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    HeavenGames
    News Archive 1998 January – March

    Headlines – March 18, 1998

    Multiplayer help for new players
    New undocumented feature?
    Empires Editor
    Agetoon by Dis
    Voting Polls
    Search the resources of Heaven
    History Tidbits
     
     

     

    Multiplayer help for new players
    Getting started
    This section is for all the beginners and newbies out there. Maybe not new to Age of Empires – but new to playing against others via the Internet. You’re one amongst maybe 900.000 AOE players – so you’re certainly not alone here.

    Now – we cannot possibly tell you everything here – but we can try and get you on the right track to learning more. Below is a short introduction to the Multiplayer possibilities – and the sections will eventually have walkthru’s of the major tools and services to use for Internet Multiplayer gaming. Everything is not ready yet – but we will have it all up shortly. Meanwhile use the introduction below and go to the respective sections to get directions for what software you need.

    WHY? Why should you play multiplayer games? (Like – do we angels have shares in your phone companies or something 🙂 ). Nope – but we simply feel you are cheating your self of some good experiences with Age of Empires if you dont try this out. It is simply so much fun to play against players from all over the world – to share a common interest like AOE. It really is a blast. – Hamlet

    Multiplayer fun
    Lately some of us Angels (and a few regular “Heaven-Groupies” <g>) have been playing more “fun” games, as opposed to the usual “get to bronze and cremate your opponents within 18 minutes” kind of Zone games. Omnivac and myself tried something different with Saleh from Yegg’s Tavern last night. It was a 3 player FFA and we wanted to play on “Cutthroat”. We decided that we each would choose the others civ. One chose Two and Two chose Three and Three chose One. Was kewl. I ended up being Babylonian (thanks Omni :P), Omni was the dreaded Phoenicians <g> and Saleh was Choson.

    What a BLAST! We have had some long “non-rushing” games lately on these MP maps. If you haven’t played them before…or like me….just not in a long time, try them out…they are VERY balanced and a lot of fun! 😉 – Vidguy

    goto top of news

    New undocumented feature?
    Are Egyptians woodcutters lazy?
    Egyptians might actually be the exact opposite of the Phoenicians woodcutters. While the Phonies cut wood a little faster than every other civs, the Egyptians seem to cut slower than all the others. Is there an undocumented attribute about woodcutting not written in the manual, or in the fold-out? It looks so to me. An addition to the Civilization Attributes might be something like +20% Wood Cutting for the Phoenicians, and -20% Wood Cutting for the Egyptians. No wonder then I don’t have any problems with my wood when I play other civs. When racing to the Bronze Age, you need lots of food gatherers and the minimum woodcutters to have wood for the necessary buildings and houses. I always have extra wood when I do my default opening setup, and don’t play the Egyptians. Might be because of this undocumented feature. – Omnivac

    JonasMy friends and i have been playing aoe since it came out, and recently have gotten into playing egyptian, anyway we noticed that the egyptian wood cutting seems to be affected somehow their production is not as good as other civs. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this or if they know anything about it.? I don’t see anywhere in the manual about a minus production in wood for them.

    Duncan McKissick: yea, I noticed that too. I was playing them for the first time in ages yesterday and had the exact same problem. But they get the gold like no one else!

    goto top of news

    Empires Editor
    A wish come true
    Looks like some good folks at Gamerz Asylum will grant the wish of every scenario and campaign designers around the world. The Lovell Bros, who may be known to some for their Quake utilities, plan to make the Empires Editor as easy to use as tieing up your shoes. Not only you will probably get to name the heroes, but you will be able to change every civilizations, units and buildings.

    “The Empires editor, is a program which can read all the game files from the game. With this in mind, the editor allows a user to modify these game files, so that different outcomes can occur. The editor is the first of its kind and is very versatile, and is able to change many of the game variables to increase your enjoyment at either multiplayer or single player levels.

    For instance, you can edit the hitpoints on a catapult. The editor then saves these changes for the game in the specific files, and when the game is reloaded, the changes will take place.”

    Get all the details at Gamerz Asylum. And start planning your new design. The Lovell Bros might be doing the Doom’s DCK of Age of Empires. – Omnivac

    goto top of news

    Agetoon – By Dis
    New toons
    Don’t worry if your work is not in the toons section. From now on, toons will make the frontpage, and then go in the toon section. So depending on the number of submissions, this could take 4-5 days before you see your artwork in Heaven. – Omnivac

     

    More Agetoons here.

    goto top of news

    Voting Polls
    AOE Heaven own poll
    We have a new poll section now, dedicated to Age of Empires only. Questions will vary from how can Heaven be better, to little details of the game. With the recent discussions on game speed, I tought it would be a good idea to ask everyone about it. New topics will be posted in the news, and if you have any suggestions, send them to Heaven. Good, useful and original topics will be posted for everyone to answer. – Omnivac

    Knowing fans of AoE Heaven, to better serve them
    Vote
     now! The poll will last until the end of March. – Omnivac

    Comments on AOEII
    Vote
     now! You can also leave you comments in the form on why you think your #1 choice of the new opinions in AOEII is the best! – The Archangel

    Searching in Heaven
    Find that little piece of heaven!

