Age of Empires III

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Age of Empires III
AOE3 Boxart.jpeg
Developers
OS X
Publishers
OS X
Engines
 
Release dates
Windows
October 18, 2005
OS X
October 18, 2005
Age of Empires III at Steam Charts
Age of Empires III at SteamDB
 Age of Empires III at Wikipedia
Age of Empires
Age of Empires 1997
Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999
Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
Age of Mythology 2002
Age of Mythology: The Titans
The Golden Gift
Age of Empires III 2005
Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Age of Empires Online 2011
Age of Empires II HD 2013
Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten
Age of Mythology: Extended Edition 2014
Age of Empires: Castle Siege 2014

General information

More information Age of Empires III Site; Download for Trial Version available
More information Age of Empires Wikia
More information AgeCommunity
More information HeavenGames.com Large file database with lots of custom content
More information RTS-Sanctuary.com File database with many game replays
More information Steam Community Discussions

Availability[edit]

Source DRM Notes Keys
Retail Disc checkCD/DVD key (no activation) Only way to purchase game and expansions individually.
Amazon.com Availability Table Icons - Steam.svg Non-Steam version also available.
GameStop Availability Table Icons - Steam.svg
Steam Availability Table Icons - Steam.svg Optimized for Windows 7 compatibility. Only the Windows version is available.
Information Windows Vista reports compatibility issue with unpatched retail version, but it seems to function normally.
Advantage Retail CD keys can be optionally activated on Steam.
Information Online features require an ESO Account (registered in-game).

Version differences[edit]

Information Age of Empires III Complete Collection is a complete edition with all official content.

Essential improvements[edit]

Skip intro videos[edit]

Fix Use +noIntroCinematics parameter

Use the +noIntroCinematics command line argument.

Patches[edit]

Information The patches linked above will download and install much faster than the in-game updater, and more reliably.

Game data[edit]

In-game general settings.
In-game UI settings. The "Enable IME" option under "Regional" is not shown.

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

  Location 
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Age of Empires 3\Users
OS X

Save game data location[edit]

  Location 
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Age of Empires 3\Savegame
OS X

Save game cloud syncing[edit]

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud Impossible
GameSave Manager Native

Video settings[edit]

In-game video settings (1/2).
In-game video settings (2/2).
Graphics option Option WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution Native WSGF WS Silver.svg
Multi-monitor Native WSGF MM Silver.svg
Field of view (FOV) Not applicable
Windowed Native
Borderless fullscreen windowed Native Game has no borders at max resolution when in windowed mode.
Anisotropic filtering (AF) Native
Anti-aliasing (AA) Native
Vertical sync (Vsync) Native
High frame rate Native

Input settings[edit]

In-game key map settings.
Keyboard and mouse Native Notes
Remapping Native
Mouse acceleration Impossible
Mouse input in menus Native
Mouse Y-axis inversion Impossible
Controller
Controller support Impossible

Audio settings[edit]

In-game audio settings.
Audio options Native Notes
Separate volume controls Native
Surround sound Impossible Stereo only [1]
Subtitles Native
Closed captions Impossible
Mute on focus lost Native

Localizations

Language UI Audio CC Notes
English Native Native Native
Brazilian Portuguese Native Unknown Unknown
Czech Native Unknown Unknown
French Native Native Unknown
German Native Native Unknown
Hungarian Native Unknown Unknown
Italian Native Native Unknown
Japanese Native Unknown Unknown
Korean Native Unknown Unknown
Polish Native Unknown Unknown
Russian Native Unknown Unknown
Spanish Native Native Unknown

Network[edit]

Information Online features require an ESO Account (registered in-game).

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play Native 8
Online play Native 8

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking Impossible
Peer-to-peer Native
Dedicated Impossible
Self-hosting Native
Direct IP Native Enter in-game or use OverrideAddress= and hostPort= parameters.[2]

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP (outbound) 80, 2300
UDP (outbound) 2300-2310

Issues fixed[edit]

Failed to Join[edit]

This is the most common error suffered with Age of Empires III multiplayer.

This error can be caused by many problems, and consequently, there are many methods to try to repair it.

After each numbered step, attempt connecting to several games in multiplayer; only proceed to the next if you are still experiencing issues.

1. Allow Ensemble Studios Online more time to load.

Fix Longer Loading Time

(This solution needs done every time you log in -- you might further try more steps if you wish to not have to wait every time.)

