Welcome to the new AoEH!

Posted by PhatFish on May 30th, 2023 @ 8:28 p.m.

As you can probably see, Age of Empires Heaven has had an overhaul! Looking much more clean (and hopefully visually appealing to you), and more mobile and user friendly too. About time, the old site was looking a little dated.

There's a new drop-down style main menu on top, which contains all the main categories, which lead to submenus which (can) lead to more submenu's. A great feature of this new main menu is that once you have selected a page, the active link becomes a different color, indicating on which part and on which page of the website you are on. If you hover on a menu link the background changes too so you know which link you are hovering on. Isn't that neat? Great features to have if you ask me. This should make things much more easier to find, and it clears up space for the content part as well.

Next to the main content pages, which have a little bit of transparency on their background, you can find a sidebar with the usual gadgets we have had for a long time - a search function, latest forum posts, latest files, the poll, random screenshot, history tidbits and HG links.

Next to that, the news archive has been updated and includes everything now. A great nostalgia dive if you're up to it - stretching way back to the beginning, 1997, on the 15th of May when AoE Heaven launched.

Some other pages have had updates, but the majority has been mostly unchanged (I simply don't have the time to update everything!). Return of Rome inspired me to do this, and it took many hours and lots of testing to get things right. The main background should look familiar to you, it is the AoEDE main menu, which I found quite fitting.

If you can't view the new style, clear your browser cache and refresh the site.

I hope you guys are happy with what you're seeing!

- Phat

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Random Map scripting guide

Posted by PhatFish on May 29th, 2023 @ 6:29 p.m.

If you feel like creating your own Random Maps for Return of Rome, you can, and the best way to start doing this is to read the extensive and most useful RMS guide made by Zetnus, which you can find here: Age of Empires II Definitive Random Map Scripting Guide and Terrain RMS constants.

From experience: open any Random Map, and start carefully experimenting with whats possible. It's lots of fun creating them or building upon ideas.

I felt like posting this to garner some attention to the fact Random Map Scripting is now possible in Age of Empires 1 (Return of Rome), which is absolutely amazing. Expect to see some Random Maps for Return of Rome from me in the near future!

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New categories in the Granary

Posted by PhatFish on May 29th, 2023 @ 6:18 p.m.

The Granary has been updated by staff member Pecunia (thank you very much!), who changed the order of categories and added six new categories specifically for Return of Rome: Campaigns, Single Player Scenario's, Multiplayer Scenario's, Random Maps, Recorded Games and AI files. If you ever visited AoKH's Blacksmith some of these categories should sound familiar to you. The first Return of Rome campaigns by Filthydelphia can be downloaded!

If your submission does not fit the above mentioned categories (like a mod), be sure to add "Return of Rome" to the file description so the community knows which version it is meant for.

Start submitting your Return of Rome creations!

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10 campaigns

Posted by PhatFish on May 24th, 2023 @ 04:37 a.m.

Imagine checking the Granary and finding there are ten (10!) campaigns awaiting approval, now that is a very rare occurence! All have been added, four of them are from AugustoSapienti (don't leave!) which are meant to be played with the latest version of the 5th legacy mod on the original game.

The remaining six are from Forgotten Empires campaign designer Filthydelphia (Al_Kharn), which includes the first four custom campaigns for Return of Rome, including the Holy Man scenario, and the other two are for the AoE: Definitive Edition. Should satisfy your hunger for more content in RoR! Alternatively you can download them using the in-game mod browser.

There will be new categories added in the Granary for Return of Rome in the coming days, AoEH will be supporting the game

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Trajan

Posted by PhatFish on May 21st, 2023 @ 7:28 p.m.

I just finished playing the Trajan campaign, and it's awesome! I am no expert by any means, still just a casual player, fyi. All five scenario's are well designed, with great story-telling, have plenty of eye-candy, good gameplay and the difficulty ramps up on the last two scenario's. The last one is a little tough and a thrill because of Ctesiphon's wonder countdown, but if you know what you are doing it's beatable (it took me more than one try). It's perfectly balanced. I loved the narration on the introduction and ending cinematics, and their illustrations/artwork. 5 star rating from me, excellent.

More importantly, I am having a lot of fun. I am immersed and loving every bit. Return of Rome is great!

Also, I'm just gonna leave this here:

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RoR

Posted by PhatFish on May 20th, 2023 @ 6:23 p.m.

How can I... sum this up? I think RoR, ehm, Rome, is back. You mean Rise of Rome? No, Rome returns in the Return of Rome. But did it really? I have had the chance to find out a bit more and here's my reply:


So this is what it's like to have an expansion pack to Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. They did a fantastic job. They did everything right. How can you not like this?

