Age of Empires II

Age of Empires II
Studio	Ensemble Studios Westlake Interactive (Mac OS and Mac OS X port)
Publisher	Microsoft Game Studios Bold Games (Mac OS and Mac OS X port)
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows October 28, 1999 Mac OS , Mac OS X October 2001
platform	Windows Mac OS Mac OS X PlayStation 2
Game engine	Genie Engine
genre	Real time strategy game
Game mode	Single player ; Multiplayer via IPX , TCP / IP or modem
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	CPU : 166 MHz; RAM : 32 MB; HDD : 200 MB
medium	1 CD
language	German
Current version	2.0a (main game), 1.0c (extension) 1.0e (unofficial) 1.5 beta
Age rating	USK

Age of Empires II is a computer game that belongs to the group of real-time strategy games and was developed by Ensemble Studios for Microsoft Game Studios.

Game setup

Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (abbreviated AoE 2 or AoK or Age 2 ) is closely related to Age of Empires in terms of game technology . In terms of time, the game is set between the end of Rome and the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus , i.e. in the Middle Ages . It is roughly in line with The Rise of Rome in chronological order , although the developers have put a lot of effort into the historical background and its implementation. There are thirteen races available: British , Byzantines , Chinese , Franks , Goths , Japanese , Celts , Mongols , Persians , Saracens , Teutons , Turks and Vikings . The player is placed in the roles of William Wallace , Johanna von Orleans , Saladin , Genghis Khan and Friedrich Barbarossa in five campaigns . A campaign consists of six scenarios. Similar to Age of Empires , before the game can develop into a warlike development, an economy must be built based on the raw materials wood, food, gold and stone. The resources on the map, which become scarcer as the game progresses, inevitably lead to a confrontation between the various players over time; Endless games or economic simulations are unthinkable.

Each people has its own language, for example Turkish villagers answer with evet and Teutonic and Gothic lumberjacks with holza when they are sent to work. The peoples are divided into four groups, each with a uniform architectural style for the peoples belonging to them. The western European peoples include the Franks, the British and the Celts, the northern European the Goths, the Vikings and the Teutons. The oriental group of peoples consists of Byzantines, Saracens, Persians and Turks, and the Asian group of Chinese, Mongols and Japanese.

There are five major groups of military units in the game: melee fighters (swordtails, spearmen), ranged fighters (archers, crossbowmen, handpipes ), cavalry, ships, and siege weapons. Each of these branches of arms is divided into other different units and different types of armor against melee damage and gunshot wounds. The different types of combat units are based on the principle of the game of " rock, stone, paper ", which means that mixed armies have advantages, and one-sided strategies tend to be less promising.

As in Age of Empires , the player in Age of Kings again has a choice of 13 civilizations that lack certain technologies from the "technology tree". New are civilization-specific units (and with the expansion also technologies) that make the gameplay of the individual races even more individual and thus more exciting. Each people also has its own special unit: British: long archers , Byzantines: armored riders , Chinese: Chu-Ko-Nu , Franks: ax throwers , Goths: Huskarl , Japanese: Samurai , Celts: irregulars , Mongols: Mangudai , Persians: war elephant , Saracens: Mameluck , Teutons: Teutonic Knights , Turks: Janissaries , Vikings: Berserkers and dragon boat .

Extensions

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors logo

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors is an expansion for Age of Kings , which goes beyond the discovery of America by Columbus and thus offers new races and units, but the gameplay and tactics remain about the same. The five new peoples are Aztecs (ancient American ethnic group), Huns (northern European ethnic group), Koreans (Asian ethnic group), Maya (ancient American ethnic group) and Spaniards (western European ethnic group). In three new campaigns (again six scenarios each) the user plays as Attila the Hun , El Cid and Montezuma . There is also the Conqueror Campaign, which consists of eight independent missions. It is about the battle of Tours , the Vinlandsaga , the battles of Hastings , Mantzikert , Azincourt and the sea ​​battle of Lepanto as well as the capture of Kyoto by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the repulsion of the Japanese fleet by the Koreans under Yi Sun-sin in 1598 ( Imjin War ). With the expansion, new technologies, especially civilization-specific, and units have also been added. There are also maps with “real” world environments. B. also play in the British Isles.

Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires

At the end of 2012, a free add-on designed by hobby developers since 2009 was presented that brings five new civilizations (Indians, Incas , Italians , Magyars , Slavs ), 30 new technologies and nine additional units. In addition, it increases the population maximum to 1000, provides eleven new maps, brings a new building and two new architecture sets, 20 new scenarios for the editor and new campaigns. Unlimited screen resolutions are also supported. It also includes a bug fix for color issues in the original game for Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems .

