Age of Empires 3 Demo released

Updated - The minimum specs for the Demo are:

Windows XP
1.4Ghz Processor
256MB of RAM
64MB Video Card that supports HardWare Transform & Lighting (HW T&L)
Approximately 350MB of free HD space, not including the installer and room for the temporary files
Also, if you have trouble installing the demo, please make sure that, during installation:

AntiVirus software is temporarily switched off
Programs that provide a "shield" around your system settings should be temporarily switched off (The new ZoneAlarm 6 does it, as well as MS's Anti-Spyware software and Spybot's Teatimer)
Your video card drivers are up to date
Your DirectX installation is up to date (current version is 9.0c)
Your system is spyware and virus free
You should close as many programs as possible before you install the game to minimize any chances of error.

From http://aoe3.heavengames.com/
 
I'll play the demo seriously this weekend, but I noticed a cute little quirk. When loading the demo, a prompt comes up and says my processor is running at 1100Mhz, and that the minimum requirement is 1400Mhz.

That's hilarious, since I'm running on an Inspiron 6000 with a Pentium M at 1.6Ghz. Methinks Ensemble needs to stop checking a CPU's current speed and instead check for its rated speed.
 
HRslammR said:
surely XP is not the MINimum for it. otherwise win2k is fucked =(
Click to expand...


sonuva bitch... damn you ensemble. i don't want to upgrade! :mad:

won't work on anything BUT xp.
 
maybe its because we have it set to a wide screen res, try chaning res to 1024x768 or something...
 
Love it!

I am so buying this when it comes out.

*giddy*
 
I installed it and played. Didn't seem all that great IMHO. But then again, I prefer simpler RTS games...
 
Maximus825 said:
I installed it and played. Didn't seem all that great IMHO. But then again, I prefer simpler RTS games...
Click to expand...

i'm guess you also dont like rome:total war... interested game and all, but for the live of me, i can't figure out how to destroy a dam wall :p seriously :(
 
I hate getting excited about games anymore. I thought this would be some huge step forward and look as good as the screenshots. :confused:

It looked about the same as AOE2.
 
I tried the tips on aoe.heavengames, but it didn't work. I don't have any newuser.xml file, only a defaultprofile.xml file. Any ideas?


EDIT: NM. Wasn't looking in the Documents folder, just the game directory.
 
FluxCap said:
I hate getting excited about games anymore. I thought this would be some huge step forward and look as good as the screenshots. :confused:

It looked about the same as AOE2.
Click to expand...


I think it will look the same as the screenshots... this is just a demo, with obviously-limited graphics options judging from those available in the menu ingame. Besides, it is great-looking as-is. Graphics don't make the gameplay, as I'm sure you know ;).
 
Grabbed this fix from another forum:

Navigate to your AOE II demo installation folder, go to startUp fodler. Make a text file and change the name and extention to user.cfg

Add 2 lines in the following manner:

xres=*your x resolution*
yres=*your y resolution*
without *

ex:
xres=1680
yres=1050

viola
 
yblocgerg said:
Grabbed this fix from another forum:

Navigate to your AOE II demo installation folder, go to startUp fodler. Make a text file and change the name and extention to user.cfg

Add 2 lines in the following manner:

xres=*your x resolution*
yres=*your y resolution*
without *

ex:
xres=1680
yres=1050

viola
Click to expand...

Doesnt work for me. Im on a 2405. I even changed the desktop res to 1600x1200, still didnt work.
 
graphics are excellent and it ran flawlessly for the 8 mins I had it going on my system. I won't be playing it again or even purchasing the game. Apparently the developers feel that spending all their time on gorgeous graphics and then covering them up with a user interface that takes up half the screen is something I'd find enjoyable but fortunately, I found out now via the demo instead of wasting $50.

What a disappointment, I was really looking forward to this game.
 
polydiol said:
graphics are excellent and it ran flawlessly for the 8 mins I had it going on my system. I won't be playing it again or even purchasing the game. Apparently the developers feel that spending all their time on gorgeous graphics and then covering them up with a user interface that takes up half the screen is something I'd find enjoyable but fortunately, I found out now via the demo instead of wasting $50.

What a disappointment, I was really looking forward to this game.
Click to expand...

Yeah, WTF is that so large?
 
Heh, I don't have a problem with the interface. You can zoom out, you know... ;/.
 
Where the hell have I been, I just noticed this!
I am DLing it tonight.
I hope it keep all the things that made AoE2 so much fun!

I have heard and seen some nice things about this game.
 
Smith said:
Heh, I don't have a problem with the interface. You can zoom out, you know... ;/.
Click to expand...

You can zoom out, but you can still only see 1/3 of the screen.
 
Majin said:
Where the hell have I been, I just noticed this!
I am DLing it tonight.
I hope it keep all the things that made AoE2 so much fun!

I have heard and seen some nice things about this game.
Click to expand...

not if you read this Thread :)
 
It CAN be changed though. I remember Ground Control 2. After I patched up I never played without Slim GUI. It wasn't too bad if you ask me.
 
Game looks promising, gameplay is ok, I like the attention they put towards graphical details (ragdoll effects, buildings falling apart piece by piece)
 
Sweet! :mad:

AOEIII_Error.jpg


6800GT w/ latest official drivers (September 2nd)
 
fat_al said:
Sweet! :mad:

AOEIII_Error.jpg


6800GT w/ latest official drivers (September 2nd)
Click to expand...
Lol pwned alex :p Anyways try running driver cleaner and re-installing. We are running the same drivers and I don't have any probloems.
 
I really thaught I would be done downloading the demo before I could finish reading this whole thread. 446KB right now but I'm wondering if I should just not waist my precious gaming time on this demo and play some BF2. :p


UPDATE:
This game sux for the lack of a better term. HL2 like graphics??? yeah right. I would have been happier with a major upgrade to Age of Empires 2.Reminds me of how dissapointed I was with AOM.

FEAR FEAR FEAR FEAR! :D
 
So far I have seen about 6-7 people with the same error as I do. From x32 to x64. All have NV cards though, and A64's. I dont think its a problem with the AMD setup, but perhaps the NV cards? I havent seen anyone with a ATi card with the same error.
Click to expand...
Add me to the growing list. I'm using widescreen, A64, SLI GTXs, a legal copy of WinXP 32-sp2.
 
Okay, yblocgerg's fix worked for me. Thanks.

Give it a shot. The delete the .xml file or edit it didn't.
 
I'll state for the record that if the game sucks or if you find bugs, it's because I didn't work on this title. :D
 
Torgo said:
I'll state for the record that if the game sucks or if you find bugs, it's because I didn't work on this title. :D
Click to expand...

If you had anything to do with the UI design in AoK, your influence is already missed.
 
Dr_John said:
Add me to the growing list. I'm using widescreen, A64, SLI GTXs, a legal copy of WinXP 32-sp2.
Click to expand...

Yeah I probably have. After about 10 mins into the game my monitor goes black and ATI VPU recover kicks in, allowing me to continue playing. This repeats every so often. There's no text with the error (that I could see). I'm using catalyst 5.8 drivers on an x800xl.
 
ES has stated (in one of the threads over at AoE3 HeavenGames), that the UI in the final build of the game is much smaller.
 
That, and plus the demo was compilled from a beta from back in june, so the retail has alot of bugs fixed, features are diffrent and some things work diffrent, so remember that this is a limited DEMO, hell I hacked the demo to have HUGE map sizes and the ability to zoom out more, its not hard at all, just a few xml files to edit, god how I love xml :p

//Elimi'Xed
 
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