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Contents
Chapter 1: Playing the game......................................................... 1
About Age of Empires ..................................................................................... 2 Installing Age of Empires ............................................................................. 3 Starting Age of Empires ................................................................................ 4 Getting started .............................................................................................. 4 Choosing a game .............................................................................................. 7 Winning a game ................................................................................................ 8 Choosing a civilization ................................................................................ 12 Playing a random map, death match, or scenario .................................... 12 Playing a campaign ....................................................................................... 14 Playing a saved game ................................................................................... 15 Playing a multiplayer game ........................................................................ 15 Using the interface ..................................................................................... 20
Chapter 2: Exploring the map ..................................................... 23
Exploring ....................................................................................................... 24 Grouping villagers, military units, and boats ......................................... 24 Moving villagers, military units, and boats ............................................. 25 Transporting units across water .............................................................. 26 Terrain ........................................................................................................... 26
Chapter 3: Building your civilization ....................................... 27
Gathering resources ................................................................................... 28 Villager tasks .............................................................................................. 30 Creating villagers, military units, and boats ......................................... 31 Constructing buildings ............................................................................... 32 Repairing buildings and boats .................................................................... 33 Trading ........................................................................................................... 34
Chapter 4: Researching Technology ......................................... 35
About technology ......................................................................................... 36 Advancing through the ages ....................................................................... 37 Researching technology ............................................................................. 39 Upgrading military units, boats, walls, and towers ............................... 40
Chapter 5: Engaging in combat ................................................... 41
Engaging in combat....................................................................................... 42 Diplomacy ....................................................................................................... 43 Allied victory ............................................................................................... 43 Tribute ........................................................................................................... 44 Healing villagers and military units ........................................................ 45
Converting enemy units ............................................................................... 45 Unit attributes ............................................................................................. 46
Chapter 6: Creating and customizing scenarios and campaigns .......... 47
Using the scenario builder ......................................................................... 48 Using the campaign editor ........................................................................... 62
Chapter 7: Ancient Cultures ...................................................... 63
Assyrian culture (1800 to 600 BC) ............................................................ 64 Babylonian culture (1900 to 539 BC) ....................................................... 67 Ancient Choson culture (2333 to 108 BC) ................................................ 71 Egyptian culture (5000 to 30 BC) .............................................................. 74 Greek culture (2100 to 146 BC) ................................................................. 77 Hittite culture (2000 to 1200 BC) ............................................................. 82 Minoan culture (2200 to 1200 BC) ............................................................. 85 Persian culture (700 to 332 BC) ................................................................ 88 Phoenician culture (1200 to 146 BC) ........................................................ 92 Shang culture (1800 to 1000 BC) ............................................................... 95 Sumerian culture (5000 to 2230 BC) ......................................................... 99 Yamato culture (300 to 800 AD) ............................................................... 103
Appendix ....................................................................................... 107
Unit Attributes Table ................................................................................ 108 Technology Costs & Benefits Table ......................................................... 109 Building Attributes Tables ....................................................................... 110 Assyrian Technology Tree ........................................................................ 111 Babylonian Technology Tree .................................................................... 112 Ancient Choson Technology Tree ............................................................ 113 Egyptian Technology Tree ......................................................................... 114 Greek Technology Tree ............................................................................. 115 Hittite Technology Tree ............................................................................ 116 Minoan Technology Tree............................................................................ 117 Persian Technology Tree .......................................................................... 118 Phoenician Technology Tree ..................................................................... 119 Shang Technology Tree ............................................................................. 120 Sumerian Technology Tree ........................................................................ 121 Yamato Technology Tree ........................................................................... 122
Index ............................................................................................. 123 Credits ......................................................................................... 126
To play the learning campaign 1 2 3 4 5 On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player. Click Campaign. Type your player name, or click a player name in the Name list. Click OK to display the list of campaigns. 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. Select the Difficulty Level (the skill of civilizations controlled by the computer). The levels range from easy to hardest. Click OK to start the scenario. After the cinematic plays, 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.
6 7
Setting up a game
Before you start a game, you must choose which type of game to play--single player or multiplayer, and random map, scenario, or campaign, as explained in "Choosing a game" in this chapter. The type of game you choose determines what you must do to win the game, as explained in "Winning a game" in this chapter. You can play one of twelve mighty civilizations, each with different strengths and weaknesses, as explained in "Choosing a civilization" in this chapter.
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 to move to. Enemy buildings and walls are not visible until you explore the area of the map where they are located. For more information, see "Exploring," and "Moving villagers, military units, and boats" in Chapter 2. 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 bus ...