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,- _~, _-_, _-_,
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(( || || || || || \\ || || || \\ ||_. ~|| ~||
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.---------------------------------------------------------------------.
| Age of Empires II - MP Guide / Version Final / Dec 21st, 2004 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Written by Jim Chamberlin <[email protected]> |
| |
| This document Copyright © 2001 Jim Chamberlin. All rights reserved. |
'---------------------------------------------------------------------'

Email Policy:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
If you are going to email me about this game, please put
AoE II as the subject. Just AoE II. Also please realize
that I am not hiding cheats or any other information,
i.e. everything I know about AoE II is in this guide.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Version - 1.0 Everything is new, of course.
1.5 Added some more things. I also deleted a few things.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Table of Contents
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1. Introduction

2. Finding Players and Gameplay

3. More on Gameplay

4. Troubleshooting

5. Net Links

6. Acknowledgments

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

Introduction

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This FAQ only covers one aspect of Age of Empires II, the Multiplayer games.

Meeting and finding AoE players is pretty easy if you know where to look, and
I'll tell you all about that sort of thing.

I will not be including any Multiplayer GamePlay tips, just so you know.

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

Finding Players and Gameplay

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding Age of Empires players is quite easy, actually. I was going to make
a list of people availavle for MP (MultiPlayer) games, but I've decided not
to do so.

Most AoE players have ICQ, so you could run a search for that in ICQ.

Going to AoE II websites will also allow you to find players. A few of the
better sites have started a "community" page, which allows people to send in
their ICQ Number and desired game types, for example. I've listed a few of
those sites below, so check them out.

Once you've found a person, or more than one to play with, you can play a
game.

You may be wondering where to play a game. Well, I recommend Microsoft's
Zone (http://www.zone.com). It's the only place I've played a Multiplayer
game, so that's the only place I can suggest, although there are other
places to do so.

Starting a MP game is easy. If you need any help, the Zone has a short list
of Instructions. It's really easy to do, so don't stress it.

If you are unable to find someone to play with, just go to the Zone, and
enter one of the provided rooms. There are a few things that you must be
warned of, if you're a "Newbie" or "Rookie". The main thing is the difference
in experience. If a person's Zone name starts with a few letters (2-4), and
has an underscore (_), stay away from him/her. Chances are, that person is
part of a clan. Clan members are some of the very best AoE II players. Most
clans make you go through a series of hard games just to be part of the clan,
so they are very experienced for the most part.

Another thing you should know is the Computer's AI is WAY different when
compared to a human's intelligence. RTS (Real-time Strategy) is the genre
for this game, so the faster you can make things go, the better you can be.

Well, I guess that's not totally true, but it's a general idea. I mean, not
all of the better AoE II players are fast, so speed isn't everything, so keep
that in mind. Strategy and planning are all the true concepts to winning.

A number of people have asked me who is the best AoE II player. Well, in my
opinion, there isn't a "Best" of anything. Everyone has their off-days, so it
is a dumb concept. All I have to say, is that if you look at the back of the
game manuals (back-inside) cover, you'll see a list of Playtesters and
Quality Assurance people. These are usually some of the best AoE II players
in the World. Probably the most known AoE II player from the United States
is Kevin "The Sheriff" Holme.

Is the United States the best country for AoE II players? Not necessarily.
In fact, some of the very best PC gamers live in Asia, thus the reason for so
many tournaments over there.

What's the best AoE II clan? I have no idea. I'm not part of one, and I
don't really plan to be part of one. One of the better ones is DBD, which
stands for "Death Before Dishonor."

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

More on Gameplay

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one likes a quitter, especially if it's in the first ten minutes of
gameplay. You will be added to someone's quitter/loser list fairly quickly.
I've even heard that a few of the smaller AoE II sites have lists for that.

Do not cheat! Many people will specifically disable cheats, so don't use
cheats unless it's a rare game and cheating is the main focus. There are
occasionally a few games like this, you'll just have to look for one.

Watch your mouth! No one likes being cussed at during a game, and if you
do it too much, they will just leave the game. Sure you may claim a
victory for that game, but you will NOT make friends that way. Think before
you speak...er, type.

