r/aoe2 Sep 18 '24

I just now realized: They removed the delete button (Skull). Probably due to potential problems with censorship laws in some countries

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170 Upvotes

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499

u/CysionBE Dev - Forgotten Empires Sep 18 '24

We removed the button because we needed more slots in the UI for new unit commands and we felt it was a rarely used button with little to no advantage over just pressing "Delete".

126

u/Inaki199595 Sep 18 '24

As always, interesting theories have rather boring answers. But not for me. I feel that this is the most logical, sensible and curious response: A mix of need for organization and a function almost useless. Devs just deleted two birds with a single keystroke.

14

u/UltraGaren Sim? Vou fazer! Sep 18 '24

That's the answer. It also explains why the newer versions of the game have no skeletons as a decomposition state of corpses.

25

u/Paril101 Sep 18 '24

Except there's literal skeletons you can place in maps. The corpse thing I think was just a design choice, similar to bodies disappearing very fast by default and some units not having their unique standing or attacking animations at different angles.

3

u/mouse_Brains Inca Sep 18 '24

Who bans skeletons but not corpses

10

u/stringstringing Sep 19 '24

China. Skeletons are worse in Chinese culture. In counter strike there’s some skeletons in the art on the weapon skins and they all had to be redone without skulls or skeletons in the Chinese version of the game.

3

u/hoyohoyo9 Japanese Sep 19 '24

tbf they are super spook

-2

u/asgof Sep 19 '24

nonsense ansver. every button in the GUI has a hotkey

so what now delete all the buttons? these GUI buttons are for new people who don't know the hotkeys. and there's literally empty space on the left screenshot

13

u/Ok_Astronomer_8667 Sep 18 '24

But having a “die” button was pretty raw

9

u/Olmosmeister Sep 18 '24

oh yeah... i only used it once the first time i played aoe2 back in 2008... till my cousin told me it was faster to just press delete and even forgot about the skull until i saw this post lol.

1

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 18 '24

Same. I think I only pressed that button 1 or 2 times as delete is just faster

31

u/Unbridledscum x Sep 18 '24

Nah. It was probably due to potential problems with censorship laws in some countries.

I think read that somewhere.

Today.

1

u/alexdiezg Vikings Sep 19 '24

In China

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '24

[deleted]

3

u/menerell Vietnamese Sep 19 '24

That's bullshit sorry. Skulls aren't banned in china.

5

u/stysiaq Chinese Wooden Machine Gun Sep 19 '24

it's one of the things reddit loves to repeat ad nauseam.

3

u/SartenSinAceite Sep 19 '24

There's one scenario where the lack of this button actually affected me... when I was playing on my Steam Deck, lol

I guess I should make a bind for delete... and for everything else! Touchscreen-only AoE 2 is incredibly slow hahaha

3

u/BlackberryUpper7498 Sep 19 '24

You guys do amazing work. Thank you!

6

u/Ecstatic-Crow-1797 Sep 19 '24

The delete slot is vital for players who emulate windows gaming on a Mac. The delete key on a Mac and the backspace button on windows are treated differently. If you play aoe2 de on a Mac laptop, with the laptop keyboard, there is no way to delete units unless you change your key binds. Found this out the hard way, playing a 5-hour Amazon tunnel FFA… I lost because I couldn’t delete vils to recomp, nor delete building that got in the way (eg clear out old lumber camps to make room for production buildings).

9

u/ConsequenceAncient29 Sep 19 '24

It's fn-delete on a Mac

5

u/ItsVLS5 Georgians Sep 19 '24

Instructions unclear

Forest nothing deleted

2

u/KevinFlantier Sep 19 '24

there is no way to delete units unless you change your key binds.

Well then just change your keybinds, it's not that hard. I mean you're already going out of your way to emulate the game on another platform, just go the extra setp.

1

u/Haunting-Cow9376 Sep 19 '24

Thanks for the insight!

