This page is for the original game. For the 2018 re-release, see Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
General information
- Official Discord server for the series
- Microsoft's Official game page (archived)
- Age of Empires Heaven is an active fan website and forum that offers support and extra game content.
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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Retail |
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Collector's Edition re-releases. |
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- Free demos are available for the base game and The Rise of Rome
Version differences
- Age of Empires: Gold Edition contains the base game and The Rise of Rome expansion, first released in 1999.
- Age of Empires: Collector's Edition contains Age of Empires and Age of Empires II with their respective expansion packs. The later DVD-ROM releases include the latest patches and are DRM-free, but are missing Red Book CD audio.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
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The Rise of Rome |
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Essential improvements
Patches
- 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.
- Alternately, the latest official patch is available at soggi.org.
- 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.
- Requires The Rise of Rome expansion
- 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 corruption bug of version 1.0a
Skip intro videos
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Windows |
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Games\Age of Empires\1.00\ |
Mac OS (Classic) |
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Save game data location
- 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
Video
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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Royalty free audio |
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Red Book CD audio |
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On Windows, CD music might not play correctly; see the troubleshooting guide for solutions. |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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French |
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German |
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Hungarian |
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Fan translation by .:i2k:. link #1, link #2 |
Italian |
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Portuguese |
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Brazilian Portuguese |
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Microsoft Brasil. |
Spanish |
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Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
LAN play |
| 8 |
Versus
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Online play |
| 8 |
Versus The official MSN Gaming Zone service has been shut down; use Voobly. |
Connection types
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
Color issues
- Playing the game on modern versions of Windows may cause it to use strange colors. Repetitive red and purple specks in water and marsh areas are the common issue.
- See DirectDraw troubleshooting for further information.
Install UPatch (The Rise of Rome only)
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Legacy fix[citation needed]
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- 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 .
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Could not initialize graphics system error[3]
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- Run the game in Compatibility mode for Windows XP Service Pack 2
- Disable Visual Themes
- Disable Desktop Composition
- Run this program as an Administrator
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DirectDraw |
5 |
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Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | | |
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Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Multiplayer |
MSN Gaming Zone |
Discontinued.[4] |
Command[5] |
Description
|
NoStartup |
Skips the intro
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640 |
Forces the 640x480 resolution
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800 |
Forces the 800x600 resolution
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1024 |
Forces the 1024x768 resolution
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Mfill |
Fixes horizontal line issue related to contemporary Matrox video adapters
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NormalMouse |
Replaces the ingame cursor with the standard Windows one
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NoSound |
Disables game audio with the exception of cinematics
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NoTerrainSound |
Disables ambient audio
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NoMusic |
Disables music
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MidiMusic |
Forces the use of MIDI music instead of the Red Book CD music
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Msync |
Fixes lockups related to contemporary SoundBlaster AWE configurations
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System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, NT 4.0 SP3 | |
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 | |
Mac OS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
7.5.3 | |
Processor (CPU) |
120 MHz 604 150 MHz 603 |
150 MHz 604 |
System memory (RAM) |
32 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
70 MB | |
Notes
References