Old news

October 31

AoE credits list
You can get the AoE credits list by pressing CTRL+C in the main menu. Watch out for my name :) It's in the special thanks just below Chris Roberts. You can also view the file directly, it's called list.cr and in the data directory. Whow, I am mentioned together with Chris Roberts, the game legend ;)

Ladder links
Due to popular demand, I have made a section for ladder pages in my links page. If you run an AoE ladder, please send in the URL and name together with a short description!

Building placement and conversion page reviewed
I have reviewed these strategy pages and added some stuff. If you have not checked these pages yet and wonder why you waste resources and lose your Priests, read them ;)

October 30

Interview with Mark Terrano
Archangel Michael could arrange an interview with Mark Terrano, multiplayer and communication programmer for AoE. He tells you about some of his best strategies ("pumping out the priests wo-lo-lo!") and more interesting stuff.

"MS is going to do a patch sometime before too long"
This statement is from Mark Terrano and has been taken from the interview mentioned above. "Microsoft will release the patch when it has been completed and thoroughly tested to their satisfaction (they have some of the greatest testers). They'll release the details when they are available."

October 29

New AoE newsgroup opened by Mr. Grinch
Mr. Grinch from ES has opened a new AoE discussion site:
Newsgroup Server: msnews.microsoft.com
Newsgroup Name: microsoft.public.ageofempires

Deathmatch page reviewed
Since deathmatch has changed a bit from the beta version, I have made a few changes in the deathmatch section. Don't forget to read Mr. Grinch's tips! (Mr. Grinch was the lead designer of the game, together with Bruce Shelley.)

Mysterious cheat code
Omer has found a cheat code called "Zeus", but he does not know what it does. Has anyone got an idea?

October 28

Even more AoE cheat codes

PHOTON MAN	Get guy with laser gun
GAIA	control over animals
FLYING DUTCHMAN	turn the juggernauts to flying dutchman

It seems like Omer knows them all :) The complete list has also been updated.

Deathmatch
In case you have not noticed, I have written that you start with 20,000 stone in deathmatch. This was in the beta version, in the full version, you have only 10,000 stone to start with. I will update that page soon with more info about deathmatch games.

October 27

More AoE cheat codes

No fog	Fog of War off
Hari Kiri	suicide
MEDUSA	If your villager is being killed by the enemy, he will turn into a horse archer, and if that archer is being killed, he will turn into a catapult.

 
Thanks to Omer for the cheats. A complete list of all known cheats can be found at the downloads page.

October 26

Updates
First, there was the game tournament, and then, I have been struggling with a flu rather than Priests and Catapults :(
That's why there have been no updates lately. The page will now be again updated daily as usual.

Shlonglor's page is gone
Shlonglor's page, one of the most popular ones, has been removed from the server. No one knows yet why. His page have always been packed with updates, and he will leave a gap behind him :(

October 24

Mordor game tournament
There will be a game tournament starting today and ending this Saturday. So maybe there will be no update tomorrow ;) It will be on a LAN so you can't join. I recommend going to the mirrored page during this time since the server may have to be used as a games server, which will slow the web server down.

Pudland now has AoE scenarios
The guys of Pudland have made an AoE scenario page, The Storage Pit.

October 23

Interview with Chris Rippy
Finally, here it is! The reviewed interview with Chris Rippy from October 18.

Inside moves on Age of Empires
I have received a mail with an excerpt of the official AoE strategy guide. One strategy was about getting a lot of villagers with the Shang tribe (they have cheaper villagers; build 6+ Town Centers) and then attack at the Iron Age with 3+ priests and about 50 villagers with Jihad and Siegecraft. They did not mention that you'll have to attack very early at the Iron Age (just after getting Siegecraft) in order to be successful.
The other trick was setting up a labyrinth with towers and walls. This only works against poor players who cannot protect their catapults and then try to rush into your city, avoiding your towers :)
You can read the whole text if you like.

New link added
I've added a link to Lithium's AoE page, a great new page.

October 22

Deathmatch tips from Mr. Grinch
Mr. Grinch from ES has some great tips for deathmatch games.

