posted 04-07-07 02:40 PM EDT (US)
The first thing you have to do is download patch 1.4 and a few mods that are played on multi player often otherwise you wont be able to play with people ill post links here
patch 1.4 Dwiggs Dwiggs patch Dwiggs ilb update Multi player mod Ok so once you have downloaded all those great mods you actually need to play it seems that the easiest place to meet people is gamespy which just in case you don't have this is the link Now after you register for gamespy and connect it should do a search for all compatible games you have AOW:SM being one of them after it does that you should see an AOW:SM icon in the corner under my games. After you click on it it should bring you to a AOW screen there click the main lobby link and then see if anyone is there to play Now just a few tips on how to start from my very limited experience i made some mistakes that i would rather you not repeat 1. All battles against indies are FC so you can count on the AI screwing you over some 2. at the very beginning of the game be careful what indies you attack and make sure if you don't want to fight you press retreat and not quick combat i lost a hero that way lol 3. Make sure you come back to attack indies guarding income structures that you werent strong enough to take at the beginning you need all the gold and mana you can get 4. when the attack screen comes up check what your attacking you never know when there may be a concealed army in there you werent planning on. If you do make a mistake and you are overpowered in the battle kill what you can weakening there heroes wont help killing there low level units at least makes them pay gold or mana replacing them 5. If you do make a mistake DON'T QUIT i lost 9 units between 2 turns including 2 heroes towards the beggining and i didnt have much left but i didnt quit cause if you arnt palying you cant learn fom the experienced players 5. Sometimes it is better to wait and defend whle building up and army if you are in a postion to then constant attack and expansion if you can afford it. This way you can have good enough defenses that your opponets dont want to attack you remember your first time playing your goal isnt winning its learning and staying alive which you cant do without a decent defense. 6. I should of said this earlier but ohwell you have to have plenty of time i started playing at about 10 pm last night and was playing till 5 am and we still hadnt finished. It takes alot of time but it is worth it to play someone who can actually cripple your army early as opposed to running through the AI 7. This is my last one for know unless i forgot anyting make sure you have fun rememeber its a game and everythings not going to go your way early on its better to laugh it off instead of complaining about it you are at the bottom of the totem pole and you cant work yourself up without taking loses early. If i said somehting wrong or left somehting out which im sure i did just tell me ill fix it and add it in also if you have anyother advice for people wanting to start playing online you can post it here thanks again to tp lev bashful and everyone who gave me a chance and helped me through my first game last night