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

Troubleshooting

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* One thing that may not allow you to connect and play a multiplayer game is
the existence of an in-home network. Dan Simpson and I ran into that once,
and it was extremely annoying. If you have a network, disable it prior to
attempting to join a multiplayer game.

* Ping times are still somewhat of a mystery to me. I have no solutions for
getting them higher, other than getting a faster modem (cable, DSL, etc).

Keldron sent this to me:

"The ping is actually depends on how far you live from the person. The
lower it is, the closer you are, and the faster the game will be. For
example, the ping for someone 1 mile away could be 1, while 2500 miles
away could be 248, etc."

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

Net Links

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- http://www.zone.com - Microsoft Gaming Zone

- http://throughtheages.com - Through The Ages

- http://aoe2.com - AoE 2.com

- http://ageofkings.com - Age of Kings.com

- http://planetageofempires.com - Planet Age of Empires.com

- http://zone.com/conquerers - Microsoft Zone page for The Conquerers

- http://zone.com/age2 - Microsoft Zone page for Age of Kings (AoE II)

- http://aok.heavengames.com/market/icq - An ICQ List for AoE II players

- http://planetageofempires.com/community/zone - Zone Name List

- http://aokdb.com/cgi-bin/players.cgi?Game=AOEC

- http://aokdb.com/cgi-bin/players.cgi?Game=AOK

,,,
(o o)
---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo----------------------------------

Acknowledgments

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Jeff Veasey and GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) for hosting this FAQ.

- Al Amaloo and Game Winners (http://www.gamewinners.com) for hosting this
FAQ.

- Dave Allison and Cheat Code Central (http://www.cheatcc.com) for hosting
this FAQ.

- Marshmallow for the idea for the header.

- Keldron for a submission on Ping times.

- WinAmp (http://www.winamp.com) for providing a great program for allowing
me to listen to my large sound and music library. Without it, FAQ writing
would just be too boring to mess with.

- Gateway for providing a quality computer system. Too bad Hewlett Packard
couldn't do the same. :(

- GameSages (http://sages.ign.com) for any codes and tips that may be in here

- XCheater (http://xcheater.com) for any codes and tips that may be in here

- Game Winners (http://gamewinners.com) for any codes and tips that may be in
here

- GameFAQs (http://gamefaqs.com) for any codes and tips that may be in here

- Everyone else who may have a site whose codes I may have used in here

- I'd also like to thank my stash of notebooks, folder, and misc papers. They
make up the collection of my codes, hints, tips, etc, etc. For those of you
who are curious, the sources of the codes are unknown. I mean, over the
years, I've written and printed lists of codes, hints, etc from all games
from the world, so I cann't truthfully say where they came from, other than
the fact, that I did write them on paper. So, if they came from a certain
website or a person, well, I can't say, because I'm unable to remember back
that far.

ASCII Art created using SigZag by James Dill: (freeware!)
http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/marina/4942/sigzag.htm

This FAQ was writen entirely using the GWD Text Editor: (shareware)
http://www.gwdsoft.com/

- There are many, many text editors out there (even completely free), but
this is certainly one of the absolute best editors out there. Also,
be sure to support the software developer(s); they did a lot of hard
work on this.

This Document is Copyright 2001 Jim Chamberlin. All Rights Reserved.

This guide can be FREELY distributed as long as you agree to a few
things:

- You do not alter this guide, leaving it in the original .txt
file format
- You do not charge for viewing this guide. This includes, but
is not limited to websites, cds, dvds, magazines, etc.
- You give me credit.
- Visit GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) on a regular basis and
download any updates to the guide. Authors hate responding to
questions that were answered in newer versions of the guide.

///, ////
\ /, / >.
\ /, _/ /.
- (C)Jim Chamberlin \_ /_/ /.
_____ _____ \__/_ <
/ __ \__________ / __ \___ _ _____ _________ _ ____ __ /<<< \_\_
/ / / / ___/ __ \ / / / / // \/ __ \/ ___/ Y \/__/ \/ / /,)^>>_._ \
/ /_/ / _/_/ /_/ // /_/ / _~ / /_/ / _/_/ \ / /> < (/ \\ /\\\
/__/ \ >____/_____// ____/__//__/\_____/_____/__//__/\_//__/\_\ // ````
======\/============\_/========[[email protected]]============((`=======