Age of Empires II Mobile

Age of Empires II Mobile logo

Age of Empires II Mobile is a variant of Age of Empires II that was specially developed for mobile phones and was launched in the third quarter of 2005. It runs on Java- enabled cell phones from all major providers.

There are no races, just a single computer opponent, a tutorial for introducing three missions, a campaign with seven missions and a random mode with three levels of difficulty, whereby a new map is only generated once the current one has been won. At some point, however, a program error generates a card that cannot be won (for example because it does not contain an opponent or the village center is in the water), which means that the random mode is unusable from this point on.

The only raw materials are food , wood , gold and stone and are mined by the villagers. Only one building of each building type can be built; only miners' camps (up to two), (residential) houses (up to four) and defense towers (up to five) can be built in greater numbers. The number of units is limited to 25. The units automatically regenerate if they are not fighting or moving.

The game features real " fog of war " ( Engl .: Fog of War). The presentation is isometric, there are - contrary to what German television advertising suggests - no 3D elements. You can switch between this display and a map view. The cards always have the shape of a circle, which is trimmed on individual sides by diagonal edges.

You can go through four ages ( Middle Ages , Feudal Age , Knight Age , Imperial Age ), in each of which certain technologies are available.

The buildings are used to generate units: the barracks for training pikemen and swordsmen , the shooting range for archers , the stable for scouts and chevaliers , the armory for battering rams and the castle for special units .

Since there is no selection frame available without a mouse, a special method is used to enable the player to select several units by clicking multiple times on a standing unit.

Age of Empires II Deluxe Mobile

Age of Empires II Deluxe Mobile logo

In 2006 a deluxe edition was released . This differs from the original version through new missions in the campaign, a new unit and changes to the graphics: the subsoil, vegetation and buildings are not based on the Occident, but the Orient. The only new feature is the fast game, in which a battle begins immediately without a construction phase.

Age of Empires II: HD Edition

Age of Empires II HD Edition
Studio	Hidden Path Entertainment Forgotten Empires SkyBox Labs Ensemble Studios (Original)
Publisher	Microsoft
Erstveröffent- lichung	April 9, 2013
platform	Windows
Game engine	Genie Engine
genre	Real time strategy game
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, 2 GB storage space
medium	Download
language	German
Current version	5.8
copy protection	Steamworks
Age rating	USK

On March 7, 2013, a re-release of the original game was announced, and it was released exclusively for Windows on Steam on April 9 . Apart from the lack of LAN mode, this version has the same scope in terms of content, but offers improved, higher-resolution graphics and supports multiple monitors and functions of the Steam network ( e.g. invitations to multiplayer sessions and modifications through the integrated Steam Workshop ). Compared to the original, the HD Edition received lower ratings: GameStar awarded 77% (the original received 93%). Gamezone rated the new edition with 7 out of 10 points and criticized the lack of LAN mode, among other things.

Age of Empires II HD - The Forgotten

On August 15, 2013 Microsoft announced that it would respond to the wishes of the fans and publish the unofficial add-on Forgotten Empires on Steam. It was released on November 7, 2013 on Steam. It includes a spectator mode, all content from Forgotten Empires , a possibility to stream directly on Twitch.tv, two new game modes and a new map size.

Age of Empires II HD - The African Kingdoms

On November 5, 2015, the expansion The African Kingdoms was released as DLC on Steam. The new content includes four cultures ( Berbers , Ethiopians, Portuguese and Malians ), four campaigns, new units and a new Sudden Death mode.

Age of Empires II HD - Rise of the Rajas

The December 2016 expansion focuses on Southeast Asia. New civilizations are the Khmer , Burmese , Malay and Vietnamese . Further innovations are four more campaigns, an improved AI , new maps and other minor innovations. Like the two expansions before it, this expansion is available on Steam.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
Studio	Forgotten Empires , Tantalus, Wicked Witch
Publisher	Xbox Game Studios
Erstveröffent- lichung	Windows November 14, 2019
platform	Windows 10
genre	Real time strategy game
Subject	middle Ages
Game mode	Single player ; Multiplayer
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	CPU : 2.4 GHz, RAM : 4 GB; HDD : 30 GB; GPU : 1 GB 3D card; OS : Windows 10
medium	Download from Steam or Microsoft Store
language	German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese (no sound), Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian (no sound), Chinese (simplified), Latin American Spanish, Chinese (traditional; no sound), Turkish (no sound), Vietnamese (without sound)
copy protection	Steamworks
Age rating	PEGI

At Gamescom 2017, the Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition was announced on August 21, 2017 . The new edition, published 20 years after the original, was published on November 14, 2019. Features of the Definitive Edition are a revision in the audiovisual level (4K graphics; improved soundtrack) and new content in the form of other playable cultures (Cumans, Lithuanians, Tatars, Bulgarians) and campaigns.

