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Purpose of this FAQ:

The purpose of this FAQ is to provide clear, detailed solutions to the questions that are most frequently asked in this forum. As the title suggests, you should always read this FAQ before asking a question when you have a problem; the chances of your problem having a known solution that is laid out in this FAQ are high. If you ask a question that is answered by this FAQ, do not expect any help with your problem - you will simply be directed to this FAQ. If you are sure your problem is not answered in this FAQ, please read FAQ 6e.

If you find a mistake in this FAQ or you feel one of the solutions contains incorrect or the information or is not clear enough, please tell us in this thread! If you think there is a frequently asked question (with a known solution) in this forum that is not included in this FAQ, please post it in this thread!

Thank you,

AoMH Staff.

Contents:

• (0) Before You Start


• (1) ESO Problems
• (a) I cannot connect to ESO; it tells me that I have an invalid CD-Key!
• (b) I cannot connect to ESO; I keep getting an error to do with administrative rights or port 2300.
• (c) I cannot connect to ESO; it tells me I need an updated version of Age of Mythology to play but my game is apparently up to date!
• (d) I keep getting an error about connecting to ESO stats server and my rating doesn't change after playing rated games.
• (e) Why do I get an error about country information when I make a new account?
• (f) A blank error message box appears when I try to make an account. What does it mean?
• (g) How do I change my ESO account password?
• (h) I cannot get a unique product key from the distributer in order to connect to ESO or ESO is down for maintenance. Is there any way I can play with others?
• (i) I get an error when starting a Quick Setup game telling me that one or more players disconnected during the matchmaking session. What causes this?


• (2) Graphics Glitches
• (a) There is a problem with the game's graphics. Where do I start?
• (b) The water graphics and/or fog of war effects look strange.
• (c) My mouse pointers are in black and white or do not appear correctly.
• (d) Some units (for example: bronzed units, Battle Boars, Scarabs) appear black.
• (e) Some or all of the in-game or menu text is missing.
• (f) My game is missing some menu/in-game text, some features are not working and/or the game is crashing when I do certain things.


• (3) Performance Issues
• (a) The introduction videos and/or gameplay stutter and I'm convinced my computer more than adequately meets the minimum requirements!
• (b) My computer keeps restarting whilst I am playing Age of Mythology.
• (c) What are the minimum system requirements for Age of Mythology?


• (4) Game Customisation, Mods, Recorded Games and Other Downloads
• (a) How can I disable the introduction videos?
• (b) Can I play the game in a custom resolution, on my widescreen laptop for example?
• (c) I've downloaded a recorded game but I can't figure out how to watch it.
• (d) Recorded games do not play back properly (e.g. villagers just stand around doing nothing), is the file corrupt?
• (e) How do I rotate buildings before I place them in-game?


• (5) Error Messages
• (a) I get an "Initialization Failed" error after the intro videos have played. What's going on?
• (b) I get an "MSXML 4.0 is not properly installed" error when I start the game. How can I install this?


• (6) Miscellaneous Questions
• (a) I've lost my Age of Mythology/Age of Mythology: The Titans CD-Key! Can I extract it from my installed game?
• (b) I want to backup my ESO Friends List. Where is it stored?
• (c) When I load the game, it tells me the CD is not in the drive but it clearly is!
• (d) Where can I find a No-CD crack for Age of Mythology or The Titans?
• (e) None of these FAQs help me with my problem, what should I do?

Before You Start:

Some of the solutions presented in this FAQ require editing or renaming files. Because of this, it is highly recommended that you carry out the instructions in this section before starting any of the procedures in this FAQ. Firstly, some of the solutions include links to demonstration videos that show exactly how to do carry out certain tasks. You should watch these in the highest quality available ("480p") to get the clearest possible image.

Before you start editing any files you should make backup copies of your saved/recorded games, scenarios, etc. in case you mess something up. You will also need to enable file extensions in Explorer. To do this, open My Computer, go to Tools -> Folder Options... and click on the View tab. Untick Hide extensions for known file types and click OK.

