Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition

[Genava55]

 

[Genava55]

 

 

[Genava55]

Interesting article about Age of Empire original technology, based on Assembly:

https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-empires-developer-confirms-the-game-is-mostly-written-in-low-level-assembly-code-because-we-could-scroll-the-screen-and-fill-it-with-sprites-as-fast-or-faster-than-competitors-like-starcraft-even-though-we-had-twice-as-many-pixels/

This isn't quite on those lines, but a redditor recently noted that Chris Sawyer wrote Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 and 2 in Assembly language, and apparently Age of Empires was the same: "AoE is written in Assembly: is this actually TRUE?!" It's important to note that this wasn't uncommon back in the day, though it would still be pretty remarkable if an entire game was hard-coded this way. Assembly language, to be as brief as possible, is any low-level coding language that communicates more directly with a computer's architecture than high-level languages like C++.

The question about whether Age of Empires was coded in Assembly language hit gold in the replies thanks to Matt Pritchard, one of the founding members of Ensemble Studios, who was in charge of graphics and optimisation on the early games, and on the later HD / DE editions the coding lead.

"I guess I can clarify this, since I wrote all the assembly code used in Age of Empires and Age of Kings, along with many other parts of those games," says Pritchard. "There were about ~13,000 lines of x86 32-bit assembly code written in total."

[...]

The Assembly code remained in use even by the time of Age of Kings: HD edition (a 32-bit game), but Pritchard "re-wrote the assembly functions into C++ for both Definitive Editions, as they are 64-bit programs and inline assembly was never supported by the 64-bit C++ compiler, and the vastly improved register sets and compiler optimizations made it unnecessary. Additionally, sprite drawing in the definitive editions is multi-threaded, and will use up to 4 cores for that task alone."

[Lion.Kanzen]

All AoE franchise February 23 2024.

 

[Genava55]

The Victors and Vanquished DLC is coming for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on March 14th 2024

This DLC contains 19 scenarios.

[Lion.Kanzen]

So many DLCs It's starting to look like a Capcom game with the DLCs.

[Lion.Kanzen]

What a cool unit.

 

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

1 minute ago, Lion.Kanzen said:

What a cool unit.

 

 

I originally saw it in a short on YouTube in Spanish.

 

[Lion.Kanzen]

 

 

[Genava55]

A lot of changes in upcoming patch

https://forums.ageofempires.com/t/pup-march-2024-patch-notes/249794

[Lion.Kanzen]

Oops duplicated post.

Edited March 8, 2024 by Lion.Kanzen

[Lion.Kanzen]

 

 

[Genava55]

An interesting video about the assembly code of the original AoE.

(Remember the definitive edition has been rewritten in C++)

On 10/01/2024 at 9:35 PM, Genava55 said:

Interesting article about Age of Empire original technology, based on Assembly:

https://www.pcgamer.com/age-of-empires-developer-confirms-the-game-is-mostly-written-in-low-level-assembly-code-because-we-could-scroll-the-screen-and-fill-it-with-sprites-as-fast-or-faster-than-competitors-like-starcraft-even-though-we-had-twice-as-many-pixels/

This isn't quite on those lines, but a redditor recently noted that Chris Sawyer wrote Rollercoaster Tycoon 1 and 2 in Assembly language, and apparently Age of Empires was the same: "AoE is written in Assembly: is this actually TRUE?!" It's important to note that this wasn't uncommon back in the day, though it would still be pretty remarkable if an entire game was hard-coded this way. Assembly language, to be as brief as possible, is any low-level coding language that communicates more directly with a computer's architecture than high-level languages like C++.

The question about whether Age of Empires was coded in Assembly language hit gold in the replies thanks to Matt Pritchard, one of the founding members of Ensemble Studios, who was in charge of graphics and optimisation on the early games, and on the later HD / DE editions the coding lead.

"I guess I can clarify this, since I wrote all the assembly code used in Age of Empires and Age of Kings, along with many other parts of those games," says Pritchard. "There were about ~13,000 lines of x86 32-bit assembly code written in total."

[...]