      Search for

    goto top of news

    History Tidbits
    Daily fix of real old news
    For a while Heavens angels will bring some history tidbits and trivia in this column. Look here every day for your daily fix of “old news”. – Hamlet

    (want more? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Collection”)

    The Real-life game of Age of Empires
    Here’s my contribution for the history tidbits. Telling the real-life game of Age of Empires. I hope everybody will like it, and I will try not to make it look like a boring history class. Well, this doesn’t exist but that’s my opinion. 🙂 Read and enjoy. – Omnivac

    (Want all the story? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Chronicles”)

    goto top of news

     

     

      Headlines – March 17, 1998

    New cloud in Heaven
    Contests & Prizes 
    Agetoon by Dr. Fish
    Voting Polls
    Search the resources of Heaven
    History Tidbits
     
     

     

    New cloud in Heaven
     The innkeeper invites you in
    Hi All! Welcome to the Tavern in the sky! Age of Empires Heaven’s very own place to meet people – and maybe grab a bite and a beer.

    This is YOUR place in Heaven – you, the AOE Players. The Tavern is a place that is created for experienced Multiplayers – as well as for all the many people who have not yet tried the thrill of playing against other players via the Internet.

    For YOU – the beginner – the Getting Started section brings information about how to be a Multiplayer, what you need and where to go. Don’t feel alone here! We estimate that only about 10-15% of ALL the AOE players in the world have ever tried to play AOE via the Internet. Considering that AOE has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide you can safely count on meeting other newbies here :-). When you’re ready – go to the forum and talk to other players and make friends – and enemies. – Hamlet

    The other talk in Heaven right now is about Heaven’s Ladder. We think it would be a good idea to have an exclusive Age of Empires ladder, instead of one among tons of other games. You can expect a message board with posts for only AOE in it, not posts for other games. Rules would be made for AOE exclusively, with all its benefits.

    Heaven want to hear your suggestions. Some players don’t like how some ladders work, like the ranking system. Here’s your chance to have a ladder to your taste. Among other things, a rule that would be nice would be to give the choice to the challengers (lower rank). If settings cannot be agreed upon, then the challengers have the choice. I find that lots of top players refuses to play anything but highland/inland. I say they should meet the challenge when a new team wants to play a 2v2 on a medium map, tiny islands. To prove if they are really that good and have mastered all the ins and outs of Age of Empires. Send your ideas, and the best ones will be posted here in the news. And start discussions in the Veni, Vidi, Vici forum (or the VVV forum as we like to call it) of The Tavern. – Omnivac

    goto top of news

    Contests & Prizes
    Soon to be announced
    Well – since this IS the opening here in the Tavern – let’s celebrate a little shall we! First let me tell you that very shortly we will have a contest here. Age of Empires Heaven will have no less than 2 special prizes to go for here in the Tavern. Maybe the contest will start as soon as tomorrow – or maybe the next day. Come check out the Tavern the next few days and you’ll see. – Hamlet

    In a week or so, Age of Empires Heaven will also features a scenario design contest. Check regularly to know the guidelines you will be confronted with. The scenarios who will make it will be very good, and will requires some hard work. Expect only top-notch quality scenarios there. Scenarios will be available for download at the end of the contest.

    Heaven would also thanks Microsoft for the prizes we will give to the winners. Stay tuned and don’t miss your chance to win. – Omnivac

    Agetoon – By Dr. Fish
    New toons
    Don’t worry if your work is not in the toons section. From now on, toons will make the frontpage, and then go in the toon section. So depending on the number of submissions, this could take 4-5 days before you see your artwork in Heaven. – Omnivac

    Flintstones! Meet the Flinstones…

    More Agetoons here.

    goto top of news

    Voting Polls
    AOE Heaven own poll
    We have a new poll section now, dedicated to Age of Empires only. Questions will vary from how can Heaven be better, to little details of the game. With the recent discussions on game speed, I tought it would be a good idea to ask everyone about it. New topics will be posted in the news, and if you have any suggestions, send them to Heaven. Good, useful and original topics will be posted for everyone to answer. – Omnivac

    Knowing fans of AoE Heaven, to better serve them
    Vote
     now! The poll will last until the end of March. – Omnivac

    Comments on AOEII
    Vote
     now! You can also leave you comments in the form on why you think your #1 choice of the new opinions in AOEII is the best! – The Archangel

    Searching in Heaven
    Find that little piece of heaven!

      Search for

    goto top of news

    History Tidbits
    Daily fix of real old news
    For a while Heavens angels will bring some history tidbits and trivia in this column. Look here every day for your daily fix of “old news”. – Hamlet

    (want more? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Collection”)

    The Real-life game of Age of Empires
    Here’s my contribution for the history tidbits. Telling the real-life game of Age of Empires. I hope everybody will like it, and I will try not to make it look like a boring history class. Well, this doesn’t exist but that’s my opinion. 🙂 Read and enjoy. – Omnivac

    (Want all the story? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Chronicles”)

    382 BC
    The Spartans of Pheobidas takes control of the citadel of Thebes.

    379-378 BC
    Pelopidas, at the head of armed refugees, free Thebes from the Spartan oligarchy.

    378 BC
    The Spartan general Sphodrias fails in a surprise attack to take control of Athens. The Athenians allies themselves with the Thebans and declares war on Sparta.

    373 BC
    The Confucianist Meng-tzu (Mencius) is born. He departs from Confucius by positing a theory of just rebellion against immoral rulers. He dies in 288.

    367 BC
    The first plebeian consul is elected to the assembly, and plebeians become eligible to serve as lesser magistrates, formerly a position only granted to the aristocratic class. Because an ancient custom allows promotion from magistracy to the Senate, the patrician-dominated Senate is broken.

    356-323 BC
    Alexander the Great was the first world conqueror and one of the greatest generals in history. He laid the foundation for the Hellenistic world, from Alexandria in Egypt to the borders of India.

    Born in the Macedonian capital Pella Alexander was taught by Aristotle when he was 13, and he commanded the cavalry of his father when he was only 18. His father, Philip II, had united the Greek states in a confederacy against Persia, the world empire which had threatened Greece for a long time. Alexander became king of Macedonia at the age of 20. After he consolidated his power over Greece he took up his fathers task of the Persian adventure.

    In 334 BC Alexander crossed into Asia and systematically began the conquest of the Persian Empire. Everywhere he championed Greek ways and founded numerous cities, the most important of which was Alexandria in Egypt. After 330 BC, when the Persian monarch was killed by his own troops, Alexander claimed to be his legitimate successor. He aspired to conquer the whole world, and was disappointed when his weary troops, after subduing the easternmost reaches of the Persian empire and invading northwestern India, refused to march any further. After a difficult return trip to Babylon, the great conqueror died suddenly of a fever at age 33.

    350 BC
    Hellenistic Greece witnesses the new philosophy of the Cynics. Their leader, Diogenes, puts forth the first argument against conventional life. The Cynics believe that people should live naturally and strive for self-sufficiency.

    350-338 BC
    Shang Yang rules the Ch’in Dynasty. He operates against the assumptions of a theory of absolute aggression justified by the “School of Law.”

    343 BC
    The greatest dramatist of Hellenistic Greece, Menander, follows the comedic genre put forth by Aristophanes (the subject of which is romantic love).

    343-332 BC
    The Persians rule Egypt for a second time.

    338 BC
    Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father, conquers Greece and is succeeded by his son two years later. At age twenty-two, Alexander begins his campaign to acquire new territory in Asia. Within four years, Alexander conquers the entire Persian Empire (including Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, Syria and Mesopotamia). Alexander continues his campaign farther east and eventually returns to Persia in 323 BC, where he dies of fever in Babylon. Before his death, Alexander was the ruler of the largest empire the world had seen. Hellenistic Greece, a combination of Greek and western Asian cultures, lasts from Alexander’s time until the beginning of the Christian era.

    goto top of news

     

     

      Headlines – March 16, 1998
    This & That
    Voting Polls
    Agetoon by Dr. Fish
    Search the resources of Heaven
    History Tidbits
     

     

    This & That
    GNN have a new face
    The new look is simply amazing. The info there is simply amazing. Worth a visit everyday, and you’ll never miss anything about the gaming industry. – Omnivac

    GameStats News Network The GameStats Website Has Been Redesigned And Updated !! GameStats, a leading online computer gaming magazine has totally revamped their website giving it a really sharp new look and added features! GameStats is very proud to announce that we have given our website a total facelift which is sure to please the online computer gaming community. We will continue to provide a daily update of the latest gaming news, and pointers to other gaming news-sites, reviews, previews, and cool stuff all over the world wide web. We will however be doing this in a way that is even more pleasing to the eye!

    GameStats is a unique website in the computer gaming community, providing not only the latest news and reviews that *we* generate, but also on a daily basis we search the web to provide our readers with pointers to innumerable *other* game news websites, reviews, and special features on other sites. We consider ourselves not to be in competition mode with other sites but we like to think of ourselves as cooperating with them. On a daily basis we get email from webmasters from numerous gaming news sites that tip us off to new reviews or other features on their sites. If they are of high quality we happily publish them!

    GameStats also has a small family of hosted affiliate sites who comprise the GameStats News network. These independent sites operate specialty pages which focus on a single issue or game. We are very proud that GameStats currently receives an average of 1,700,000 pageviews per week between The main News Page and our directly hosted affiliates. In celebration of our redesign we have also put up a special feature on Joysticks. Titled ‘The GameStats Joystick Extravaganza‘, this is an incredibly detailed and thorough review feature which examines ten of the most popular joysticks available on the market today. Please stop by and have a look at our new design! We think you will be very glad you did. The special feature can be found Here –Justice T Senior Editor GameStats

    An .SLP to .BMP Converter

    “SLPCNVT was created by me over the past few months to account for the proprietary format of SLP files, the most commonly used graphic file for Age of Empires. What first led me to writing the program was the fine utility created by Stoyan Ratchev, DRSBUILD, along with the SLP file list created by Brian Yip. Looking at his list, I realized that many of the images that really had to be there somewhere, were missing and I couldn’t seem to find them, which led me to examine the SLP files more closely. Finally, after many road blocks, I cracked the commands used to create the images and wrote this utility to convert SLPs to BMPs and back.” – Joseph Knight

    Take a look at this nifty little utility. It is an absolute download for everyone dreaming to do ModPacks with AOE. I’ll take a look into it as well, and maybe finally, I’ll be able to have snow in my campaign, as well as Cimmerian Bulls. Download it from the Granary.

    A good companion to it, is the description of (almost) all the .SLP graphic files contained within GRAPHIC.DRS. Thanks to Widfire for compiling this list. Download it as well from the Granary. – Omnivac

    goto top of news

    Voting Polls
    AOE Heaven own poll
    We have a new poll section now, dedicated to Age of Empires only. Questions will vary from how can Heaven be better, to little details of the game. With the recent discussions on game speed, I tought it would be a good idea to ask everyone about it. New topics will be posted in the news, and if you have any suggestions, send them to Heaven. Good, useful and original topics will be posted for everyone to answer. – Omnivac

    Knowing fans of AoE Heaven, to better serve them
    Vote
     now! The poll will last until the end of March. – Omnivac

    Comments on AOEII
    Vote
     now! You can also leave you comments in the form on why you think your #1 choice of the new opinions in AOEII is the best! – The Archangel

    goto top of news

    Agetoon – By Dr. Fish
    New toons
    Don’t worry if your work is not in the toons section. From now on, toons will make the frontpage, and then go in the toon section. So depending on the number of submissions, this could take 4-5 days before you see your artwork in Heaven. – Omnivac

    Bruce Shelley’s original idea for AOE

    More Agetoons here.

    goto top of news

    Searching in Heaven
    Find that little piece of heaven!

      Search for

    goto top of news

    History Tidbits
    Daily fix of real old news
    For a while Heavens angels will bring some history tidbits and trivia in this column. Look here every day for your daily fix of “old news”. – 
    Hamlet

    (want more? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Collection”)

    The Real-life game of Age of Empires
    Here’s my contribution for the history tidbits. Telling the real-life game of Age of Empires. I hope everybody will like it, and I will try not to make it look like a boring history class. Well, this doesn’t exist but that’s my opinion. 🙂 Read and enjoy. – Omnivac

    (Want all the story? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Chronicles”)

    479 BC
    The philosopher Mo-tzu, founder of Mohism, is born. He teaches a message of universal love and compassion for the common plight of ordinary people. He dies around 438.

    Mardonius is defeated at Platea by Greeks under the command of the Spartiate regent, Pausanias.

    478 BC
    Athens joins with other Greek city-states in the formation of the Delian League. The League continues even after the end of the Persian Wars and transforms into a naval empire with Athens as its leader.

    Despite the opposition of Sparta, Themistocles gives the order to rebuild the fortifications of Athens.

    Pausanias retakes Chyprus and Byzantium to the Persians.

    469 BC
    Sophocles is born. He is the second Greek dramatist, following Aeschylus, and is considered by some to be the greatest of the Greek dramatists. His works include Oedipus Rex and Antigone. He dies in 406 BC. This year also marks the birth of Socrates, a philosopher of ethics who leaves no written philosophy. He is the major critic of popular belief in Athens and is the protagonist of Plato’s dialogues. He is condemned to death in 399 BC on the charges of corrupting the youth and introducing new gods into Greek thought.

    465 BC
    Death of Xerxes. His son, Artaxerxes is the new king of Persia.

    461 BC
    Athens allies with Argos, against Sparta.

    461-429 BC
    During this “Age of Pericles,” Athenian democracy reaches perfection, and the court systems are completed. A jury system is put in place with the jury serving as absolute authority in judicial matters.

    459-454 BC
    In Egypt, The Athenians helps the rebellion of the Lybian prince Inaros against the Persians

    450 BC
    The Law of the Twelve Tables is established allowing the plebeians to have knowledge of their relationship to the law. The plebeians are primarily farmers, craftsmen and tradesmen with foreign background. The patricians make up an aristocracy.

    448 BC
    Aristophanes, considered by some to be the greatest Greek comedy writer, is born. He dies in 380 BC. Greek comedy, like Greek tragedy, originates out of the Dionysian festivals.

    437 BC
    In Thracia, Pericles founds a new Greek colony at Amphipolis.

    431-404 BC
    During the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the political supremacy of Athens is ended. Athenian trade is destroyed. Athenian democracy is overthrown, and Athens is forced to surrender to Sparta as a subject state. Sparta assumes dominance over the Greek world and replaces many Greek democracies with oligarchies. The two major causes of the war are Athens’ growth in imperialism and the economic and cultural differences between Athens and Sparta. Between 404 and 338, Sparta is not able to persist in the rule of Greece. Power over Greece shifts from Sparta to Thebes and then to numerous other city-states, none able to maintain rule over such a large empire.

    427 BC
    Plato, Socrates’ most distinguished student, is born. He is a prolific writer and is considered by some to be the most important of all philosophers. Among his most noted works are The Apology, The Symposium, The Phaedo, The Phaedrus, and The Republic. His written works are in dialogue form. He dies in 347 BC.

    424 BC
    In Persia, Darius II succeeds to his father, Artaxerxes.

    406 BC
    Euripides dies. Born in 480 BC, he is the last of the tragic dramatists. His contribution to the history of Greek tragedy is his creation of a drama that deals with situations analogous to human life.

    401 BC
    The expedition of Xenophon. Cyrus uses an army of Greek mercenaries against Artaxerxes II, son of Darius II.

    400 BC
    Panini’s Sutra, the earliest Sanskrit grammer, is written.

    The first historical recorded encounter of the Celts comes from northern Italy around 400 BC, when a previously unkown group of barbarians came down from the Alps and displaced the Etruscans from the fertile Po valley. These people were called Galli by the Romans and Galatai or Keltoi by the Greeks, terms meaning barbarian.

    390 BC (maybe 387)
    Gaul invaders defeats the Romans at the Allia, and occupies Rome.

    384 BC
    Plato’s most distinguished student, Aristotle, is born. He enters Plato’s Academy at the age of seventeen. After spending several years as tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle returns to Athens and founds the Lyceum. Among his writings are treatises on logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, rhetoric and several on natural sciences. He dies in 322 BC.

    goto top of news

     

     

      Headlines – March 15, 1998
    Voting Polls
    This & That
    Strategy Tips – Sun Tzu from SimMayor
    Agetoon by Dis
    Search the resources of Heaven
    History Tidbits
     

     

    Voting Polls
    AOE Heaven own poll
    We have a new poll section now, dedicated to Age of Empires only. Questions will vary from how can Heaven be better, to little details of the game. With the recent discussions on game speed, I tought it would be a good idea to ask everyone about it. New topics will be posted in the news, and if you have any suggestions, send them to Heaven. Good, useful and original topics will be posted for everyone to answer. – Omnivac

    Knowing fans of AoE Heaven, to better serve them
    Vote
     now! The poll will last until the end of March. – Omnivac

    Comments on AOEII
    Vote
     now! You can also leave you comments in the form on why you think your #1 choice of the new opinions in AOEII is the best! – The Archangel

    This & That
    Something to look for
    A little “Big” thing from Gamestats: We will have something very special for you to gaze upon Monday. Yes it’s quite worth it. No this isn’t some little waste of time designed to get you here for nothing. Guaranteed worth a look. Matter of fact hitting ‘control d’ right now might be a very good idea. – Justice T – Gamestats Editor

    E3 big electronic show
    This year, E3 is once again being held in Atlanta, Georgia at the World Congress Center from May 28-30, with the day of workshops occurring on May 27. I will ask ArchAngel to fire up the HeavenJet, to send some angels there. If all goes well, be ready to get some exciting reports for Age of Empires II at the time. It will be a complete madhouse. – 
    Omnivac

    Foragers at work, once again
    Everyone will be happy to hear that the Granary is back in full-swing after so many ordeals. A big thanks must go to co-angel 
    FatCat for this. Now, be patient with him in the following days. Don’t ask him why your scenario is not posted and stuff like that. With an average of 3 submissions/day, and 10 lost days, this will need some time to catch-up and be up to date. And I don’t even talk about taunts and reviews here.

    Thank you for your comprehension. – Omnivac

    AOE new bug
    With so many players spending time conquering civilizations, you’re bound to find some new bugs from time to time. This is a very strange one. Make a new scenario in the editor, start the human player in Post-Iron with the Greek civilization, and put a Barracks, among other things. Test the scenario.

    Everything looks fine until you click the Barracks. You will see that you can build Long Swordsmen, now. If you build new Barracks, Long Swordsmen will still be available to be build.

    A little check with other civs, shows that only the Greeks are affected by this, as they can only build their respective units (Short Swordsmen for Egyptians, etc…). Thanks to Mike for this little discovery. – Omnivac

    goto top of news

    Strategy Tips – Sun Tzu from SimMayor :
    The great proverbs from Sun Tzu on the Art of War

    Thanks to SimMayor for letting the good words of Sun Tzu come to Heaven. Be sure to visit his site at 
    SimMayor’s Age of Empires Place.

    Sun Tzu’s proverb of the day :
    Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

    Comment by SimMayor : 
    Literally this is very rare in AoE. But if we say without major fights, it happens all the time. Most of the long games show quite early who’s gonna win. There is not much sense to fight for hours and hours if you know you are going to lose finally.

    goto top of news

    Agetoon – By Dis
    New toons
    Don’t worry if your work is not in the toons section. From now on, toons will make the frontpage, and then go in the toon section. So depending on the number of submissions, this could take 4-5 days before you see your artwork in Heaven. – Omnivac

    One BIG AOE2 secret revealed

    More Agetoons here.

    goto top of news

    Searching in Heaven
    Find that little piece of heaven!

      Search for

    goto top of news

    History Tidbits
    Daily fix of real old news
    For a while Heavens angels will bring some history tidbits and trivia in this column. Look here every day for your daily fix of “old news”. – 
    Hamlet

    (want more? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Collection”)

    The Real-life game of Age of Empires
    Here’s my contribution for the history tidbits. Telling the real-life game of Age of Empires. I hope everybody will like it, and I will try not to make it look like a boring history class. Well, this doesn’t exist but that’s my opinion. 🙂 Read and enjoy. – Omnivac

    (Want all the story? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Chronicles”)

    500-200 BC
    The Mahabharata, of which The Bhagavad Gita is a part, is put into final form.

    499 BC
    The Greek cities of Ionia rebells against Persian rule. The Persian king, Darius, crushes the revolt and sack Miletus. Darius invades Greece to punish Athens for the support of the failed revolt in Ionia. A first Persian invasion fails when the Persian fleet was destroyed in a storm off Mount Athos.

    494 BC
    The first victory of the plebeian class over the patricians results in agreement between the two classes to allow the plebeians to elect officers, tribunes, with the power to veto any unlawful acts of the magistrates.

    490-479 BC
    Lasting until 479 BCE, the Greeks initiate war with Persia when Persia, at this time the strongest power in western Asia, establishes rule over Greek-speaking cities in Asia Minor. The Persian Wars are commonly regarded as among the most significant in all of history. Darius the Great is defeated at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The Greeks emerge victorious and put an end to the possibility of Persian despotism.

    486 BC
    A contempoary of Darius the Persian, Heraclitus of Ephesus lives somewhere around this time. For Heraclitus, reality is flux which originated out of fire (as opposed to Parmenides’ “stable” reality — see 515 BC). Plato credits Heraclitus for saying, One cannot step into the same river twice. Heraclitus was also known as the obscure.

    486-465 BC
    Xerxes I is emperor of the Persian Empire.

    485 BC
    Accompanying the high point of democracy in Athens is a Greek intellectual revolution, with its beginnings in Sophism. The Sophists situate ethics and politics within philosophical discourse which, before, was limited to physics and metaphysics alone. The leading Sophist, Protagoras, states his famous doctrine: Man is the measure of all things. For him, all truth, goodness, beauty, etc. are relative to man’s necessities and inquiries. Emerging in opposition to the Sophists are Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, each of whom offers alternatives to the Sophists’ relativism.

    484 BC
    The father of history, Herodotus, is born. He is author of a nine-book History of the Persian War and a book dedicated to his travels through Egypt. He dies in 420.

    481 BC
    The Warring States period begins. The states of Ch’in and Ch’u emerge as the primary competitors in this struggle to found an empire in China. During this period, a four-tiered class structure emerges consisting of the lesser nobility (including scholars), the peasant farmers, the artisans, and the merchants, with the merchants holding the lowest position in society. Known also as the period of the Hundred Schools of Thought, this era sees the emergence of several schools of political philosophy, including the four main schools: Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism and Legalism. The Warring States period ends in 221.