Daily chat with ES people
From Monday through Friday at 4:00pm PST, you can now chat with ES members at Heavenweb.

First AoE cheat codes

DIEDIEDIE	you all die
RESIGN	you resign
REVEAL MAP	reveals all the map
PEPPERONI PIZZA	Give yourself 1000 food
COINAGE	Give yourself 1000 gold
WOODSTOCK	Give yourself 1000 wood
QUARRY	Give yourself 1000 stone

 
Thanks to Archangel Michael and Omer for the cheats. There are more cheat codes but no one knows them yet ;)

October 21

Last chance for a chat with ES people
Today at 6 pm Dallas time, there will be the last meeting with ES designers on Gamestats. Don't miss it! Thanks to Imperious Rex and Archangel Michael for giving the AoE fans this opportunity.

Message board
If you have had some problems with the message board or the Mordor server, it was because a resistor in the Mordor network has been 25W too high. Now everything works fine :)
Take a look at the message board, maybe you'll find something interesting there - there are already quite a few messages.

October 19

"What was better when it first came out? Age of Empires or War 2?"
You can answer this question at Smog's poll.

Yesterday's chat
I could not be at the chat with ES designers yesterday, but I will post a link to it if someone has recorded it. If you have missed the chat too, there will be another one next Monday.

October 18

Don't miss today's chat
Yesterday, the announcement came a bit late, but now you have a second chance to chat with ES designers. Don't miss it!

10,000th visitor yesterday
Finally there have been 10,000 people who have read my page. Thank you for your attention, I will do my best to attract further 10,000 people ;)

October 17

Chat with ES guys
Read what all the AoE fans had to say in the live chat with Ian Fischer and Chris Rippy.
You will find some really interesting information there. (Please note that it is in html format now.)

Message board up!
Finally, the message board works. Post your suggestions, questions and strategies there. I will make a digested version from time to time with the most important suggestions (e. g. for AoE2) and strategies.

Waypoints
I have forgotten to mention that feature in my page about scouting. You can indeed set waypoints in AoE, you just have to right click while holding SHIFT.

Chat with people from Ensemble Studios
On Heavenweb, there will be a chat at 6:00 pm Dallas time with Tony Goodman, Ian Fischer, and Chris Rippy. Make sure you have Java enabled. The chat takes place today, tomorrow, and Monday.

AoE bug
Taken from Shlonglor's page: transports can be "stolen" by allies if you command your troops to enter or repair the transport. The transport will head to your coast then. After switching the diplomacy state to enemy, you can kill the transport. However, this way of cheating will be detected easily since the change of the diplomacy state is displayed.

Feature list
Mr. Grinch has sent me the official AoE feature list. If you haven't bought the game yet, you can see what the full version will offer you.

October 16

Downloads page
I have added a downloads page that contains all important documentations and add-ons.

"Age of Empires proclaims its sovereignty by shipping two weeks early"
That's the official announcement of the release of AoE :)

Microsoft announced today that its award-winning real-time strategy game, Age of Empires, has shipped two weeks early and is now available at select retail software locations throughout the United States.

The game can be previewed by downloading the free Trial Version at: http://www.microsoft.com/games/empires/

October 15

AoE in the stores today!
In the USA, you can now buy your favorite RTS game. Age of Empires should soon be available in Canada and Europe, too. So what are you waiting for ;)

ActiveNet has recommended this page
My page has been recommended ActiveNet. These guys have compared all AoE pages and chosen mine. Thank you! I feel honored and will do the best to keep my page going :)

Scouting
I have written another page for my strategy guide. It gives you some tips how to scout the map and explains the importance of scouting. If you don't want to lose your guys to towers any longer, read it!

October 14

Grouping units
Loomer has mentioned the importance of grouping units correctly. I group my units a in a slightly different way and have a few special tips, you can read them at my strategy page.

Izdol's page has moved
The link has been updated.

October 13

Which tribe should be chosen?
This question comes up at the beginning of a game and is a crucial one. There are multiple factors that influence your choice. Read more about it at my strategy page.

