| Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition |
|---|
| Developer(s) | Forgotten Empires[a] |
|---|
| Publisher(s) | Xbox Game Studios |
|---|
| Director(s) | Adam Isgreen |
|---|
| Designer(s) | Bert Beeckman |
|---|
| Series | Age of Empires |
|---|
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
|---|
| Release | November 14, 2019 |
|---|
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
|---|
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
|---|
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a real-time strategy video game developed by Forgotten Empires and published by Xbox Game Studios.[1] It is a remaster of the original game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the original. It features significantly improved visuals, supports 4K resolution, and 'The Last Khans', an expansion that adds four new civilizations based on Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and four new campaigns.[2] It includes all previous expansions from the original and HD Edition. It was released on November 14, 2019.[3]
Gameplay[edit]
Gameplay of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
Age of Empires II: HD Edition has been out a little over a week, and has scarcely left the Top 5 best-selling titles on Steam since. It hasn't all been sunshine and mutton dinners with the. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a remaster of Age of Empires II, released on November 14, 2019. It features a fully remastered soundtrack, multiple quality of life improvements, significant graphical upgrades, and includes The Last Khans, an expansion that adds four new civilizations based on Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and four new campaigns. 1 New features 2 New content 2.1.
The core gameplay elements are shared heavily with the original but Definitive Edition builds upon it. The remaster includes new 4K graphics, new improved visuals for troops and buildings, the ability to zoom in and further out and a new spectator mode. Fg wilson generator control panel manual. It features a new campaign called The Last Khans and includes four new civilizations: Bulgarians, Cumans, Lithuanians and Tatars. Four new campaigns were added for the new civilisations: Ivaylo, Kotyan Khan, Tamerlane and Pachacuti which is about the Inca civilisation and replaces El Dorado from the HD Edition (Lithuanians do not appear as a playable civilization in any campaign; however, they represent Poles in the Ivaylo campaign).[2][4] It includes all previous expansions from the original (The Conquerors) and HD edition (The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms, Rise of the Rajas).[2][5]
Bert Beeckman (left) and Adam Isgreen (right) at E3 2019. Isgreen is the creative director on Definitive Edition and Beeckman is the co-founder of Forgotten Empires
Players can choose between the original AI, the updated HD Edition AI that was added alongside the HD Edition of the game, and a newer AI developed for the Definitive Edition.[6] The original AI had to cheat to be competitive, while the new AI is advanced enough to not require any cheating. When the old and new AIs were pitted against each other in a test, the new one easily defeated the old one.[7] Unit pathfinding is also supposedly improved upon.[8] Players can shift-queue villager tasks.[9]Farms now have the option to be replenished automatically.[10] A further expansion pack, Lords of the West, was announced on December 15, 2020 and is due for release on January 26, 2021. The Lords of the West will introduce two further civilisations, the Burgundians and the Sicilians, as well as three new campaigns, featuring Edward Longshanks, the Dukes of Burgundy and the Hautevilles.[11]
Release[edit]
On August 21, 2017 at Gamescom, Microsoft announced Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was in development by Forgotten Empires, Tantalus Media and Wicked Witch Software.[12] On June 9, 2019, Microsoft revealed the gameplay trailer at Xbox E3 2019.[13] It released on the Xbox Game Pass in addition to Steam and the Windows Store on November 14, 2019.[5][14]
Reception[edit]
Aggregate score| Aggregator | Score |
|---|
| Metacritic | 84/100[15] |
Review score| Publication | Score |
|---|
| PC Gamer (UK) | 78/100[16] |
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition received 'generally favorable' reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic with a score of 84/100 from 32 reviews.[15]Windows Central's Cale Hunt praised the improved artwork, animations and quality of life additions but criticized the AIpath finding and pointed out a need for further balancing.[17]
Notes[edit]
- ^Additional work by Tantalus Media and Wicked Witch[1][2]
References[edit]
- ^ abWright, Steve (June 19, 2019). 'Aussie devs Wicked Witch, Tantalus working on Age of Empires 2'. Stevivor. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ abcdIsgreen, Adam; Empires, Franchise Creative Director for Age of (June 9, 2019). 'E3 2019: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Launching Fall 2019, Beta Coming Soon'. Xbox Wire. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^Moore, Ewan (August 19, 2019). 'Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition Release Date Confirmed'. UNILAD. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^'Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition will release this fall'. PCGamesN. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
- ^ abJune 14, Marshall Honorof |; Pm, 2019 05:50. 'Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition Lives Up to Its Name at E3 2019'. www.laptopmag.com. Retrieved September 1, 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- ^White, Sam (November 12, 2019). 'Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition review – reverent treatment'. pcgamesn.com. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^Shea, Brian. 'How Age Of Empires II: Definitive Edition Hopes It Is Living Up To Its Name'. Game Informer. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^Calvin, Alex. 'Why Microsoft is investing so heavily in the Age of Empires series'. PC Games Insider. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ^Ray, Bodhisatwa (November 21, 2019). 'Age of Empires II Definitive Edition Review: Price in India and review'. BGR India.
