Age of Empires has revealed that it has a ‘Min Spec’ mode for the new Age of Empires.
As Age of Empires nears its 25th anniversary, they have announced an exciting new feature coming with Age of Empires IV when it is released on 28 October 2021. They have announced that players will be able to enable a ‘min spec’ mode in-game.
Age of Empires has catered to millions of players over the years, and for the IV addition to the series, they wanted to make sure that they produce the highest quality game that they can.
However, a large part of the Age of Empires player community is using older systems or integrated graphics. Age of Empires wanted to cater to as wide a variety of players as possible, hence the creation of the min spec mode.
Min spec, or low spec renderer as it is also known, is designed to be used by older PC’s and integrated graphics systems without crashing the entire system. It can be activated through a specific combination of in-game graphics settings and the auto-detection system.
The min spec mode required the development of multiple asset sets, with some being high quality for stronger systems, and some being for lower spec systems. The min spec mode utilizes simpler lighting, less visual detail, low res textures, less destruction, and only allows 4-player battles.
The high spec mode on the other hand allows 8-player battles, uses high res models and textures, high unit counters, and very detailed explosions.
It is expected that over 50% of the Age of Empires IV player base will be using the low spec renderer, making it an invaluable addition to the game.
