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Latest News
- Emperor of Highlands 2
- Posted by PhatFish on February 12th, 2023 @ 08:26 a.m.
- With the recent rise of AI, let's have a look at some earlier form of computer intelligence doing battle on a Highland map. This competition, the second iteration of Emperor of Highlands, was livestreamed yesterday by MrElephant and Philosopher who both participated with their custom AIs. Fruktfisk and Umam99 entered too, and even yours truly with the most significant and extremely powerful unbeatable AI (it's the best, nothing compares lol) was somehow part of the contest. A total of 32 AIs duking it out between eachother with some quite some interesting bits and fireworks - you can rewatch the livestream here on Twitch. I won't spoil who won!
- First look at Return of Rome
- Posted by PhatFish on December 06th, 2022 @ 09:25 a.m.
- Civilization selection screen:
Not so suprising maybe, it looks exactly the same as the AoE2DE civ selection screen. Remember this is still beta so things could be changed. More info has leaked including civilization stats and bonuses - view them in the Return of Rome DLC topic.
- Steam sale, new poll
- Posted by PhatFish on November 26th, 2022 @ 07:52 a.m.
- But first some new rumours about the Return of Rome DLC. It seems that from what I've been able to gather on the official AoE forums that it will actually be a new remaster of the AoEDE version. What does this mean? It could mean a total overhaul of graphics and new renders, maybe even in the size of AoE2DE, so that would mean bigger maps and buildings, aside from additional AoE2 features. There's also a rumour of AoE2DE getting a new Roman civilization, speculation on this began with a leaked image of a new Roman castle. Nothing is confirmed however. Apparently there is also a closed beta test going, so if you are not an Age insider, sign up and you might get an invite to beta-test Return of Rome. The DLC will most likely arrive early 2023.
Just to let you know, if you don't already own Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition, you should purchase it through Steam Autumn sale now - there is a major discount (65% off!) - that is if you are interested in getting the Return of Rome DLC, you will need to own the AoE2DE client to play it.
If you happen to own AoE2 HD already you get an additional discount and you can own the AoE2DE for €5,24! I reckon prices would be similar in US $. sale ends in 3 days from now. DLC's are on sale too, by the way. This is exactly what I did, I've been holding off from buying AoE2DE for numerous reasons, but this deal was too good to pass up.
Even though I think AoEDE was ignored mostly and not given the love it deserves (regarding updates and fixes), I am cautiously optimistic about Return of Rome and want to give it and FE a serious chance. I hope it receives respect and a proper treatment, and a brighter future with possible new DLC expansions on the horizon (something like Beyond the Indus would be very nice).
This chariot is not easily persuaded, but you got me halfway now, put the Wo in Wololo and you may just convert me.
The result of the previous Poll is interesting as we got a large amount of votes, which even for AoEH standards is amazing - 200 votes were cast (thank you!) and the winner of your favorite villager speech is... Erectus! It received a total of 44 votes. Rogan got 33 votes, and Zukanta in third place 22 votes. Next up, will you buy the Return of Rome DLC? Cast your vote, and be sure to keep checking AoEH from time to time for news about the new DLC!
- 25 years of Age! And a new AoE1 announcment (kind of?)
- Posted by Fisk on October 27th, 2022 @ 02:33 a.m.
- This month the Age of Empires series celebrated its 25 year anniversary!
That's right, our site actually predates the game itself by a few months!
Microsoft in a stream made a series of announcements concerning almost every part of the Age series (including console ports, a re-release of AoE4 and a big one concerning our sister series Age of Mythology)!
For our beloved Age of Empires 1, there was a brief mention of the classic game becoming playable in the AoE2: DE engine, an idea which has been intriguing to modders in the past and now is seemingly being embraced by the game's official development team. As we're still waiting for more in-depth reveals for these announcements, it's an exciting time to be an AoE fan!
As more information has been revealed, it turns out to be a new DLC for AoE2: DE called "The return of Rome". See the forum thread by Phatfish!
- RedBull Wololo Legacy finalists decided!
- Posted by Fisk on September 18th, 2022 @ 4:27 p.m.
Picture shamelessly stolen from Bichho's thread
In a very interesting format combining the old and the new, 8 players have faced off in both the Classic Rise of Rome 1.0 and the new Defintive Edition. Like last time I'll do my best not to spoil the results (though it's a little hard not to get spoiled opening the Chim Se Di Nang Fanpage where you can watch the games). We're looking forward to the finals which will be played in Heidelberg Castle on the 29th of October!
