Quick FAQ - All Common Questions Answered Here

Topic Subject: Quick FAQ - All Common Questions Answered Here

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peter
HG Alumnus

posted 10-20-03 05:42 PM ET (US)

Welcome to the quick AoE & RoR FAQ. Here you'll find a list of questions asked so often that we lost count of it.

If you have questions not dealt with here please ask them in a separate thread so this one can be used for the really frequently asked questions.

Q: Where can I download da game?
A: At your local shop, at some places from a cereals box.
We don't support warez and no-cd cracks. Don't ask for them and don't advertise them. Expect to get banned if you do.

Q: How can I place gold mines, stone quarries, lions and other stuff on a map in the scenario editor?
A: Select Units, select Gaia from the Player drop-down list.

Q: How can I win the River Outpost scenario in the Egypt campaign?
A: This is a fairly easy scenario. The only hard part is reading the instructions. You have to upgrade to the Iron Age and upgrade your towers to guard towers.
For related questions you can consult our single player help section.

Q: How can I skip the opening cinematics when I start AoE or RoR?
A: Make a shortcut, open it, select the Properties tab, move the cursur to the end of the selected text box that has the program file name in it and add "nostartup" - without the quotation marks.

Q: How can I play the game with the midi music?
A: Make a shortcut, open it, select the Properties tab, move the cursor to the end of the selected text box that has the program file name in it and add "midimusic" - without the quotation marks.

Q: How can I save a multiplayer game?
A: You can't. It isn't an option. And that makes sense as it's hard enough to gather a set of people to play a game across the net.

Q: When I open a saved game the game crashes and returns to the desktop. Alternatively, the game crashes to the desktop in the middle of a game.
A: That's a problem of the patch, 1.c for AoE, 1.a for RoR. Don't play with the patch if you play against the computer only. You don't need a dual install to have AoE/RoR with and without the patch; simply do the following:
* Rename the patched files in the AoE folder to AoEpatch.exe and RoRpatch.exe (or use other names)
* Copy the original exes from your CD(s) to the game folder.
* Make shortcuts to all versions and place them on your desktop or in a games folder on your desktop. In the shortcut you can also add code to prevent the opening cinematics.

Do not delete the files with the patch. You need them when you play on line and for campaigns that were designed in the patched version.

Here's an alternative, posted by andycmdab:

I had extensively tested this problem before and I know when to save, save when there's no fighting going on, actually, there could be swordmen fighting but make sure there's no archers or baliistica firing -- it's that animation effects which creates the bug.

Q: How can I change the pop cap (population limit) for a single player game?
A: You can't. The CP will always cap at 50 pop. If you want to play with a higher pop cap for yourself, start a multiplayer game. In ROR you can set the pop cap in the settings screen. In AOE you need to add "Limit=xxx" (type a number instead of xxx, and don't include the quotation marks) to the command line in your shortcut.
Update: You can download an utility from the Granary section to increase the pop cap for all players in RoR here: http://aoe.heavengames.com/dl-php/showfile.php?fileid=1799

Q: Help me!!! I'm stuck in a scenario!
A: For hints about all scenarios in the campaigns and some more, visit our hints section: http://aoe.heavengames.com/academy/Hintsheets/CampaignHintsIndex.shtml.
If the hints there don't help you, or if you're playing a campaign we don't give hints for, ask your question in the forum.

Q: I downloaded a scenario /campaign. Now where do I save it to?
A: The downloaded file is a .zip archive, first open it, for instance with a program like Winzip or the default Windows program, and drag the campaign or scenario file from it. Save scenarios in the scenario folder and campaigns in the campaign folder.

Q: I got a problem with multiplayer games.
A: Try this: http://aoe.heavengames.com/downsnew/FAQ/OnlinePlayFAQ.shtml

Q: How do I make a screenshot?
A: Press Ctrl + F12. The bitmap is saved in the Age of Empires folder (where the .exe file sits).

Q: How can I run Age of Empires in windowed mode?
A: The original game does not support windowed mode but you can check this thread out for a workaround: DxWnd Utility.

Q: I get strange colors in Vista/Win7/Win8
A: Most of times it is related to a DirectDraw issue.
The solution is to add some reys in the Windows Registry. It does not need to modify any file. DirectDrawFix - Color Update will do it automatically.

For modders/developers, here is the technical detail:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectDraw\Compatibility\UNIQUE_APP_NAME_HERE]
"Name"="EXECUTABLE_NAME.EXE" (REG_SZ)
"ID"=hex:XX,XX,XX,XX (REG_BINARY: 4 bytes)
"Flags"=hex:00,08,00,00 (REG_BINARY: 4 bytes)

The Flags value instructs ddraw.dll to ignore this data for systems before Vista. The ID value is the internal timestamp of the executable file.

