How AGE OF EMPIRES Conquered the World...Again

[@HeraAgeofEmpires2]

Been playing aoe2 for 15+ years and its still my go to game

[@robertocortes8971]

Hi Hera

[@emilbirkedal8430]

And you are quite good at it..

[@kurtos9]

@@emilbirkedal8430 i guess he isn’t bad at it

[@apan990]

@@kurtos9 id go as far to say hed even win some tournaments should he compete in them.

[@adrianfawkes2932]

🔥🔥

[@admiralsfleet2668]

I used to love reading the encyclopedia on the main menu. AOE2 nurtured my love of history and provided me with information before it could be so easily found on the internet. Often when I read or think about historical periods I subconsciously associate with my time playing AOE2. The conquerors expansion was one of the best expansions in video game history

[@isphus]

I actually had a high school paper i wrote using Age of Empires as a source (those "civilization history" entries in the game). I just... read the credits, found the guy in charge of the historical research team and quoted him on the paper. Don't think the teacher ever found out lol.

[@MorwenWhyte]

Me too, I think it sparked an interest in history I didn't had before that and I now give for granted but it all started around 2000 with AoE II and it's Conquerors expansion.

[@leviturner3265]

I have not spent that much time playing Age of Empires II. The time I have spent, I have enjoyed much like I have with Age of Empires IV. Mostly, however I spent a lot of time playing Age of Empires III. That game got me really interested in history from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

[@mcmerry2846]

encarta

[@Natsu-jf6br]

yeah when i was younger aoe 2 was like homeschool history teacher for me 💯☺️📜

[@PS-xu7wj]

That valentines day card has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

[@MiniMackeroni]

Relationship goals

[@maxmustsleep]

@@MiniMackeroni true!

[@FrenziedManbeast]

I made my wife a bespoke William T. Riker Rash Valentine's Day Card years ago and it's still discussed regularly in our home. Bravo team-DannyWife.

[@SoapSoapCrayon]

It was truly a pleasure to be at one of the sister studios on these projects. The level of passion and desire to ship an incredible product was a great feeling. We didn't crunch, we didn't destroy ourselves. We got extra time and resources where needed, and I think the results speak for themselves. Sure there were problems, as there are in all endeavours, but the brilliance and passion of all the teams shone through.

[@celsus7979]

It shows in the details, like the sounds. Some are so iconic that i remember them from playing the game when it came out.

[@laka1469]

Good to hear a studio not taking advantage of developers' passions to abuse them with crunch.

[@DraconianEmpath]

​@@celsus7979would be nice if they brought back the tarkan thumps though :P

[@sadbravesfan]

What role did you have there may I ask?

[@morbuskobold4233]

You Guys are Awesome! Very well made and fun recreation of the RTS Spirit in General. I will buy every DLC for AoE2 till my life ends, just cause. Even if i don't have the Time to play that much anymore. PS: Looking forward to the Rome DLC and the bug fixing afterwards. Keep going. That was hell of a Comeback.

[@T-West]

One of the great aspects of being such a popular game is that there are so many people who enjoy it in different ways. Whether playing it, modding it, or just watching it. It's one of those games where it feels like almost everyone who touched a video game in the 90's has played or at least has heard about Age of Empires. But the revival started before 2018. Aoe2 HD Edition was rather poorly received among the existing Aoe2 esports community. But a fan-made mod called the UserPatch continued adding in new features to the original CD version, including rotatable Gates, a spectator mode, reduced lag and improved performance, better AI scripting features, and a whole lot more. Many of the features in Aoe2 DE originated from this mod. We ported the new civilizations that were made for the HD Edition to this version, and before the DEs were released Microsoft actually sponsored tournaments on this "unofficial" version. The availability of the spectating mode was one of the major reasons the Aoe2 Twitch streaming and esports scenes grew into what they are today.

[@zonetropper]

Hi twest. When are you gonna do a pacifist aoe2 demo run ;)

[@nymets1104]

Lets Go Mets!

[@ManthanPandYEAH]

Hey T-West big Fan of your work, love you content. wish you and SOTL make some collab content - that would be fun

[@belisarian6429]

Indeed, it was slow buildup, for me Spirit of The Law and T90 awoke my interest in the game while back, and in my opinion were one of the aspects of why game remained popular and got enough attention to receive DE version.

[@kieranrollinson8750]

OMG!!!!!!! IT IS T-WEST!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO, DOES THE VIDEO CREATOR KNOW THAT AOE 2 ORIGINAL WAS ALSO RELEASED ON PLAYSTATION 2?????????? :D :D

[@mauromerconchini]

I grew up as a young kid in Cuba who was lucky enough to have access to a computer via some family friends. This was one of the very few videogame experiences I got to have as a young child, and it's responsible for making me foster a love for the medium as a whole. Thank you Danny and crew. Thank you to the old teams at Ensemble. Thank you to the devs who are keeping these games going today. Thank you for being such a big part of my childhood.

[@OscarDiaz-nn9ch]

Bro AOE is well known in the entire island. We even ran it at the Computer labs. I had a pentium 4 with 512 of ram, probably the best pc in the neighborhood in 2005 😂. I remember saving the game every 5 minutes in case there would be an outage, you know those were the days. I have saved files in that same pc. I think there was a Cuban mission that someone made for us to enjoy.

[@DwAboutItManFr]

How the fuck did you get acess to it???? I mean in Cuba???