  1. Log in to ESO.
  2. Stay on the home page and wait about 10 minutes. Do not whisper to friends, check clan, or go to any other tab.
  3. After 10 minutes the problem may now be fixed. You can now leave the Home Page.
  4. Repeat this every time you log in.

2. Try power cycling your network hardware.

Fix Power Cycling

  1. Turn off your modem, router, and PC.
  2. Wait a few minutes.
  3. Turn them back on in the listed order.

3. Ensure Age of Empires III and its expansions (age3.exe, age3x.exe, age3y.exe) are listed on your firewall's exception lists; try playing with the firewall in Gaming Mode, Low, and Off.

4. If you connect to the internet wirelessly, try a wired connection.

5. Toggle UPnP on or off.

Fix Toggling UPnP

  1. Connect to your router in your browser; usually, this is done by typing 192.168.1.1 into your address bar. If that IP does not connect to your router, see your router's manual or try Googling your router brand and model.
  2. Your router will prompt for your username and password. Often, this is "admin" and "admin" or "admin" and "password". See your router's manual or try Googling your router brand and model with "default password" if those don't work.
  3. Find and Toggle On or Off (set it to whatever it wasn't before) UPnP. You may have to search around for this setting, or consult your manual. My router has it in Advanced: Advanced Setup: UPnP.

6. Try updating your router's firmware.

Fix Updating a Router

  1. Connect to your router as explained in steps 4a and 4b.
  2. If prompted for an update somewhere, tell it to update!
  3. Hunt around for a check for updates button, or consult your router's manual.

7. Try Port Forwarding UDP and TCP ports 80, 2300-2310 to your device.

Fix Port Forwarding

  1. Identify your router brand and model.
  2. Go to PortForward.com and select your router brand and model, and click search.
  3. Select Age of Empires III and follow the steps given.
  4. You can use a site like CanYouSeeMe to ensure you have correctly opened the ports. CanYouSeeMe will only see a port if there is a server currently running on it -- a barebones server I made can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?z1twnicystbaqsz Unzip, run the .exe, and enter the desired test port.

8. Try Port Forwarding UDP and TCP 80, 2300-2340 to your device. Note the larger range of ports than step #6.

9. Override the Port to 2300.

Fix Port Overriding[2]

Use the parameter OverridePort="2300"

10. Override the game to use the correct IP address.

Fix Address Overriding[2]

Use the OverrideAddress= parameter with your IP address.

11. Try setting the DMZ on your router on.

Game Crashes on Startup/Doesn't Start[edit]

An error that usually occurs on Windows 7.

After each numbered step, attempt running the game; only proceed to the next if you are still experiencing issues.

1. Ensure the game is Running as Administrator.

Fix Run as Administrator

  1. Right click on your desktop icon, and select "Properties".
  2. Go to the compatibility tab and select "Run this program as administrator", and select "OK".

2. Try running the game in compatibility mode.

Fix Run in Compatibility Mode

  1. Right click on your desktop icon, and select "Properties".
  2. Go to the compatibility tab and select "Run this program in compatibility mode for:". Try all the OS options in the list. Oddly, some users report "Windows Vista (SP3)" option repairing it.

"MSXML4.0 is not installed correctly" on startup[edit]

For this issue, see instructions here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810209

Account Support[edit]

Problems with ESO Accounts should be first solved with the Account Management Tool on the official site.

If you have further problems that cannot be solved with that tool, create a Support Ticket. Be sure to include your Product ID.

Fix Finding your Product ID

  1. Start the Vanilla game (not one of the expansions; launch Age of Empires III).
  2. Go to Help and Tools -> About.
  3. You'll find your Product Key near the bottom in this format: XXXXX-XXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXX

System requirements[edit]

Windows
Minimum
Operating system (OS) XP
Processor (CPU) 1.4 GHz Intel or AMD Processor
System memory (RAM) 256 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 2 GB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
OS X
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 10.3.9 or later 10.4.7 or later
Processor (CPU) 1.4 GHz or faster PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel processor 2.0 GHz G5 or dual Processor
System memory (RAM) 512 MB 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)
2 GB
Video card (GPU) 64 MB 3D graphics card
64 MB of VRAM 		128 MB of VRAM

References

  1. ↑ How do I enable surround sound? - Age of Empires III Heaven Forum
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Direct IP? Is it working? - Age of Empires III Heaven Forum