- Wings for Fisk!
- Posted by PhatFish on September 08th, 2022 @ 09:11 a.m.
- Turning from red to orange, growing a new pair of extra wings, our pineapplefish has evolved, and is now co-ruler of the pond. You might think a struggle for dominance would have occurred with the current ruling fish (a very phat and intimidating one), as is usually the case within the animal kingdom, but none of that - you see the phat one is going to be absent for a while to attend to other matters soon and he happily shares the pond with the now orange colored knightfish (Cleidopus Gloriamaris), who will make sure the pond stays the way it should be and doesn't dry up in the meantime
Congratulations Fisk, skol!
- WinstonsWaffles is hosting Classic Cup 2
- Posted by Fisk on August 28th, 2022 @ 08:55 a.m.
- The biggest news for AoE1 mutliplayer this autumn is probably that it will be featured as a part of the Redbull Wololo Legacy event this autumn with a 50 000 $ prize pool. Many details for that event are still waiting to be revealed, but it appears it will be played using the original Age of Empires: Rise of Rome, as that is still the preferred version of the game among the vietnamese pros.
But what if you wanted to see AoE:DE? The DE community isn't quite as big but a lot more geographically diverse. And right now, the biggest event going on is the second iteration of Classic Cup which is hosted by WinstonsWaffles. If you're like me and haven't quite kept up with the changes to the multiplayer meta in the past ten years, this is a good opportunity to get a glimpse of how the best of the best are playing the game.
The quarter- and semifinals have already been played, but I won't spoil them here in case you want to watch them for yourselves. The games are currently being uploaded to Youtube and can already be found on Twitch, where the finals and bronze match will also be streamed live this coming weekend.
One of the quarterfinal matches between Saymyname (otherwise known from the AoE2 scene) and KGB_Crazy
- New Granary submissions
- Posted by PhatFish on June 26th, 2022 @ 05:40 a.m.
- Whew, for a moment I thought uploading to the Granary (our downloads section) didn't work anymore. Glad I was proven wrong. It's been a few months since we've had any new submissions, so let's honor these latest additions. First up is Global Map 21. It's not really an accurate map in any sort of sense, but that doesn't mean it can't be fun or a challenge - maybe just lacking a bit in building space since you are located on (interconnected by shallows) small islands. You get plenty of villagers though.
Empires of the near East is a whopping 11 scenario spanning campaign for Definitive Edition, and it's quite impressive! Based on historical events spanning roughly 2000 years, you take Sumeria, Ancient Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, the Hittite Empire to the glory of their days. The maps are well designed and give a fair challenge. Even bitmaps are included, though we cannot see these in-game because DE does not support them (check them out though). I haven't played it through, but from what I saw this campaign is definitively worth your time.
I'd love to see more submissions, keep on designing and submitting!
- 25 years of AoEH
- Posted by PhatFish on May 16th, 2022 @ 07:51 a.m.
- Yesterday, on the 15th of May, AoEH turned 25 years old. That's right, we've been around for that freaking long. It's absolutely amazing that AoEH is still up and running, even though we are nowhere near as active as in the heydays of Age of Empires and The Rise of Rome expansion anymore.
I still remember those early days, at least since late 1998, when I first visited this place. It was a time when the internet was still sort of in it's infancy, more simplified, and visiting AoEH was a place of pure magic (for me it certainly was, still is!). Lots of nice and helpful people with knowledge of strategies, scenario design, and every other aspect of the game, as well as creating amazing custom content for it. Add the Zone to that, and for a young kid this was an absolute wonder to witness, very captivating to say the least.
I spend quite some time playing versus other players on the Zone, loved RM on highland maps. Though I never have been a very good competitive online player, I enjoyed every moment of it. Those were the days, and I kind of miss them. That's not to say the years after were not any fun, on the contrary, especially after the Zone died down I stuck around AoEH and became very interested in scenario design, after becoming inspired by playing other people's creations and custom campaigns. This, to me, is one of the most important aspects of AoE: the creativity you can express is limitless. You can design your empire, shape your world, define it's traits and quirks pretty much exactly to your vision. Even though you are kind of bound to what the game can do, breaking those boundaries in creative and new ways was probably the one thing that kept me coming back for more, and with me, many other fans and designers.