Are you not entertained?

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Original campaigns coming to Return of Rome

Posted by PhatFish on May 19th, 2023 @ 4:03 p.m.

This is excellent news. For those that were disappointed with the original campaigns missing, your feedback has been heard! This was amongst the greatest complaints about the RoR DLC and I can see why. Although not every campaign will be ported, four of them will, including my all time favorite scenario Battle of Tunes which is the last scenario in the First Punic War campaign from the trial version of Rise of Rome - I can't wait to play that!

Ascent of Egypt, the learning campaign will be there too for those new to the game and wanting to learn how to Wololo. Now of course the campaigns won't be 100% identical (especially Ascent of Egypt) but will be updated to match Return of Rome.

You can vote for two of your favorite original campaigns to be included and read about the announcement here. Which ones do you want?

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All Hidden Units (Return of Rome)

Posted by PhatFish on May 18th, 2023 @ 05:10 a.m.

That didn't take long now did it? Well folks, the mystery of the purpose of the Great Pyramid has been solved! Did you know that in ancient times, during the reign of Egypt, there were Castles? Yes, the Great Pyramid was a Castle! They even shot arrows from it back in those glorious days! I guess that's what these airvents were used for. Now you might be saying BS, but it is historical fact, as Return of Rome proves it.



My mod unlocks ALL Hidden Units in the Scenario Editor in Return of Rome.

Either download the mod using the in-game Mod browser - search for "All Hidden Units (Return of Rome)" - or alternatively download the .dat file here and place it in the following directory after making a backup of your original empires2_x2_p1.dat file (copy/paste):

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\modes\Pompeii\resources\_common\dat

To return to the normal dataset, simply revert back to the unaltered backed-up empires2_x2_p1.dat file.

To activate the mod, you need to select "All Hidden Units (Return of Rome)" as the default datamod from the Dataset dropdown menu in the lower right corner on the Editor screen prior to entering the actual Scenario Editor. Then select the Units tab to place any hidden unit you like!

All hidden units can be used on any map and work on the default Dataset, meaning this mod is NOT required for the hidden units to be playable, and you can share your maps with these new units with anyone else and they will work out of the box! This adds tons of unused units, buildings, embellishment and units from AoE2DE to Return of Rome, meaning you can use almost all AoE2DE units in Return of Rome.

There are several buildings which serve as eye-candy only and have no function and are missing their building icon. Other buildings from AoE2 like towers and walls can be used to your hearts content. There is even a Castle building for Return of Rome which uses the Wonder graphic, and yes, it shoots arrows and can be garrisoned in. Keep in mind that not every AoE2 building, such as the Barracks or Town Center is present (due to being used by Return of Rome itself).

Almost all AoE2DE heroes and units are present, which allows for cross-over timelines and interesting unique scenario's! If used in conjuction with the CTRL+G off grid option, the designing possibilities are virtually endless.

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Return of Rome now available!

Posted by PhatFish on May 16th, 2023 @ 7:34 p.m.

The Return of Rome DLC has launched today and is available as the latest DLC for Age of Empires II Definitive Edition! RoR is now (an upgraded) RoR, kind of confusing to be honest... but boy, this is quite something (spoilers ahead). Here's my first impression and thoughts:

I did a playthrough of Return of Rome this evening, on single player mode (no MP yet, I am still learning here!) and... I like it. It's familiar yet different - in a good way! First of all let me say that graphics wise RoR looks very good, I appreciate the updated UI (no more empty squares in the research area) with extended features. If I am not mistaken I heard new music renditions of those used in good old Rise of Rome, as well as new civilization-specific music, which is very nice, excellent work!

So, I first did a Random Map/Skirmish, playing as Assyrians, everything on default as per the game's initial settings, but the difficulty set to moderate (I am very rusty, yes, you can call me a n00b now). Trying some of the new technologies like Market trading and getting a feel for RoR for the first time, which is a mixture of both weird, nostalgia, and excitement.

One thing I immidiately noticed was the game speed, in general the game plays faster than AoE2. It's not just the game speed setting, but maybe it's just me being kind of overwhelmed, as I haven't played AoEDE in quite a while - it takes a while getting used to this, compared to AoE2. The female villagers are a nice touch - they finally left their caves! This was a Dark Forest map, similar to the Black Forest map with a 4v4 setting against the AI. The latter is another point of interest as the computer intelligence is way better than AoEDE's, much more spammy too with Cavalry Archers (reminds me of the Mongols). Our team eventually won, I spammed Chariot Archers and took advantage of the hills. GG. I have no idea about team bonuses yet as I am not familiar with them yet.