[@OscarDiaz-nn9ch]

@@DwAboutItManFr by pirating the heck out of it like just about anything 🤣 Ppl who had family in other countries could bring the copies of the game, same with movies and music. I’ve watched all Harry Potter movies in a CD in the lowest quality possible 🤣

[@toangomo]

Like here in Vietnam, we played AOE1 as a kid, like an e-sport game. in the 2000s With a weak computer and 300 MB storage, we can easily set up and play with friends with epic 4vs4 matches and dozen audiences standing around. Kids gather and play AOE1 (or watch people play) This is a typical day in every village or town in Vietnam. That is why until today, AOE1 is still popular among Vietnamese fans. A top player Livestream may reach 400,000 people watching simultaneously on Facebook alone. We had the same childhood bro. Best wishes to the Cubans brother.

[@rimaq_]

​@@DwAboutItManFrbruh Cuba has computers just old ones (so ideal to play OG AoE II) and piracy is a thing all over the global south, get real

[@sprEEEzy]

Age of Empires 2 really has a soul! It's something that most other games today lack. I'm back to playing it after 20 years, and I'm enjoying it as much as in '99!

[@user-fq8se3bu8g]

havent seen ur stream in a while. u still streaming?

[@AEGISAOE]

we need also aoe1 and aoe3

[@saidmekki1293]

more like your soul is stuck in nostalgia

[@Brigtzen]

@@saidmekki1293 no, i just found out about it a few months back and im loving it! Really does have a soul id say

[@tiffles3890]

Playing the William Wallace tutorial campaign in the OG AoE II demo was one of my formative experiences in childhood.

[@spicytranslations9604]

Best game ever. The older the game gets the more popular it becomes. An RTS classic.

[@Dr.looksmaxxer]

Not the case with the first one .. its actually only the second one received will because its the more successful version of aoe1 and its came in the golden age of rts and its was easier to run and easier to play

[@ar11999]

number one is Counter-Strike of all times and for ever!

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

@@ar11999 No, number one is Dwarf Fortress. :)

[@Imperiused]

The very definition of a classic!

[@AEGISAOE]

@@ar11999 you can even now find servers from the cs 1.6

[@physicsmonkey2]

Would love to see a documentary about just Aoe2. The way its community and pro scene kept it alive. How people like T90 popularised it on KZbin and how new content was added before definitive edition was released

[@workoutandread]

They should hire you as a writer because what the are producing now is absolute garbage.

[@RAZKEN.]

I remember back in the day when I accidently put the AOE2 CD in my portable player and discovered that you could play the soundtrack without having to fire up the game I was blown away!

[@utki1808]

WHAT? You could do that?! I've literally left the game running just to have AOE2 ambient music running in the background. Wish I knew this haha.

[@LucasCunhaRocha]

most old PC games were like this since they recorded the CDs as an audio disc in the first sections of the disc.

[@lukehawksbee]

You could do this with a bunch of old PlayStation games too.

[@Krzych66665]

I did the same thing with total annihilation, amazing soundtrack

[@shaunw9092]

I did this with Half-Life too.

[@AyushBahuguna]

I'm so happy they mentioned Age of Mythology! The fact that they will be incorporating what they learnt with the other definitive editions into AoM Retold is very exciting and I have really high hopes that it'll be the fantastic revamp that the AoM series always deserved.

[@Spamster3212]

I've loved AoM since I was a kid, I'm looking forward very much to Retold, especially since Extended Edition + Tale of the Dragon was kind of a mess.

[@todallard8791]

AoM was great for the single player on release but the online multiplayer was so bad it drove players away, there were many of us back then who played AOE2 and were exited for AoM and shortly after AoM came out we were going back to AOE2 then the zone was shut down.

[@Voo504Doo]

i literally play aom everyday still

[@DarkysLPs]

"I wololove you" Holy shit that made my heart melt

[@AnthonyAvon]

I can only speak for AoE 2 DE, and all I have to say is... OMG IT'S SO GOOD AND IT JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER! We all saw the horrible remasters of popular games in recent years, and this is the example of the opposite. The devs working on this have improved the original in every single way, completely preserving the spirit of the game. I could not be happier.

[@devilsolution9781]

3 wasnt bad, they remade skins on certain units and added super zoom which made distinguishing difficult on mass scale. However tue breath of life is a blessing, updates etc

[@devilsolution9781]

I have over 100 houra on 2de which was ablast before 3de

[@milkteaalliance1748]

Age of kings amd conquerers is the best. DE uses the new 4k crap and new animations looks retarded. They should have just added more bonuses to the age of lings level of tech. But they are obsessed with 4k but it doesnt leave room for imagination plus the details ironically look blury in the end. 3d sucks

[@Prometheus7272]

Because the devs truly love the game their creating.

[@TheObsessiveGamer]

If there is one series that brought me into PC gaming, it was this series when I was a child. Played it so damn much as a kid and I love seeing its revival. I didn't realize how well the Definitive Editions were done till I saw this video, I must get this! Thanks for covering this and bringing attention to it.

[@rickychardzz]

Welcome in the age family. If you want there is a big nations cup happening with only 6 nations left ! And KOTD5 qualifiers 2! Enjoy

[@celsus7979]

You've got to check the aoe2 channels on twitch! Great streamers and players, tournaments, explanations and fun 😆

[@FrostGiantStudios]

We were very happy to see Stormgate included here! It's been great to see the resurgence in popularity for Age of Empires and other RTS games. We firmly believe the best days for RTS are still ahead and we hope you all enjoy playing our game!

