Age of Empires Online
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Developers | |
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Robot Entertainment | |
Gas Powered Games | |
Publishers | |
Microsoft Studios | |
Engines | |
BANG! | |
Release dates | |
Windows | August 16, 2011 |
Taxonomy | |
Monetization | Free-to-play, DLC |
Microtransactions | Currency |
Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing | Real-time |
Perspectives | Isometric |
Controls | Multiple select, Point and select |
Genres | RTS |
Art styles | Cartoon |
Themes | Africa, Classical, Egypt, Europe, Middle East, Historical |
Series | Age of Empires |
Warnings
- For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
- This game requires a constant internet connection for all game modes.
Age of Empires Online was a free-to-play online multiplayer online real time strategy game originally developed by Robot Entertainment until February 24, 2011, when Gas Powered Games took over, and published by Microsoft Studios. Part of the Age of Empires series, the game has players develop an ancient civilization from rise to fall. Players also develop their own capital city for each of the game's six civilizations, all which continue to exist even when offline.
The game was released on August 16, 2011 via Games for Windows - LIVE, with a Steam release on March 27, 2012.
Further game development ceased on January 3, 2013. On August 22, 2013, Microsoft announced that the Games for Windows - LIVE Marketplace would be shut down, only allowing for current or former players to download the game. Servers were shut down on July 1, 2014.[1][2] However, in 2017, Age of Empires Online was revived by an independent development team using Microsoft's publicly-released developer kit for the game in the form of Project Celeste. Re-released using a non-commercial license from Microsoft, it includes all features and functions, including single-player and multiplayer modes, from the original release, plus balance improvements, bug fixes, and new content, which includes the Roman civilization that was previously being developed prior to the game's end of development.
General information
- Official website for the series
- Official Discord server for the series
- Official forums
- Steam Community Discussions
- Project Celeste Discord
Availability
Source | DRM | Notes | Keys | OS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Retail | ||||
Games for Windows Marketplace (unavailable) | [3] | |||
Steam (unavailable) |
- All official versions required Games for Windows - LIVE DRM[Note 1] and a constant internet connection for all game modes.
- No longer listed on Steam but can be installed by pasting this URL into a web browser:
steam://install/105430
. Additionally, Project Celeste, which is required to play the game today, provides a standalone version for download.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Premium Egyptian Civilization Pack | ||
Premium Greek Civilization Pack | ||
Defense of Crete Booster Pack | ||
Pro Persian Civilization | ||
Skirmish Booster Pack | ||
Premium Celtic Civilization Pack | ||
Summer Exclusive | ||
Empires Online Domination Pack | ||
Pro Civilization Command Pack | ||
Steam Starter Pack | ||
Celebration Grab Bag | ||
Empire Booster Bundle |
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Spartan\Users2\NewProfile2.xml |
Steam Play (Linux) | <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/105430/pfx/[Note 2] |
Save game cloud syncing
System | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
Steam Cloud |
Video
Graphics feature | State | WSGF | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | |||
Multi-monitor | |||
Ultra-widescreen | |||
4K Ultra HD | |||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | Toggle in settings or with Alt+↵ Enter. | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | Set resolution in-game then toggle in settings or with Alt+↵ Enter. | ||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | |||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | Choice of Off, Low or High. | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | |||
60 FPS and 120+ FPS | |||
High dynamic range display (HDR) | See the glossary page for potential alternatives. | ||
Color blind mode | UI options, Friend or Foe Colors; player is blue, allies yellow, enemies red. |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | ||
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support |
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | SFX, Ambient and Music. | |
Surround sound | ||
Subtitles | Dialogue is text-based. | |
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | Always mutes (no option to override). | |
Royalty free audio |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | Some incidental dialogue, but is otherwise text-based. | |||
Traditional Chinese | ||||
French | ||||
German | ||||
Italian | ||||
Spanish |
Network
- Official release required a Microsoft account (local profiles were not supported).
- Project Celeste account required for online play today.
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
LAN play | |||
Online play | Official servers have been shut down; Project Celeste required to play the game today. |
Connection types
Type | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
Matchmaking | ||
Peer-to-peer | All player-vs-player matches are peer-to-peer.[4] | |
Dedicated | ||
Self-hosting | ||
Direct IP |
Issues fixed
Crash to desktop when loading
- For some players the game may crash to the desktop after loading.
Task-switch while loading game[citation needed] |
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"Missing a valid product key" or "Enter the product key for your game" prompt
Install Marketplace client[5] |
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Accept new license agreement[citation needed] |
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|
Game doesn't start after clicking Play (no error message)
Install Games for Windows Marketplace Client[citation needed] |
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Install the Games for Windows Marketplace Client. |
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 9.0c | |
Shader Model support | 2.0 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | ||
Operating system (OS) | XP SP3, Vista, 7 | |
Processor (CPU) | Dual Core, 2 GHz or higher | |
System memory (RAM) | 1 GB (XP, Vista Home Basic); 1.5 GB (Vista Premium/Ultimate, 7 32-bit); 2.5 GB (7 64-bit) | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | 128 MB of VRAM Shader model 2 support |
|
Other | Broadband internet connection |
Notes
- ↑ Games for Windows - LIVE DRM features: SSA activation, requires a Microsoft account - local profiles are not supported.
- ↑ File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in
~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/105430/
in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (105430) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
References
- ↑ The End of the World | Age of Empires Blog
- ↑ Blog | Age of Empires Online - The Rest of AOEO
- ↑ Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace - last accessed on 19 August 2022
- ↑ Age of Empires Online - Cant connect to some players, others work fine - last accessed on 17 May 2023
- ↑ Age of Empires Online - SOLUTION: “Missing a valid product key” / “Enter your Product Key”