- ^'Review: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition'. Hardcore Gamer. December 12, 2019.
- ^'Pre-Order Age of Empires II: DE – Lords of the West, coming January 26th!' (in Lithuanian). Forgotten Empires. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^Knezevic, Kevin (August 21, 2017). 'Age Of Empires 2 And 3 Remasters Announced'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
- ^Giret, Laurent (August 19, 2019). 'Age of Empires: DE launches on Steam with cross play support, Age of Empires II DE also coming on November 14'. OnMSFT.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^'Pre-purchase Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Steam'. store.steampowered.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ ab'Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition for PC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^Brown, Fraser (November 12, 2019). 'Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition review'. PC Gamer. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^'Review — Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a remake true to its past'. Windows Central. November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Age_of_Empires_II:_Definitive_Edition&oldid=995886452'
This page is for the original game. For the re-release, see Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
Age of Empires| Developers |
|---|
| Mac OS (Classic) |
| Publishers |
|---|
| Windows |
| Mac OS |
| Engines |
|---|
| Release dates |
|---|
| Windows | October 15, 1997 |
| Mac OS (Classic) | July 1, 1999 |
- 1Availability
- 2Essential improvements
- 3Game data
- 6Audio settings
- 7Network
- 8Issues fixed
- 9Other information
|
| ⤏ Go to series page |
| 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 (2013) | 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 | TBA |
General information
- Official website for the series
- Official Discord server for the series
- Microsoft's Official game page (archived)
- Age of Empires Wiki - A wiki for everything Age of Empires related
- Planet Age of Empires - A hub for all Age of Empires games
- Age of Empires Heaven is an active fan website and forum that offers support and extra game content.
Availability[edit]
| Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
|---|
| Retail |
|---|
Version differences[edit]
The 'Age of Empires Collector's Edition' first released in 2000 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 (although initial releases supplied separate CDs for each game):
- Age of Empires
- Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome
No-CD patches are already applied; the DVD is only necessary for installation - which ensures compatibility with modern operating systems; and all games are fully patched to their latest versions. 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[edit]
DLC and expansion packs
Essential improvements[edit]
Patches[edit]
- This patch updates both Age of Empires (to 1.0c) and The Rise of Rome (to 1.0a): English, German, and French or Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
- Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome 1.0a suffers from a serious bug in saved games. If a projectile (arrow from archers, ships, towers, siege weapons) is 'flying' through the air while saving a game, the saved game becomes corrupted; loading it will crash the game.
UPatch[edit]
- Unofficial patch that contains bug fixes and improvements for modern operating systems. Does not require any previous patches.
- Fixes the color problem caused in newer systems
- Fixes the save game bug of version 1.0a
- Requires The Rise of Rome expansion
Skip intro videos[edit]
Use the NoStartupcommand line argument.[1]
Game data[edit]
Configuration file(s) location[edit]
| System | Location |
|---|
| Windows | HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftGamesAge of Empires1.00 |
|---|
| Mac OS (Classic) |
|---|
Save game data location[edit]
| System | Location |
|---|
| Windows | <path-to-game>savegame[Note 1]
<path-to-game>game0.nfo |
|---|
| Mac OS (Classic) |
|---|
- Campaign progress is stored in
<path-to-game>game0.nfo - Custom scenarios are stored in
<path-to-game>scenario - Custom campaigns are stored in
<path-to-game>campaign - You will need to backup all of the above files and folders to have all of your player data and progress.