[@brandon8667]

Excited for your game!

[@MusicaX79]

One of my greatest regrets in life was giving up on the community when MSN Gaming shut down the servers. I wish I had stuck to the game, instead of moving on to other games like League Of Legends. The AOE2 Community while it has a large resurgence in players as of late is still a close group that doesn't put up with toxic players. If you are toxic they will just not play with you again. It's such a positive and open community.

[@apan990]

ironically the only toxicity ive dealt with in game is in diplomacy maps (we had a group of like 50 some yrs ago and played it all the time) however what happened in the game stayed in the game (mostly) so it was healthy? toxicity lol. but in general i dont really come across anyone toxic, and if i do its usually settled in a rematch, whether as a team game or 1v1.

[@celsus7979]

I've watched different games on twitch and i have to say the aoe2 streams and community is the nicest on there. It's rare to see negativity!

[@ayesaac]

It's a little disappointing that an Age documentary only has a single throwaway line to the community who actually kept this game alive, and started building up its popularity again to justify a remake. There was a small but extremely dedicated playerbase long before definitive edition came out, and I completely credit streamers like T90 and the competitive scene for the resurrection of the series. They were getting eyeballs on this game and rebuilding a community around it long before Definitive Edition came out. I played Age back in the early 2000's, when I was younger than 10. I got back into it in 2017 because of the competitive scene and the streamers. Microsoft have done really well with the development side of things (for the most part), but that's not what resurrected these games. This is not a story about a company deciding to remake some games out of the blue and actually doing well. This is a story of a dedicated, passionate fanbase bringing a franchise back from the dead. There's a reason AOE II is by far the most popular entry still. AOE II HD went from a Steam post-release trough half a year after release of 2.5k players steadily up toward averages of ~15k prior to DE's release. This wasn't the work of a development team, or a marketing department. It was the work of a community.

[@celsus7979]

I completely agree! Streamers crowdfunding a prizepool for a showmatch made great content and helped players at the top with income and motivation. Only a great community could make this comeback happen

[@WIBOMATIC]

Amen. This doc was on pretty shaky ground from the moment he said "This all started back in 2018.."😂 Voobly and Forgotten Empires and streamers like t90 was where the comeback started.

[@jasonscottjenkins]

@@WIBOMATIC Voobly definitely bridged the gap for me.

[@whuzzzup]

Agreed. Also just wrote a comment about this. Interview someone from Forgotten Empires who worked on this game long before DE. And especially talk about how the eSports community kept this game alive that a DE even was considered. I will be bold: If it was not for T90, DE would not have been a thing.

[@fuyoutubeck]

yes, that's what I assumed the video was about in the first place when I preemptively liked the video, but I guess it was wholesome to listen to this East Asia looking dev he's such a nice and passionate guy, I didn't catch where he's from hence why I wrote it as East Asia looking, such a great dude

[@NolDragon]

Age of Empires is basically part of international culture by now.

[@TheActualJae]

23:56 I remember the Doom producers saying the same thing and it's just so true. It's a _game_ not a movie, not a book, not a TV show, but a _game_ . Player interaction is the entire point of the thing, so lets get to the fun as fast as possible 😊 It reminds me of something I often say to my wife when a game opens with 15 minutes of cutscenes, "If I wanted to watch a movie....I'd watch a movie." Let me hit that fun button! So I gotta love this sentiment right here.

[@Enkelados35]

It's incredible how good they made the remakes and how responsive and active they have been in keeping the game alive, interesting and well balanced. They proved that when you do things right, a remake can be a truly new beginning.

[@TheBalloonBob]

Something blizzard could have done far better with War3 Reforged... :(

[@TacoTco]

The most timeless, enjoyable strategy game ever created. Let's hope they never stop making tournaments like Red Bull Wololo and KOTD.

[@markdowse3572]

Not to forget Rage Forest 😁 and Nili's Apartment Cup and Hidden Cup... 😄

[@vassilisa.n.1220]

You never forget one of your firsts loves as a game artist i got to say kudos to the artists remaking all the assets and animations, it turned out awesome.

[@KyleRyanFilm]

I haven't touched these games in over 20 years, and I'm getting chills just hearing some of these sounds from the game. The nostalgia rush is heavy. I can close my eyes and see the family computer setup I used to play AoE on.

[@SL2797]

This documentary was really good, but I wish they had talked about how AoE1:DE pretty much failed, and how they decided to bring AoE1 to AoE2:DE with the Return of Rome DLC.

[@jesus1021]

It didn't do that bad, then AoE2 came out soon after and it was just better.

[@caseyb1346]

Most of us original aoe players switched from 1 to 2 back in 2000 and we never looked back. Aoe1 had major gameplay balance issues that aoe2 fixed. Which kinda explains why aoe2 is played competitively around the world, not aoe1.

[@stevepittman3770]

How did I miss that AoE had come back from the dead in such a big way? I played AoE2 (perhaps the best RTS of all time) for endless hours with a buddy of mine and have so many great memories. Chomping my way through the Black Forest map with siege onagers, filling my battering rams with woad raiders and sending them across the map unsupervised (because if the enemy killed them they would then be accosted by the angry woad raiders inside who were way more dangerous than the ram itself), building massive defensive structures with bombard towers as China, razing whole cities from offshore with Spanish cannon galleons, and of course the endless waves of teutonic knight or war elephant spam. Such good times.

