Annoying things they didn't fix the way EE did:
1. Still must build individual farms. EE let you build a granary and automatically have 8 farms. A little part of me dies every time I'm trying to position a farm right next to my other farm while not having it become shaded cause my temple is in the way.
2. No explore button? You must be kidding. The whole 'trying to get your scout to go in a cirle around your base with the waypoints' is a complete waste of time. Taking 5 idle military guys and having them quickly explore out in all directions is tactical and low micromanagement.
3. Shift-idle villager let you cue up all your idle villagers and set them to a task. Very important since villagers are still lazy idiots.
4. Units upgrades being on the units themselves, instead of wasting valuable time at your archery range or whatever. This one is possibly a toss-up, due to it basically just being my preference. EE had way too many upgrades, but having 2-3 upgrades on the units instead of the buildings would be better IMO, unless you like to completely upgrade your units before even bringing 1 out.
Things I really like:
1. Walls can be built in all directions and at any angle.
2. 3D feel of unit balance. Archers still beat infantry, but they are only 1 of the 3 classes. I love the idea that someone could build infantry, archers, and cavalry and still not have a balanced force. This will lead to a lot of battles where you have no idea why you lost due to the complete confusion and variance of unit types. It doesn't get more realistic than that.
3. Graphics. EE had horrible up close 3D graphics, while AOM looks almost movie-like. I really like the size and animation of the myth creatures as well.
Right now I must say that I really am enjoying the campaign in this game. I enjoyed EE, and while I think AOM is only a slightly better game than EE, it's still a great game that will probably grow on me. I kinda just played EE on my own and with a few college buddies, so I didn't really keep up on why that game didn't receive too much acclaim from the masses. What was the final verdict on why EE didn't have the success of AOK? Too long? Too complex?