Long time no siege! A new expansion always comes with the necessary balance changes to the base game and this time is no exception. But where to start when you have 3 versions of the game and even more possible combinations? Obviously we start with the player's perspective. 3 games with 3 types of balance would be crazily complicated, so we're just going to have 2 variations: one is the original game (AoE2 HD) and the other is the expanded game (where you own The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms or both).

So what does this mean? It means both expansions will have the same balance changes. So players who own The Forgotten will see a lot of balance changes when The African Kingdoms comes out!

One thing we want to tease already is the introduction of 2 new boats in the Feudal Age. The Fire Galley and the Demolition Raft. Both will be available for all civilizations and are meant to make naval warfare more dynamic right from the start. Additionally, one of the new civilizations will have a naval unique unit :)



If you want to read more on the upcoming balance changes, check out the full dev blog on the Forgotten Empires website! http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-6-balance-testing

Long time no siege! A new expansion always comes with the necessary balance changes to the base game and this time is no exception. But where to start when you have 3 versions of the game and even more possible combinations? Obviously we start with the player's perspective. 3 games with 3 types of balance would be crazily complicated, so we're just going to have 2 variations: one is the original game (AoE2 HD) and the other is the expanded game (where you own The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms or both).

So what does this mean? It means both expansions will have the same balance changes. So players who own The Forgotten will see a lot of balance changes when The African Kingdoms comes out!

One thing we want to tease already is the introduction of 2 new boats in the Feudal Age. The Fire Galley and the Demolition Raft. Both will be available for all civilizations and are meant to make naval warfare more dynamic right from the start. Additionally, one of the new civilizations will have a naval unique unit :)



If you want to read more on the upcoming balance changes, check out the full dev blog on the Forgotten Empires website! http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-6-balance-testing

We're speeding up with news on the upcoming expansion for Age of Empires II HD! In today's dev blog we focus on the new African campaigns.

And we start with a sneaky preview of a city withstanding the conquests of Sundiata, the legendary Malian leader.



To read the full dev blog, check out the website of the Forgotten Empires team: http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-5-african-campaigns

P.S.: Yes, there will be English voice acting ;)

We're speeding up with news on the upcoming expansion for Age of Empires II HD! In today's dev blog we focus on the new African campaigns.

And we start with a sneaky preview of a city withstanding the conquests of Sundiata, the legendary Malian leader.



To read the full dev blog, check out the website of the Forgotten Empires team: http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-5-african-campaigns

P.S.: Yes, there will be English voice acting ;)

It's been a while, but it's time for another dev blog on the upcoming expansion for Age of Empires II HD!

This time we're focusing on the new architecture set, which will be used by some of the new African civilizations in the game.

As a teaser, we have a screenshot of a small feudal Malian village.


If you're interested in reading more on the upcoming African building set, you can check out the full dev blog at the Forgotten Empires website: http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-4-african-architecture

It's been a while, but it's time for another dev blog on the upcoming expansion for Age of Empires II HD!

This time we're focusing on the new architecture set, which will be used by some of the new African civilizations in the game.

As a teaser, we have a screenshot of a small feudal Malian village.


If you're interested in reading more on the upcoming African building set, you can check out the full dev blog at the Forgotten Empires website: http://www.forgottenempires.net/age-of-empires-ii-hd-dev-blog-4-african-architecture

Discussion thread

Performance:

• Vastly improved overall performance by enabling the renderer to update separately from the World Update.
  
• Text rendering has been improved and combined into a single pass (down from 5). Virtually all text in the game used to render 5 different passes to create the text outline effect.
  
• Command inputs now feel responsive when entered quickly. One common example was when the player would select a villager and quickly hit “build” “house” but the house command would not register.
  
• Upgrade and Build progress bars should appear smoother.
  
• The game will no longer take up 100% CPU, which will reduce heat buildup and energy consumption, which is mostly a problem with laptops.
  
• Large native fps improvements under Windows 10 (In some cases, more than 200% frame rate improvements have been experienced). NOTE: Only applies to people upgrading from Windows 8.

General:

• Old Saved games and Replays should now load correctly without desyncs.
  
• Record game is always enabled by default for multiplayer matches.
  
• Restore Multiplayer game should now function correctly.
  
• Hotkeys now correctly display and use special characters without corruption or crashing.
  
• Bright fonts and highlight colors have been toned down.
  
• Civilization sounds now play correctly at the start of a game and the delay has been removed so the game starts quicker.
  
• Main Menu music now has new logic to determine which music variation to play depending on which combinations of DLC the player owns.
  
• Selecting Random Civilizations should now function correctly with minimal duplications.
  