[@martinnqueti8233]

You're welcome to come back to it, the AOE2 community Is amazing and so wholesome and helpful for newcomers

[@MrArekrem]

Bruh, come back to aoe2:de, the mp is alive and kicking

[@stevepittman3770]

@@MrArekrem I don't really like playing competitively in games. Give me some friends and a good old fashioned comp-stomp any day.

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

AOE is the pinnacle of RTS

[@willfieldsend]

I’d say a tie between AOE 2 and C&C Red Alert 2

[@angelo.strand]

Nah it’s wargame red dragon

[@crackazack510]

​@@willfieldsend no love for warcraft2? 😢

[@ineedpeopletogivememeaning9955]

TA?

[@nicklasveva]

Extremely deep, yet extremely accessible. That's what makes an RTS a great RTS. There are many RTS games that are way too complicated for anyone who has never played an RTS before, basically locking them out of playing that game unless they use youtube guides to understand how it all works.

[@Dr.Happy11]

Shoutouts to the Forgotten guys with their amazing expansion that showcased the expansive the potential of AoE II, and to guys like SotL, T90, Memb, and many many more in the YT, Voobly, casting and competetive scenes, that kept the flame burning. And of course, to Lord Daut.

[@Carlossa-619]

Great video!! Personally, I got into my first RTS experience with AoE2 just last year playing with my friends and it is sooo fun. With the recent new updates coupled with the great community I hope they keep their momentum

[@CoffeeAndBusiness]

Welcome to the community!!!!!!!!

[@samos343guiltyspark]

I grew up playing AOE, I'm 32 now, remembering playing the demo that released before the full game... My family, my brothers, my mum, we all played it and often. It just gets me in tears to hear the music and see the colours and graphics in all the beauty of the game reflect what my nostalgia remembers.

[@Abraid_]

When you see the devs have passion like this for a game then it gets the players just as excited!

[@luiz8755]

What made me brought Definitve Editions was the feeling that people behind such projects was passionate about it just like me. You can see and feel it in minimal details. Such passion is disappearing in many titles today.

[@suningchen]

Man, this is the kind of game I could even enjoy watching people play and not play myself, it's like watching a basketball match, and listening to analysts talking about buildings and units and etc.

[@XPAction]

This game is timeless

[@WartimeFriction]

AoE 1 and 2 were easily some of the most influential games of my childhood. I now get to watch my nephew play games from the series and enjoy it as I did when I was his age.

[@jonc-1989]

I remember playing a pre-release version of AoE when I was like 9 due to my dad's job. Before this I was a C&C fan but AoE just completely took my imagination. Many hours spent playing it with my dad. The music, hearing WOLOLO, the battle sounds. Really makes me feel very nostalgic

[@vikaskumarpatel5017]

I got a demo for this game in 2003 on a CD. We bought a new PC recently. We've never had PC before and without internet, we had no idea of PC gaming. My brother and I started the demo. We had no idea what we were supposed to do. Since we didn't have much to do on the PC, we keep coming back every day to understand the game. The only reason we kept coming back to the game was to hear... 'Passed down to you by Cuauhtemoc, Eagle Warrior of Tenochtitlan.............'. We hear the whole thing, try to understand the game slowly understood it. The sounds of the game were incredible, history part was amazing etc. Bought the game 3 times already........... Age of Empires II

[@norrdal]

Great documentary! I grew up playing the original AoE II and came back to the game during the pandemic, mainly because of T90's videos on KZbin. I'm amazed that this old game is now more popular then ever and it's great to see how much attention it gets, not only from fans, but also from sponsors who are putting more money into sponsorship deals and tournaments than ever before. There's a great community around it and a great competitive scene as well. And it's fun to see the game being played in so many different ways as well. Thanks to the devs for not only maintaining the game, but actively adding more features, DLCs, balance changes and even spreading out to different platforms.

[@Derploop]

I feel like this really misses the most important parts, despite being an interesting interview. Those are basically: Forgotten Empires, and T90. Those 2 entities basically revived the entire game from a front facing, publicity perspective. SOTL might do technical videos for people playing, but just the funny shenanigan casts/videos and Hidden Cup were so insane for making people realise the game was still around.

[@DraconianEmpath]

and forest nothing XD

[@phomjachana]

m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYW1qIGih8aqb7s&pp=ygUOZm9yZXN0IG5vdGhpbmc%3D

[@roolaing]

You have no idea how happy this makes me to see NoClip cover my favourite game. I bought it in 99, and chatted about plotted strategies in Maths with my pals. We'd play on 56k later on. Then repeat it the next day. It's the most wonderful game ever. So incredibly deep.

[@ROCKSTAR3291]

I haven't touched AOE in 20 years but i'm glad the franchise is doing well after all these years because it was part of my childhood

[@spinyslasher6586]

Why haven't you touched it? Are you allergic?

[@neelchaudhary8993]

You should try to get back into it. I stuck by it and am glad the community is back to being interactive

[@ROCKSTAR3291]

@@neelchaudhary8993 it's been too long, last time I played it was in like 2003, I don't think I have time to relearn the game anymore.

[@neelchaudhary8993]

@@ROCKSTAR3291 The game is meant to be enjoyed and cherished. You don’t have to learn it. You’ll get goosebumps from just listening to the theme song when you open the leading page. You can also just play against easy bots have also have no idea what they are doing. Or you can do the easier single player campaigns. I usually play age in the weekends when I am free to do what I want. You should give it a try. Trust me, you won’t regret your decision

[@spinyslasher6586]

@@ROCKSTAR3291 It isn't that tough. Just turn the AI down to the lowest difficulty and start playing from there.