Demo Video:


Also, it is useful to make certain file types open in Notepad so you can edit them. The most common file types that need editing in Notepad are .con and .cfg. To make these files open in Notepad, go to your Age of Mythology directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and then navigate to the Startup folder. In here, right-click on any file with a .con extension and click Open or Open With.... In the dialog box that appears, choose Select the program from a list and click OK. Wait a few seconds for the next window to open and in here, find Notepad in the list. Select it and press OK. Now do the same for any .cfg file in your Startup folder.

Demo Video:


Lastly, please note that this FAQ was formatted to display correctly in Firefox. Some of the formatting may look strange in Internet Explorer or other browsers.

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(a) I cannot connect to ESO; it tells me that I have an invalid CD-Key! Is there a solution for this?

There are solutions for some copies of the game. This problem is caused by new copies of Age of Mythology, Age of Mythology: The Titans and Age of Mythology - Gold Edition being shipped with the same universal CD-Key. Since a CD-Key can only be logged onto ESO once at a time, this causes these copies to never or almost never work online. This is a very common problem that many new users have been facing ever since Microsoft gave the distribution rights for Age of Mythology to other publishers. If you have one of these newer copies of the game and are experiencing this problem, your CD-Key will probably be as follows: BDKRJ-HFRHW-8W3YV-*****-*****. However, there are reports of other keys having the same problem.

Luckily, our users have found that these sellers are able to give out new, unique, CD-Keys. Firstly you'll need to check the box of your recently purchased game to find the vendor. The following vendors are known to sell Age of Mythology - Gold Edition: Valusoft, Ubisoft, That's Hot and Xplosiv. Once you find your vendor, follow the directions under the corresponding header below:

Valusoft
You will need to email their support department using the form on this page asking for new CD-Keys for online play. You will probably have to provide certain information from your CD or box. For more information, see this thread.

Ubisoft
You will need to email their support department using the form on this page, asking for new CD-Keys for online play. You will probably have to provide certain information from your CD or box. For more information, see this thread.

Recently people have reported that Ubisoft were only given a certain amount of new CD-Keys from Microsoft and have now run out. At this point, there is nothing you can do except try to get a refund and find another copy of the game from a different distributer.

Xplosiv
You will need to email their support department (support@empire.co.uk) asking for a new CD-Key for online play. Including the following information in your email:

1) An image of the rear of the box showing the barcode.
2) An image of the receipt for the game. If no receipt is available you will need to send an image of the header from a Gas or Electricity bill showing your name and address.

That's Hot
There is no known solution for copies of the game sold by That's Hot. It says on the cover in the small print that the game is not compatible with online play. Try to get a refund and find another copy of the game from a different distributer.

If you cannot find Ubisoft, Valusoft, Xplosiv or That's Hot anywhere on the package, look harder! It has been reported that at times it is very well disguised and hard to find. If your copy of the game is published by someone not on the list above, please post a reply to this thread.

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(b) I cannot connect to ESO; I keep getting an error to do with administrative rights or port 2300. How do I fix this?

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7 then you will need to right-click the Age of Mythology or The Titans shortcut that you use to play the game and click Properties. Go to the Compatibility tab and tick Run this Program as an Administrator. You will need an administrator account username and password - if you do not have one, ask whoever set up or bought the PC to type one in for you. It might also be a good idea to tick Run this program in compatibility mode for: and choose Windows XP (Service Pack 2) from the drop-down box. Click OK to save your changes.

If you are not using Windows Vista or Windows 7, or the above solution does not help you, then Age of Mythology might be blocked from accessing the internet by your firewall. If you are sure that Age of Mythology has been allowed to access the internet in your firewall program then you probably have a router with a built-in firewall. You will need to open (or "forward") the correct ports on your router, disable the router's firewall or place your PC in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in order for Age of Mythology to connect to ESO.

Unfortunately there are a huge number of different router makes and software versions so it is not possible to guide you through this process here. Your router should have come with a manual (either printed or on a CD) - if not, look online for one and use it to find out how to access your router's configuration page. If you really need help with this, feel free to make a new thread asking for assistance but don't expect much help without information such as your router make and model number.

The ports needed to play Age of Mythology or The Titans over the internet are:

80 TCP

6073 UDP

2300-2400 UDP

28800-28805 TCP

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(c) I cannot connect to ESO; it tells me I need an updated version of Age of Mythology to play but my game is apparently up to date!

