This patch updates Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings to version 2.0a. Please consult the read-me file for instructions and fixes. The Age of Empires II: The Conquerors update v1.0c includes several game enhancements and fixes. The v1.0c update includes all of the fixes and content of the.
| Developers | |
|---|---|
| Publishers | |
| Engines | |
| Release dates | |
| Windows | September 30, 1999 |
| Mac OS (Classic) | October 2001 |
| macOS (OS X) | October 2001 |
| 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 | TBA |
| Age of Empires IV | TBA |
This page is for the original game. For the 2013 HD Edition, see Age of Empires II (2013). For the 2019 Definitive Edition, see Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
Warnings
- SafeDisc retail DRM no longer functions properly on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).
Key points
- Base game does not work on Windows 10 due to SafeDisc support being discontinued (UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update fixes this issue for The Conquerors).
- UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update adds support for widescreen/multi-monitor resolutions.
General information
- Official website for the series
- Official Discord server for the series
- Age of Empires II Official Microsoft Site (archived)
- Age of Empires Wiki Wikia for the entire series
- Age of Kings Heaven Community Site and Map Archive
- AoCZone Community Site for competitive gaming
- /r/aoe2 Age of Empires 2 Subreddit
- 1Availability
- 2Essential improvements
- 3Game data
- 6Audio settings
- 7Network
- 8Issues unresolved
- 9Issues fixed
- 10Other information
Availability[edit]
| Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | SafeDiscDRM[Note 1]. |
- SafeDisc retail DRM no longer functions properly on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- Demos are available for The Age of Kings and The Conquerors Expansion.
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 II: The Age of Kings
- Age of Empires II: The Conquerors
Downloadable content (DLC) and expansions
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Age of Empires II: The Conquerors | Windows version is sold separately, Mac OS version only in Gold Edition. |
Essential improvements[edit]
Skip intro videos[edit]
Start game with -nostartup parameter[3] |
Patches[edit]
- The latest patch for the base game is Version 2.0a.
- The latest patch for The Conquerors is Version 1.0c.
Unofficial Patch 1.0e (The Conquerors)[edit]
The unofficial patch for Conquerors, which includes NoCD is Version 1.0e.
UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update[edit]
The unofficial UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update patch for The Conquerors adds many fixes including widescreen support, UPnP port forwarding, and various optional tweaks. Although it doesn't include a NoCD, it will not remove a valid NoCD. If it is installed on top of Version 1.0e, no CD is required.
Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires[edit]
Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires is an unofficial expansion which adds new civilizations, maps and other fixes.
Voobly.com[edit]
Adds Online Matchmaking and automatic UserPatch installation.
Game data[edit]
Configuration file(s) location[edit]
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | <path-to-game>config.xml[Note 2] |
| Mac OS (Classic) | |
| macOS (OS X) |
Save game data location[edit]
| System | Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | <path-to-game>SaveGame[Note 2] |
| Mac OS (Classic) | |
| macOS (OS X) |
- Player settings are saved in
<path-to-game>Player.nfp(determines unlocked scenarios etc.) - Custom campaigns are saved in
<path-to-game>Campaign - Custom scenarios are saved in
<path-to-game>Scenario
Video settings[edit]
| Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Widescreen resolution | Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. | ||
| Multi-monitor | Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. Uncheck 'widescreen interface style' to centre minimap and unit controls. | ||
| Ultra-widescreen | Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. | ||
| 4K Ultra HD | |||
| Field of view (FOV) | |||
| Windowed | Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. Select Windowed mode support, then select a resolution lower than your desktop resolution. Menus will be windowed 4:3. | ||
| Borderless fullscreen windowed | Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. Select Windowed mode support, then set the in-game resolution to your desktop resolution. | ||
| Anisotropic filtering (AF) | |||
| Anti-aliasing (AA) | |||
| Vertical sync (Vsync) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
| 60 FPS | |||
| 120+ FPS | |||
Input settings[edit]
| Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Remapping | ||
| 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 | ||||
| Traditional Chinese | ||||
| French | ||||
| German | ||||
| Italian | ||||
| Japanese | ||||
| Korean | ||||
| Spanish |
Age Of Empires 2 Hd Windows 10
Network[edit]
Multiplayer types
Connection types
| Type | Native | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matchmaking | MSN Gaming Zone support has been discontinued.[4] Community has moved to http://voobly.com[citation needed] | |
| Peer-to-peer | ||
| Dedicated | ||
| Self-hosting | ||
| Direct IP |
Ports
| Protocol | Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
|---|---|
| TCP | 2300-2400, 47624 |
| UDP | 2300-2400 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues unresolved[edit]
Dell laptop compatibility issues[edit]
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 frame rate to mitigate overheating and running on virtual machines of different operating systems (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 graphics card driver. However, Age of Empires II HD (the re-mastered version of the game released in 2013) is unaffected by this problem.
'Access Denied - Please login with administrator privileges and try again' error on launch (Windows 10)[edit]
- Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update to fix this for The Conquerors (this does not fix the issue for the base game).
Issues fixed[edit]
Windows Vista and 7 colours[edit]
- Windows Vista and 7 can have issues with displaying true colours in Age of Empires II correctly.
- This issue does not occur on Windows 8 and later.
- See rainbow color problems in older games for further details.
UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update[citation needed] Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update. This includes a color fix for Vista and 7, and will also set a registry flag, allowing Windows 8+ to emulate the 256-colour modes, required by the game. It will also optionally provide support for loading the windowed mode plugin, which, apart from its direct purpose, also performs software palette conversion to 32-bit, resolving said issues. |
DirectDrawFix[citation needed] Use DirectDrawFix to apply the required compatibility fixes to the registry. |
LAN connectivity[edit]
- This method allows gaming over LAN on modern versions of Windows.
Setting the IP address to Static and the Default Gateway to nothing[citation needed]
While in use, internet connection will be lost until the settings are switched back to 'Obtain an IP address automatically', but LAN will function in-game. |
MIDI music[edit]
Copy files from demo version[citation needed]
Notes
|
'Access Denied - Please login with administrator privileges and try again' error on launch (Windows 10)[edit]
- Install UserPatch: Conquerors Feature Update to fix this for The Conquerors (this does not fix the issue for the base game).
Other information[edit]
API[edit]
| Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DirectDraw | 6.1 | |
| OpenGL | Mac OS only. |
| Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | |||
| macOS (OS X) |
Middleware[edit]
System requirements[edit]
| Windows | ||
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| Operating system (OS) | 95 | 98 |
| Processor (CPU) | 166 MHz | 450 MHz |
| System memory (RAM) | 32 MB | 64 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) | 300 MB | 300 MB |
| Video card (GPU) | 2 MB of VRAM DirectX 6.1 compatible | Nvidia TNT2 ATI Rage 128 16 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑SafeDisc retail DRMdoes not work on Windows 10[1] and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]
- ↑ 2.02.1When running this game without Administrator elevation, activity in
%PROGRAMFILES%,%PROGRAMFILES(X86)%, and%WINDIR%might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%VirtualStore(more details).
Age Of Empires 2 Windows 10
References
Ages Of Empire 2 Patch
- ↑Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
- ↑Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
- ↑Known video issues in Age of Empires II
- ↑Age of Empires matchmaking has been retired from MSN Games - MSN Games - Free Online Games