[@unwantedscrub]

Noclip never misses. With the Prey documentary (my favorite game of all time) to AoE II (the first game I ever played).

[@Pantelis_Psaroudakis]

This was the first PC game I saw back in the day when my dad was playing it. I always kept returning to it and currently I am at over 1400 hours in AoE 2 DE. Such an immortal masterpiece. What I love most about it is the history. It gives the player incentive to research further and learn more about civilizations they possibly had never heard about, or even research further their own country's history. It really is a one of a kind game in my heart.

[@LeftHans2God]

Sometimes, you hear someone talk about their work and think "this person is doing what they were born to do." It's beautiful, really

[@Wilipeidia]

I played Age of Kings on my PS2, adored it. So was great to see them talk about a newer console version.

[@church348]

i was blown away by how well AoE2 plays on console. took a little bit to get used to it, but once you get it, the game just feels so good

[@cezarstefanseghjucan]

It sure is a feat of game development.

[@stephenohora4664]

I think the real turning point were the mods (Forgotton Empires, Age of Chivalry) and other aspects of keeping the community going by fans.

[@overlordmateus407]

You're right, there are as many people playing Wars of Liberty mod as just the original age 3

[@shauntempley9757]

@@overlordmateus407 I myself did not like Age 3, either the story or the multiplayer. It felt like a massive downgrade from what Age 2 did in every way, and almost like a variation of Age Of Mythology, which I liked, since I was playing myth civs. My issues with Mythology were the same for Age 3, and it was my dislike for having build limits for buildings and ships in multiplayer. While I disliked it in Mythology, I hated that aspect of the gameplay when I got to Age 3, after the vast building that could be done in Age 1 and 2. It limited the strategies for fighting in really disappointing ways that for me were frustrating and not enjoyable. As for the story in Age 3, it was annoying to get to Joan Of Arc as a campaign, get to the Aztecs, Mongols and Huns in Age 2, thinking I was about to go back to Europe's upheaval, then jump to America with a weird story that only hinted at history when a few characters showed up. There was plenty of history and a large number of military campaigns that were ignored by doing that time skip. History that even Empire Earth never explored. As for Age of Empires 1, its expansions, and Age of Empires 2 and its expansions, I loved them all!!

[@Xandalfo]

Thank you for covering the Age series! They're even bringing the Age 1 Civilizations into Age 2!

[@cezarstefanseghjucan]

Hehe, Return to Rome, alright, dropping on the 16th of May!

[@apan990]

well technically just one civ, being romans, but you can play aoe1 via aoe2 (i still dont know how the hell it works exactly its so confusing lol).

[@freundlichermensch7540]

Last year I was in Heidelberg for red bull wololo, and organized a public viewing for the games in a local pub, which was great. And before the games started i had a chat with two random guys in the pub. Turns out they played the game back in the games and were quite surprised that the game is still played to this day. They remembered some of the voice lines of the villagers and then I knew they were not lying, because you saw some passion in the eyes. But that seems quite common, people played the game as kid, but then moved on and some years later they rediscover the game again and it brings back all the joy and memories. I played age as kid, i played the HD version in middle school and as an adult i play the definitive edition. That said until the DE version i never played online, just against bots, and I know a lot of people who still love to play against the AI, rather then playing against other people.

[@nicholaswoollhead6830]

Glad to see someone taking noticed of this incredible resurgence.

[@sylfraeaveniore2684]

I remember as a kid being stuck playing and listening to Tango Alpha Bravo. AoE1 Expansion song. That song was my gateway to Age of Empires. Mom and dad were always busy with work that, neglecting me and my 3 siblings at the time. They felt bad, decided to buy a PC so it can at least keep us busy (future parents, prolly should never do this-- find time for your kids). Uncle was a huge PC nerd, and he actually built our PC at the time. Year of 2004 and we got our Windows XP. I was 5. He gave me a bunch of CDs filled with games. He taught me how to install them so if ever I got bored, I can just find another curious game I see based on cover. And among the hundreds of games he gave us, this was the most memorable for me. Given my age, I had a hard time controlling my units (still do to this day but got better motor skills obv). So I never got to playing above moderate difficulty. I was 8 or 9 when I stopped playing cuz unfortunately, a big storm came and broke our PC by getting it wet. We got a new PC but bringing more misfortune, we don't have the discs anymore and my uncle has a bad relationship with my dad. Couldn't bring myself to go ask him if he still had a copy of the game. Even now A cousin of mine still held a copy and happily gave me one. Then I was surprised there was a sequel. It was 2015 when I learned of AoE2 HD, and I played the game on my cousin's laptop. We tried everything we could to copy the game to my family PC but couldn't find a way. My cousin said he only got it from a friend of his, so his friend knew how to and was the only one who held the installer. At least we played against each other on AoE1 afterwards setting up LAN. Played until 2016 cuz my laptop broke that year lmao. My lil brothers and sister always had priority playing on the family PC and they didn't like me hogging the PC for hours. Didn't have a PC/laptop until 2018. At the current time, graduated college last year. Now have plenty of time while working. I bought the game this sale so I can play against online players. Add that I'm getting stomped. Now I'm trying to get my friends to play this with me since my circle of friends is perfect for a 4v4 scenario. To everyone who read this, thank you and wololo~!