The best way to solve this problem is to perform a clean install (see FAQ 2f below). Take particular note of step 5, making sure to update your game manually instead of using the built-in automatic updater.

If you still have this problem then there are two likely explanations:

1) You're using a version of the game that is simply not compatible with ESO (e.g. the That's Hot version). If the game asks for you to insert the Age of Mythology or The Titans CD even though it's inserted after you apply the patches then you probably have an ESO-incompatible version. There is nothing you can do in this situation, aside from getting a refund and finding an ESO-compatible version.
2) Your software or router firewall might be causing problems. Make sure all of the correct ports are forwarded, your firewall is turned off or that your computer is in the DMZ. For more information, see FAQ 1b above.

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(d) I keep getting an error about connecting to ESO stats server and my rating doesn't change after playing rated games. Is it because I installed Internet Explorer 7/8?

Yes it is. There is a mini-patch for Age of Mythology and The Titans to enable users to upload their stats after rated games on ESO with Internet Explorer 7/8 installed. Follow these steps:

1) If you are running a pre-Vista version of Windows, download and run the .NET Framework 4 Installer. If you're running Windows Vista or later, skip this step.
2) Download DragonQ's Automatic WIProxy Patcher to your desktop. Run the program. If you get a security warning about an "unknown publisher", click Run. It will automatically patch your game to be compatible with Internet Explorer 7/8.

If the automatic patcher for some reason does not work, try patching the game manually by following the steps below:

1) Navigate to your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology). Right-click the wiproxy.dll file in this folder and click Rename. Rename the file to old_wiproxy.dll.
2) Download the WIProxy patch from one of the URLs below and save it to your Age of Mythology folder:

Age of Mythology Heaven

Ensemble Studios (you must extract the contents of this ZIP file to the Age of Mythology folder)

Now try uploading your stats again.

Thanks to Thunder for this solution!

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(e) Why do I get an error about country information when I make a new account?

It is not known why some people get this error either sometimes or all of the time. However, it can be safely ignored. Country information isn't required for making a new account so you can continue making your new account as normal and it will work fine.

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(f) A blank error message box appears when I try to make an account. What does it mean?

It means your secret question and/or secret answer is too short or too long. The minimum length seems to be ~5 but it is not known what the maximum length is. If you get this error and your secret message or answer is short, make it longer. If it's already long, make it shorter and try making the account again.

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(g) How do I change my ESO account password?

Your ESO account is actually just a Windows Live account with an @eso.com domain. You can even use it as an email address or Windows Live Messenger account if you wish! Anyway, to change your account password simply do the following:

1) Go to the Windows Live account settings page.
2) In the E-mail address: text box, enter the username of the ESO account you wish to change the password of, followed by @eso.com. For example, if my ESO account was "Arkantos" then I would type Arkantos@eso.com.
3) In the Pasword: text box, enter your ESO account's current password.
4) Click the Sign in button.
5) Under the Password reset information section, click the Change button next to the Password: ****** text.
6) Enter your current password again in the Old password text box.
7) Choose a new password for your account and type it into the Type new password and Retype new password text boxes.
8) Click the Save button.

Now try to login to ESO using your new password.

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(h) I cannot get a unique product key from the distributer in order to connect to ESO or ESO is down for maintenance. Is there any way I can play with others?

If you cannot find a copy of the game that is compatible with ESO and has a unique product key then yes, there are a few other ways you can play Age of Mythology or The Titans online with other people. Probably the best alternative to ESO is a matchmaking service called GameRanger. For more information about GameRanger, including a download link, visit its official website:

http://www.gameranger.com/

Note that this service will not allow you to play with anyone logged into ESO. GameRanger does have a rating system similar to ESO's but you will require silver membership to use it. However, the standard free membership will allow you to host and join games just like ESO's Advanced Setup mode and it is better than not being able to play online at all!

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(i) I get an error when starting a Quick Setup game telling me that one or more players disconnected during the matchmaking session. What causes this?

Some players get this error intermittently - in this case, restarting Windows usually fixes the problem. There are two known causes for getting this error consistently:

1) Having your regional settings different to where you live, or your regional settings have changed since you first logged into ESO. Make sure your location and language are correctly set in the Control Panel (usually accessible from the Start menu) and then restart Windows.