To find the timestamp with a hex editor:
- Seek in the file to 0x3C
- Read the 4 byte value here: we'll call it idOffset
- Seek in the file to (idOffset + 0x08)
- Read the 4 byte value here: this is the ID
* If you stil have issues (colors are so bad that it's absolutely not playable), you may have the ATI/AMD catalyst issue.
Some old versions of the "AMD Catalyst control center" provoke this bug. Installing the latest version of the program will fix the color issue.

Q: I still have corrupted colors in-game (color bugs), what can I do?
A: The reason for this is usually some incompatibility of your graphics card with the 8-bit graphics used by the game. First of all - update your graphics card drivers! This may be enough to solve the problem. If you still have corrupted colors - open the Launcher, select Settings and check "Windowed Mode" then Apply. This should solve it. If your game resolution is the same as your desktop, the game will not be in a window even with this option On.

Q: Virtual Store related � I can't find my scenarios, campaigns, save games or other files in game directory?
A:
This is caused by Windows (Vista/7/8/8.1/10 with U.A.C. on), any programs that save files directly in system directories (like Program Files) have their files redirected to Virtual Store (Compatibility Files). You can find all your custom files in this location:
C:\Users\\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\
Replace with the account name on your PC and with the path to your game directory. For example, if the game is installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires" and your account name is "John", your Virtual Store path for the game is "C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires". In Windows Vista/7 you can click the Compatibility Files button (in Windows Explorer) from game directory to go directly to the Virtual Store directory.
Remember that this applies to all files saved from the game.

Q: My custom campaigns are not saved by the game?
A:
This is another Windows related problem (Vista/7/8/8.1/10 with U.A.C. on), for some reason .cpx files (Rise of Rome campaigns) are not allowed. You can solve this by running the game as Administrator - right click on the game or its shortcut (or even the Launcher) and select Run As Administrator - do this only when you want to save a campaign, you should not run the game as admin otherwise. If you can't find your scenarios while running as Administrator - check the Virtual Store (information above). Move the scenarios you need from Virtual Store to original scenarios directory before saving your campaign.

If you have any other questions please ask them here!

[This message has been edited by PhatFish (edited 07-22-2016 @ 09:09 AM).]

Author

Replies:

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 11-13-03 02:55 PM ET (US) 1 / 310

Okay I opened it so people can come along with suggestions - any questions willl be added to the main post. Note: short questions that pop up really rather often and short answers. Thank you.

c4master
Clubman

posted 07-06-04 04:13 AM ET (US) 2 / 310

Where can I play AoE/RoR online?

Nanaki from the super heroes

When you play with fire you must anticipate some burns.
Chasing for desire is just a different way to learn! Kamelot - III Ways To Epica

Mark Randell
Clubman

posted 07-06-04 08:59 AM ET (US) 3 / 310

http://zone.msn.com/en/root/cdrom.htm

you also need to have an msn passport to play in the rooms, but this is easy to obtain. Click on the sign in icon at the top of the screen (next to the web search box)

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask!

c4master
Clubman

posted 07-06-04 11:06 AM ET (US) 4 / 310

thx cu then

edit: doesn't seem to work. I'm searching for the gamerooms for 10 minutes now...

Nanaki from the super heroes

When you play with fire you must anticipate some burns.
Chasing for desire is just a different way to learn! Kamelot - III Ways To Epica

[This message has been edited by c4master (edited 07-06-2004 @ 11:15 AM).]

legolas867
Clubman

posted 10-08-04 11:10 AM ET (US) 5 / 310

it wont let me save scenarios in the scenario file or the campaing file

[This message has been edited by legolas867 (edited 10-08-2004 @ 11:11 AM).]

FireLegion_56
Clubman

posted 10-08-04 05:17 PM ET (US) 6 / 310

Quote:

How can I change the pop cap for a single player game?

Hmmm,
Well this trcik won't work for AOE but it works for ROR.

All you need to do is go to muilaplayer and then go to IXP or any of those options apart from zone.
Also don't bother going on the net.

