Who will win the Age of Empires tournament?
The current scores: 35% for ION Storm and 65% for ES.
| December 30 |
Updated FAQ section
If you have problems with changing the unit limit, getting the patch or the demo or any other question, read the updated FAQ section now!
Final version of Numenor
The Numenor scenario has now been tested and modified a bit, please get the final version of this scenario to make sure that you use a compatible map.
Two new links
I have added two new links to my links page. One link is to a page about the AoE trial version, the other one to a page with much information about Kali, a program that lets you play over the internet with 8 players and less lag than the zone.
Startup section updated
I have updated the section about getting past the Stone Age. If you do not know how to get to the Tool Age efficiently, read it!
| December 27 |
New scenario
I have made a new scenario for 4 or 5 players. It has not been extensively tested yet, so do not post it at other sites, please.
PCGames reviews (1/98)
The RTS reviews of the January issue of PCGames (Europe) are:
Netstorm: 82%: "Netstorm brings finally the variety into the genre of real time strategy game that we have been waiting for."
Pax Imperia: 74%: "Pax Imperia keeps what a Master of Orion 2 clone promises."
LAN game tournament
I will be at a LAN game tournament tomorrow, so there will be no updates then.
| December 26 |
New scenarios
Practice your defense and siege skills with the new single player scenario and fight out a huge battle head-to-head in the new multi player fun scenario.
Combat and conversion section reviewed
I have added a few notes about towers to these sections of the strategy guide. If you have had troubles with towers, read these sections and learn how to destroy or convert towers.
My computer problems are solved
Thanks to some people who helped me out, the computer is running again now. I am still looking for a better boot manager but booting is no longer a problem - you do not have to send me any more mails about that.
| December 25 |
Merry Christmas!
Enjoy the new possibilities of AoE with the patch! I have been fiddling with three operating systems (Win95, NT, Linux) so I could not test it yet. If anyone knows how to edit the entries of the Windows NT bootmanager (the table where it says "Windows NT Workstation/Windows NT Workstation VGA/Microsoft Windows") or how to edit the master boot record, help me, please :)
| December 24 |
Patch now available at this server
There are now three locations where Ensemble's Christmas gift, the patch that all people have been waiting for, is available:
| December 23 |
Patch is out - unit limit is now customizable!
Microsoft and Ensemble Studios announced today that the update for Age of
Empires is now available for download. The update provides optional
improved unit pathfinding and a modifiable unit limit cap, among several
other new features and fixes. The update is available at:
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/deskapps/games/public/empires/Msaoe10a.exe (1.0 MB) or
http://www.gamewatch.com/~mordor/aoe/msaoe10a.exe (at Izdol's AoE page)
The decision to release this update was made in response to valuable input from fans and RTS aficionados.
For update specifics, please reference the information below.
Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0a is an update of Age of Empires 1.0 that
includes several enhancements and bug fixes.
Note: If you are playing a multiplayer game, all players must be using the
same version of Age of Empires.
Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0a includes the following changes:
Enhancements
Bug Fixes
Microsoft Age of Empires Update 1.0a
Note: This feature is primarily designed to improve pathing performance on
high-end computers. The problems listed under "Group Movement" (above)
significantly improve pathing, so you might want to get a feel for these
improvements before you change the pathing settings.
Chat with Bruce Shelley of Age of Empires on the Internet Gaming Zone
Age of Empires designer Bruce Shelley of Ensemble Studios will be chatting
with Internet Gaming Zone members TONIGHT (Monday, December 22), to discuss
Age of Empires strategies and to answer questions. The chat will be held
from 6-7 p.m. Pacific Time in the Tournament Room at the Age of Empires
game page on the Internet Gaming Zone.
Thanks to Lesli for sending in this news. 6 p.m. PST is a bit late for people in Europe but perfect for all U.S. AoE fans.
New scenario
Practice your deathmatch skills against have rushes with the new single player scenario!
| December 22 |
Two new scenarios
I have added two new 5 player scenarios to the scenario section. One is a free for all map, the other one a 4 on 1 (!) - enjoy!
Starcraft beta signup
I have made a typo yesterday, stating December 12 instead of 21 - so if it is still December 21 PST, try your luck at Blizzard's page.
Must haves for XMas
Beside AoE, Quake2 is really the game of this winter - you have to get it if you do not have it already.
| December 21 |
Custom preview map
At the beginning of a game, a preview map of the scenario is shown, together with a description. You can change this map!
There is a file called mapdefault.bmp in the AoE directory; just edit it (do not change the size or palette) and save it under any name into the scenario directory. To see your map at the beginning of the scenario, just choose "Cinematics", then "scenario instruction map" in the map editor. The single player scenario "The summit" used such a picture.
