proceed from directions to action items:
What are the characteristics of age transitions now?
- Happen at fixed point in time for everyone (now with a countdown)
- Can be accelerated by completing legacy path milestones and future techs/civics
- Need to go away from the map screen to pick a new civ, then sit through a loading screen
- Choose bonuses depending on previous ages’ legacy path progress
What is being criticized?
- Disruptive nature of age transitions
- Later ages lack in comparison to Antiquity
- Progress is being reset between ages, disregarding previous accomplishments and disrupting the flow of one’s gameplay journey
What insights can we extract from the feedback?
- Players want all ages to be epic and interesting to play. In particular, players want more interesting Exploration and Modern ages
- Sandboxing players hate streamlining in their games
- Most players play non-multiplayer games and seek challenge instead of competition, epic accomplishments and goals instead of points and rules
- Players want the possibility to have fun with their empires without competitive mindset
Where does the streamlining come from?
Let’s create a few hypotheses:
- Streamlining comes from the way the game directs players’ journeys by presenting them with a race (age progression), goals (legacy paths), obstacles (crisis), and how the UI/UX keeps players’ focus on these. I’m using the word race not only because I believe it to be a good analogy, but because the developers choose the cup
as an icon for age progression. It implies and encourages competition.
- Both the race and its goals are identical every time, as well as the rules for winning them; only the order, the amount and pace of fulfilling those goals is different between games. I’d argue that in order to increase the playthrough variety, players must avoid thinking about those goals and just set the goals for themselves.
- The age is forced to end when the age progression is 100%, no exceptions. There is no way (and unfortunately no reason) to play more of the age. Furthermore, the better AI plays its legacy paths, the quicker the age will end.
- The only accomplishments the game recognizes are legacy path accomplishments. You’ll get a victory screen only if you manage to perform well on legacy paths. And you’ll get immediate “milestone achieved” screens only for legacy path milestones.
- There’s only a handful of civilizations that get to mess with legacy path rules, and those civs are often praised for doing so.
The points in red above are those that I suggest addressing to get rid of the issue.
So, how do we fix it without breaking the game for players enjoying the race, goals, obstacles, etc.? Let’s attempt to create directions from hypotheses:
- Make feeling the race optional, but make it make sense for singleplayer and multiplayer.
- Recognize different accomplishments of players. Add more goals for players to complete in the current age, not just legacy paths, and encourage players’ own goals.
- Put player journey’s goals in the front and competitive goals in the back, while keeping them accessible
- Things that happen on schedule in the game (crisis, age transitions) should not happen on schedule in a non-competitive game - let players decide when to fast-forward their game to the next age
- Competitive players playing against each other are much more tolerant towards messing with match settings to get the experience they want. Meanwhile, players playing against the AI would rather have default settings tailored for the best possible experience for them.
Let’s proceed from directions to action items:
- New match setting “Game Mode” with 2 values:
- Test of time (the default) - upon reaching the golden age and after a few other criteria are met (number of turns, research progress, etc. - the exact formula is TBD), the player gets an option to fast-forward to the next age. It’s not enforced and can be done during any subsequent turn. There are no victories in Antiquity and Exploration ages, and the player always gets a victory screen if managed to achieve the golden age milestone. The player can just keep playing the current age and even pursue new goals (more on that later) or a conquest victory by capturing all other players. This setting is available in single player only.
- Competition - the age ends at the same moment for everyone, and the one with the most legacy points wins the age. This is the current behavior. This gives competitive players an option they’re used to.
- Rework legacy paths’ window into demographics, showing players’ performance in a non-streamlined and more expanded way. Demographics should be grouped under science, culture, economic and expansion subpages, similarly to legacy paths. Demographics should highlight players’ different accomplishments by providing metrics for them, including non-competitive ones (population, advancements, celebrations, etc.); as well as ranking for each demographic among all players.
- Accomplishing certain demographic milestones might award leaders with titles visible in the in-game UI and persisting through ages.
- The regular progress bars for legacy path milestones are under each demographics tab at the bottom and serve the same purpose (i'm still figuring out the way to change this). In the competitive mode, the age progress percentage is visible in the UI as usual.
- Progressing far into the tech or civic tree gives access to new gamebreaking opportunities for players. These opportunities should be accessible both in singleplayer and in multiplayer, both in test of time and competitive settings, but the competitive race should require a huge effort from players to achieve the future tech/civic before the age ends. The effects described below are mere examples of what those effects could be.
- Antiquity age’s future techs allow players to:
- Build capable ships and sail to distant lands in the antiquity, to meet and conquer players and independent powers
- Advance in warfare and machinery, removing the cap on combat strength bonus from resources and allowing siege and naval units to attack multiple times per turn during the age
- Unlock and discover new resources that provide % increase to yields in settlements and other, more unique benefits (e.g. discount on diplomatic actions)
- Exploration age’s future techs allow players to:
- Develop huge advancements in transport and logistics, increasing the speed of traders and treasure convoys to match the Modern Age (i.e. establish trade routes and deliver treasures immediately)
- Master rifling and ballistics, providing additional combat strength to melee and ranged units, as well as additional attacks per turn during the age
- Lay the path to world economics and its intrigues by allowing players to choose gold (as bribery and manipulation tool) instead of influence for all diplomatic actions during the age
- Modern age’s future techs allow players to:
- Produce advanced aircraft, such as helicopters ignoring terrain costs, and modern armor, increasing combat strength and number of attacks of cavalry units
- Invent intranet and vastly improve specialists’ performance across the empire
- Use nuclear power for electricity, improving the efficiency of factories and other tier 2 buildings in the empire
- Similar to new techs, there are new civics available after researching future civic.
- Antiquity age’s future civics allow players to:
- Further enhance their pantheon beliefs for growth or warfare and persist the effect into the next age’s religion
- Plot intrigues and conspiracies, by unlocking new diplomatic actions to cause rebels in enemy cities, potentially surrendering them to your empire
- Leave a mark for eternity by building leader statues, providing bonuses in all ages based on number and types of leader attributes unlocked
- Exploration age’s future civics allow players to:
- Establish global presence on the diplomatic arena by allowing players to escalate endeavors and sanctions to all allies of the target for additional (discounted) price. This inherently allows multiple endeavors of the same type.
- Condemn heretics and start crusades with their own and allies’ armies having increased combat strength, movement, and capturing relics during the conquest.
- Proclaim revolutions to achieve more advanced forms of governments (currently available during a certain crisis)
- Modern age's future civics: TBD
- Antiquity age’s future techs allow players to:
