With just over a week until the first official expansion pack for Age of Empires II HD releases, the development team shares exciting news about some of the other features coming along with The Forgotten.

<b>Age of Empires Steam Trading Cards</b>

Earlier this year Steam launched the Trading Card program, and instantly one of the most frequent questions we heard around AOE II HD was, “will you be adding trading cards?” Several times over the last few months we confirmed that trading cards are, in fact, coming to the game and today I’m excited to provide a sneak peek into some of the cool things you can get with the Steam trading card program!

If you’re not familiar with the trading card program, you can read up on it <a href="http://steamcommunity.com/tradingcards/">here</a>.

The short version: play your favorite games, get a bunch of cards, craft and trade the cards and get badges, icons, backgrounds, and coupons! So let’s start with step one:

Collecting cards. We’ve prepared a set of eight different trading cards with all brand-new AOE themed art designed just for this program and promotional events. As you play, you’ll receive at random times up to half of the cards for AOE II HD. Cards can be received while playing either the base game or The Forgotten expansion.

You’ll need a full set of cards to do more though, so get trading! Swap out cards from other games, sales, etc, and pick up the entire set to turn that set of cards into a badge for the game. Once you’ve gotten a badge, head back into the collector’s room – because you can level up that badge by crafting another full set of cards. It’s like the instructions for a bottle of shampoo, rinse and repeat. There are six levels to the badge platform, and the last one is definitely worth shooting for. Crafting badges also levels up your profile.

If that’s not enough, crafting those badges will get you some tradable rewards. These fall into different categories: First – profile backgrounds. Each card has a profile background variant, which are of course the coolest profile backgrounds on Steam. Secondly, the community program allows for coupons, and the Steam community certainly loves sales. Keep an eye out for discounts you can get by crafting badges, or see what types of coupons others may be willing to trade you. Finally, if you were paying attention to the forums – we had a thread asking for suggestions on Steam emoticons. We’re currently looking at adding a Sheep, Relic, Helm (like the desktop shortcut), Food icon, and of course the Monk. If you’re lucky enough to pick up the Monk, make sure to go around converting everyone on Steam.

I’m looking forward to seeing some great profiles, and awesome badge icons adorning everyone’s profile. Steam trading cards are of course free and will begin automatically dropping starting on the day The Forgotten launches. Before showing off the completed cards, here are a few of the concepts we didn’t end up using for our trading cards:

<b>-MS_Ryz0n</b>

<img src = "https://compass-ssl.xboxlive.com/assets/0d/62/0d62396b-a035-4a5b-94ef-01de5cf9de77.png?n=TradingCardDeletedScene.png">

The final news we’d like to share today is something everybody seems to be asking and that’s pricing. Age of Empires II HD The Forgotten will be available on Steam for $9.99 USD.

Thanks to Ryan for providing this update. We’re just as excited about this announcement as many of you are and can’t wait to start collecting cards and crafting badges. Of course this information is based on the version of the game under development so we have to say it’s possible it could change prior to the official release, but we sure hope it doesn’t.

We want Age of Empires Steam trading cards!

With just over a week until the first official expansion pack for Age of Empires II HD releases, the development team shares exciting news about some of the other features coming along with The Forgotten.

Age of Empires Steam Trading Cards

Earlier this year Steam launched the Trading Card program, and instantly one of the most frequent questions we heard around AOE II HD was, “will you be adding trading cards?” Several times over the last few months we confirmed that trading cards are, in fact, coming to the game and today I’m excited to provide a sneak peek into some of the cool things you can get with the Steam trading card program!

If you’re not familiar with the trading card program, you can read up on it here.

The short version: play your favorite games, get a bunch of cards, craft and trade the cards and get badges, icons, backgrounds, and coupons! So let’s start with step one:

Collecting cards. We’ve prepared a set of eight different trading cards with all brand-new AOE themed art designed just for this program and promotional events. As you play, you’ll receive at random times up to half of the cards for AOE II HD. Cards can be received while playing either the base game or The Forgotten expansion.