[@sylfraeaveniore2684]

For more context on why my parents basically forced us to be sheltered I was pretty adventurous as a kid and nearly got myself killed lmao

[@insight_iot]

Great documentary. I love AoE II to death, it was one of my favorite games growing up, playing it on MSN Gaming Zone and in LAN. And I continue to keep returning to this game. I think it's truly a timeless classic!

[@spinyslasher6586]

Man I miss MSN Gaming Zone. It had its fair share of problems, but for young me it was witchcraft 😂

[@insight_iot]

@@spinyslasher6586 I cannot even try to think about how many hours I spend on there playing AoE II. For its time I think MSN Gaming Zone was pretty capable.

[@Quickeasyguitarlessons]

"Maintaining the feel while improving the visuals" that is why these remakes blew up. I'm 33 and started to play this game again. I used to play it when I was 10. KUDOS to these guys for making these.

[@mosesbrown4126]

Shoutout to T90--- the animating ghost of the AOEII community machine Edit: And of course, honorable mention goes to our unofficial mascot, Fatslob. At this point, I can't hear about the IRL Black Forest in Germany without remembering that crazy Scandinavian bastard.

[@hansoverhage]

1111

[@EverydayCharacterArc]

I started playing this game incredibly young - around 7 years old (I'm 26), mostly because both my mom and dad played AOE1 and AOE2 at that time. To this day my mom still plays AOE2. My dad has stuck with AOE3 and I have since moved on to AOE4. Definitely a huge impact on my life.

[@DavoTypeR]

RTS base building games were my favs back in the 2000s. The Age of Empires series, Command & Conquer I loved them all. RTS needs a comeback. Looking forward to Tempest Rising :)

[@johnnychu05147]

Still remembered how excited I was when I get my hands on Forgotten Empires mod expansion. That pretty much revived the game and has brought in so much new contents since.

[@The76Malibu]

I mainly played Supreme Commander growing up, never tried Age until Aoe II DE last year. Now I have over 100 hours in and love it! Supreme Commander was complex, but you kind of felt like you fully grasped it. AoE II DE there's always more to learn and room to grow. Incredible scaling from noob to expert.

[@OS4N4RU963]

Greetings from Morocco! My father has always been deeply obsessed with *Age of Empires 1*, far more than any of the other versions. I remember playing *AOE 1* for the first time when I was just 7 years old. Then, in 2011, I tried *AOE 2* for the first time, and it was something else. I absolutely loved it. My father was probably the only person in our entire village who played the game, and it’s funny to think about how he shared it with my neighborhood friends. We all became obsessed with it, and the game became a big part of our lives. To this day, my father and I still play it together. One thing that I really love is that the Berbers were added to *Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition*. As a Moroccan, I feel very honored to see a part of our culture included in this masterpiece of a game. It’s not just a feature in a game, it’s a recognition of our heritage and a way to feel connected to our roots every time we play. The *Age of Empires* series has created lasting memories for my father and me, and the inclusion of the Berbers has made it even more special for us.

[@utki1808]

My dad bought the first computer of our family and along with the windows 95 installation disc came another one which had the original aoe as a demo. I was obsessed with that one campaign mission I could play over and over again.

[@dudule1232]

some friends and i started playing aoe2 DE in 2020 and we are hooked. Truly one if not the best game ever made.

[@nafnaf0]

They did a great job with the definitive editions, hats off to these guys. They really did keep it true to the style and feel of the original games

[@DementedDistraction]

Been playing AoE since 2001, it's one of those games that genuinely doesn't get old. I can remember working at CompUSA back around 2003 and convincing a reluctant mother who was wary of videogames (she was very much the 'no blood or violence' type) to get AoE 2 for her daughter based on the historical merit of the campaigns, lol.

[@chillwavemusic5024]

My respect for the whole of the AOE developers' staff! You have changed the whole the era of the gaming industry! And your eyes still shine with passion and inspiration! And thanks to the Author of the video for such fascinating story

[@chipsinatube]

Looks like the console edition actually has decent controls, I wouldn't have known that without watching this. Also I love hearing the "what works/what doesn't" stuff from Devs, their creativity and curiosity is always enlightening. I'm excited for the Age of Mythology remaster :)

[@MiniUchiha]

I love how even Age of empires 3 which was one of the least popular one it has received an incredible amount of dev support with like 8(?) new civs in a non symmetrical game is just massive and much more than I ever expected. They increased the number of civs by almost half. Also the graphical upgrade is just insane. The game looks soo good, it fits right in with any other RTS game released today imo. I would have loved for them to cover the design philosophy of the new devs in aoe3 DE, see how they interpret the original design and mix it in with their new one.

[@vitorcristovao4037]

age 3 is underated, very hard and complex game but very very fun

[@TheAvenger1]

My thoughts exactly, there was an overall lack of AOE 3 DE coverage in the documentary. This is a shame as the game itself features very unique civs that don't rely on the 'one unique unit per civ' philosophy that the older AOE games center on.

[@petercollins797]

This was an incredible video on the legacy of this game. I, like so many, grew up playing it, it's the reason why my go to genre will always be RTS. Now my siblings and I still play at least one session a week, and usually my friends do the same. I'm really happy to see the revival in the RTS community this is causing.

[@huzi990]

Gah, this documentary is making me feel so nostalgic! Fantastic work!