Online community and esports

In July 2018, Team Secret, the first e-sports team for Age of Empires II, was founded. The reason for this was the growing interest in the game for some time and the associated increase in the number of players online. Mainly responsible for this were large English-language YouTube channels such as Spirit of the Law , ZeroEmpires , T90Official or TheViperAOC , which each have more than 100,000 subscribers on their channels (as of July 2019). In the meantime tournaments take place regularly, for which there are usually several hundred to thousand dollars in prize money. TheViper is considered the most successful player in the world and also contributed to the popularity of Age of Empires II with his live commentary on game recordings on YouTube .

Tournaments

The following table provides an overview of some of the most recent and important tournaments in the Age of Empires II scene, which are usually broadcast live or published shortly after the event by the organizers and sometimes also by other commentators.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

date	competition	winner	2nd place	3rd place	Prize money	description
08/20 - 08/23/2020	Red Bull Wololo 2	Liereyy	Hera	Yo / TheViper	$ 30,000.00	Online tournament with feudal time start and time limit, 16 players
June 25 - August 2, 2020	Death Match World Cup 3	TheViper	TheCode	True	$ 10,000.00	16 players with double knock-out . Players start with all technologies and lots of resources.
May 10 - June 7, 2020	Battle of Africa 2	Aftermath	Team Secret	Suomi / YinYang	$ 20,000.00	Online team tournament (3 vs. 3), 8 teams
April 30 - May 3, 2020	Red Bull Wololo	Yo	TheViper	Hera / Liereyy	€ 20,000.00	Online tournament with feudal time start and time limit, 16 players
March 19 - March 22, 2020	Hidden Cup 3	TheViper	Hera	TaToH / dogao	$ 56,830.00	Online tournament with secret identities, 16 players, organizers: T90Official and Dave
04.01. – 12.01.2020	Nili's Apartment Cup 3	TheViper	Hera	Yo / TaToH	$ 40,560.00	LAN single tournament in Hamburg , 9 players, organizer: Nili_AoE

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors with WololoKingdoms ( user patch , through which, among other things, the races from the HD Edition can be played in multiplayer games in the original game)

date	competition	winner	2nd place	3rd place	Prize money	description
09.09. – 07.10.2019	Death Match World Cup 2	TheViper	TheCode	True	$ 2,000.00	2 online tournaments: 8 professionals and 64 amateurs. Players start with all technologies and lots of resources.
11.06.2018–01.09.2019	Escape Champions League	Team Secret	Aftermath	Suomi	$ 64,960.00	League system with 8 teams. 7 game days each with a regional map theme and two different team sizes (or individual).
August 17 - August 21, 2019	Mono Civ Cup	TheViper	MbL	Lyx / Nicov	$ 650.00	Online tournament. 16 players chose a people who had not yet been elected in ascending order and played only this.
April 11-14, 2019	Hidden Cup 2	TheViper	TheMax	MbL / Tim 1	$ 11,300.00	Online tournament with secret identities, 16 players, organizers: T90Official , Dave
10.06. – 04.08.2019	Mangrove Shallows Cup	Yo	TaToH	DauT / Hearttt	$ 10,800.00	Online tournament with 16 players. Maps consisted for the most part of a buildable, amphibious underground.
09.02. - 17.02.2019	Nili's Apartment Cup 2	TheViper	TaToH	MbL / Liereyy	$ 14,500.00	LAN single tournament in Hamburg , 8 players, organizer: Nili_AoE , Rocket Beans
10/01/2019 - 03/02/2019	King of the Desert 2	TheViper	Liereyy	vivi / Yo	$ 15,800.00	Online tournament, 32 players, organizer: MembTV , chrazini
28.09. – 30.09.2018	Hidden Cup 1	TheViper	MbL	miguel / slam	$ 1,443.37	Online singles tournament with secret identities, 12 players, organizers: T90Official , Dave
July 8th - July 15th, 2018	Nili's Apartment Cup 1	TheViper	Liereyy	MbL	$ 2,500.00	LAN single tournament in Hamburg , 6 players, organizer: Nili_AoE
March 11 - April 29, 2018	Battle of Africa 1	Team Secret	Aftermath	Suomi / SY	$ 6,503.00	Online team tournament (3 vs. 3), 8 teams, organizer: MembTV et al
November 15 - December 16, 2017	King of the Desert 1	TheViper	Liereyy	Heartttt / TheMax	$ 4,055.00	Online single tournament, 8 players, organizer: MembTV ua

