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Difference between revisions of "Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings"

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Revision as of 15:25, 30 June 2015

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings cover
Developers
Ensemble Studios
Publishers
Microsoft Studios
Engines
Genie
Release dates
Windows September 30, 1999
Mac OS (Classic) October 2001
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings on Wikipedia

Warnings

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).
The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
Age of Empires 1997
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999
Age of Mythology 2002
Age of Empires III 2005
Age of Empires Online 2011
Age of Empires II: HD Edition 2013
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition 2014
Age of Empires: Castle Siege 2014
Age of Empires: Definitive Edition 2018
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition 2019
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition 2020
Age of Empires IV 2021
Age of Mythology: Retold 2024

This page is for the original game. For the re-release, see Age of Empires II HD.

Key points

UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update adds support for widescreen/multi-monitor resolutions.

General information

Age of Empires II Official Microsoft Site (archived)
Age of Empires Wiki Wikia for the entire series
Age of Kings Heaven Community Site and Map Archive
AoCZone Community Site for competitive gaming
/r/aoe2 Age of Empires 2 Subreddit

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
DRM: SafeDisc disc check.
Error: key type '{{{5}}}' not recognised
Error: OS parameter cannot be empty
Amazon.com
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
Collector's Edition also available.
Error: key type '{{{5}}}' not recognised
Error: OS parameter cannot be empty
The "Age of Empires Collector's Editon" can often be found on store shelves. It is the most cost effective way of acquiring the game, as it contains the following games on a single DVD-ROM:
NoCD version; DVD only necessary for installation.
All games are already fully patched.
However, it should be noted that the DVD re-release of these games does not feature the Red Book audio stored as separate audio tracks on the original games' discs. As such, the game music will not be played while the DVD is in the drive.

Demos

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Windows version is sold separately, Mac OS version only in Gold Edition.
Windows
Mac OS

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions

Patches

The latest patch for the base game is Version 2.0a.
The latest patch for The Conquerors is Version 1.0c.

Unofficial Patch 1.0e (The Conquerors)

The unofficial patch for Conquerors, which includes NoCD is Version 1.0e.

UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update

The unofficial UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update patch for The Conquerors adds many fixes including widescreen support, UPnP port forwarding, and various optional tweaks. Although it doesn't include a NoCD, it will not remove a valid NoCD. If it is installed on top of Version 1.0e, no CD is required.

Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires

Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires is an unofficial expansion which adds new civilizations, maps and other fixes.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

Save game data location

Player settings are saved in <path-to-game>\Player.nfp (determines unlocked scenarios etc.)
Custom campaigns are saved in <path-to-game>\Campaign\
Custom scenarios are saved in <path-to-game>\Scenario\

Save game cloud syncing

No save game cloud syncing information; you can edit this page to add it.

Video settings

In-game options menu.
In-game options menu.

Template:Video settings

Widescreen resolution

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are letterboxed 4:3.

Multi-monitor

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are letterboxed 4:3. The main game interface is shown on the far left.

Windowed

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update and select Windowed mode support, then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are windowed 4:3.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update and select Windowed mode support, then set the in-game resolution to the same as your desktop resolution. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are windowed 4:3.

Input settings

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Spanish
Traditional Chinese

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8
Online play
8

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
MSN Gaming Zone support has been discontinued.[1]
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 2300-2400, 47624
UDP 2300-2400
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues unresolved

Dell laptop compatibility issues

On some older Dell laptop models (e.g. the M1530) an issue occurs where the OS crashes and a blue-screen of death is displayed. This issue occurs after a seemingly random amount of gameplay time (from <30 seconds to 10 or 20 minutes). Many things have been tried to fix the issue including changing graphics card drivers, limiting the frame rate to mitigate overheating and running on virtual machines of different OSs (e.g. windows 98). As far as can be seen, this issue has never been resolved nor will it be, rendering AoE2 unplayable on the affected models of laptop. This issue can be mitigated by playing through Voobly.com game client and selecting 32-bit DirectX mode in the lobby options. It is actually caused by an unterminated loop in the graphic card driver. However, Age of Empires II HD (the re-mastered version of the game released in 2013) is unaffected by this problem.

Issues fixed

Windows Vista and 7 colours

Windows Vista and 7 can have issues with displaying true colours in Age of Empires II correctly.
This issue does not occur on Windows 8 and later.
See rainbow color problems in older games for further details.
Instructions
Instructions

LAN connectivity with Windows Vista/7/8

Instructions

MIDI music

Instructions
The -midimusic parameter is no longer supported in UserPatch, however its m3u playlist system allows any audio format to be used for in-game music, including WAV, MP3, WMA, AAC, and FLAC, as long as the required DirectShow codecs are installed.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
DirectDraw 6.1
OpenGL
Mac OS only.
ExecutablePPC16-bit 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
Mac OS (Classic)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Multiplayer MSN Gaming Zone

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) 166 MHz
System memory (RAM) 32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 300 MB
Video card (GPU) 2 MB of VRAM
DirectX 6.1 compatible

References