If you love cheat codes, the models have finally been fixed and upgraded, with photon man and nuke trooper having custom skins so they are easier to tell apart. Unfortunately, not every cheat code is added, for example there is no more big badass baby with a shotgun on a tricycle. Jack be nimble doesn't work either, it would have been nice to shoot cows and see superman villagers. Anyways, onto the Editor.

The Scenario Editor is similar to what you get in AoE2, though my buttons were red colored instead of the blueish purple I have seen previously in the content creator's builds. Not sure if this is intentional but I prefer the blueish color for RoR, which makes it easier to differentiate between AoE2DE and RoR (even though it is the same game). In any case, it's not that much of a bother. Finally, there are the much needed and most welcome Triggers. There's loads of conditions and effects you can apply, though I have not fooled around with these much, not even in AoE2DE. There's countless ways you can be creative here, almost everything you can think of is possible. In the players menu, switching between ages upgrades the look of your civ to the appropriate Age. I don't recall if this was available in AoEDE - in any case, it's awesome.

Let's move on to the new objects and units: oh my. The amount of embellishment you get is simply stunning, there are so so many new additions like statues, pillars, shields, helmets, weapon racks, gazebo's, plants etc. I have to give extra credit to FE here for including this much, for they allow for so much extra variety - great job! Also a nice touch is the inclusion of the stone fence, which is a beta object, but one of the most useful ones. There's also many AoE2DE objects which can be used, like yurts and mountains, which is very cool!

Now we get to a part which I am less impressed by, and it is the lack of AoEDE (not AoE2DE) terrains and forests. There are none aside from the Mediterranean forest, which was already included in AoE2DE. I think I saw an additional new yellow colored tree in the Gaia objects menu however. On the plus side you get all the terrains AoE2DE has, which also means Snow terrain and snow covered pines (finally!), and terrain layering, which allows many variety. However I would have liked to see AoEDE terrains as well (why not add them and give us the option to choose?), because I think the overall look of terrains in Return of Rome is too much like AoE2DE - in fact it is exactly the same and this is my most major gripe with Return of Rome. There is no excuse that justifies not having them included in RoR!

Next, in the editor, I generated the new random maps, which are a mix of the old familiar ones, AoE2DE clones, and a few new types. Although I did not play them, I wanted to see what they looked like, obviously, since this is new content to be played on. The majority should be quite familiar to any fan. One thing I immidiately noticed is that on the Dark Forest map, I only get the Amazon Rainforest type, none of the others like Pine forest or Snow terrain/snowy pines. Either I just got very unlucky with generation (though I did press the button like ten times lol), or this is either a bug or intentional. Either way I don't like it and this should be fixed/changed.

Backtracking a little to the Random Map I played when I first started playing - a Dark Forest map - it's really weird playing on a Rainforest jungle/terrain with AoE1. I feel like it just doesn't fit well, but maybe that's just me. Again, on each RM here I am again faced with AoE2 terrains, with a lot of rainforest and desert type maps, which kinda feels off. It's not bad but I wish the AoEDE terrains were included. Inside out is a map that looked fun to play to me - a combination of Citadel (arena) and an extra land border on the outside, interesting!

Lastly, I launched the campaign menu and tried the first mission of the Trajan campaign. The narration is excellent, though I did not get too far because of my limited time. Playing AoE on snow for the first time! The first scenario is well designed and is fun to play. There are three campaigns in total to try out.



I haven't had the chance to play as Lac Viet. I can't give my opinion on online play either, maybe in one of the coming days perhaps!

All in all I think Return of Rome is very nicely done, the gameplay is certainly an improvement and there are many other additions which are most welcome. Yes, I agree, this should have all been there when AoEDE got launched or in the sequential updates that came after - but at least it's happening now, for which we should be grateful. After all, what is being done here is preserving AoE1 and keeping it alive for not only the older fans, but newer generations too! AoEDE reached the limits in what could be done technically in it's current state - again I think this is a wise move going forward upgrading to the AoE2DE engine. And, if you don't like it, you can always choose to play the original game or AoEDE. I think some things are still missing and need to be added to RoR, but I am glad this was made, and I will certainly be playing Return of Rome the coming months (and maybe do some modding too)!

Also, I can't help but wonder if my news post from exactly one year ago had anything to do with the creation of Return of Rome - because it seems to me that my wish (and those of many other fans) has been granted. Thank you, and to FE: I hope you keep supporting Return of Rome in the future!

- PhatFish

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Congrats AoEH!

Posted by PhatFish on May 15th, 2023 @ 09:49 a.m.

Turning twenty six years today! Cheers everyone.



I guess a birthday present is in order, but it will have to wait until tomorrow - when Rome returns!

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