[@jeremeh911]

the multiplayer tournament boom of AOE 2 is what hooked me back into it.

[@priyanshrathod8842]

This was the best game of my childhood. One day, I will get a good PC and will surely buy AoE 2 DE. Thanks T90 to bring back this game and the community.

[@redclaytanto]

Age of Empires 1 taught me the foundations of this genre which is why I hold them dear to this day.

[@ZeddZM]

Thank you thank you for making this documentary!! My childhood just went back to life

[@nicholaswoollhead6830]

Come over on the ladder mate! And check r/aoe2 for some good community

[@PatrickBateman-wp7fe]

So glad they brought a version of AOE2 to Xbox series X, really hope they eventually add in the scenario editor feature down the line though this adds a completely whole new dimension to the game

[@rolithesecond]

My god, the golden Age of RTS. I even loved the whacky ones like War Wind 1 & 2, Submarine Titans, Machines, Battle Realms. Just so much good stuff.

[@krux02]

Yep, I've played all of those games as well and I absolutely agree. The golden Age is pretty much 1997: Age of Empries, War Wind 2 (but I prefer 1), Total Annihilation, (almost Star Craft)

[@LucasCunhaRocha]

Z was great, really far ahead of it's time, Company of heroes play like a modern version of Z.

[@rolithesecond]

@@krux02 War Wind 1 just really had something special going. I think it was way underrated back then. WW2 was still fun, but it had a bit of sequelitis, the graphics were better on paper but the style wasn't as nice and the human faction was a bit odd at first. I did come to like the game eventually too yes, but 1 has the better overall feel I think.

[@maggotmusic757]

Wow, this whole thing was done so well. Probably my all time favorite franchise, I just can't believe there's a doc THIS GOOD about it ❤

[@chaser1254]

Still remember OG's demo - played the hell out of it

[@kamel9715]

Me and my friends started playing Aoe2 on Xbox against eachother a few months ago. All my friends were Fortnite, CoD and R6Siege players, and surprisingly they all got hooked immediately. We might not be competitive or really good, but we all have a blast playing against each other for hours.

[@sethv9039]

I remember playing AOE2 when I was young. I was overjoyed when I discovered the definitive edition. It's a work of art and so much fun to play.

[@LOGEZZZZZBRO]

My favorite part of this video is hearing about you and your wife bonding through this game, especially your home LAN cafe while your kid slept. We have our first kid on the way and I’m happy to hear you had some free time.

[@milczyciel]

Original, Red Book format (tracks playing from CD) of AoE 1 soundtrack still gives me the chills and whisks away to another time and place. For whatever reason, both the original midi files, but also the 2019 renditions just don't do the trick.

[@Wockes]

Yeah, my favorite is Track 1(Conquest) of AoE 1 CD. It's so good

[@nathangamble125]

I'm honestly really disappointed with the new sound of Age of Empires. I like the updated graphics, but I wish I could use them with the original sound effects and music. Age II DE did a much better job of recapturing and improving the original version than Age I DE.

[@majormononoke8958]

@@nathangamble125 lol, just turn off music and have the age of 1 soundtrack in the back ground

[@cyberlemmingasaservice7740]

@@nathangamble125 There is actually an option in AoE1:DE to customize the music, so you can replace the 2019 music with anything you want ... including the AoE1 CD music ;)

[@sylfraeaveniore2684]

My favorite one is from the Rome Expansion. Tango Alpha Bravo. Great gateway song to AoE for me.

[@NestanSvensk]

Thank you. AoE is such an important series for me and my friends.

[@ukdeathwheel]

Can you ask the command and conquer guy to look into remastering Red Alert 2?

[@farhadchaudhry]

And Red Alert 1

[@bahweisan]

The first time I played AOE 1 was 11yo student on a computer in my school library.. was hooked on RTS ever since.

[@EddyVinck]

I only played AOE2 as a kid and I'm having a blast with AOE4 right now. Such a great game!

[@janputz4157]

The "i wololove you" is actually amazing. Hreat olay on words and sliced up with good aoe2 reference. Big fan, cool wife.

[@Korja88]

This is honestly incredibly surface level. I honestly cannot imagine making a min-doc about how Age of Empires came back to the limelight that doesn't start with AOE2HD and doesn't focus on community members/efforts, but here we are.

[@captainboreale7632]

I have to admit this game always has a special place in my heart. It was my first RTS game and multiplayer experience. To me, this game is like a rarest gem in the gaming universe and never lost its quality. While watching the video, many flashbacks and joyful memories were revealed in my mind :)

[@gezmac4399]

Ah what a gem. I never stopped playing (age 2) since it came out Edit: Had to come back to shout out the auto everything reference lol

[@malasian]

I vaguely remember playing the old AOE2 on my uncle's PC when I was in Kindergarten/Elementary. Good times.

[@DillonPetry]

The AoE2 team that brought it to Xbox will never get enough credit for the people who changed RTS on console. The controls are the best any console RTS game has ever been.

[@PlatonicHesaf]

Playing the game since i was 8 and now im 20 and still playing. My father still love the game and plays it for hours and hours.

[@nicktubby9710]

Imagine if 343 treated Halo with the same dedication and care as these developers treat AoE.

[@DinoPimp]

The Steam numbers are embarrassing. Its sad.