The Assembly code remained in use even by the time of Age of Kings: HD edition (a 32-bit game), but Pritchard "re-wrote the assembly functions into C++ for both Definitive Editions, as they are 64-bit programs and inline assembly was never supported by the 64-bit C++ compiler, and the vastly improved register sets and compiler optimizations made it unnecessary. Additionally, sprite drawing in the definitive editions is multi-threaded, and will use up to 4 cores for that task alone."

 

[Genava55]

Description from their website:

openage is a free (as in freedom) cross-platform RTS game engine that provides the mechanics of Age of Empires.

We use C++20, OpenGL/GLSL, Python, Qt and CMake to allow people using GNU/Linux, BSD, macOS or Windows to play the game natively.

Our aim is to make openage a platform for the original Age of Empires games providing the same look and feel, but with more features for modding and multiplayer.

Engine: openage is intended as a powerful platform that runs any Age of Empires release and can even be used to make your own RTS games!

Modding: openage uses an open API powered by our human-readable, easy-to-understand configuration languages.

Multiplayer: We are implementing a client-server architecture with dedicated servers that supports more than 8 players. The overarching system will provide matchmaking, lobbies, server discovery and other community features.

openage is a community project that values every contribution, the only requirement is your enthusiasm. Don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you want to help!

Edited April 2 by Genava55

[Genava55]

 

[Genava55]

 

[Genava55]

Did the Mamluks really ride on camels, like we see in Age of Empires II? Did they fire arrows or throw scimitars? From the exhibition "Mamluks 1250-1517," curators Souraya Noujaim and Carine Juvin analyze this video game franchise and the representation of this warrior elite, described by Adam Isgreen, Creative Director of World's Edge, the studio behind the "Age of Empires" franchise. From June 10 to July 11, an exceptional program of content and events produced in partnership with World's Edge, Xbox and the Louvre Museum is available to the public!

[Deicide4u]

Liu Bei (Shu Civ unique unit)

 

Seems like a 1:1 copy of a 0 A.D. hero concept. It even has an aura.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

On 14/06/2025 at 1:38 PM, Deicide4u said:

Liu Bei (Shu Civ unique unit)

 

Seems like a 1:1 copy of a 0 A.D. hero concept. It even has an aura.

These civs should have been Chronicles civs. They really screwed up by making them multiplayer civs. 

[Deicide4u]

Honestly, 0 A.D. is a better game. I'm obviously talking about the standard Skirmish and Random map games, since we still don't have any good official campaigns.

The main thing for me is, it took a while to understand when exactly to switch to training soldiers. If you get comfortable enough, you will get the timing naturally. It usually coincides with the switch to farming, so once you have your initial farms, making additional women is only desired if more farms are needed to balance the economy. 

Once you accept that, it's much easier to enjoy the game. You just boom, make units and everything is good.

Age of Empires, on the other hand, is a much more stressful game. You need to advance to the Castle age ASAP, or you risk falling behind in relics and economy. We often joke that you need to reach the City phase in 0 A.D. fast, but we at least can make new Civic Centers in the second phase. And, there is no unit conversion by priests.

Battles are much more chaotic in 0 A.D. owning to a fact that there is much more fighting units. Boom games in AoE2 can often lead to some absurdity, like having 115 villagers and 5 military units. 

Anyway, I needed to rant a bit.

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

20 hours ago, Deicide4u said:

Age of Empires, on the other hand, is a much more stressful game. You need to advance to the Castle age ASAP, or you risk falling behind in relics and economy. We often joke that you need to reach the City phase in 0 A.D. fast, but we at least can make new Civic Centers in the second phase. And, there is no unit conversion by priests.

Battles are much more chaotic in 0 A.D. owning to a fact that there is much more fighting units. Boom games in AoE2 can often lead to some absurdity, like having 115 villagers and 5 military units. 

 

That is patently untrue.  Fast castle strategies are high risk since they involve surrendering map control and walling your base.  This can mean that you can lose access to key resources; the advantage comes in either being able to build two Town Centres to boom economically or potentially do a knight rush, both of which have a means to counter.  

Playing a game with 115 villagers and only 5 military units is only plausible on a map like Arena, and that sort of greedy strategy can usually be punished.  Given the emphasis on micro in Age of Empires battles, smaller armies are a good thing.