G&SD FAQ - IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS FORUM, PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING

posted 10-22-04 06:35 PM CT (US)

Welcome to the General & Strategy Discussions forum!

To help determine the times of the events that take place at AoKH, use the World Time Converter.
First, thanks to everyone's favorite seraph, Aro who wrote the previous version of the guide. A special thanks to Winston and TheShadowDawn for their excellent forum courtesy guide, of which I got much of this content from. Also thanks to Dark Side of Day, to whom made the original post.

Welcome to the Age of Kings Heaven General & Strategy Discussions forum! This forum is where people meet to talk about the game Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, and the strategy part of the game. Be polite and mature, and you will probably be accepted into the community very quickly.

Before you post a question... read this post; Chances are it will answer some of your questions for you. And if it doesn't, the next step is to use the forum's "Search" function, which can be found at the bottom of the topic page. Entering a subject such as 'Turks' or 'Flush' will return all the past threads related to this topic. Your questions has most likely been answered in the past. One reason for this is because members who have been here a while tend to get sick of the same questions being asked over and over.

Also check out The University, AoKH's strategy section. There are various strategy articles within it that are very helpful.

This is a great forum, and needs your support to keep it running as well. Please observe all the common sense rules and also if you see something you like on an advertisement, click through and look at it.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AOKH GENERAL QUESTIONS
GENERAL AND STRATEGY DISCUSSION FORUM SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
MAC QUESTIONS
MULTIPLAYER QUESTIONS
TERMINOLOGY QUESTIONS
GENERAL GAME QUESTIONS
SPECIFIC GAME QUESTIONS

AOKH GENERAL QUESTIONS:
What are the rules here?
This forum and all HeavenGames forums are governed by the Forum Code of Conduct. You should have read this when you created your account, but please look over it again before posting. Especially relevant to this forum is the section which concerns piracy, cracks, trainers, keys, and key-generators.

**Posting links to or even discussing piracy, cracks, trainers, and key-generators is against the Code of Conduct and can result in an immediate and permanent ban from HeavenGames.**

What happens if I break the rules?
Failure to abide by the Code of Conduct can and will result in a warning or ban. The HeavenGames policy on warnings and bans can be found here.

What is the official language of these forums? Can I post in any language?
Please understand this is an English based website and the majority of forumers are English speakers. This means that to get the most out of the forum, please post in English. Posting in a language other than English is against the Code of Conduct.

In addition, do not use words that are considered "cursing". Do not use words that emulate them with * or another character that still shows exactly what the word is. Avoiding the language filter is against the Code of Conduct. Please try and be clear, concise, and consistent in your use of wording. "Suck" is not a good word.

How do I add those cool smilies and text effects to my messages?
The Forum FAQ contains this information, along with a lot of other answers to your questions about the functioning of the forums.

What do the different colored names mean?
They are the different members of staff. In most cases they are given angelic names to tie in with HeavenGames' Heaven theme.

Cherubs do work on various sites such as writing content, posting news and/or moderating forums.
Angels do the same but also can add their content (and that produced by cherubs) to the site. They are often in charge of one particular part of a site.
Seraphs are the angels that act as webmasters for each site. They make the major decisions for the site and oversee the staff.
VIPs are people who work for game developers.

The General and Strategy Discussion Forum is currently moderated by STEVE. AoKH's Seraph is Angel Aro.
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GENERAL AND STRATEGY DISCUSSION FORUM SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:
What is this forum for?
The General and Strategy Discussion forum is for discussing general and strategy related issues about Age of Empires II: Age of Kings and its expansion, The Conquerors.

What is this forum NOT for?
For OFF-TOPIC posting, please go to the TOWN'S CRIER, Age of Kings Heaven's Community forum.

Posts about DESIGNING SCENARIOS for the game or questions about the EDITOR should go in the SCENARIO DESIGN FORUM. Note that post about DESIGNING AIS will likely get better responses there as well.

Posts about MODPACKS should go in the MODPACK DISCUSSION FORUM.

COMMENTS or SUGGESTIONS about AoKH should be posted in the WEBSITE COMMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS FORUM.

How do I sign up for the AoKH Forumer's Ladder?
To participate in the AOKH Forumer's Ladder system, just reply in the Ladder thread.

Where can I find guides and strategies?
For a brief overview of some basic guides, take a look at the GAME QUESTIONS section of this FAQ.

Also, when making a new thread, PLEASE title it something descriptive of the topic you wish discussed.
Simply making a thread titled "HELP" is not a good idea. Some of those people who might
have an answer may not read the thread because they don't know what it's about and
future forumers with the same problem will be unable to search for your thread correctly.
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MACINTOSH QUESTIONS:
Created by n8mac
Hello fellow Mac users. This thread is for questions about the Macintosh version of Age of Empires II. If you have general questions about Age of Empires, also known as AoK, then look around other parts of this website and forums. The game play, stats, etc. is the same as it's PC counterpart. If your question is Mac related, then click here for the new Mac FAQ. If you have a Mac question that is still not covered then by all means ask here.