When Scenario_t_c came around and "unlocked" the hidden units, and unit overlapping, things got even more interesting - a defining moment in the history of AoEH and AoE scenario design, you now had the power to do the uninmaginable, allowing for infinite new variety in your custom worlds. Even though the game was almost 10 years old now, it breathed in new life and possibilities. I myself started digging and experimenting and unlocking new options too, such as the lengthen combat mode. Then came the next thing, like unlocked new terrains to play with, and after that, hex-editing allowing even more new things never seen before.
Fast forward another 10 years or so, and around came even more possibilities with the arrival of RockNRoR, such as map copy which has backward compatibility. At some point even triggers, like those used in Age of Kings, became available. It also allowed a more immersive and adapted-to newer computers experience, making use of higher resolutions. Here's when we also get the Upatch, and from there, a few years later, we finally arrive at the Definitive Edition, which is kind of a complete overhaul of the game with an emphasis on new detailed graphics and up-to-date online capability. Even though I prefer the original game over the newer DE version for quite a few reasons, I still appreciate the fact that we even managed to get it at all, and for a while AoE was kind of revived. If it had received a similar amount of respect from MS as AoK DE has, that revival could perhaps have lasted even longer.
Now, 25 years later since Archangel Mike McCart launched AoEH back in 1997, we, incredibly enough, are still here. Though the community has been split between several places now, you can't deny that AoEH was and in a way is still the one place for Age of Empires and it's expansion pack, the Rise of Rome, and I guess to a slightly lesser extend, the Definitive Edition.
I want to thank all the fans and staff for this wonderful experience over the many years that have gone past. You made this community thrive, made it an excellent and fun place for learning and gathering information, interacting with others, and a huge inspiration for other people to get creative. Your dedication has allowed AoEH to survive up to this day.
So, even if you are not as interested in AoE anymore as you once were, come by and visit us once a while. Keep up the good work, and happy birthday AoEH!
Cheers,
PhatFish
- Rogan? Aissa! Nerbus! Hommes? Zukanta.
- Posted by PhatFish on May 04th, 2022 @ 10:36 a.m.
- Do you understand the title of this newspost? ... Maybe if you read the words aloud? They should sound familiar to you now.
Still don't ring a bell? Let me explain: Villagers secretly hate the Mouse Pointer. It is like a mosquito or buzzing fly hovering above them, and often even lands onto them. When the latter occurs, the villager notices it, becomes agitated and thinks to himself: "Get away, I like standing here doing absolutely nothing!" But, like all the other villagers, he can't say that - for a very good reason - so instead mutters nonsensical words like a young infant. He knows his time of hanging around and being lazy is up, for the Mouse Pointer is the Commander. The One Chieftain. The Supreme Ruler. A divine God-like entity, that makes the most important decisions in the whole world, including life and death. With one simple Mouse Click, it is done. Powerless to stop the All-Powerful (but annoying) Mouse Pointer, he humbly yells "Abadacus!" cowering in fear before it...
If you haven't guessed already, this post is about villager speech. Specifically, about which one is your personal favorite in the game! Cast your vote in our new poll on the right of this news post! You can choose from a staggering 20 choices (and yes, they are all in the game and official Villager Speech).
If you don't remember them, here's a nice and funny video with all the AoE sound effects. At 3:48 minutes you can hear villager speech:
And the previous poll is therefore concluded, where we asked you: Why do you visit AoEH? The number one reason should be quite obvious even without a poll. Here are the results:
- Nostalgic reasons (29%, 54 Votes)
- Custom Campaigns (16%, 30 Votes)
- Game info (civs, unit stats, etc.) (13%, 25 Votes)
- Mods (13%, 24 Votes)
- Learning about AoE History (11%, 20 Votes)
- Meeting other AoE1 fans (9%, 16 Votes)
- Strategy guides (6%, 12 Votes)
- Other (4%, 7 Votes)
Nearly 100 votes were cast, and we thank you for that! Nostalgia is king, especially if you played AoE/RoR in your childhood days, and AoEH is still the number one place to relive those precious memories. And, remember that we host the largest amount of custom and unique campaigns for you to play, and guides/info to help you, as well as many other AoE related things - all freely enjoyable, to heighten that nostalgia.
Don't forget to cast your vote in the new poll!
Rogan?