Once you in the screen when you set up the map do that and go to pop limit and set it to 200.
Now start the game with all the computer oppents and you bascily playing singleplayer game.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/Tropper/Funk.jpg[/img]
AKA FireLegion_56 @ AOEH

Lastest Project:Classified

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 10-08-04 05:30 PM ET (US) 7 / 310

legolas:
Can you be more explicit? You need to save the files in a folder, not in a file. If you meant something else, please explain.

legolas867
Clubman

posted 10-08-04 05:38 PM ET (US) 8 / 310

ok i downloaded a scenario and clicked save it asked me to choose were to save it and i click the scenario folder then on the screen a message showed saying you have to obtain permission from the adminastrator before you can download this scenario

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 10-08-04 06:22 PM ET (US) 9 / 310

In that case you aren't the admin of the computer you use. Talk to him/her. It's possible that you don't have permission to store files in the Program Files tree. you can also save it to a folder where you can save stuff to and later move it to the scenario folder.

legolas867
Clubman

posted 10-09-04 05:56 AM ET (US) 10 / 310

no i am admin of this pc cos its mine i just bought it brandnew a week ago how do i change it so i can store stuff in the program files tree

Tabb
Banned

posted 01-23-05 03:58 PM ET (US) 11 / 310

I LOVE YOU TOO
-Lorenzo

[This message has been edited by Dr Lorenzo (edited 01-23-2005 @ 10:45 PM).]

Dangrimm
Clubman

posted 01-23-05 04:34 PM ET (US) 12 / 310

Is your keyboard broken? Because thats shocking grammar *scolds Tabb*

pawnstar_1
Clubman

posted 01-27-05 02:06 PM ET (US) 13 / 310

u can inrease your population limit by buildig for example 10 stables ,load each to build cavalry .(your pop must be at 50/50)delete a unit and you have 10 xtra population ez

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 01-27-05 04:59 PM ET (US) 14 / 310

That's a known trick. I'm not sure if that isn't kind of cheating though - a pop limit of 50 should men you restrict yourself to 50 units and manage with them. May I remind you that some people play with a pop limit of for instance 20?

Mero
Clubman

posted 02-21-05 09:22 PM ET (US) 15 / 310

I did for some time

About playing multiplayer to play with 200 pop is a good idea, except becuse you can't save

"Hero" Mero
Roggan? Anonymous Ancient Villager
tcartaoe@yahoo.com

Age of Empires Heaven - AoE Cartography Workshop

Cato Maior
Clubman

posted 02-22-05 02:59 AM ET (US) 16 / 310

Problem:

If I put an additional campaign in my campaign-folder, I have to create a new player too. Otherwise (if I use my old player) the game crashes and returns to desktop, when I finished the 1st scenario and wanna return to the campaign-folder.
Can I avoid that? Do I have to delete my old player? It's a bit annoying to lose former campaign achievements.

Thanks

P.S.: in AoK you don't have these problems, the game seems to recognize even a "modified" folder.

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 02-22-05 05:57 AM ET (US) 17 / 310

That's a bug. You don't have to delete your old player name though. Simply create a new one and play new stuff with that one.

Upnotep
Clubman

posted 02-22-05 12:54 PM ET (US) 18 / 310

Hi, Cato Maior and welcome to AoEH.
About your problem, I can't help.

Signature

Mero
Clubman

posted 03-16-05 08:20 PM ET (US) 19 / 310

About noob language, there's just one thing I don't understand: 1337 or something like that. What does that mean?

"Hero" Mero
Roggan? Anonymous Ancient Villager
tcartaoe@yahoo.com

Age of Empires Heaven - AoE Cartography Workshop

Upnotep
Clubman

posted 03-16-05 09:16 PM ET (US) 20 / 310

1 is a I and 3 is a E. But I don't know what a 7 is.

Signature

LittleFreak
Clubman

posted 03-17-05 08:05 AM ET (US) 21 / 310

The 7 is a T. 1337 means Leet.

While sausages are tasty, you might cut your finger with that pencil over there.

Bismarck
Clubman

posted 03-17-05 08:55 AM ET (US) 22 / 310

Yup. It used to be hacker language because they didn't want other people to be able to read their messages. So they substituded letters with numbers or symbols, i.e. o becomes p, 1,3 and 7 become l, e and t and so on.
Today it is mostly used in chatrooms or on the zone to show off. Newbic.

Don't fear
Drink Beer!

[This message has been edited by Bismarck (edited 03-17-2005 @ 08:55 AM).]

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 03-17-05 09:41 AM ET (US) 23 / 310

Uh - I don't see why this kind of should be dealt with here. You can google for off-topic questions like this.

floydmoon
Clubman

posted 03-20-05 04:41 PM ET (US) 24 / 310

Can I connect two computers through a modem with a telephone line to each other and play aoe.how do i do this

peter
HG Alumnus

posted 03-20-05 04:44 PM ET (US) 25 / 310

Welcome.

This thread is really for answering questions that pop up a lot. Please ask questions in a separate thread.

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