You’ll need a full set of cards to do more though, so get trading! Swap out cards from other games, sales, etc, and pick up the entire set to turn that set of cards into a badge for the game. Once you’ve gotten a badge, head back into the collector’s room – because you can level up that badge by crafting another full set of cards. It’s like the instructions for a bottle of shampoo, rinse and repeat. There are six levels to the badge platform, and the last one is definitely worth shooting for. Crafting badges also levels up your profile.

If that’s not enough, crafting those badges will get you some tradable rewards. These fall into different categories: First – profile backgrounds. Each card has a profile background variant, which are of course the coolest profile backgrounds on Steam. Secondly, the community program allows for coupons, and the Steam community certainly loves sales. Keep an eye out for discounts you can get by crafting badges, or see what types of coupons others may be willing to trade you. Finally, if you were paying attention to the forums – we had a thread asking for suggestions on Steam emoticons. We’re currently looking at adding a Sheep, Relic, Helm (like the desktop shortcut), Food icon, and of course the Monk. If you’re lucky enough to pick up the Monk, make sure to go around converting everyone on Steam.

I’m looking forward to seeing some great profiles, and awesome badge icons adorning everyone’s profile. Steam trading cards are of course free and will begin automatically dropping starting on the day The Forgotten launches. Before showing off the completed cards, here are a few of the concepts we didn’t end up using for our trading cards:

-MS_Ryz0n



The final news we’d like to share today is something everybody seems to be asking and that’s pricing. Age of Empires II HD The Forgotten will be available on Steam for $9.99 USD.

Thanks to Ryan for providing this update. We’re just as excited about this announcement as many of you are and can’t wait to start collecting cards and crafting badges. Of course this information is based on the version of the game under development so we have to say it’s possible it could change prior to the official release, but we sure hope it doesn’t.

We want Age of Empires Steam trading cards!

Today we wanted to share some information from the producer regarding the download and installation of the expansion pack. While prices still haven’t been announced yet, players may find this information useful to understand how to download and install the content as well as how to switch between the core game and the expansion pack. Enjoy!

<b>Taking a look around: The expansion UI & Settings:</b>

Accessing the AoF Expansion is easy! After purchasing, the expansion will be automatically downloaded right into your game. Steam considers additional content in-game to be “DLC”, so any references to the expansion may show up labeled as DLC in some areas. For example, to verify the content is owned, right click on the game in the library, select properties, and head to the “DLC” section. You should see the following.

<img src = "http://compass.xboxlive.com/assets/c8/e1/c8e112f9-d708-4f8d-b79c-29d83111468e.png?n=01.png">

Inside the game, a new button will appear for everyone at release, whether or not you’ve purchased the Expansion. For those who haven’t purchased and loaded The Forgotten, clicking the button will bring up the content store page for AOE II HD. If you did already buy AoF, then clicking the button will switch you over to the expansion, with all of the expansion content, campaigns, etc. The logo and banner will change as well, so it’s easy to tell which version you’re in at any given time.

<img src = "http://compass.xboxlive.com/assets/ea/c6/eac611ea-bba5-4f18-bf7b-e5eb579d635e.png?n=02.png">

<img src = "http://compass.xboxlive.com/assets/91/ec/91ec51ad-5109-48cd-8909-bdacf9488a9c.png?n=03.png">

Both versions exist in essentially parallel worlds that share profiles, so settings you make to your hotkeys, profile, and in-game choices (i.e. 3D water enabled) will carry over regardless of which version you are playing. A number of things do not inherently transfer over however, expansion files contain different data, so some mods that affect some of the datafiles may not appear in the expansion. Texture mods, however, are commonly pulled by both.

In The Forgotten Expansion, selecting single player will allow the choice of playing expansion campaigns, or custom campaigns created within AoF. Standard game operates the same as in HD, however you’ll be able to play AoF or regular scenarios, as well as all of the new AoF content, including map sizes. The map editor will also contain content related to the version you’re working in, making a map in the expansion will require the expansion to play it. Feel free to load up a base scenario within the AoF editor to add in new content and civs!

When it comes to multiplayer, the current experience flow functions just like the rest of the game. The lobby browser will show you specifically AoF enabled games while in the expansion, while switching to the base game will show games running in the base variant. There is still some investigation on seeing if expansion users can get a full listing of both to alleviate any feeling of isolation, however switching between the two is extremely quick and doesn’t require exiting the game completely like other AOE titles.