    480 BC
    Xerxes, Darius’ son and successor, launches a third expedition on a massive scale on land and sea. To avoid the risk of losing the fleet in a storm, Xerxes ordered a canal to be dug through the Athos peninsula, a notoriously stormy area. As the army advanced along the Thracian coast Persian diplomats attempted to persuade the Greeks to submit. Many cities and the Greek oracle at Delphi decided to accept Persian terms, but some twenty cities, under the leadership of Sparta, refused to yield.

    On August, 480 BC, 300 Spartans and 5 600 other warriors died at Thermoplylae in a vain attempt to stop the Persian advance. Then, as Xerxes’ army marched south, the Athenians were compelled to evacuate the city, which was burned by the Persians.

    Yet the Persians had difficulty in supplying their army and Xerxes decided to attack the Greek fleet, which had taken refuge in the Strait of Salamis near Athens. In the narrow Strait, the superior Persian fleet became disorganised and the Greeks, by skillful maneuvering, were able to win a decisive victory. Xerxes ordered an immediate retreat to prevent his army from being trapped.

    A token army was left in Greece but this force was destroyed the following year at the Battle of Plataea. After this defeat the Persians abandoned their expansionist aims and the independence of Greek civilization was secured.

    In Sicilia, Greeks of Gelon fights against Carthaginians at Himera, and wins.

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      Headlines – March 14, 1998
    Voting Polls
    This & That
    Strategy Tips – Sun Tzu from SimMayor
    Agetoon by Semaj
    Search the resources of Heaven
    History Tidbits
     

     

    Voting Polls
    Knowing fans of AoE Heaven, to better serve them
    Vote
     now! The poll will last until the end of March. – Omnivac

    Comments on AOEII
    Vote
     now! You can also leave you comments in the form on why you think your #1 choice of the new opinions in AOEII is the best! – The Archangel

    This & That
    Heaven exclusive!
    Bruce Shelley talks to Heaven about Age of Empires II. Mr Shelley was nice enough to take some time out of his very busy schedule to answer a few questions submitted by the “Angels”.

    Head over to our “little brother” and read the interview, and get the lastest known facts. – Omnivac

    Good philosophy for playing AOE

    Sphinx: The ladder’s saying is “it exists so you can compare yourself against the other players in the world”. The actual point of the ladder is competition! You have to go as high as you can or why bother joining it at all. It is kind of a sport for me and I like to do it from time to time. Otherwise-in non ladder games-it is always a random opponent so you gotta play your best. 

    BTW, the ladder for me is to pick a better guy and beat him if possible- not to choose equal rating guys. The rest, especially team games, I do in other rooms. 

    The best players are as mortal. Yes they are! Why are they better? Do they have more efficient brains? I don’t know about that but they play more efficient. How do they do that? Well, that is what we have been trying to figure out. If we did figure it out-how come we can’t use it ourself? 

    There are so many posts on how to go bronze under 15 min but why can’t many do it still? It is possible. There are variables but it IS POSSIBLE! And if you are there as fast as he-he can rush forever-a change of strategy will be required to win. Can you do that better than him? I am sure you can. Can you learn from your mistakes, improve your “time”? BTW, fast upgrading is always good anyway. 

    Choosing equal opponents is fun too. No arguments here. If you can’t make Bronze fast-well, play other opponents. Have fun, who cares-as long as you enjoy it. I enjoy battles with equals and stronger players regardless of result. Just like to be the “king/general” and command those tiny people on the map:-) 

    I do play quite many games with newbies and weaker opponents (like 3 times of what I play on the ladder). I don’t know if they learn but I do. That is when you can try lots of various strats and still have a chance:-) I only hate when some resign after I get a couple of their villagers:-( 

    Once again, if you suspect the guy to be very good-don’t let him play fast civs. BALANCE the game! Always prepare for the worst and build suitable units/defences etc. 

    If the Olympians are too tough for you-no learning cause they kick butt so quick-then don’t play them. Improve your level with others. I have no objections-it is YOUR FUN! 

    Bottom line: you can play whoever you want. Ladder stars do play themself as well so I don’t think they should get bored:-) If you get bored-there are 900 players on the Zone every evening. There will be someone who would like to play you on your conditions:-).

    I couldn’t agree more. Everyone should play AOE with this in mind. You can only become better when you lose, and figure out what went wrong. Otherwise, you will stagnate, and repeat all over the same pattern, on an automatic mode. – Omnivac

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    Strategy Tips – Sun Tzu from SimMayor :
    The great proverbs from Sun Tzu on the Art of War

    Thanks to SimMayor for letting the good words of Sun Tzu come to Heaven. Be sure to visit his site at 
    SimMayor’s Age of Empires Place.

    Sun Tzu’s proverb of the day :
    If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.  Pretend to be weak,that he may grow arrogant.

