Microsoft® Age of Empires® II: Gold Edition Version 2.0
© Microsoft Corporation, 2001. All rights reserved.

Microsoft Age of Empires II: Gold Edition Version 2.0 contains both Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires II: The Conquerors Expansion—as well as the new features explained in this document.

Custom Random Maps
Play using one of the many random maps custom designed by Ensemble Studios. The custom random maps may not work effectively for certain types of games or when you are playing against a computer opponent. Computer opponents assume that all custom maps are Coastal. So a map with terrain that is vastly different may decrease the typical skill level of computer opponents.

If you play a regicide game using the custom map ES@Pilgrims_v2, you do not start the game with a Castle. If you play a regicide game using the custom map ES@Metropolis_v2, you start the game with three Kings and three Castles. Also, if you play ES@Pilgrims_v2 with 7 to 8 players, some players may instantly resign.

To play using a custom map, click Single Player on the main menu, click Standard Game, set the Map Style to Custom, and then select one of the following maps as the Location.

For a full description of each map, go to http://www.ensemblestudios.com/aoeiix/docs/rms.shtml.

•	ES@Canals_V2.rms -- A network of canals creates a spider web effect as they try to connect every player's starting town.
•	ES@Capricious_V2.rms -- Starting food, gold and stone might be at normal levels, in short supply, or in abundance.  Starting trees will always be the same.
•	ES@Dingos_V2.rms -- Villagers shepherd their flocks while avoiding rampaging wild animals. Lots of sheep, lots of wolves, no Scout.
•	ES@Graveyards_V2.rms -- Control weed-choked graveyards packed with scary trees and abandoned buildings that conceal resources and ancient relics.
•	ES@Metropolis_V2.rms -- Control three Town Centers, three sets of villagers, three Scouts and three sets of resources!
•	ES@Moats_V2.rms -- Each player's town is surrounded by a narrow body of water with several land bridges for access and moats narrow enough for ranged units to fire across.
•	ES@Paradise_Island_V2.rms -- Start on a tropical island with your enemies. The map is loaded with fish, boars, and berries. Find the three relics at the base of the volcano in the center, but beware of the guardians!
•	ES@Pilgrims_v2.rms -- Your starting island may be small, but there is a whole new world to discover! Hop in your Transport and race your enemies to the new world!
•	ES@Prairie_V2.rms -- Food is often scarce and there aren't a lot of natural defenses, but your two Scouts can cover a lot of ground.
•	ES@Seasons_V2.rms -- Based on the 4 seasons in a year, with a 25% chance of loading up a Winter map, Spring map, Summer map, or Autumn map.
•	ES@Sherwood_Forest_V2.rms -- Multiplayer only. Your town is surrounded by forests, yet you can walk freely through them. Use your hunting wolf to scout the terrain or for sneak attacks on your enemy’s villagers.
•	ES@Sherwood_Heroes_V2.rms -- Single player version of Sherwood Forest. Start out with some familiar heroes.
•	ES@Shipwreck_V2.rms -- A few bruised villagers and their waterlogged sheep stranded on a desert island.
•	ES@Team_Glaciers_V2.rms -- In the frozen north, each team must defend its own hunk of ice and snow against frequent enemy raids. Bad weather makes ships and walls rare, though strangely, this has led to a bumper crop of deer.
•	ES@The_Unknown_V2.rms -- Everything is random. Everything. From the moment the game starts, you have to scout (with a random number of Scouts, of course) to figure out whether you are on an island, a mainland, or inside a clearing of trees.

Blind Random Map
Available only in multiplayer. Selects randomly between a number of different map types, and you are not told what kind of map you are playing on.

To play a blind random map, click Multiplayer on the main menu, and then set the Map Style to Blind Random.

Turbo Random Map
In turbo mode, all buildings work 2.5 times faster except when building economic units (fishing boats, trade ships & carts, villagers). All economic units gather 2.5 times faster and carry 2.5 times as many resources. All trade units work 2.0 times faster. Villagers construct buildings 2.5 times faster except for castles, towers, & wonders.

To play a turbo random map, click Single Player on the main menu, click Standard Game, and then set the Map Style to Turbo Random Map.

Advanced Tutorials
Take the next step beyond the William Wallace learning campaign. Watch these recorded games played by expert players and learn the strategy behind a great game.

To play the advanced tutorials, click Single Player on the main menu, click Saved and Recorded Games, and then select a recorded game to play.
A Narrated Battle
Recommended settings: Fog of War ON and View Lock ON so you see exactly what Maimin_Matty sees as he explains his moves.

Maimin_Matty narrates his strategy as he builds a strong economy and advances to the Imperial Age to defeat his two opponents. In the Dark Age, he explores for resources, creates villagers to build a strong economy, gathers food (to build more villagers and advance to the Feudal Age), and gathers wood to build Houses to support the growing population. In the Feudal Age, his goal is to gather enough food and gold to advance to the Castle Age and enough stone so he can build Town Centers. In the Castle Age, he immediately begins building Town Centers to protect his gold and stone mines and creates lots of villagers. He also researches all technologies that improve villager gathering capacity and the amount of food Farms produce. Then he cranks out the Farms and villagers and gathers enough food to advance to the Imperial Age. In the Imperial Age, he researches technologies to improve the attack strength and armor of his infantry units and then concentrates on upgrading to Champions. Then he moves his campaign forward onto enemy ground to defeat his opponents.

Castle Age Warfare
Recommended settings: Fog of War OFF and View Lock OFF so you can watch both players.

A battle between two ancient foes. Maimin_Matty’s Feudal Age rush falls short as The Sheriff speeds to the Castle Age. The Sheriff’s economy is weakened, but as his advanced empire expands, Maimin_Matty is forced to advance to the Castle Age or die at the hands of The Sheriff’s superior army. After reaching the Castle Age, Maimin_Matty uses his forward villagers to build a Town Center and Castle and establish a forward base in The Sheriff’s land. The Sheriff invests a lot of resources into Cavalry Archers, but loses his main base in a devastating battle. As the Japanese foot soldiers begin to flood the map, the game quickly comes to an end.

Feudal Age Rush
Recommended settings: Fog of War OFF and View Lock OFF so you can watch both players.

Maimin_Matty and The Sheriff both use an early-rush strategy that leads to a prolonged Feudal Age fight that draws the lines of battle for the game (The Sheriff is on the defensive). In the Feudal Age, it’s infantry vs. archers. In the Castle Age, siege weapons and knights come into play as the players struggle back and forth. Which unique unit or civilization attribute will turn the tide in the Imperial Age? In the end, Maimin_Matty triumphs with Huskarls.