• Checkboxes in the Multiplayer Lobby now appear correctly when selecting Ready.
  
• Tech Tree images now correctly display the player color.
  
• Campaign Difficulty popup text no longer cuts off in localized languages.
  
• Campaign Difficulty setting is now saved correctly.
  
• Campaign background images no longer appear corrupted in the dark/shadow areas.
  
• Players are no longer able to make Player profiles with the same name.
  
• Players are no longer able to delete their last Profile.
  
• Game Launcher now functions correctly with Windows 10.
  
• Game Launcher text should now appear correctly in localized languages.

In Game Improvements:

• Taunt/Command audio now play correctly when selecting them in the Chat menu.
  
• Taunt/Command text should now display correctly in all localized languages.
  
• Help Text is no longer being cut off and the “hit point” and “hotkey” information is now being displayed correctly.
  
• Scrolling now has a small accelerate/decelerate value which is also tunable in the Options menu as Scroll Inertia (If you turn this off, scrolling will behave exactly the same as before).
  
• Clamped Mouse scrolling now functions correctly and players are able to easily move Windowed screens.
  
• Objectives menu now contains additional information (like Map Type, Treaty Length and Teams Locked).
  
• Diplomacy menu now correctly displays radial buttons.
  
• Players are no longer able to send tribute to enemy players.
  
• Non-Host players can no longer swap teams in scenarios when that option is disabled.
  
• Help cursor no longer stays active when using ESC to exit the Diplomacy menu.
  
• Save menu now displays dataset icons next to each entry.

Scenario Editor:

• Display Instructions message box for the Trigger Effects has been increased to 200 characters (up from 50).
  
• Display Instructions images no longer appear corrupted.
  
• Gaia’s default player color is now defaulted to grey.
  
• Additional Units, Buildings and Heroes now have placement sounds (like Amazon Archers, Sheep, Yurts and William Wallace).
  
• Starting Age now correctly updates the building visuals when loaded.
  
• Re-ordering Triggers with Effects should now function correct and maintain the correct Trigger association.
  
• Play Sound Trigger Effect no longer has “None” as a valid option and the Effect text will remain red until a sound file is selected.
  
• Teleport Trigger Effect now functions correctly and units no longer try to navigate back to their starting location.
  
• Lock and Unlock Trigger Effects now function correctly for Gates.
  
• Change Ownership Trigger Effect should now function correctly for Town Centers.
  
• Upload Trigger Effect now functions correctly with the Set Location Option.
  
• Disable Buildings Option now functions correctly with the Forgotten Dataset and disabled buildings are no longer available to build.
  
• Set Area should now function correctly with Patrol and Attack Move commands.
  
• Random Start Option should now function correctly with Starting Age, Unit Ownership, Town Center locations and Triggers.
  
• Opening the Menu while entering text no longer prevents further text entry once the Menu has been closed.
  
• The Delete Scenario Confirmation popup now correctly displays the file name being deleted.
  
• Saving a scenario no longer disables scroll wheel functionality in some menus.

Mod Manager:

• Filters have been integrated which include Status/Dataset check boxes and a text field.
  
• Players can also use the minus (-) key at the start of their text to create a negative filter.
  
• Shift+Click on Priority Up will move the selected item to the top of the list (or to the bottom if Priority Down was selected).
  
• Shift+Click on Enable will enable all visible mods based on the current filter setting (or
• Scenario movies and .BINA files should now load correctly.
  
• Publish Mod Preview Image help text now correctly says to use a .JPG file.
  
• Movies have been added to the Steam Tag list and recognizes .AVI and .WMV files.
  
• Clicking in the Mod list when it’s empty no longer crashes the game.

Known Issues:

• Quick Match functionality has temporarily been disabled.
  
• If fonts disappear after patching from older builds – please reboot your PC to resolve the issue.
  
• When watching replays, replaying at the fastest speed can lead to an eventual crash due to recent render decoupling changes.

Discussion thread

Performance:

• Vastly improved overall performance by enabling the renderer to update separately from the World Update.
  
• Text rendering has been improved and combined into a single pass (down from 5). Virtually all text in the game used to render 5 different passes to create the text outline effect.
  
• Command inputs now feel responsive when entered quickly. One common example was when the player would select a villager and quickly hit “build” “house” but the house command would not register.
  
• Upgrade and Build progress bars should appear smoother.
  
• The game will no longer take up 100% CPU, which will reduce heat buildup and energy consumption, which is mostly a problem with laptops.
  
• Large native fps improvements under Windows 10 (In some cases, more than 200% frame rate improvements have been experienced). NOTE: Only applies to people upgrading from Windows 8.