Lastly I want to talk quickly about Hotkeys. AoF introduces a more streamlined hotkey set to improve efficiency. Clicking “reset hotkeys to default” while loaded into AoF will set the keys to the appropriate settings that resemble more of a grid format (and is much easier for me to remember). At the moment resetting default hotkeys in the base game will set the keys to their original settings, however we are debating moving everyone to grid regardless of expansion setting. If you do configure your hotkeys in either, those settings will stick.

Before wrapping up, here’s a teaser of the UI from one of the upcoming campaigns!

<b>-Ryan</b>

<img src = "http://compass.xboxlive.com/assets/24/ef/24ef19c8-92a4-426d-94f8-76dd1dddc411.png?n=04.png">

Today we wanted to share some information from the producer regarding the download and installation of the expansion pack. While prices still haven’t been announced yet, players may find this information useful to understand how to download and install the content as well as how to switch between the core game and the expansion pack. Enjoy!

Taking a look around: The expansion UI & Settings:

Accessing the AoF Expansion is easy! After purchasing, the expansion will be automatically downloaded right into your game. Steam considers additional content in-game to be “DLC”, so any references to the expansion may show up labeled as DLC in some areas. For example, to verify the content is owned, right click on the game in the library, select properties, and head to the “DLC” section. You should see the following.



Inside the game, a new button will appear for everyone at release, whether or not you’ve purchased the Expansion. For those who haven’t purchased and loaded The Forgotten, clicking the button will bring up the content store page for AOE II HD. If you did already buy AoF, then clicking the button will switch you over to the expansion, with all of the expansion content, campaigns, etc. The logo and banner will change as well, so it’s easy to tell which version you’re in at any given time.





Both versions exist in essentially parallel worlds that share profiles, so settings you make to your hotkeys, profile, and in-game choices (i.e. 3D water enabled) will carry over regardless of which version you are playing. A number of things do not inherently transfer over however, expansion files contain different data, so some mods that affect some of the datafiles may not appear in the expansion. Texture mods, however, are commonly pulled by both.

In The Forgotten Expansion, selecting single player will allow the choice of playing expansion campaigns, or custom campaigns created within AoF. Standard game operates the same as in HD, however you’ll be able to play AoF or regular scenarios, as well as all of the new AoF content, including map sizes. The map editor will also contain content related to the version you’re working in, making a map in the expansion will require the expansion to play it. Feel free to load up a base scenario within the AoF editor to add in new content and civs!

When it comes to multiplayer, the current experience flow functions just like the rest of the game. The lobby browser will show you specifically AoF enabled games while in the expansion, while switching to the base game will show games running in the base variant. There is still some investigation on seeing if expansion users can get a full listing of both to alleviate any feeling of isolation, however switching between the two is extremely quick and doesn’t require exiting the game completely like other AOE titles.

Lastly I want to talk quickly about Hotkeys. AoF introduces a more streamlined hotkey set to improve efficiency. Clicking “reset hotkeys to default” while loaded into AoF will set the keys to the appropriate settings that resemble more of a grid format (and is much easier for me to remember). At the moment resetting default hotkeys in the base game will set the keys to their original settings, however we are debating moving everyone to grid regardless of expansion setting. If you do configure your hotkeys in either, those settings will stick.

Before wrapping up, here’s a teaser of the UI from one of the upcoming campaigns!

-Ryan

We are pleased to announce a monumental event in the history of the Age of Empires series with news about The Forgotten expansion pack and a release date of November 07, 2013. Over the course of the next two weeks leading up to the official launch we will be providing more specifics about availability and features including commentary from the developers. Until then, rejoice. The Forgotten are forgotten no more.

We are pleased to announce a monumental event in the history of the Age of Empires series with news about The Forgotten expansion pack and a release date of November 07, 2013. Over the course of the next two weeks leading up to the official launch we will be providing more specifics about availability and features including commentary from the developers. Until then, rejoice. The Forgotten are forgotten no more.

*update*
Thank you for the test. We've currently seen a few things and are looking into them. The beta servers may be inaccessible periodically.


We will have an extended downtime for ESO server maintenance today (October 8), beginning at 9am PDT (UTC -7). But worry not, you can still play Age of Empires III on our beta servers!

