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Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 14:04, 16 April 2013 by ThatOneReaper (talk | contribs) (Minor key point fix)

Template:Infobox Template:Infobox Age of Empires (series) Key points

A HD re-release of the game with updated graphics and Steam matchmaking is currently available.
UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update adds support for widescreen/multi-monitor resolutions.

Availability

Template:Availability Table

The "Age of Empires Collector's Editon" 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:
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.

Improvements

Patch 2.0a (The Age of Kings)

The latest patch for the base game is Version 2.0a.

Patch 1.0c (The Conquerors)

The latest patch for The Conquerors is Version 1.0c.

UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update

The unofficial UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update patch for The Conquerors adds many fixes including widescreen support, UPnP port forwarding, and various optional tweaks.

Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires

Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires is an unofficial expansion which adds new civilizations, maps and other fixes.

Save Game Data

Save Game Location

Template:Game Location Table

You will need to backup all of the above folders and the .nfp file to have all of your player data and progress.

Save Game Cloud Syncing

Template:Save Game Cloud Syncing

Video settings

Template:Video Settings

Widescreen resolution

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are letterboxed 4:3.

Multi-monitor

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are letterboxed 4:3. The main game interface is shown on the far left.

Windowed

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update and select Windowed mode support, then set your resolution in-game. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are windowed 4:3.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update and select Windowed mode support, then set the in-game resolution to the same as your desktop resolution. Your chosen resolution is used during gameplay; menus are windowed 4:3.

Input settings

Template:Input Settings

Network Issues

LAN connectivity with Windows Vista/7/8

Instructions
A much simpler method is to install GameRanger or Voobly and use it for lobbying (thus making all of the above obsolete).

System requirements

Template:System Requirements

Issues unresolved

Dell laptop compatibility issues

On some older Dell laptop models (e.g. the M1530) an issue occurs where the OS crashes and a blue-screen of death is displayed. This issue occurs after a seemingly random amount of gameplay time (from <30 seconds to 10 or 20 minutes). Many things have been tried to fix the issue including changing graphics card drivers, limiting the framerate to mitigate overheating and running on virtual machines of different OSs (e.g. windows 98). As far as can be seen, this issue has never been resolved nor will it be, rendering AoE2 unplayable on the affected models of laptop. This issue can be mitigated by playing through Voobly.com game client and selecting 32-bit DirectX mode in the lobby options. It is actually caused by an unterminated loop in the graphic card driver. However, Age of Empires II HD (the re-mastered version of the game released in 2013) is unaffected by this problem.

Issues fixed

Windows Vista/7/8 Colours

See Also: Color Fixes For Older Games

Windows Vista/7/8 (NT 6.x) can have issues with displaying true colours in Age of Empires II correctly. This is because the game uses an outdated and no longer supported palette-based colour method. There are currently three available solutions to this issue.

Instructions
Instructions
Instructions
Instructions

MIDI Music

Instructions

Links


References