To get it started...

Where can I find the latest patch?
www.destineerstudios.com

What if I want the latest patch for Mac OS 8.6 - 10.2?
www.versiontracker.com

Can I play against PC users?
Software incompatibilities makes it impossible to play against PC users.

Where can I play with Mac users online?
www.gameranger.com
Please note that a download is required and that Mac OS's prior to OS X are no longer supported. All Intel Macs are supported.

Also note: The Windows version had an original called 'Age of Empires II The Age of Kings', and an expansion called 'The Conquerors'. When the Mac version was ported the two titles were combined and called 'Age of Empires II Gold'. The Windows patches won't work on the Mac.

MULTIPLAYER QUESTIONS:
How can I play with other Age of Kings players online?
Check out our Playing Online FAQ!

Help! I get a message saying "Unable to join game" when I try to play on the Zone!
This can occur if you have a router or a firewall. If you have a router, take a look at this post. For the firewall, try disabling it and see if that works.

How to I figure out what the default username and password is for my router?
It depends on who made your router. Take a look at this page to see what the default username and password are for your router.

It says I need the latest patch! Where I can I find it?
For Age of Kings, click here to download the 2.0a patch.
For The Conquerors expansion, click here to download the 1.0c patch.

Where can I play with other AoKHers?
The official meeting place for the AoKH Forumers Ladder is the Agincourt room on the Zone. You are more likely to find others from AoKH who want to play with you if you sign up for the Ladder.
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TERMINOLOGY QUESTIONS:
What is a clan?
A clan is usually a group of players who play together and against other clans. Clan members often have a prefix before their username like members of the Tonto clan have Tonto_ before theirs and members of the Lonely Knights Clan have LKS_ before theirs. Some of the clans that frequent AoKH are Tonto, LKS, Candid2K Clan, Myll, Zilla, and TOAO. You may see members of these clans posting in the forums from time to time.

What is a rating? What are those numbers (1600, 1800, 2k) people keep talking about in reference to skill?
When you play in "rated" room on the Zone, you gain or lose points based on whether you win or lose. You begin with a rating of 1600. The number of points added or subtracted is based on the difference between your rating and your opponent's. If you play someone who is rated much higher than you and win, you will get more points than if you played someone with a much lower rating. While a rating is not an absolute judge of skill, it does provide a way to judge another player's ability. For example, if someone can reach a 2000 or "2k" rating, it usually means they are a very good player.

What do all these words that you people use like rushing and flushing mean?
Have a look at the Words Guide to work out what some of the ‘jargon’ means. These are mostly either abbreviations of game attributes - like ‘HP’ means hit points - or names of commonly used tactics - such as ‘flushing’ means Feudal rushing.

What do some of the abbreviations people use mean?
AoKH has a list of the definitions of the words many forumers use: Abbreviations
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GENERAL GAME QUESTIONS:
Where do I get the latest patch?
For Age of Kings, click here to download the 2.0a patch.
For The Conquerors expansion, click here to download the 1.0c patch.

Where can I find technical support information?
You can find technical support information for the game on the Microsoft site.

Please remember that we at AoKH are likely not the best people to help you with technical support issues. While we may be able to provide some help, the best place to go is to the site linked to above. If your question is not answered there, you may want to contact a tech support person rather than seeking help here.

It doesn't hurt to ask, but please remember that we are not qualified professionals, so that any replies you get may or may not fix your problem and may in fact cause further harm.

What's the best civ? Best unit?
There are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ civs, each and every one excels under circumstances and is generally used for those situations. However, learning which situations a civ is best suited for will allow you to make a good choice. For example, if you're going to be playing on a map with a lot of water like Islands, it is beneficial to choose a civ that has a bonus in that situation such as Vikings. Take into account both the bonuses a civ receives as well as their tech tree.

In the same way, there is no best unit, each one has strengths and weaknesses, even if some are used more than others. However, to check how units measure up against other units, have a look at Stendecca's tests summary, which contains the links to each of his unit match-up tests. Learning which units counter others is an important step to becoming a good player. If you're looking for detailed unit stats, take a look at this great post at MFO.

So what civ should I pick?
The best thing to do is to take a look at each civilizations' bonuses, tech tree, and unique units. See what bonuses a civ gets and think how they may be used in each situation to help you win. Look for what units and technologies a civ has access to and which ones it doesn't. Finally, unique units, if used correctly, can be powerful additions to your army. However, do not over-emphasize the importance a unique unit. Bonuses and tech tree are almost always far more important to a civ than their unique unit.

Civilizations of the Ages by TheShadowDawn
Civilizations of the Ages is ideal for the learning player to gain an insight into the various strengths and weaknesses of the game civilizations, their employment, tactics and application. However, remember that this guide was written several years ago, so take a look at newer posts to see what has changed since that time.

Where can I find a good list of strategy articles?
Qazitory has a great post with links to just about everything you need to know to play the game. Check it out!