    Comment by SimMayor : 
    This can be crucial for the game. The enemy may ignore defense and let an open way for you. Hope it’s not just deception by him…

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    Agetoon – By Semaj
    New toons
    Don’t worry if your work is not in the toons section. From now on, toons will make the frontpage, and then go in the toon section. So depending on the number of submissions, this could take 4-5 days before you see your artwork in Heaven. – Omnivac

    “Fetcher la vache!” – Monty Python

    More Agetoons here.

    Messages from the Doc
    If any of you have assembled all sort of units, buildings and fauna in a gif picture as a “bank” for making toons, the Doc would gladly appreciate your help if you could send them to him. Here’s an example for the photon man, made by him, for doing his Time Traveller series.

     

    Email Dr. Fish

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    Searching in Heaven
    Find that little piece of heaven!

      Search for

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    History Tidbits
    Daily fix of real old news
    For a while Heavens angels will bring some history tidbits and trivia in this column. Look here every day for your daily fix of “old news”. – 
    Hamlet

    (want more? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Collection”)

    The Real-life game of Age of Empires
    Here’s my contribution for the history tidbits. Telling the real-life game of Age of Empires. I hope everybody will like it, and I will try not to make it look like a boring history class. Well, this doesn’t exist but that’s my opinion. 🙂 Read and enjoy. – Omnivac

    (Want all the story? Then go to “History Tidbits – The Chronicles”)

    540 BC
    Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, is born. He will die around 486.

    539 BC
    Cyrus the Persian captures Babylon after the New Babylonian leader, Belshazaar, fails to read “the handwriting on the wall.” Cyrus founds the Persian Empire which lasts until 331 BCE, when it is conquered by Alexander the Great. Cyrus returns some of the exiled Hebrews to Palestine; others among the Hebrews prefer to stay in Babylon, where a second Jewish center is established, the first being the one in Jerusalem.

    537 BC
    Cyrus the Persian campaigns west of the Indus River.

    535 BC
    The sea battle of Alasia, near Corsica, opposes Greek colonists against Etruscans and Carthageneans.

    530 BC
    Pythagoras and his followers found the city of Croton and combine philosophy and literature with political activity as the foundation of their community. Pythagoras, mathematician and philosopher, is credited with the Pythagorean theorem and the Pythagorean table of opposites (the “dualism” that underlies Greek thought).

    529 BC
    Cyrus dies leaving behind him the largest empire to date. His son, Cambyses, succeeds him and adds to the empire by conquering Egypt.

    525 BC
    Egypt is conquered by the Persians, who rule until 405. From this point onward, Egypt is ruled by Persian or Greek forces.

    525 BC
    Greek drama grows out of the Dionysian festivals. The plays of Aeschylus are considered to be the beginning of this long history of tragic drama. His stories are drawn from conflicts between the individual and the cosmos.

    521 BC
    Darius I (“The Great”) succeeds Cambyses as emperor of Persia. He engages in many large building programs, including a system of roads. In addition, he institutes the first postal system.

    520-516 BC
    The Hebrews rebuild Solomon’s Temple which had been destroyed in the sack of 586, thereby beginning the Second Temple period of Hebrew History.

    518 BC
    Pindar, considered by some to be the greatest Greek lyric poet, is born in Cynoscephalae, Boeotia. Pindar’s odes celebrate games held at the religious festivals of Greece. Athletic victory serves as the ground for his poetic fancy and his religious, moral, and aesthetic insights. He dies in 438 BCE.

    517-509 BC
    Darius the Persian conquers the Indus Valley region, making the area a province of the Persian Empire.

    516 BC
    Darius’ expansion dream to the north is stopped at the Danube, mainly due to the encroaching Schytians established there.

    515 BC
    Parmenides of Elea is born. He is the founder of the Eleatic school in the Phocaean colony in southern Italy. He is the first to focus attention on the central problem of Greek metaphysics: the nature of being. For Parmenides, the laws governing the universe are stable. Change is merely an illusion.

    510 BC
    Hippias, the son of Peisistratus, succeeds his father and is overthrown by a group of nobles with the help of Sparta.

    509 BC
    The Roman monarchy is overthrown and replaced with a republic. For more than two centuries following the establishment of the Roman Republic, Rome is constantly at war with the other inhabitants of Italy (the Etruscans and the Greeks).

    508 BC
    Cleisthenes, the father of Athenian democracy, rules Athens. His reforms grant full rights to all free men of Athens.

    500 BC
    The height of Greek sculpture begins with the work of Phidias. His masterpieces include the statue of Athena in the Parthenon, the Parthenon reliefs and the statue of Zeus in the Temple of Olympian Zeus. The second most important sculptor, Myron, is renowned for his statue of the discus thrower.

    Apparition of the word “Celts”, designing barbarians from the east who comes to occupy a large part of Europe. Herodotos situates their origin at the sources of the Danube.

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