Video settings[edit]
In-game options menu.
| Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
|---|
| Widescreen resolution | Use UPatch. |
|---|
| Multi-monitor |
|---|
| Ultra-widescreen |
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| 4K Ultra HD |
|---|
| Field of view (FOV) |
|---|
| Windowed | Use UPatch. |
|---|
| Borderless fullscreen windowed | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
|---|
| Anisotropic filtering (AF) |
|---|
| Anti-aliasing (AA) |
|---|
| Vertical sync (Vsync) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
|---|
| 60 FPS and 120+ FPS |
|---|
Input settings[edit]
| Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
|---|
| Remapping | The only option available is to use one or both mouse buttons. |
|---|
| Mouse acceleration |
|---|
| Mouse sensitivity | For scroll speed. |
|---|
| Mouse input in menus |
|---|
| Mouse Y-axis inversion |
|---|
| Controller |
|---|
| Controller support | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. |
|---|
Audio settings[edit]
| Audio feature | State | Notes |
|---|
| Separate volume controls |
|---|
| Surround sound |
|---|
| Subtitles |
|---|
| Closed captions |
|---|
| Mute on focus lost |
|---|
Localizations
| Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
|---|
| English |
|---|
| French |
|---|
| German |
|---|
| Hungarian | Fan translation by .:i2k:. link #1, link #2 |
|---|
| Italian |
|---|
| Portuguese |
|---|
| Spanish |
|---|
Network[edit]
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.[2] |
|---|
| Peer-to-peer |
|---|
| Dedicated |
|---|
| Self-hosting |
|---|
| Direct IP |
|---|
Ports
| Protocol | Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
|---|
| TCP | 2300-2400, 47624 |
|---|
| UDP | 6073, 2300-2400 |
|---|
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed[edit]
Game uses weird colors[edit]
Playing the game on modern versions of Windows may cause it to use weird colors. Repetitive red and purple specks in water and marsh areas are the common issue. This can be fixed by downloading and using DirectDrawFix.
| Weird colors fix[citation needed] |
|---|
- Download and extract the DirectDrawFix zip file.
- Run
DirectDrawFix.exe. - Use the browse button to locate and select
EMPIRES.exe. - Press the apply button.
- Repeat for
EMPIRESX.exe.
|
| Could not initialize graphics system error[3] |
|---|
- Run the game in Compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 2
- Disable Visual Themes
- Disable Desktop Composition
- Run this program as an Administrator
|
Other information[edit]
API[edit]
| Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
|---|
| DirectDraw | 5 |
|---|
Middleware[edit]
| Middleware | Notes |
|---|
| Multiplayer | MSN Gaming Zone | Discontinued.[4] |
|---|
System requirements[edit]
| Windows |
|---|
| Minimum | Recommended |
|---|
| Operating system (OS) | 95, NT | 98, 2000, ME |
|---|
| Processor (CPU) | Intel Pentium 90 or higher |
|---|
| System memory (RAM) | 16 MB | 32 MB |
|---|
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 80 MB |
|---|
| Video card (GPU) | Local SVGA bus video display
1 MB of VRAM
DirectX 5 compatible |
|---|
Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition 60 Fps Locked
Notes
Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition 60 Fps Locker
- ↑When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References
- ↑Available from the game's readme file; alternatively viewable at http://aoe.heavengames.com/academy/hotkeysandcommands/cmdline.shtml
- ↑Age of Empires matchmaking has been retired from MSN Games - MSN Games - Free Online Games
- ↑Age of Empires II - 'could not initialize graphics system. make sure that your video card and driver are compatible with DirectDraw'
- ↑Age of Empires matchmaking has been retired from MSN Games - MSN Games - Free Online Games