2) Your software or router firewall might be interfering in ESO matchmaking. Make sure all of the correct ports are forwarded, your firewall is turned off or that your computer is in the DMZ. For more information, see FAQ 1b above.

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(2) Graphics Glitches

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(a) There is a problem with the game's graphics. Where do I start?

Whenever you have any graphics problems you should always make sure your graphics card drivers are updated before doing anything else. To do this, you might be able to use an auto-updater program that came with your PC. If not, you'll need to know your graphics card model number to search for the drivers manually on the manufacturer's website (e.g. nvidia.com). If you cannot find the make and model number of your card anywhere in your PC's documentation, you can try downloading and installing SiSoftware Sandra and using it to scan your hardware.

Secondly, try to find the latest drivers for your motherboard's chipset. Again, you'll need to know or find out your chipset make and model number in order to find these.

The third step is to ensure you have the latest service pack and updates for your version of Windows. For Windows XP, you can get all of the latest updates (including the latest version of DirectX) from Microsoft Update. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, Microsoft Update is built-in and should be in the Start menu.

If you are confident that you know what you're doing, it's also possible to update your graphics card's BIOS. This ocassionally adds support for new features or standards but sometimes bugs are fixed too. You can update the BIOS of an AGP or PCI-E graphics card by going to the manufacturer's website and seeing if there are any updates for your specific model. If you are using an "on-board" graphics chip you should check for any BIOS updates for your motherboard because Video Card BIOS updates are usually included in normal BIOS updates for on-board chips. Check your computer manufacturer's website and look for updates for your specific model (e.g. Dell Inspiron 6400) - BE WARNED! If you install the wrong BIOS update your computer will no longer start!

If you still have a graphics problem, check out the rest of the graphics FAQs below to see if there is a solution for your specific problem.

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(b) The water graphics and/or fog of war effects look strange, is there anything I can do?

This problem seems to be common with on-board Intel branded graphics chips, which are typically found in lower-end laptops. There are two main things you can try but they are not guaranteed to work.

Firstly, you can try to replace the Intel graphics configuration profile with an nVidia profile. To do this, open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the gfxconfig folder (if you are using The Titans expansion pack, go to the gfxconfig2 folder instead). Rename the i845.gfx file to i845.gfx.old. Now copy the geforce3.gfx file and paste it into the same folder. Lastly, rename the new Copy of geforce3.gfx file to i845.gfx. Now try the game again.

Demo Video:


If that doesn't work, you can try disabling "waterbumping" by opening your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigating to the startup folder. If there is a file there called User.cfg, open it in Notepad. If not, go to File -> New -> Text Document and name the new file User.cfg. Open this file in Notepad and paste the following line into it:

-waterbump

Demo Video:

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(c) My mouse pointers are in black and white or do not appear correctly. Can this be fixed?

Open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the gfxconfig folder (if you are using The Titans expansion pack, go to the gfxconfig2 folder instead). You will have to find the correct .gfx file for your graphics card in this folder and open it in Notepad. For example, if you have a GeForce2 card then you'll need to edit the geforce1and2.gfx file. If you cannot find your card in the list of files you should try editing the default.gfx file. Once you've chosen and opened a file, find the following line:

win32Cursor=x (where the "x" is either a "0" or a "1")

If this line is set to "1" then try changing it to "0". If it's set to "0", try setting it to "1". Save the file and try to play the game again.

Demo Video:

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(d) Some units (for example: bronzed units, Battle Boars, Scarabs) appear black - why?

This is a problem with certain older nVidia graphics cards. If you have one (a GeForce2 for example) then update your graphics card drivers to the latest version (see FAQ 2a). If that does not solve your problem, you can try the following solution:

1) Go to the Control Panel and double-click on System. Go to the Hardware tab and click Device Manager. Find your graphics card (under Display Adapters), right-click it and click Uninstall.
2) Restart. When Windows detects the card, it'll install either generic drivers or some older nVidia drivers.
3) Go to www.nvidia.com.
4) Click on Download Drivers and choose your graphics card model, operating system, etc. and click on Search.
5) Go to the Driver Archive page (should be a link on the left somewhere - for Windows 2000/XP users, the link is "Windows 2000/XP Driver Archive").
6) Download and install the 56.72 drivers.
7) Restart and try the game again.