FAQ section reorganized
You will find answers to more questions in the FAQ section. I have put all scenario editor related questions into a new category so you can now easily find it.
Starcraft beta test sign-up extended
Due to a hardware failure, you could not load the sign-up form after some time. To give everybody a fair chance, Blizzard has decided to add a new sign-up period that will start this Sunday, December 21, 00:00 PST. The form will be up for 24 hours, so there is no need to hurry. People who have already signed up do not have to do it again.
| December 20 |
Starcraft beta test sign-up today
Do not miss it; it will be open for 6 hours, starting at 6 pm (PST), December 19. Go to Blizzard's page and be prepared for high lag, because the server will be hopelessly overloaded.
AoE tournament: rematch announced
John Romero and his buddies are currently feverishly practicing wonder strategies ;)
John Romero: "I'm going to smash them in AoE. They must go down. :)"
The ES programmers are prepaired for further battles ;)
| December 19 |
AoE tournament: 4 - 1 for ES
Ensemble Studios has proved that they are still #1 on AoE, but they were not unbeaten:
They beat us the first game, we TOTALLY DEMOLISHED them the second game, then they got desperate in the third game and gave The_Optimizer@ES all their food so he could build about 30 archers and he wiped through all our towns while we were still picking berries. Sad.
Hehe, I'd like to set the record straight. After an agonizing, drawn-out death in game #2 at Romero's hands (which itself was probably revenge for my driving Romero out of his town in game #1), I set out on a quest of personal revenge again John Romero. In that, I had no help in the form of tribute from any of my teammates. Quite simply I out played Romero and crippled both him and his teammate Noel.
See the attached files (I was grey, Romero was Dark Blue, and Noel was Red): timeline - achievements
Things got very bloody really quick last night. My team won 1 of 3 games and the other team lost both of theirs. I should note that B-team would have won their first game had ES not wimped out and built a Wonder. We play man games at ION. That means no Wonders.
Aside from that, we had a blast last night and definately want a rematch. You can check out my account of the games on our site, after it's posted later this afternoon at www.ionstorm.com.
New zone software
Users of the Internet gaming zone should head for the IGZ main page and get the update for the zone software there. Do not forget that you have to use the Microsoft Internet Explorer to get to that page :(
Thanks to Omer for the info.
Second chance for a Starcraft beta test
OGR.com will offer you a second chance to get into the Starcraft beta test. "If you apply for the beta test on Friday at Blizzard's site, you can apply again at OGR as another chance to get in. The OGR sign-up day for StarCraft will be held on Monday, December 22nd."
Omer has found out that there is also an additional sign-up at Gamespot.
This will increase your chance by 1% :)
New scenario
I have reorganized the scenario section (new scenarios now appear at the top of the list) and added a new single player scenario.
| December 18 |
AoE claims the throne in Switzerland
I was in Switzerland's largest book store today, where they sell also computer games.
And I saw a huge pile of AoE (hundreds of copies, already largely decimated, though) :)
AoE will probably become the top selling game for Christmas in Switzerland. Last year, this place belonged to Quake. Age of Empires is already #2 (after Riven).
AoE tournament started, poll closed
The votes for ION Storm have been fluctuating around 35%, and ES has got 65% of all votes. I hope this will not discourage John Romero too much ;) It will certainly be an exciting match.
New campaign added
Ian has made a new campaign, Aduria: part 2, with 9 epic battles. If huge battles with hundreds(!) of units are to your liking, go to the campaign page and get it!
| December 17 |
New Kali version
Kali users should get Kali 1.3 (2.2 MB) now!
The new features include:
More news about the AoE tournament
Hey, it's not just Daikatana programmers challenging Ensemble. Come to
think of it, NO
Daikatana programmers are playing. It's John, a bunch of artists (such
as myself) and some
Dominion programmers... oh, and DaBug(level designer). Just an FYI.
Who will win?
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|
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In the age of chaos, developers of two strategy games battle for dominance ;)
Who will win the Age of Empires tournament? The current scores: 35% for ION Storm and 65% for ES. |
| ION Storm | Ensemble Studios |
New link
After all, Zx75's AoE page works under Netscape. I have added a link to his page, check out his techtree picture.
| December 16 |
AoE tournament
Just in case you did not read yesterday's news: John Romero's guys have not abandoned Age of Empires after John has lost the charity tournament from September 19. In fact, they have been training secretly and are now challening the ES strategists again - now we know why Daikatana is delayed ;)
Do you give the ION Storm programmers a chance or should they stick to first person shooters? Vote now!
| September - December 15 '97 |
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