Age of Empires 1.0b Update: Contents of Readme.doc File
  
PSS ID Number: Q185420
Article last modified on 05-24-1999
 
WINDOWS:1.0b
 
WINDOWS
 

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Age of Empires, version 1.0b 
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SUMMARY
=======
 
The following information is contained in the Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0b
Update Readme.doc file. This text has not been modified and appears as is.
 
README.DOC
 
Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0b Readme File
April 1998
(c) Microsoft Corporation, 1998
 
Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0b is an upgrade of Age of Empires 1.0 that
includes several enhancements and bug fixes.
 
Version Compatibility:
 
If you are playing a multiplayer game, all players must be using the
   same version of Age of Empires.
 
If you are playing a saved game, it must be from the same version of
   Age of Empires you currently have installed. For example, you cannot
   save a game using version 1.0b, then revert to version 1.0 and play the
   game saved in version 1.0b.
 
Microsoft Age of Empires 1.0b includes the following changes:
 
Enhancements:
 
Population Limits -- If you are playing a multiplayer game, the game
   host can increase or decrease the 50-unit population limit by adding
   the Limit= parameter to the Age of Empires command line. For more
   information about this feature, see "Changing the Population Limit"
   later in this Readme file.
 
Stand Ground -- The Stand Ground button prevents Stone Throwers,
   Catapults, Heavy Catapults, Catapult Triremes, and Juggernaughts from
   firing. For all other units, the Stand Ground button causes the unit to
   remain in its location and fire at military units, boats, buildings,
   and walls within its range.
 
Attack Response -- When a unit is attacked, all units and allied units
   within two tiles of the unit under attack respond, even if the attacking
   unit is out of their sight. Villagers that have been assigned a task but
   are no longer working now react to attacks.
 
Bug Fixes:
 
Infinite Resources During High Latency -- Buildings no longer return
   more resources than they originally cost if you press the DELETE key
   several times during high latency.
 
Multiple Town Centers During High Latency -- You can no longer build
   multiple Town Centers if you delete your Town Center in the Tool Age or
   Stone Age and then quickly build several new ones during high latency.
 
Way Points -- Villagers no longer complete tasks at a way point that
   is not at a work site. The way point or villager must be at the actual
   work site (fishing spot, building site, etc.) before they can work.
   For example, you can no longer use way points to construct a building
   on the other side of a wall.
 
Group Movement -- Grouped units no longer stop when they bump into
   each other. Also, movement has been improved so a group of units can
   move through narrow passages more efficiently.
 
Pathing Options -- There is now an option to choose how many pathing
   possibilities your units calculate when moving a long distance across
   the map. The higher the pathing setting, the more paths a unit
   considers. Higher values also require faster computers. To change the
   unit pathing in a single player or multiplayer game, click the Settings
   button before you start the game. Or, from within the game, click the
   Menu button, and then click Game Settings.
 
   NOTE: This feature is primarily designed to improve pathing performance
   on high-end computers. The problems listed under Group Movement (above)
   significantly improve pathing, so you might want to get a feel for these
   improvements before you change the pathing settings.
 
Difficulty Level -- The difficulty level is restored if you save a
   campaign game, exit to Windows, and then restart the game.
 
Town Centers -- If your Town Center is destroyed before the Bronze
   Age, you can no longer use the SHIFT key to build multiple Town Centers
   until you advance to the Bronze Age and build a Government Center.
 
Multiplayer Games -- Several fixes were made to increase the stability
   of multiplayer games. Players are dropped from games less often.
 
Allied Transport Loading and Boat Repair -- In order to use allied
   transports and repair allied boats, both players must set diplomacy to
   Ally (click the Menu button, and then click Diplomacy). You can no
   longer attack enemy boats by selecting the player as an ally, luring
   the boat to shore to repair or load units onto it, and then changing
   the diplomacy setting to enemy so you can attack.
 
Changing the Population Limit:
 
NOTE: Changing the default population limit is not recommended or
supported.
 
Increasing the population limit decreases game performance. For example,
with a 50-unit population limit, the potential number of concurrent units
in an 8-player game is 400. With a 200-unit population limit, the
potential number of concurrent units in an 8-player game is 1600. This
increase in the number of units can seriously degrade overall game
performance.
 
If you are playing a multiplayer game, the game host can increase or
   decrease the 50-unit population limit by adding the Limit= parameter
   to the Age of Empires command line. If you are playing a multiplayer
   game through Microsoft's MSN Gaming Zone, the game host must also
   add the Limit= parameter to the Age of Empires registry. Players can
   check the population limit of a multiplayer game by looking for the
   Population Limit setting that appears in the Settings list after they
   join a game.
 
   To add the Limit= parameter to the command line in the Age of Empires
   shortcut
 
   1. In Windows 95, click the Start button, point to Settings, click
      Taskbar, click Start Menu Programs, click Advanced, and then double-
      click Programs.
 
      -or-
 
      In Windows NT, right-click the Start button, select Open All Users,
      and then double-click Programs.
 
   2. Double-click Microsoft Games, and then double-click Age of Empires.
 
   3. Right-click the Age of Empires shortcut, click Properties, and then
      click Shortcut.
 
   4. In the Target text box, type Limit=x after the existing command
      line text. Type the population limit instead of the letter "x." For
      example, to set the population limit to 65, type Limit=65. You can
      type any number from 25 to 200. The default setting is 50. Parameters
      must be separated by a space; capitalization is not important.
 
   To add the Limit= parameter to the Age of Empires registry for
   multiplayer games using MSN Gaming Zone
 
   1. Click the Start button, and then click Run.
 
   2. Type Regedit, and then click OK.
 
   3. Double-click \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectPlay\ 
      Applications\Age of Empires\CommandLine.
 
   4. In the Value data text box, type Limit=x after the existing command
      line text. Do not remove the word "lobby" from the command line.
      Type the population limit instead of the letter "x." For example,
      to set the population limit to 65, type Limit=65. You can type any
      number from 25 to 200. The default setting is 50. Parameters must
      be separated by a space; capitalization is not important.
 
Uninstalling Age of Empires version 1.0b:
 
To uninstall Age of Empires 1.0b and restore version 1.0
 
   1. Go to Program Files/Microsoft Games/Age of Empires (or where you
      installed Age of Empires), and then delete the files Empires.exe
      and Language.dll.
 
   2. Install version 1.0 from the Age of Empires disc.
 
Additional query words: 1.00b rise of rome expansion pack msgame aoe patch up date add on fix fixes
 
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Keywords          : kbreadme aoe kbimu msgame 
Version           : WINDOWS:1.0b
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.