Join us for an AOE3 beta server test, play a few games, and chat with me in game to find out more about the beta.

If you’re participating in the beta servers and would like to provide some feedback, please submit a ticket at http://ageofempiresonline.com/en/ticket/age3.

To join in, just go to http://agecommunity.com/support.aspx and install the Beta MSI linked at the top of the page, and you’re good to go! Just launch the game and you’ll connect to the beta servers.

When you’re done playing and want to go back to the main production servers, just uninstall the AOE3 Network Redirector PPE from the Programs section of your Control Panel.

Caveat on Accounts and Ranks:
Our beta server is using a backup of the database taken from approximately 6 months ago. If you purchased the game recently and made an account, it may not exist on the beta servers. Feel free to create a new one for the beta purposes, it’s just temporary. Password resets in the beta should function if you forgot what your old password was. Likewise, ranks are all going to appear outdated as well. Please don’t worry about the specific stats for the duration of the beta test.

*update*
Thank you for the test. We've currently seen a few things and are looking into them. The beta servers may be inaccessible periodically.


We will have an extended downtime for ESO server maintenance today (October 8), beginning at 9am PDT (UTC -7). But worry not, you can still play Age of Empires III on our beta servers!

Join us for an AOE3 beta server test, play a few games, and chat with me in game to find out more about the beta.

If you’re participating in the beta servers and would like to provide some feedback, please submit a ticket at http://ageofempiresonline.com/en/ticket/age3.

To join in, just go to http://agecommunity.com/support.aspx and install the Beta MSI linked at the top of the page, and you’re good to go! Just launch the game and you’ll connect to the beta servers.

When you’re done playing and want to go back to the main production servers, just uninstall the AOE3 Network Redirector PPE from the Programs section of your Control Panel.

Caveat on Accounts and Ranks:
Our beta server is using a backup of the database taken from approximately 6 months ago. If you purchased the game recently and made an account, it may not exist on the beta servers. Feel free to create a new one for the beta purposes, it’s just temporary. Password resets in the beta should function if you forgot what your old password was. Likewise, ranks are all going to appear outdated as well. Please don’t worry about the specific stats for the duration of the beta test.

Hey guys!

For the past year or so, we've held a weekly Age of Empires Online event dubbed the 'Community Challenge' on our Twitch channel {LINK REMOVED}(twitch.tv/ageofempires). This stream consists of members from the community duking it out live while being observed and casted by me and/or special guests.

I've never held one for AoE III since my game knowledge is very limited and that'd make for some horrific casting, but ZutaZuta has been kind enough to agree to host an AoE III Community Challenge every week at 1 PM PDT (GMT-7)!

Logistically, it'll work like this: every Thursday, I'll post a sign-up thread in the General Discussion section of these forums, titled something along the lines of 'Community Challenge x/x Sign-Ups'. Simply post in the thread if you'd like to participate.

On Tuesdays, I'll post another thread with the selected participants. If you're selected to play, make sure you're in-game and in the stream chat when the event starts.

These challenges will be for Asian Dynasties players only, at least for now.

To participate, look for the sign-up threads in our forum at http://forum.agecommunity.com/forums/1030/ShowForum.aspx

GLHF!

Hey guys!

For the past year or so, we've held a weekly Age of Empires Online event dubbed the 'Community Challenge' on our Twitch channel {LINK REMOVED}(twitch.tv/ageofempires). This stream consists of members from the community duking it out live while being observed and casted by me and/or special guests.

I've never held one for AoE III since my game knowledge is very limited and that'd make for some horrific casting, but ZutaZuta has been kind enough to agree to host an AoE III Community Challenge every week at 1 PM PDT (GMT-7)!

Logistically, it'll work like this: every Thursday, I'll post a sign-up thread in the General Discussion section of these forums, titled something along the lines of 'Community Challenge x/x Sign-Ups'. Simply post in the thread if you'd like to participate.

On Tuesdays, I'll post another thread with the selected participants. If you're selected to play, make sure you're in-game and in the stream chat when the event starts.

These challenges will be for Asian Dynasties players only, at least for now.

To participate, look for the sign-up threads in our forum at http://forum.agecommunity.com/forums/1030/ShowForum.aspx

GLHF!