And don't forget The University, AoKH's strategy section.

omgz!1111one i beated teh compooter on Moderate! i r teh uber1337 xpert! listen to meeeeee!11oneonen
First off, that's not a question. Second, the computer is quite easy to beat. Even 3+ teamed ES AIs on Hard are easier than the average 15-1600 player on the Zone. Before giving advice, it is recommended that you try playing at least a few rated games on the Zone or at the very least watching an expert rec to see how the game is "really" played.

What is a rec? How do I watch one?
A rec is a recorded game.
One of the great features of Age of Kings is that you can watch recordings made by other players or review your own games to find your mistakes.

To record your own game, just check the "Record Game" option on the launch screen.
To view a recorded game, place the file in the "SaveGame" directory in your Age of Empires II folder.
Then, launch the game and go to Single Player, then click on the "Saved and Recorded Games" button and choose the game you want to watch.

Make sure the recorded game is from the same version that you view it with. Age of Kings games have a .mgl extension whereas games from The Conquerors expansion pack have a .mgx extension. In addition, you will need to have the same patch that the game was recorded with. For most games, this means the most recent patch.

If you do not have the most recent patch, the game will go out of sync partway in. Please see the above question concerning patches to obtain the latest patch. If you are trying to watch a game recorded with an earlier patch, take a look at this article at MFO.

Note that some games that you find online may be zipped for easier downloading. If the file extension is .zip, you will need a program to unzip it if you do not already have one.

Why won't it record my game when I restore after saving?
Unfortunately, that's how the game's software works. There is no way around this. If you need to prove the results of a saved and restored game the best option is to take a screenshot of the Achievements page showing you as the winner (or loser).

I've downloaded a custom campaign/scenario/AI/random map, but I can't play it. Help!
Here is where each of the files need to go to work properly:
.scn / .scx -> C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires II/Scenario
.cpn / .cpx -> C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires II/Campaign
.rms -> C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires II/Random
.ai / .per -> C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires II/AI
Saved Games -> C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires II/Savegame

Please note that you cannot play custom files made using the Conquerors with Age of Kings, so if you don't have the expansion already, I suggest you buy it.

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SPECIFIC GAME QUESTIONS:

What does the Byzantine Unique Technology (Logistica) do? What is trample damage?
Garak provides a good explanation:
"With trample damage, every time one of your ECats (elite cataphracts) attacks an enemy unit (or a building), all other enemy units adjacent to that ECat will receive 5 pts of damage, no matter what armor they have.

"Logistica also raises the ECat's anti-infantry bonus from +12 to +18.

"For non-elite Cats, trample works the same way.
Their anti-infantry bonus is also risen by Logistica, from +9 to +15."

What exactly do the Ballistics and the Thumb Ring technologies do?
Take a look at this post at MFO. It states:
"Each unit has a base to-hit percentage ranging from 50% (Cavalry Archers) to 100% (Mangudai). This refers to the chance that an arrow has to hit a non-moving target. If a target is moving then the arrow will aim at the spot that the unit was at when the arrow is fired. These arrows tend to miss targets, especially if the targets are moving in a lateral direction relative to the shooter. Missed arrows still have to hit somewhere, so it is possible for the missed arrow to hit another enemy unit – it just will not be the intended target.

"With Ballistics, the shooter will now aim at a spot that the target is predicted to be assuming that the target continues on its current course. The base to-hit percentage is unmodified, so the shooter can still miss the target. The shooter will also miss if the target changes its vector.

"With Thumb Ring, the base to-hit percentage is now 100%. Stationary targets are always hit, and targets on a constant vector are also always hit. Units that change vector are missed."

How do you display the game time?
Press the F11 key during the game.

How do you display the score?
Press the F4 key during the game.

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To ADD things to this FAQ, please provide a description and a link to the thread that you wish to highlight via a reply. If you have a question that I have missed, feel free to post it.

I will be adding new links and questions as I get a chance too.

Note that this does NOT mean you should spam this thread with unnecessary comments. Please keep it constructive.

[This message has been edited by sly guy (edited 01-06-2009 @ 08:22 AM).]

posted 12-10-04 07:50 PM CT (US) 16 / 72

1) You were not banned for smurfing.
http://www.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=ct&f=27,321369,,all
According to that all of your accounts were banned for a very specific reason.

2) You have to fill out the unban request form in order to be unbanned.

3) By complaining about it, you are breaking the CoC:

Quote:

Section 14. Moderation & Bans:
You may not publicly complain about or demand a reason for another user's ban, the deletion of a message, or the deletion/closure of a thread. Any discussion about warnings, bans, message deletion, thread deletion and thread closure should be done over private email between the person concerned and the moderators

http://forums.heavengames.com/support/tos.shtml

If you have further questions about the issue, I suggest you take them up with Aro. His email is aro at heavengames dot com

De-spamming my e-mail, if you don't mind... - Aro

[This message has been edited by Aro (edited 12-10-2004 @ 11:21 PM).]