Thanks to DragonQ for this solution!

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(e) Some or all of the in-game or menu text is missing. What can I do?

There are several possible solutions. For starters, try this:

1) Go to the Control Panel and open the Fonts folder.
2) Delete any fonts with Georgia in the name (Regular, Bold, Bold Italic, and Italic).
3) Click on File and then Install New Fonts.
4) Browse to your CD/DVD Drive (making sure your Age of Mythology Disc 1 CD is in the drive).
5) In the root CD folder you should see Georgia fonts (Regular, Bold, Bold Italic and Italic). Highlight all four and click OK.
6) Try playing Age of Mythology again.

If that doesn't work, try this more complicated solution. Be sure to follow the steps carefully as this process will take a few minutes:

1) Insert your Age of Mythology Disc 1 CD into your CD/DVD Drive.
2) Go to My Computer and navigate to your CD/DVD Drive (usually "D:"). Now go to the AOM folder and then into the Fonts folder.
3) Click Edit -> Select All. Now click Edit -> Copy.
4) Go to your Age of Mythology directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and double-click on the Fonts folder.
5) Click Edit -> Paste. If it asks you to overwrite the existing files, choose Yes.
6) Click Edit -> Select All. Now click File -> Properties. Untick Read-only and click OK.
7) Go to Start -> Search and click All files and folders.
8) Search for files called arial unicode ms.msk in the local hard drive (usually "C:"). Make sure that you have selected Search Hidden files and folders under the More Advanced Options section.
9) When the results are displayed, right click on the file name of the file that it has found and click Rename. Rename the file to OLD arial unicode ms.msk.
10) Repeat steps 7 to 9 with the following file names:

Original Name	New Name
courier new.msk	OLD courier new.msk
friz quadrata tt.msk	OLD friz quadrata tt.msk
giovanni book.msk	OLD giovanni book.msk
giovanni test.msk	OLD giovanni test.msk
giovanniitctt.msk	OLD giovanniitctt.msk
imeuisettings.xml	OLD imeuisettings.xml
times new roman.msk	OLD times new roman.msk
arialu_1.msk	arial unicode ms.msk
courie_1.msk	courier new.msk
frizqu_1.msk	friz quadrata tt.msk
giovan_1.msk	giovanni book.msk
giovan_2.msk	giovanni test.msk
giovan_3.msk	giovanniitctt.msk
imeuis_1.xml	imeuisettings.xml
timesn_1.msk	times new roman.msk

11) Try playing Age of Mythology again.

If that doesn't work, try a clean install (see FAQ 2f below).

Thanks to ViSioN for this solution!

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(f) My game is missing some menu/in-game text, some features are not working and/or the game is crashing when I do certain things. Should I reinstall the game?

In this situation, reinstalling the game is simplest (although not necessarily the quickest) way to solve these types of problems. They are usually caused by conflicting or dodgy mods being installed. To make sure you perform a clean install, follow these steps:

1) Backup your files (ESO Friends List, saved games, recorded games, scenarios).
2) Uninstall Age of Mythology.
3) Delete the Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology).
4) Install Age of Mythology.
5) Update Age of Mythology and Age of Mythology: The Titans (if you have it) manually by downloading and running the following patch installers:

Age of Mythology 1.10 Patch

Age of Mythology: The Titans 1.03 Patch

6) Install the WIProxy Patch (see FAQ 1d above).
7) Restore your backed up files.
8) Install any mods you want to use one by one, testing Age of Mythology in between each installation. If Age of Mythology suddenly stops working correctly then the last mod you installed is causing problems. Uninstall it and see if there is a newer version or an alternative mod available in the Downloads section.

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(3) Performance Issues

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(a) The introduction videos and/or gameplay stutter and I'm convinced my computer more than adequately meets the minimum requirements, what's going on?

You can try to temporarily disable your virus scanner whilst playing Age of Mythology. If that does not help and you have an older machine (made in 2005 or earlier) then you might have to make sure your AGP speed is set correctly in the BIOS. To get to your BIOS you usually have to repeatedly press the Delete or F2 keys as your PC is starting up. In there, make sure your AGP speed is set to "automatic" or, if you know your graphics card can handle specific speeds, you can manually set it to 4x or 8x.