Age of Empires II: The Conquerors with user patch

date	competition	winner	2nd place	3rd place	Prize money	description
June 19 - November 4, 2017	SY Nations Cup III	Brazil B	Finland A	China Frantic	$ 30,000.00	Online team tournament
30.08. – 04.10.2015	SY Nations Cup II	China A	Canada	Finland	$ 47,400.00	Online team tournament
May 26 - August 17, 2014	SY Nations Cup I	China A	Brazil A	Argentina A	$ 28,000.00	Online team tournament
October 13 - December 8, 2013	Clash of the Titans	TheViper	Jordan_23	DauT	$ 21,200.00	Online singles tournament

¹ Liereyy was actually qualified for the semi-finals, but for private reasons he was unable to make use of it at short notice, which is why Tim, who was actually eliminated in the quarter-finals against MbL, was allowed to move up for him.

Web links

• Official Age of Empires II website
• Official Website of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
• Wiki for the Age of Empires series

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Age of Empires II Goes Gold! Westlake Interactive, Inc., November 1, 2001, archived from the original on May 26, 2005 ; accessed on July 18, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Peter Cohen: Bold ships Age of Empires II Gold Edition. In: Macworld. October 31, 2001, accessed July 17, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Download: Age of Empires II update: German . microsoft.com. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
4. ↑ Features - Forgotten Empires. Retrieved August 21, 2014 . 
5. ↑ Age of Empires II HD on Steam on Steam , accessed April 19, 2013
6. ↑ MSPlus2Joe: Age of Empires II HD Patch 5.8 live now! Steam Community, September 6, 2018, accessed November 10, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Trineas: Age of Empires 2 HD is Steam-exclusive. In: hlportal.de. March 7, 2013, accessed March 7, 2013 . 
8. ↑ Age of Empires 2 HD Edition Rating by GameStar , accessed April 19, 2013
9. ↑ Age of Empires 2: HD Edition reviewed by Gamezone, accessed April 19, 2013
10. ↑ MS Ryz0n: Announcing Age of Empires II HD - The Forgotten . Age of Empires II: HD Edition News & Announcements. English. Online at steamcommunity.com on August 15, 2013, accessed September 4, 2013.
11. ^ Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten . Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. English. Online at steampowered.com on November 7, 2013, accessed April 4, 2014.
12. ↑ Age of Empires II: Teasing at E3 2015. Age of Empires Blog, June 20, 2015, accessed on July 24, 2015 . 
13. ↑ Jessica McCoy: Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms Released! (No longer available online.) Age of Empires Blog, November 5, 2015, archived from the original on November 10, 2015 ; accessed on November 5, 2015 . 
14. ↑ Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas | Forgotten Empires. In: www.forgottenempires.net. Retrieved December 15, 2016 . 
15. ↑ Pre- order Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas on Steam now. In: store.steampowered.com. Retrieved December 15, 2016 . 
16. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/app/813780/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition/
17. ↑ Age of Empires 4 - Officially announced, first information on gamestar.de, accessed on August 21, 2017
18. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/app/813780/Age_of_Empires_II_Definitive_Edition
19. ↑ https://twitter.com/teamsecret/status/1018106201362649088?lang=de
20. ↑ https://www.esportsearnings.com/games/179-age-of-empires-ii-the-age-of-kings/events
21. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/red-bull-wololo-2-announcement.167887/
22. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/dm-world-cup-3-announcement.165310/
23. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/battle-of-africa-2-announcement-prize-20-000.164276/
24. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/red-bull-wololo-announcement.164640/
25. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/hidden-cup-3-main-event-is-here.163735/
26. ↑ Nili_AoE
27. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/nac-3-main-event-all-info.162736/
28. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/forums/death-match-world-cup-2.2106/
29. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/forums/2019-escape-champions-league.1802/
30. ↑ https://www.ageofempires.com/tournaments/ecl
31. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/forums/2019-mono-civ-cup.2104/
32. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/hidden-cup-2-announcement.152197/
33. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/forums/msc-mangrove-shallows-cup.2038/
34. ↑ https://forum.rocketbeans.tv/t/nilis-apartment-cup-2-2019/44957
35. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/kotd2-official-announcement.148785/
36. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/t90s-hidden-cup-1v1-event.147604//
37. ↑ https://forum.rocketbeans.tv/t/nilis-apartment-cup-2018/34303
38. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/boa-rules-settings.137170/
39. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/threads/announcing-king-of-the-desert-3000-1v1-arabia-tournament.134468/
40. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/categories/2017-sy-nations-cup-iii.1523/
41. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/categories/2015-sy-nations-cup-ii.1041/
42. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/categories/2014-sy-nations-cup-i.851/
43. ↑ https://www.aoezone.net/categories/2013-clash-of-the-titans.779/