Q258772: AoE: How to Play Age of Empires
Article: Q258772
Product(s): Microsoft Home Games
Version(s): WINDOWS:1.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): aoe kbimu msgame
Last Modified: 12-NOV-2001
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Age of Empires, version 1.0
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SUMMARY
=======
This article discusses Microsoft Age of Empires (AOE), and how to play the game.
This information is taken from the online help within AOE, and can also be found
in the printed Game Reference manual that is provided with the Age of Empires
CD-ROM.
MORE INFORMATION
================
The theme of Age of Empires is the rise of the first great civilizations over
the 12,000 years that followed the last Ice Age.
Your goal is to build your tribe into a mighty civilization that can vie for
world (game) dominance (victory). You begin the game in the Stone Age with a
small tribe of villagers on an unexplored map.
As you move your tribesmen over the map, you reveal different types of terrain,
locate sources of food, wood, stone, and gold, which villagers gather by
hunting, fishing, foraging, farming, chopping trees, and mining. You must gather
enough resources and build enough housing to support your growing civilization.
Constructing buildings lets you train military units and boats to defend your
civilization or attack enemy civilizations on land or at sea. Constructing
buildings also lets you research technologies that benefit your civilization,
such as increasing the resources you can gather or the strength of your military
units.
As you advance through the ages, you can build new buildings, create new boats
and military units, and research new technologies.
You can establish alliances with other civilizations, exchange tribute, and
establish trade routes. Other civilizations are controlled by human or computer
players.
The winner of a game is determined by the victory conditions of the scenario. You
can play a variety of predesigned single player campaigns, as well as single
player or multiplayer random maps or scenarios. In addition, you can use the
scenario builder to create your own custom scenarios.
Learning to Play
----------------
The best way to learn the basics of Age of Empires is to play the Ascent of Egypt
learning campaign that is provided with the game.
You will learn how to hunt, stockpile resources, construct buildings, and engage
in combat.
To play the Ascent of Egypt learning campaign, follow these steps:
1. On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player.
2. Click Campaign.
3. Type the name of your player, or click a player name in the Name list.
4. Click OK to display the list of campaigns.
5. Select the Ascent of Egypt Learning Campaign. Only the first scenario is
displayed. After you complete a scenario, the next scenario in the campaign
appears at the end of the list.
6. Select the Difficulty Level (the skill of civilizations that are controlled
by the computer). The difficulty levels range from easiest to hardest.
7. Click OK to start playing the scenario.
After the introductory movie is played, the scenario instructions are revealed.
To display the scenario instructions while you are playing the game, click the
Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Scenario Instructions.
Starting on an Unexplored Map
-----------------------------
You start the game with a few villagers and a Town Center on an unexplored
(black) map. Moving a villager into the black area reveals the map terrain. To
move a villager, click the villager, and then right-click the location on the
map that you want to move to.
Enemy buildings and walls are not visible until you explore the area of the map
where they are located.
As you explore the map, you discover resources to increase your stockpile of
food, wood, stone, and gold. Villagers can chop trees for wood, forage berry
bushes, hunt animals, and catch fish for food, as well as mine for stone and
gold.
To assign a villager a task, click a villager, and then right-click a work site,
such as a tree, animal, or stone mine. You can also increase your stockpile by
trading with or receiving tribute from other civilizations.
Building Your Civilization
--------------------------
You use the resources (food, wood, stone, gold) in your stockpile to construct
buildings. You need to build enough Houses to support the population of your
civilization. Each House supports four villagers, boats, or military units. Each
civilization can create a maximum of 50 villagers, military units, and boats.
Advancing Through the Ages
--------------------------
The resources in your stockpile are also used to advance through the ages. There
are four ages: Stone Age, Tool Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. You typically
start the game in the Stone Age and strive to advance to the Iron Age. To
advance to the next age, you must have a Town Center and build two different
buildings from the current age.
Once you have fulfilled these conditions, click the Town Center, and then click
the Advance to Next Age button.
As you advance through the ages, you can build new buildings and military units
and research technologies that benefit your civilization. For example,
researching Leather Armor decreases the damage your military units receive in
combat. The buildings, military units, and technologies that are available
depend on which civilization you are playing.
The technology trees for each civilization are located in the Appendix of the Age
of Empires Game Reference manual and in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires
CD-ROM.
Engaging in Combat
------------------
Military units and villagers can engage in combat on land. War ships can engage
in combat at sea.
To win a game by military conquest, your civilization (or team) must destroy all
enemy villagers, military units, war ships, and buildings. You do not need to
destroy trade vessels, transport vessels, fishing vessels, Artifacts, Ruins, or
walls.
You can also pursue an allied victory with other civilizations.
Wounded villagers and military units can be healed by a Priest. Enemy villagers,
military units, buildings, and boats can be converted by a Priest. Damaged
buildings and boats can be repaired by a villager.
Winning the Game
----------------
In a random map or death match, you can win the game by achieving any one of the
standard victory conditions. Players can pursue any of the standard victory
conditions to win.
For example, player 1 might attempt to control all Artifacts, player 2 might
attempt to build a Wonder, and player 3 might attempt to achieve military
conquest. The first player to be successful wins the game.
The standard victory conditions include:
- Artifacts (the first player to control and hold all Artifacts wins the game)
- Conquest (the first player to conquer all enemies wins the game)
- Ruins (the first player to control and hold all Ruins wins the game)
- Wonders (the first player to build and hold a Wonder wins the game)
If you do not want to use the standard victory conditions, you can also choose
your own victory conditions:
- Conquest (all players compete to achieve military conquest)
- Score (all players compete to achieve the specified score)
- Time Limit (all players compete to achieve the highest score within the
specified time limit)
You can change the victory conditions in both single player games and multiplayer
games.
Additional query words: 1.00 msgame aoe ages ror rise of rome expansion pack
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Keywords : aoe kbimu msgame
Technology : kbHomeProdSearch kbAOE kbGamesSearch kbZNotKeyword kbAOESearch
Version : WINDOWS:1.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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