Another thing that might be a problem for older computers is write-behind caching not being enabled for your hard drive(s). To make sure write-behind caching is enabled, go to the Control Panel and double-click on System. Here, go to the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager. Click on the "+" sign next to Disk Drives and find your main drive (the one that Windows and Age of Mythology are installed on) in the list and double-click on it. In the Policies tab, make sure "Optimise for performance" is selected and "Enable write caching on this disk" is ticked.

If you have a newer computer, especially a laptop, it may be overheating during gameplay, causing the CPU to slow down. This is because Age of Mythology keeps your CPU working at full capacity because of the way it is coded. There isn't much you can do if you have a laptop in this instance but if you have a desktop then you can try to install more fans or play with the case off.

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(b) My computer keeps restarting whilst I am playing Age of Mythology. Help!

This is almost certainly due to one of two reasons:

Overheating. If you have a newer computer, especially a laptop, it may be overheating during gameplay, causing the CPU to slow down. This is because Age of Mythology keeps your CPU working at full capacity because of the way it is coded. There isn't much you can do if you have a laptop in this instance but if you have a desktop then you can try to install more fans or play with the case off.

Blue Screen of Death. By default Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 restart when a Blue Screen of Death situation occurs. To disable this feature in order to see the specific error message and post it here, go to the Control Panel and double-click on System. In the Advanced tab, click on Settings in the Startup and Recovery section. Untick Automatically Restart, click OK and click OK again.

Demo Video:

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(c) What are the minimum system requirements for Age of Mythology?

The minimum system requirements for both Age of Mythology and The Titans expansion pack are:

Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista or 7

450MHz CPU (equivalent to Pentium II-450 or higher)

128MB of RAM

1.5GB of Hard Drive space

16MB 3D Graphics Card

DirectX 8.0 (or newer) compatible sound card with speakers or headphones

At least 56kbps for Internet play

Note that for smooth gameplay a significantly faster CPU and internet connection is highly recommended. Adding more RAM to your system is also the most cost effective way to boost system performance - even upgrading from 512MB to 1GB can help Age of Mythology's performance on some PCs.

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(4) Game Customisation, Mods, Recorded Games and Other Downloads

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(a) How can I disable the introduction videos?

Open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the startup folder. If there is a file there called User.cfg, open it in Notepad. If not, go to File -> New -> Text Document and name the new file User.cfg. Open this file in Notepad and paste the following line into it:

+noIntroCinematics

Save the file and try playing the game.

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(b) Can I play the game in a custom resolution, on my widescreen laptop for example?

Yes but be aware that the editor interface does not work properly with non-standard resolutions. If you ever want to use the editor then you will have to change back to one of the built-in resolutions, otherwise the trigger menus will not function correctly.

1) If you are running a pre-Vista version of Windows, download and run the .NET Framework 4 Installer. If you're running Windows Vista or later, skip this step.
2) Download and save DragonQ's Age of Mythology Resolution Changer to your desktop.
3) Run the program. If you get a security warning about an "unknown publisher", click Run. If you have User Account Control enabled, you will be asked if you want to allow the program to run as an administrator - click Yes.
4) The resolution displayed will be your current desktop screen resolution. In almost all cases, this will match your monitor's native resolution so it shouldn't need changing. If you know that you want to play in a different resolution (not recommended), you can type in the resolution you want to use.
5) Click Apply to set Age of Mythology to run in the resolution specified. You will get a message confirming the resolution has been applied successfully.

If the automatic resolution changer for some reason does not work, try changing the game's startup resolution manually by following the steps below:

1) Open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the startup folder.
2) If there is a file there called user.cfg, open it in Notepad. If not, go to File -> New -> Text Document and name the new file user.cfg.
3) Open this file in Notepad and paste the following lines into it (replacing the numbers below to match your monitor's native resolution):

xres=1280
yres=800

4) Save the file and try playing the game.

