Impression: Age of Empires IV Chinese civilization (Patreon)

Well, this is actually old news (Chinese is one of the earliest revealed civilizations), but since E3 2021 just concluded and a new trailer dropped, I figure this will be a good time to have a look at Age of Empires IV's take on the Chinese.

As before, this article will mostly comment on the visuals and designs of the civilization, and will be light on gameplay and/or game balance.

Random thoughts on the buildings I saw in the trailers/screenshots

I am not very knowledgable about Chinese architecture (I can't even tell apart a Qing period building from a Ming one) so I will refrain from commenting on building aesthetics in the game. However, I do take issue with how inaccurate Chinese fortifications are depicted (this is a RTS game after all). Case in point:

Pentagonal bastion and cross-shaped arrow slits: Chinese bastions are generally rectangular in shape, with round or rectangular loopholes.

Grilled portcullis: Both Chinese gate door and Qian Jin Zha (千斤閘, Chinese equivalent of portcullis) are made of heavy, often iron-plated wood.

Fancy guard tower (?): Guard towers should be practical, utilitarian, and basically look like bastions without the wall. Looking good is very low on the priority list for military installation after all.

Castle (?): Barring a few exceptions, Chinese people do not generally build castles. However if it's for some crucial game-balancing reasons then I am willing to let this slide. That being said, the tall walls and very prominent taluses make it looks like a European-style castle with a bit of Chinese superstructures stacked on top.

Thoughts on military units in the trailers/screenshots

Overall, units in Age of Empires IV seem to be closer to that of the Age of Empires II rather than Age of Empires III. While factions are asymmetric, most of the revealed factions so far have units that are roughly comparable to units from other factions, presumably to make game balancing easier. 

Chinese civilization has access to a unique trait called dynasty system, which allows the player to chose between Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasty, each granting unique bonuses, buildings, and units. The problem, however, is that these bonuses are completely arbitary. There is no historical/logical reason behind giving Fire lancer to Yuan and Grenadier to Ming other than "gameplay", and in my opinion this makes the faction feels pretty bland.

Other thoughs on units:

Imperial Official: This is my favourite unit so far and he looks pretty authentic. The badge on his hat and gold borders on his collar and sleeves are not historically accurate, but they probably serve as team colour indicators. 

Guandao: The most obvious example of the dreaded Osprey taint, these dudes looks like they are the supreme commanders of Chinese army, rather than random troops. What's with wearing a long Zhan Pao (戰袍)  robes and whatnot. Their helmets are also pretty clearly based on Qing-period design.

Guisarme: I am pretty sure that weapon is a guisarme, a European polearm. No idea why the Chinese have it, but I hope this is just a placeholder unit.

At least the Bi Fu (臂縛) looks pretty cool.

Zhuge Nu: I am almost certain this unit is in purely for the sentimental value (the same can be said for the Mongol Mangudai).  While repeating crossbow was, in fact, a military weapon, I'd still prefer normal crossbow any day of the time.

Also, Chinese repeating crossbow is typically shot from the hip.

Fire Lancer: The devs seem to believe that fire lace is some kind of impact-triggered explosive lance (a.l.a. rough rider hunting lance from Warhammer 40,000). In reality, it is more of a one-shot flamethrower (a fairly potent one at that)/poison smoke dispenser/shrapnel discharger mounted on a pole weapon.

Also, I will much prefer if Chinese (and Mongols for that matter) cavalry can discard their shields and hold their lances or polearms with both hands.

Chinese siege engines: The large wagon on the left is probably a packed trebuchet, the middle top cart is the famed Nest of Bees, the middle bottom one looks like some kind of shielded siege crossbow, and the right wagon is probably the Chinese version of the bombard.

None of them are historically accurate, and I especially have problem witht the cart design and solid wheels on the bombard as they look......foreign.

Overall impression

From the few trailers and screenshots I've seen, I think the overall presentation of the Chinese civilization in Age of Empires IV is......okay. Nothing that I'd call "historically accurate", but nothing especially jarring or out of place either. The visuals are at least consistent enough that one can tell it is a coherent faction with its own unique culture.

Obviously, there are still many stuffs I find problematic, but at least the soldiers are wearing PROPER FOOTWEARS, and so far the Osprey's taint is kept to a minimum, so all is fine in the world, I guess.