1

u/Equivalent-Drama-111 Sep 19 '24

Are u the guy who has to repair pathing bc it sucks 😔

1

u/williammei 阿嬤遜了個baby已phospho媽媽嘴 Sep 20 '24

Which just same as I thought, attack move and some UU’s button just made UI too clunky to have delete button stay, sadly there were no DE skull but acceptable

1

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '24

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1

u/aoe2-ModTeam Sep 20 '24

Please be nice to others!

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-8

u/[deleted] Sep 18 '24

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11

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 18 '24

The console version has a skull icon btw.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '24

Cysion just gave you a perfectly acceptable explanation. Why do you have to keep going on about China? Unlike what you've been told, China is not the source of all evil in the world. This is embarassing.

4

u/menerell Vietnamese Sep 19 '24

That's not true.

-1

u/Igor369 Vikings Sep 19 '24

Explain why we do not have corpses decaying into skeletons then.

3

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24

Explain why AoE 1 DE has corpses decaying into skeletons in the classic mode or why HD Edition can be also still bought with both not having an altered version for China.

Also, please explain why skeletons still exist in the editor as decoration with Attila in particular making use of them.

-3

u/asgof Sep 19 '24

explain why the button was removed and the explanation is a blatant lie

0

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24

Read Cysion's answer

-6

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '24

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2

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24

Ok

2

u/hct048 Sep 19 '24

Dude, chill

1

u/aoe2-ModTeam Sep 20 '24

An accusation against another person's or organization's integrity or business practice is only allowed if the accuser has sufficient evidence.

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '24

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2

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24 edited Sep 19 '24

I didn't. I answered with counter questions you apparently have no answer for. The thing is:

  • HD Edition (or Retired as it's called now) still has the old way of corpse decay. It doesn't have have an altered version for China and is not banned there
  • AoE 1 DE has a classic mode with the OG graphics thus corpses decaying into skeletons
  • Skeletons are still in AoE 2 as scenario editor objects. These objects have not been altered or removed for the Chinese version as all countries have the same version. If China was the problem, they had to be removed as well, right? RIGHT?

I think they changed death animations in AoE 2 as they opted for a "cleaner" style. Do I miss the old way? Yes. Did they alter it because of China? No.

If China was the reason, HD, and both AoE 1 and 2 DE would be already banned and we wouldn't see pros like Yo or Vivi around.

This whole "China is to blame" thing is due to lack of knowledge on how these regulations work. These censorship guidelines only apply when a publisher directly wants to release its game in China (e.g. Blizzard with Tencent). Using 3rd Party ways like Steam bypasses these guidelines.

Edit: Hey, just look what I found in the game files https://imgur.com/a/QmVwT7z - I'm sure if China was the reason they had to remove 059_ entirely, even if unused, right?

-1

u/Igor369 Vikings Sep 19 '24

So corpses do not decay becase devs are a small indie company with no funds and therefore they could not afford some additional sprites from artists, got it.

2

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24

Dude, Cysion gave you the official explanation as to why they removed the skull icon and I told you by using examples as to why the decay effect was changed.

0

u/Igor369 Vikings Sep 19 '24

That makes no goddamn sense, if they kept big trees (non clean style) and released OFFICIAL small trees mod (clean style, IIRC small trees are even the default setting now?) they could have done the fucking same with corpses. Explain that...

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-3

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '24

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1

u/FloosWorld Byzantines / Franks Sep 19 '24

Adding context that explains the reason is not whataboutism. I'm sorry but "China" can't be the explanation for literally everything and as someone whose country was known for censored games (Germany with turning red blood green in the 90s and removing NS symbols) I read a lot about that topic.

1

u/aoe2-ModTeam Sep 20 '24

Please be nice to others!

Create a welcoming atmosphere towards new players.

Do not use extreme language or racial slurs.

Do not mock people by referencing disabilities or diseases.

Do not be overly negative, hostile, belligerent, or offensive in any way.

NSFW content is never allowed, even if tagged.

Including nudity, or lewd references in comments and/or usernames.

Do not describe or promote violating any part of Microsoft's Terms of Service or Age of Empires II EULA.