Demo Video:


Note that when using this method you will have to restart the game whenever you change anything in the Options dialog (because your new resolution won't be available for selection here). If you regularly edit your options and don't want to have to restart the game every time they are changed, it is possible to place your custom resolution in the list of available resolutions in the Options dialog. To do this, follow these steps:

1) Open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the gfxconfig folder (if you are using The Titans expansion pack, go to the gfxconfig2 folder instead).
2) You will have to find the correct .gfx file for your graphics card in this folder and open it in Notepad. For example, if you have a GeForce2 card then you'll need to edit the geforce1and2.gfx file. If you cannot find your card in the list of files you should try editing the default.gfx file.
3) Once you've chosen and opened a .gfx file, find the following line:

[resolutions]

Under this line should be the available list of resolutions that you see in the in-game Options dialog. Scroll down to find the last entry in this section, for example:

8=1600x1200x32

You can enter your custom resolution on a new line after this, making sure the number before the equals sign is one above the highest number that is already assigned to a resolution. So based on the above examples, you would write:

9=1280x800x32

to make "1280x800x32" appear in the Options dialog. Note that the x32 at the end of the line makes the game run in 32-bit colour mode. You can replace this with x16 if you wish to play in 16-bit colour mode, which can help reduce lag when using lower-end graphics cards or PCs.

Demo Video:

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(c) I've downloaded a recorded game but I can't figure out how to watch it.

To watch recorded games you must move the downloaded files (.rec for Age of Mythology replays, .rcx for Age of Mythology: The Titans replays) into your savegame folder, which is located in your Age of Mythology directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology). Now start the game and choose Single Player and then Recorded Games. In the dialog box that appears, choose the replay that you'd like to watch and click OK.

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(d) Recorded games do not play back properly (e.g. villagers just stand around doing nothing), is the file corrupt?

It is possible that the recorded game file is corrupt. Some maps such as Nomad are known to produce corrupt recorded game files and games with observers also have a chance of producing corrupt recorded game files. However, recorded games can also fail to play correctly due to any of the following:

You're trying to watch a recorded game using the Mac version of Age of Mythology. Mac and Windows replays are not compatible with each other and, unless otherwise stated, all of the recorded games at AoMH are for the PC version of the game, so you cannot watch these with the Mac edition.

You're trying to watch an Age of Mythology recorded game using The Titans expansion pack. Age of Mythology replays (.rec) and Age of Mythology: The Titans replays (.rcx) are not compatible with each other so to watch .rec replays you need to load the original game.

You don't have the latest game updates. Download and install the latest patches manually from the links in FAQ 2f to make sure you have an up-to-date game.

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(e) How do I rotate buildings before I place them in-game?

To do this you need to add a new shortcut to the game. In order to do this, open your Age of Mythology folder (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology) and navigate to the startup folder. If there is a file there called user.con, open it in Notepad. If not, go to File -> New -> Text Document and name the new file user.con. Open this file in Notepad and paste the following lines into it:

map ("shift-mousez", "building", "uiWheelRotatePlacedUnit")
map ("shift-mousez", "specialpower", "uiWheelRotatePlacedUnit")

Save the file. Now you should be able to rotate buildings and God Powers before you place them using your mouse wheel whilst holding down Shift.

Demo Video:

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(5) Error Messages

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(a) I get an "Initialization Failed" error after the intro videos have played. What's going on?

Unfortunately this problem seems to occur for a variety of reasons. Below are a few common causes of this problem and their respective solutions:

1) Having a dodgy or incompatible mod installed. If this problem started recently, uninstall the last mod you installed. If this does not work or you do not know if one of your mods is causing the problem or not, you should perform a clean install as described in FAQ 2f. Take particular note of step 8 - install all of the mods you want to use one by one to find out which, if any, is causing your problem.
2) Not having the correct or most up-to-date drivers for your graphics card or motherboard chipset. In order to ensure you have the correct drivers, follow the steps in FAQ 2a.
3) Having a damaged DirectX installation. DirectX is built-in to Windows XP, Vista and 7 so you'll need to do two things to ensure you have the latest version correctly installed. Firstly, run Windows Update from the start menu to make sure you have all of the latest Windows updates, including the latest service pack. Secondly, make sure you have the latest SDK update for DirectX by downloading and running the DirectX 9.0c installer (even if you have DirectX 10 or later).
4) Your in-game resolution is set too high for your monitor or graphics card. To fix this, start Age of Mythology (or The Titans) in "Safe Video" mode by going to Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft Games -> Age of Mythology -> Diagnostics -> Aom - The Titans Expansion - Safe video (assuming you have not moved your Age of Mythology Start menu folder). Once the game starts, click Options and then choose your monitor's native resolution from the list in the Screen Size section.