AoE desktop theme
Jeffrey has created a desktop theme (1.5 MB). I think you need Microsoft Plus! to use it.

Techtree
Zx75 has made a picture of the full techtree (147 K).
The retail version will include a large fold-out of the full techtree.

ES techtree page updated
Ensemble Studios has updated their techtree page. You have to click at the building icons to see the next page. Thanks to Shlonglor for the tip.

October 12

AoE next Monday?

I just saw on PC Gamer's website that Age of Empires is supposed to be in stores this Monday; Three weeks ahead of schedule is pretty amazing!

Gaming zone vs Kali
Get Kali and forget about the Internet Gaming Zone! Its only advantage is that it is free, but it is slower and you risk the loss of all your data because you have to turn all security features off. If you forget to turn them on again after playing, you may run into an evil ActiveX website that formats your HD drive :(
Kali has also less lag and provides you with an easy to use environment that can be used for all games you have. Get it!

October 11

AoE playable under Kali 1.2 now
A new version of Kali has come out, version 1.2! It supports AoE. You can get it at the Kali ftp server. People outside the USA should look at my listing of Kali mirror pages.

Scoring system, units and hotkeys
Ronald has made a file that contains it all. Download it (16 K). It contains the text file aoe in .doc and .zip format. Because the unit tables may not appear correctly on some computers, I have added the file aoe2.doc where this is fixed.

More hotkeys
Smog has made a list of all hotkeys (2 K) for training units and constructing buildings. They are not contained in the text above.

Buildings page redesigned
I have improved the design of the buildings and units statistics page.

October 10

Iron Age upgrades page
I have finally completed the last section of the upgrades page, the Iron Age. It has been reviewed by Mr. Grinch from Ensemble Studios and contains a lot of helpful information.

AoE coming soon
I have asked the guys at the best game software store in Zurich and they have told me that AoE will be available "in about one or two weeks".

The fate of AoE II is being decided now
Bruce Shelley:

Yes, I think you can look forward to future empires. We are surrounding this problem right now. A meeting is scheduled for next week in Dallas to talk over what the next might be like. Attendees will be at least myself, Mark Terrano, and Ian Fischer of ES. We are the design team. Tim Znamenacek (MS product manager) and Stuart Moulder (MS director of action and strategy games) are expected to attend with their wish lists. Dropping in also probably will be Brad Crow (art lead) and Angelo Laudon (programming lead). Our goal is to build on the phenomal response to AOE with new product for next holiday season. Wish us luck!

Warcraft 3 is coming
www.games.no: Bill Roper, software designer at Blizzard, has confirmed that the production of War3 has started (and no, I don't speak Norwegian). Thanks to SuperClaus for the info.

Units page redesigned
I have redesigned the formerly ugly tables at the strategical units page. If you have not seen it yet, check it out!

October 9

AoE reviewed by Europe's largest game mag
Europe's largest game magazine, PC Games, compares AoE, DR and TA! Read my translation to see who got the best review.

Age of Empires at October 15?
This is a rumor from Gamestats: AoE may hit the shelves in a week! I will ask my software store tomorrow to find out.

Documentation
There are a few .doc files (Winword) that have been included in the beta but are missing in the demo. They contain info about the computer AI. You can download them if you like to know how the AI works.

Hills and cliffs
A three dimensional terrain is one of the new features that Age of Empires offers. I have added a section about hills and cliffs to the building placement page.

More FAQs
What is the on screen cheat in AoE? How can you change the music? Answers are on my FAQ page.

More than 500 people/day
Yesterday I have passed the 500 people/day mark. Thank you, folks! Keep visiting this page as it will always offer the latest AoE news.

October 8

Building placement
I have made a strategy page about placing buildings that all players who just place their buildings wherever the villager is standing should read :)

AoE released earlier?
Taken from Gamestats: Tim Znamenacek, AoE program manager: "It could hit anytime between now and then [October 31]."

Win a full version
PsychoNews is giving away a full version of AoE to the person who designs the best button for them.

