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Age of Mythology cinematic trailer VCD

Hi everyone, I recently bought an "Age Of Mythology Cinematic Trailer VCD", which is according to the seller "a rare collector item". This VCD only contains a low quality version of the opening cinematic of AoM, but the item in itself is very interesting, I included a scan of the cover below. We discussed about that with PhatFish, and after this discussion we think that this VCD might be a very rare item, as rare as a beta, or even more. It may have been included in some official press kit, but it is still unknown how exactly this VCD was obtained.

New very early screenshot of Age of Empires

I came across a new very early screenshot of Age of Empires from the English PC Zone magazine. It's from the period where Ensemble Studios was messing around with the GUI quite regularly but unlike the screenshots we already have which show a peaceful village, this one shows a quite huge battle taking place.

Another interesting fact is that this screenshot also shows that the Ice Age was indeed in the game at some point, as you can see written in the lower right corner.

Also, it gives some new food for thought since I and DarkRain654 were almost sure these screenshots were simply mock-ups but the surfacing of this screenshot pretty much disproves that theory. See the screenshot below:

Thought I'd also use this opportunity to share some other interesting images of Age of Empires I've recently come across.

New full size shots of early Age of Kings buildings

I came across a few fullsize building set shots the other day and thought I'd share them here. They'll be added to the appropriate section later on.

TT beta & Celts screenshots

As promised with the announcement of my Titans beta version, I've added 28 new screenshots of me playing the beta (mostly the campaign).

Unlike the Age of Mythology marketing beta I own, it seems to me that the Titans marketing beta (and the other TT marketing beta for that matter) are pretty much exactly like the final product/retail version of the expansion.

I have not found any significant changes, not even minor ones (although I could've overlooked something!). The only difference is that this beta does not have an expire date. The executable is dated 8-20-2003, late August. Version number is 4.2003.8.2000.

If you have seen the other screenshots of the TT beta already, you probably figured out it is very close to the retail.

I gotta say playing the campaign again was a blast. I love the cinematics, which I think is one of the most fantastic features in AoM.

In other news, GPG have put up new screenshots of the Celt civilization on the official website, http://ageofempiresonline.com. The general look is really appealing, the renders look fabulous. The Celts will arrive in March. Thanks to Redhrts for notifying me.

The Titans marketing beta!

Wooh! I just acquired another original beta version! This time it's the Titans Expansion, the add-on for Age of Mythology. There are 2 original/official marketing beta versions of this particular expansion out there, and if I'm not mistaken this is the earlier one of those two. I'm not sure since I haven't had the chance to try it out yet (only just received it!), but the CD cover seems to somewhat confirm this. Maybe it includes the beta Norse titan? Perhaps, anything could be possible, I just don't know yet.

Here's a photo taken with my mobile:

My non-mobile camera is currently being borrowed, sorry for the low quality. We have a scan of the CD cover here.

I am going try the beta out the coming days to see how it differs from the retail/final build of The Titans, and will post the results/some screenshots very soon on AoE Beta.

Skirmish Hall available today

After the weekly AoEO server maintenance, you can now try the new Skirmish Hall feature today, for FREE. According to the devs it will be free for a limited period, so login and download it free while you can. I'm curious about the AI and how it will respond to different tactics used and the different modes available.

Originally the Skirmish Hall was supposed to be released in December, along with the Celts. The latter has been postponed to early March.

Happy holidays

On behalf of all the staff I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful two-thousand-twelve. Best wishes to everyone!

300.000 pageviews!

We have surpassed a major milestone the last couple of days, and now have had more than 300.000 pageviews since the start of AoE Beta back in 2007, July 16th to be exact!

This shows there is still a lot of interest in both the Age series and of course all the significant differences between the alpha stages up to the retail/final versions. We have quite a lot of visitors each day which shows that a lot of fans appreciate the work we do here - I'm glad you all enjoy the stuff we put up!

3DSM Wonder

Just found this new rare screenshot featuring a "skeleton" render of an AoK wonder/cathedral, in the hidden dungeons of Age of Empires Heaven. It is under development in 3D Studio Max, which is the program used to create all units, buildings and animations in both AoE and AoK. No bigger version sadly - very nice to see a building next to the other 3DSM screenshots we have.

AoE Online alpha changelogs are up !

Hi everyone !
I just added a page with the changelogs from the alpha builds of AoE Online that I found, check it by clicking on the link on the menu, or by clicking here.

On another topic :
We are aware of browser display issues in Chrome, and trying to resolve this.

If you were into the Beta or Alpha stages of AoE Online before Build #2144, feel free to contact me by email (see the contact page), I have some questions !