Age Server
Age Server (formerly Age Server, originally AoE 2 DE LAN Server) is a web server (with its launcher) that allows you to play multiplayer lobbies without having an internet connection to the game server ensuring the game multiplayer functionality is still available even if the official server is in maintenance or is eventually shutdown.
[!IMPORTANT]
You will still need a custom launcher to bypass the online-only restriction that is imposed by the game to being
connected to the internet and Xbox Live or Steam, depending on the platform and version, to fully play offline. My
other project provides the files and information to
download a Steam Emulator and play 100% offline.
🎮 Supported games:
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition.
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition.
⚙️Features
- 🌐 Scenarios.
- 🗺️ Map transferring in-lobby.
- ↕️ Restore game.
- 📦 Data mods.
- 🗣️ Lobby chatting.
- 🎮 Crossplay Xbox & Steam.
[!TIP]
See more details
in Questions and Answers (QA)).
AoE II: DE, AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE and AoM: RT
List of features
- 👁️ Observing (including CapturAge for AoE II: DE).
- 📩 Lobby invite.
- 🔗 Share lobby link.
- 🔍 Player Search.
AoE II: DE and AoE III: DE
List of features
- 🧑🤝🧑 Co-Op Campaigns.
- 🔄 Rematch.
AoE II: DE
List of features
- 💬 Channels.
- 🗣️ Whispering.
AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE
List of features
- 👥 Groups
AoM: RT
List of features
- 🗣️ Whispering.
- 🙏 Arena of the Gods.
General limitations
List of limitations
- ⚠️ Joining a game lobby from a link only works if the game is already running.
- ⚠️ Subscribing to online mods only works if using the official launcher.
- ❌ No Xbox and Steam friend integration.
AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE
List of limitations
- ⚠️ Friend list will instead show all online users as if they were friends.
AoM: RT
List of limitations
- ⚠️ Friend list will instead show all online users as if they were friends.
- ℹ️ Arena of Gods:
Minimum system requirements
Server
Stable
- Windows: 7 or equivalent (10 or higher recommended).
- Linux: kernel 3.2 (5.10 or higher recommended, see here for more details).
- macOS: Ventura v13 (Sequoia v15 or higher recommended).
Experimental
- BSD-based (OpenBSD, DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD and NetBSD).
- Solaris-based (Solaris and Illumos).
- AIX.
Launcher and Battle Server Manager
- Windows without S edition/mode (recommended):
- Linux with kernel 3.2 (5.10 or higher recommended):
- macOS Ventura v13 (Sequoia v15 or higher recommended):
**Note for launcher: If you allow (and is needed) to handle the hosts file, local certificate, or an elevated custom game launcher, it will require admin rights elevation.**
Client
- Age of Empires: Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition
- Age of Mythology: Retold
Note: An up-to-date (or slightly older) version is highly recommended as there are known issues with older versions.
Binaries
See the releases page for server and launcher binaries for a
subset of
supported operating systems.
Provided archives
- Full:
- Launcher:
- Battle Server Manager:
- Server:
Note: If you are using Antivirus it may flag one or more executables as virus, this is a false positive.
*Note: On macOS, downloaded binaries are quarantined by Gatekeeper and may be refused as unverified as releases
are not notarized. From the extracted download directory, run the following in the terminal to clear it:*
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine . *(alternatively, right-click each binary and choose Open). Self-built binaries
are unaffected.*
Verification
The verification process ensures that the files you download are the same as the ones that were uploaded by the maintainer.
Verification steps
- Check the release tag is verified with the committer's signature key (as all commits must be).
- Download the ``
..._checksums.txt`and`..._checksums.txt.sig`files. - Import the release public key and import it to your keyring if you haven't already.
- Verify the `
..._checksums.txt`file with the`..._checksums.txt.sig`file. - Verify the SHA-256 checksum list inside `
..._checksums.txt`with the downloaded archives.
- Tags:
- Commits:
Installation
Both the launcher and server work out of the box without any installation. Just download the archives, decompress and run them.
How it works
Server
The server is simple web server that listens to the game's API requests. The server reimplements the minimum required API surface to allow the game to work with lobbies. Some requests are partially proxied to cdn.ageofempires.com and api.ageofempires.com and a request is used to get the public IP
Note: See the server README for more details.
Launcher
The launcher allows to easily play the game in lobbies while still allowing the official launcher to be used for online play.
Features
- Automatically start/stop the server or connect to an existing one.
- (Optional) Use an isolated metadata (except AoE I) directory to avoid potential issues with the official
- (Optional) Modify the hosts file to:
- (Optional) Install a self-signed certificate to allow the game to connect to the LAN server.
- (except AoE I and AoE IV) Add a certificate to the game's store to allow the game to connect to the LAN server.
- (Optional) Run custom configuration commands to set up/revert the configuration.
- (Windows Optional) Re-broadcast the battle server through other network interfaces apart from the most priority one.
- Automatically find and start the game.
Note: See the launcher README for more details.
Simplest way to use it
- Download the proper full asset from the latest
- Uncompress it somewhere.
- Windows Optional: You may need to add the launcher/server binaries to the exception list of your Antivirus.
- Windows Optional: Unblock the .exe
files as
- If not using the Xbox or Steam launcher, edit the launcher/resources/config.
.toml with a textfile
section to point to the game launcher path. In this case, you also need to modify
Client.Path to point to the game's directory.
**You will need to use a custom launcher (plus what my
other repo provides) for 100% offline play**.
- Execute
launcher/start_ script: you will be asked for admin elevation and confirmation of other dialogs as needed, you will also need to allow the connections via the Microsoft Defender
Firewall or any other.
- Repeat the above steps for every PC (except the point 6) you want to play in LAN with by running the launcher,
the first PC to
launch it will host the "server" and the rest will auto-discover and be prompted to connect to it.
- In the game, just host a new lobby via the Multiplayer section. Setting it to public visibility is recommended.
- If the lobby is Public, they can join directly in the browser or you can Invite friends by searching them by
name
and sending an invitation as needed. If the game allows, you can share the link to join the lobby automatically (
only
works if already
in-game).
Standalone execution
Server instructions
- Download the proper server asset from latest
stable release.
- Generate the certificate by simply executing
bin/genCert.
If needed edit the config file.
Run the server binary for all games or the start_ game title specific script.
Launcher instructions
- Download the proper launcher asset from latest
stable release.
- If needed edit the
launcher/resources/config. and/or launcher/resources/config.toml files. You will need to edit the Client.Executable section to point to the game launcher path if using a custom launcher
which you will need to use
a custom launcher for 100% offline play.
- Run the
start_... script.
Note: If you have any issues run the bin/config revert -a.
Battle Server Manager instructions
- Download the proper battle-server-manager asset from latest
stable release.
- If needed edit the
battle-server-manager/resources/config..
Run the start_...` script.
Development
See DEVELOPMENT.md to see how to develop and release builds.
Additional Terms of Use for the Downloadable Package
Important Notice: This software is distributed under the AGPL (Affero General Public License), which guarantees every user the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the source code. The following additional terms govern only the contractual relationship between the provider of the downloadable package and the user who obtains it through this channel. These terms do not affect or restrict the rights granted under the AGPL, which shall prevail over any additional restrictions when it comes to redistribution, modification, or access to the code.
By downloading and using this package, you agree to the following:
- Game License:
- Compliance with Game Terms:
- Personal Use Only:
- Limitation of Provider's Liability:
Disclaimer: This software is not affiliated or endorsed by any publisher or developer of the games.