General:

• Old Saved games and Replays should now load correctly without desyncs.
  
• Record game is always enabled by default for multiplayer matches.
  
• Restore Multiplayer game should now function correctly.
  
• Hotkeys now correctly display and use special characters without corruption or crashing.
  
• Bright fonts and highlight colors have been toned down.
  
• Civilization sounds now play correctly at the start of a game and the delay has been removed so the game starts quicker.
  
• Main Menu music now has new logic to determine which music variation to play depending on which combinations of DLC the player owns.
  
• Selecting Random Civilizations should now function correctly with minimal duplications.
  
• Checkboxes in the Multiplayer Lobby now appear correctly when selecting Ready.
  
• Tech Tree images now correctly display the player color.
  
• Campaign Difficulty popup text no longer cuts off in localized languages.
  
• Campaign Difficulty setting is now saved correctly.
  
• Campaign background images no longer appear corrupted in the dark/shadow areas.
  
• Players are no longer able to make Player profiles with the same name.
  
• Players are no longer able to delete their last Profile.
  
• Game Launcher now functions correctly with Windows 10.
  
• Game Launcher text should now appear correctly in localized languages.

In Game Improvements:

• Taunt/Command audio now play correctly when selecting them in the Chat menu.
  
• Taunt/Command text should now display correctly in all localized languages.
  
• Help Text is no longer being cut off and the “hit point” and “hotkey” information is now being displayed correctly.
  
• Scrolling now has a small accelerate/decelerate value which is also tunable in the Options menu as Scroll Inertia (If you turn this off, scrolling will behave exactly the same as before).
  
• Clamped Mouse scrolling now functions correctly and players are able to easily move Windowed screens.
  
• Objectives menu now contains additional information (like Map Type, Treaty Length and Teams Locked).
  
• Diplomacy menu now correctly displays radial buttons.
  
• Players are no longer able to send tribute to enemy players.
  
• Non-Host players can no longer swap teams in scenarios when that option is disabled.
  
• Help cursor no longer stays active when using ESC to exit the Diplomacy menu.
  
• Save menu now displays dataset icons next to each entry.

Scenario Editor:

• Display Instructions message box for the Trigger Effects has been increased to 200 characters (up from 50).
  
• Display Instructions images no longer appear corrupted.
  
• Gaia’s default player color is now defaulted to grey.
  
• Additional Units, Buildings and Heroes now have placement sounds (like Amazon Archers, Sheep, Yurts and William Wallace).
  
• Starting Age now correctly updates the building visuals when loaded.
  
• Re-ordering Triggers with Effects should now function correct and maintain the correct Trigger association.
  
• Play Sound Trigger Effect no longer has “None” as a valid option and the Effect text will remain red until a sound file is selected.
  
• Teleport Trigger Effect now functions correctly and units no longer try to navigate back to their starting location.
  
• Lock and Unlock Trigger Effects now function correctly for Gates.
  
• Change Ownership Trigger Effect should now function correctly for Town Centers.
  
• Upload Trigger Effect now functions correctly with the Set Location Option.
  
• Disable Buildings Option now functions correctly with the Forgotten Dataset and disabled buildings are no longer available to build.
  
• Set Area should now function correctly with Patrol and Attack Move commands.
  
• Random Start Option should now function correctly with Starting Age, Unit Ownership, Town Center locations and Triggers.
  
• Opening the Menu while entering text no longer prevents further text entry once the Menu has been closed.
  
• The Delete Scenario Confirmation popup now correctly displays the file name being deleted.
  
• Saving a scenario no longer disables scroll wheel functionality in some menus.

Mod Manager:

• Filters have been integrated which include Status/Dataset check boxes and a text field.
  
• Players can also use the minus (-) key at the start of their text to create a negative filter.
  
• Shift+Click on Priority Up will move the selected item to the top of the list (or to the bottom if Priority Down was selected).
  
• Shift+Click on Enable will enable all visible mods based on the current filter setting (or
• Scenario movies and .BINA files should now load correctly.
  
• Publish Mod Preview Image help text now correctly says to use a .JPG file.
  
• Movies have been added to the Steam Tag list and recognizes .AVI and .WMV files.
  
• Clicking in the Mod list when it’s empty no longer crashes the game.

Known Issues:

• Quick Match functionality has temporarily been disabled.
  
• If fonts disappear after patching from older builds – please reboot your PC to resolve the issue.
  
• When watching replays, replaying at the fastest speed can lead to an eventual crash due to recent render decoupling changes.