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(b) I get an "MSXML 4.0 is not properly installed" error when I start the game. How can I install this?

This error usually appears when you have a corrupted or non-existent version of MSXML 4.0 installed. The simplest way to ensure MSXML 4.0 is installed properly is to do the following:

1) Go to the Control Panel and double-click on Add/Remove Programs.
2) Scroll down to find any programs that start with "MSXML" (the list is in alphabetical order).
3) Uninstall any of them that refer to MSXML 4.0. For example, in the following list of applications, you would uninstall the highlighted programs:



4) Once all programs relating to MSXML 4.0 have been uninstalled, restart your computer.
5) Go to the MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 3 download page. Here, click the Download button to the right of the file called msxml.msi and save it to your desktop.
6) Run this msxml.msi file to install MSXML 4.0 SP3.
7) Restart your computer.

Now try to run Age of Mythology again. If you still get the error then registering the appropriate DLL manually usually fixes the problem. To do this, perform the following steps:

1) Go to Start -> Run... (or just Start if you're using Windows Vista or Windows 7).
2) Type cmd and press Enter.
3) In the command window that appears, type regsvr32 msxml4.dll and press Enter.

If you get a message saying that the registration of the dll has failed, you might need to do the above steps on an administrator account.

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(6) Miscellaneous Questions

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(a) I've lost my Age of Mythology/Age of Mythology: The Titans CD-Key! Can I extract it from my installed game?

If you have the game installed then yes, you can extract your CD-Key from it. It is a complicated process but there is an application that will do it for you. Follow these steps:

1) If you are running a pre-Vista version of Windows, download and run the .NET Framework 4 Installer. If you're running Windows Vista or later, skip this step.
2) Download and save DragonQ's Age of Mythology Product Key Retriever to your desktop.
3) Run the program. If you get a security warning about an "unknown publisher", click Run.

Both your Age of Mythology and Age of Mythology: The Titans CD-Keys will be displayed. Write them down somewhere safe (in a text file is a good idea) so that you don't lose them again.

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(b) I want to backup my ESO Friends List. Where is it stored?

It is stored in one of the files in My Documents\My Games\Age of Mythology\Users, depending on what options profile you are using in-game. It is recommended to simply backup (and restore) all of the files in this folder to be sure you save your ESO Friends List.

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(c) When I load the game, it tells me the CD is not in the drive but it clearly is!

This problem is usually linked to the problem described in FAQ 1c (not being able to connect to ESO due to not having an updated version of the game). If you continue to get this error after following the clean install procedure suggested in that FAQ, then you have a version of the game that is not compatible with ESO. You'll have to reinstall the game without installing any updates to get it to work again. You won't be able to play online of course so the best solution is to get a refund and find an edition of the game that is compatible with ESO.

The only other time this has been reported to happen is if you're using a No-CD crack, which we do not support (see FAQ 6d).

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(d) Where can I find a No-CD crack for Age of Mythology or The Titans?

No-CD cracks are not supported by Ensemble, Microsoft or Age of Mythology Heaven. You will not receive help from us if you use a cracked or illegal version of the game.

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(e) None of these FAQs help me with my problem, what should I do?

Firstly make sure you have thoroughly checked not only this FAQ but also the Readme.rtf (or Readmex.rtf for The Titans expansion pack) file in the Age of Mythology directory (typically C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology), which contains a lot of information and possible solutions to problems known by Ensemble Studios when the game was released. Secondly, use the Search feature at the bottom of this forum to search for old threads that might contain solutions to your problem.

If you are sure your problem has not been heard before or you need further help, you can create a new thread. Make sure when writing your new thread (including the title) that you make it as informative as possible! For example:

"Age of Mythology crashed. HELP!!!" is a bad post.

"AoM crashed when I exit out of AoM after playing a Multiplayer Game. When it crashed it opened a new window with the following error:
'Exception error found at 0x000014: Access Denied'" is a good post.

Please try to include as much detail as possible in all of your posts asking for support. The more information you give about your problem, the faster it will hopefully be solved.

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[This message has been edited by DragonQ (edited 05-10-2011 @ 02:13 PM).]