[@kenm3209]

Excellent first video on the making of AoE I thru IV DE... Now do one on the following: 1. More technical aspects of the new engines, graphics, etc. 2. Mod support and the modding community 3. Capture Age and similar 4. Support for the sites that supported communities / kept Aoe alive online for years. 5. Praise / concerns of the community about certain aspects of the games. 6. Details about differences between the games. 7. Next steps in this process of renewing the genre. i.e. Rise of Nations, Empire Earth, et cetera. Others I can not even think of yet...

[@rcube33]

Was really hoping that when the Devs mentioned the community solo-carrying the games for so long that there would be interviews with large community personalities like T90 to speak on it

[@shashank0404]

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see this documentary! Age of empires was this thing we used to do back in college. I had a 2003 laptop I used to call ‘oldmanstillvirile’ who could still play age of Empires but would crash servers more often than not. Those were fun times, and I am so glad this is coming back! I’m gonna hop on back to my Xbox and see if I can relearn the game there!

[@James-gj8rn]

II've always been intrigued by RTS/Strategy games like this but at the same time they seem too daunting and complex and daunting to get into (i want to try Civilisation too)

[@rolithesecond]

AoE is pretty easy at its core and a lot of fun. Civ has always been a bit too daunting for me too, though.

[@fnors2]

Most RTS or 4X games (like Civ) appear daunting, but are generally not that bad if you don't go into multiplayer. Civ-like games have the advantage of being turn based, so you can take all the time you want to read/ponder things. RTS... There are some good ones to start with, and less good one. Generally, if they have a decent campaign, they'll ease in the complexity. Multiplayer in RTS games is a completely different beast. The meta builds and things get overwhelming fast, but you can always just play against the ai. Nothing really beats doing a 2v6 against hard ai with a buddy. Anyhow, if you want to get into RTS, AoE is probably a good one. The Red Alerts and Command and Conquer are another decent try, though the older games did have some stupidly hard missions. Once you get a grasp on how the genre works, getting in a new RTS gets super easy. As for 4X games... I'd suggest you stick with the big ones for a start. Civilizations is a good start. Civ 3 and 4 were pretty good and should be really cheap nowadays. They still have a distinct soul to them. Galactic Civ 2 should be nice for a space themed game. Endless Legends and Endless Space 1 are different, but pretty good. Whatever you do, I'd advise against going for Paradox games (or similar grand strategy), like EU4, Stelaris, Distant Worlds, etc. At least at the start. Those games are typically _massive_ with hundreds of obscure mechanics with unpredictable relationships. They are amazing games in their own rights, but they are not the best introduction to the genre.

[@gaborsalamon3629]

Aoe is pretty much the easiest RTS franchise to get in. It's a good starting point for getting into RTS games.

[@ziptink1710]

Play on easy mode, do the tutorials. You’ll love all of them. Once you’ve got the core gameplay of one of them (which is easier than I think you’re making it out to be), you’ve got it for all of them.

[@James-gj8rn]

@@gaborsalamon3629 Might try it then, thanks a bunch

[@KompassBKeys]

Quite a good documentary - been following age 2 for a long time, first as a player, now i'm just watching tournaments. It's important to mention that it was mainly age2 for the western market and it was the community that kept the game alive: Voobly as a platform to play the game, sponsors for tournaments, the players, observers etc. and most of all the team of forgotten empires. They kept balancing the game, inventing new civilisations and making the game playable. Microsoft got some of the developers into their buisness, and then started reinventing HD and doing a remake. And though Microsoft tried to push it, Age4 did not become a new Age2 (or Age 1 in Vietnam). Most Pro's returned to Age2 and viewernumbers are higher again. Well - It was the passion of a community that loved the game and kept it alive. Thank you these people!

[@whuzzzup]

> Quite a good documentary Nah sorry. If you want to talk about the "resurrection" of AoE2, you talk to the community and not some 'outside' devs that just tagged along.

[@raulandrus]

I bought AoE 2 like 3 or 4 times since its original release.

[@Calyx]

I think one of the best things about the original is that it ran on every computer I installed it on. Maybe not on highest settings but nobody really cared. Such a great game, great memories and it's revival is smashing!

[@wingwaabuddha]

I believe it was T90, genuinely. Yes the game is epic, and inspired many of us, but most of us went off to other things, T90 brought people back.

[@farhadchaudhry]

I think it was already there. He just did a really good PR job for it.

[@CalebShimomura]

He was the marketer, I think. The reasons people play the game exist with or without him, but if there's no one to tell you the game exists, no one will play it. T90 brought the game to a wider audience, and reduced the barrier to entry for many people. Obviously without longtime legends like TheViper, Daut, SotL, Chris, MembTV, Fat Dragon, Yo, and many others, the impact would be greatly reduced, but T90 was the one who conveyed the excitement to us when we had forgotten it. Even for those of us (like me) who don't play AoE2 frequently, his casts and videos are genuinely enjoyable experiences that I can come back to again and again. He couldn't have become what he has become without the game being amazing, but the game couldn't have become what it has become without him providing the presentation for us to see that, either. Edit: It's really really important that T90 is a highly ranked player himself as well as being a great communicator. I didn't understand anything about competitive AoE2 when I started watching his videos, but T90 was able to break down what is happening in a game and why a player could be doing that often, even when commentating matches at the highest level. Obviously he doesn't always understand the players' plans, but at the very least, he can help noobs like me understand why a castle on a hill is well-placed or awful, or if a player's lack of production building is losing them the war. if he wasn't a top 100 player, his ability to elucidate the finer aspects of AoE2 would be crippled.