AGE2: Patch Version 4.2.681794

We are not incrementing the version here to 4.3, but the build will patch with the following updates. Replays may not appear correctly due to the AI changes from previous builds.

Discussion thread

AI:

• AI should now function correctly and participate during gameplay.
  
• AI should now attack Palisade Walls

Scenario Editor:

• Change Unit Stance no longer crashes the game.
  
• Selecting transfer arrows with nothing selected in the options tab no longer crashes the game.
  
• Trigger scroll bar now scrolls correctly when using the up/down arrows.
  
• Seed values for map generation can now be changed after deselection.
  
• Trigger descriptions can now be edited.
  
• Character limit for trigger display instructions has been increased.
  
• Lock teams button should now function correctly.
  
• Choose Teams should now be on by default for older scenarios.

Mod Manager:

• Modded taunt files should now be functioning.
  
• Preview images when publishing are no longer gigantic.
  
• Preview images now function correctly as jpg files.
  
• Visibility drop down now functions correctly.
  
• A View Workshop button has been added and will bring up the appropriate Steam page.

Additional Improvements:

• Accepting a Steam invite should now allow players to interact with the multiplayer lobby.
  
• The multiplayer lobby screen should no longer freeze when the host if file transferring.
  
• Incorrect cursor outlines should no longer appear.
  
• Corrupted cursor should no longer appear
  
• Deleted scenarios no longer appear as the default option when creating a game.
  
• Added launch option “oldschool” for those who value style over readability (may not function in all languages)

Known Issues:

• Quick Match functionality has temporarily been disabled.
  
• Restore multiplayer games has not been fully implemented and may not load correctly.
  
• Fonts may not appear when patching from older builds – please restart your pc to resolve.
  
• When cancelling while joining a lobby players may still join the lobby (host can still kick).
  
• When updating a Legacy Mod the text field may appear cut off.
  
• Changing hotkeys to their current value may result in a crash.
  
• When building items without a hotkey it may cause a crash (reset hotkeys as a workaround).
  
• In the Editor the Choose Teams options does not affect Triggers.
  
• Embedded AI scripts inside campaigns are not properly being referenced. As a workaround, you can include necessary files to run campaigns inside resources/_common/ai/ folder.
  
• Civilizations are not randomizing correctly.
  
• Some customers may be experiencing framerate issues, this is currently under investigation.

AGE2: Patch Version 4.2.681794

We are not incrementing the version here to 4.3, but the build will patch with the following updates. Replays may not appear correctly due to the AI changes from previous builds.

Discussion thread

AI:

• AI should now function correctly and participate during gameplay.
  
• AI should now attack Palisade Walls

Scenario Editor:

• Change Unit Stance no longer crashes the game.
  
• Selecting transfer arrows with nothing selected in the options tab no longer crashes the game.
  
• Trigger scroll bar now scrolls correctly when using the up/down arrows.
  
• Seed values for map generation can now be changed after deselection.
  
• Trigger descriptions can now be edited.
  
• Character limit for trigger display instructions has been increased.
  
• Lock teams button should now function correctly.
  
• Choose Teams should now be on by default for older scenarios.

Mod Manager:

• Modded taunt files should now be functioning.
  
• Preview images when publishing are no longer gigantic.
  
• Preview images now function correctly as jpg files.
  
• Visibility drop down now functions correctly.
  
• A View Workshop button has been added and will bring up the appropriate Steam page.

Additional Improvements:

• Accepting a Steam invite should now allow players to interact with the multiplayer lobby.
  
• The multiplayer lobby screen should no longer freeze when the host if file transferring.
  
• Incorrect cursor outlines should no longer appear.
  
• Corrupted cursor should no longer appear
  
• Deleted scenarios no longer appear as the default option when creating a game.
  
• Added launch option “oldschool” for those who value style over readability (may not function in all languages)

Known Issues:

• Quick Match functionality has temporarily been disabled.
  
• Restore multiplayer games has not been fully implemented and may not load correctly.
  
• Fonts may not appear when patching from older builds – please restart your pc to resolve.
  
• When cancelling while joining a lobby players may still join the lobby (host can still kick).
  
• When updating a Legacy Mod the text field may appear cut off.
  
• Changing hotkeys to their current value may result in a crash.
  
• When building items without a hotkey it may cause a crash (reset hotkeys as a workaround).
  
• In the Editor the Choose Teams options does not affect Triggers.
  
• Embedded AI scripts inside campaigns are not properly being referenced. As a workaround, you can include necessary files to run campaigns inside resources/_common/ai/ folder.
  
• Civilizations are not randomizing correctly.
  
• Some customers may be experiencing framerate issues, this is currently under investigation.