Netstorm previewed
I have written a preview of Netstorm, you can read it at Gameoutpost.

October 7

No AoE for Macs in the near future
Matt Prichard (AoE programmer): "There are no plans for a Mac Version at this time. Strong sales and/or a write in campaign might persuade Microsoft to consider doing a Mac Version."

FAQ: unit sounds, printable techtree, player colors
Environment sounds can be changed in AoE, unit sounds cannot. You can find printable techtrees in the docs directory of the demo. You cannot choose your color for a campaign. For more info go to the faq page.

New layout for 640 x 480
This page can now be viewed without any problems at a resolution of 640 x 480. I still recommend a higher resolution, though. Enjoy!

Tips from Mr. Grinch
Mr. Grinch from Ensemble Studios gave me some hot tips for my upgrades page. For instance, the Gold and Stone Mining upgrades do also affect the speed at which the resources are mined and therefore are not useless :)

Tips about Conversion
I have started a page about converting enemies with Priests. People who have just downloaded the game should read it. Thanks to Torkild for his tips.

October 6

Printable Tribes page!
Due to popular demand, I have made a printable version of the tribes page. You can see the Civilization attributes of all tribes on one page! This will let you choose your tribe easily and based on facts, not on assumptions. Should your printer have problems with that page, there is an alternative version available. Have patience if your CPU is slow, the layout is very complex after all.

More Starcraft info from Blizzard
Blizzard has updated their Starcraft page. Check it out!

DirectX 5.0
For the AoE demo, you'll need DirectX 5.0. You can download it at ogr.com or check the MS page.

October 5

This page is now at Nextlevel!
People outside Europe can now read that page at http://games.nextlevel.net/cartho/age/
For people in Europe, this page will be kept up to give them a fast access to the latest AoE information.

More FAQs
The FAQ page is now updated. Keep sending in your questions!

October 4

FAQ section
Finally I have had the time to compile a list of frequently asked questions.

New look
I've modified the layout so it's even easier for you to get the latest information about AoE and the real time strategy genre!

October 3

Download the demo now!
Download it at Download.com! (23.6 MB)
Don't forget to check www.microsoft.com, www.gamecenter.com, or www.shareware.com if the connection is slow.

AoE game of the month in Europe's largest game mag
PCGames, Europe's largest game mag, has chosen Age of Empires as the game of the month November! It got 93% (94% for multiplayer) and a review that was 11(!) pages long! The author was totally enthusiastic about the game and especially loved the well designed user interface and the gorgeous graphics.
AoE also annihilated all competitors such as Dark Reign, Dark Colony and Total Annihilation. With that review, the game should become the #1 RTS game in Europe (at least until Starcraft comes out).

October 2

Upgrades page, part II, complete!
Just before the demo comes out, the second part of my upgrades page is done! Together with the units page, it contains everything you have to know when playing the demo.

More info about the demo: it will be available at www.microsoft.com, www.gamecenter.com, www.download.com and www.shareware.com. So you don't have to download it at the slow microsoft site ;-)

Release 1 day earlier!
AoE will be released before October 31. The release date has been pushed, and the new official release date is October 30 :-)
I still think that the game will be released at least a week before October 31.

Comments from the game press about AoE
"I have never seen a game that instantly makes Civilization II into a drink coaster and Command & Conquer into a charming relic. The reason: intelligence, and multiple ways to play and win."

October 1

Official AoE Demo out on Friday!
So unless you are totally impatient, you need not to buy the current issue of "Computer Gaming World" :-)
The demo will be available at www.microsoft.com this Friday and include a single player campaign as well as a multiplayer mode (and yes, you can play over the IGZ, too).
Thanks to Gamestats and Area S for the info.

Smog's beta contest:
"The beta contest has started on my page. I'm giving away 2 betas every 24 hours. I've got 12 betas so the contest will go on for 6 days."
Contest Page

League for beta testers Gamestats has a league for all AoE beta testers.

Contest at Heavenweb finished
Archangel Michael's contest is finished.

September

September '97