Age of Empires III 1.0.4 Software Update
This update is for the English version with Age of Empires III and contains several fixes for known issues, including, but not limited to:
Version 1.0.4 - 28 June 2008
- Fixed a crash when switching the game to "Medium" quality shaders on NVIDIA graphics hardware.
- Fixed problem with water occasionally drawing in the wrong color when using High level shaders on ATI hardware with PowerPC and Mac OS X Tiger.
- Fixed an issue where GameRanger Clients were unable to create a new Home City during setup.
- Fixed a rare problem with cinematic fullscreen fades not working on Intel Macs.
- Fixed a memory trasher in the Home City edit dialog.
- Improved save game compatibility between PowerPC and Intel Macs..
- Fixed a rare Mac Multiplayer connection issue where the Host might hang when rejecting an unrecognized Client.
- The Mac build is now in sync with version 1.12 of the PC Age 3 software.
- Added custom online scenario support for multiplayer games (PC 1.12).
- Fixed some out-of-sync bugs (PC 1.12).
For a complete list of updates, please read the Application Notes.
Age of Empires III 1.0.4 Software Update
IMPORTANT! Please note that:
You must be logged in as the user who originally installed the game software to apply this update. Additionally, you may need to supply an Administrator's password.
If you're not logged in as the appropriate user, you may receive an error during the update process, and your original Age of Empires III software will be left unupdated. After downloading and unzipping the Age of Empires III Update double-click the Age of Empires III 1.0.2 Updater (US) to run the application.
To perform the update, click the "Locate Age of Empires III" button. Then, navigate your way to your Age of Empires III file and select the "Choose" button. Follow the on screen directions to complete the update process.
Age of Empires III: Warchiefs Update Version 1.0.2
This update fixes all of the above issues, as well as:
- The Mac build is now in sync with version 1.04 of the PC WarChiefs software.
- Added custom online scenario support for multiplayer games (PC 1.04).
- Fixed the Firepit bug and exploit (PC 1.04).
- Fixed some out-of-sync bugs (PC 1.04).
- Fixed the text of some cards, units and techs (PC 1.04).
NOTE: You must first install the Age of Empires III 1.0.4 update before installing this update for the Warchiefs Expansion.
Age of Empires III: Warchiefs 1.0.2 Software Update
System Requirements:
Age of Empires III requires an Apple Macintosh computer with the following minimum hardware and software specifications:
- 1.2 Ghz PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, or Intel Processor
- Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
- 512 Megabytes (MB) of RAM
- 2.5 Gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space
- DVD or compatible drive (The DVD is required to play the game)
- 3D graphics adapter with hardware T&L and 64 Megabytes (MB) of VRAM
- Optional Multiplayer games require LAN or Internet access via Cable or DSL Modem
Recommended System Requirements:
- A Mac with a 2.0 GHz G5 or dual Processor, 1 Gigabyte (GB) of RAM, a video card with at least 128 MB of VRAM, and Mac OS 10.4.7 or later is strongly recommended for an optimal gameplay experience.
Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs requires a Macintosh computer that meets the above specificaitons and requires the original Age of Empires III game.
Troubleshooting:
Difficulty playing Age of Empires III: The Warchiefs with a Limited User Account.
Some users have reported difficulty playing Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs when using a Limited User Account type. In order to fix this issue, the permissions need to be changed for both Age of Empires III and the Warchiefs expansion. These steps use the name "admin" for the shortname of the Administrator account.
- Log in as a user with administrator privileges.
- Open the hard drive and locate the Age of Empires 3 icon.
- Ctrl-Click the icon and select "Get Info".
- In the bottom section, labeled "Ownership & Permissions" click the arrow next to "Details" to display these drop down menus: Owner, Group and Other.
- Set Owner to "admin" with Access "Read & Write".
- Set Group to "admin" with Access "Read & Write".
- Set Others to "Read & Write".
- Now, close the info box, Ctrl-Click on the icon and select "Show Package Contents".
- Ctrl-Click the Contents folder and select "Get Info".
- In the bottom section, labeled "Ownership & Permissions" click the arrow next to "Details" to display these drop down menus: Owner, Group and Other.
- Set Owner to "admin" with Access "Read & Write".
- Set Group to "admin" with Access "Read & Write".
- Set Others to "Read & Write".
- Click on the "Apply to Enclosed Items..." button, when prompted select OK.
Repeat these steps using the Warchiefs icon rather than the Age of Empires 3 icon in Step 2 and 9.
The game should now run when logged in under a Limited User Account.
Multiplayer:
To play a multiplayer game:
- On the Main Menu, click Multiplayer, and then choose Game Ranger or LAN.
- GameRanger - Selecting this option starts the GameRanger service. GameRanger is a free game matching service available to Mac users, and is a quick and easy way to find other Age of Empires III players on the Internet. An Internet connection and membership to the service is required to play. For more information and to sign up for a free account, visit http://www.gameranger.com.
- LAN - You can use the LAN option in two ways:
- LAN: Players are on a local area network. One player Hosts a game, and clients use the browsing box to automatically locate and then connect to the Hosts computer.
- Direct IP: Players connect to the Internet via a Cable or DSL modem. One player Hosts, and clients join by entering the Hosts IP Address manually into the Direct IP: field.
To Host or jost a LAN/Direct IP multiplayer game
- On the Main menu, choose Multiplayer, and then choose LAN. A dialog box appears asking you to enter a single-player skirmish nickname for this session. Type your nickname, and click OK.
- Youll need to choose or create a Home City for the session. If yo havent created one already, the Create Your Home City dialog box will appear. Enter the information necessary to create your Home City.
- Before you start your session, you can update your Home Citys Cards and Deck from the Home Cities screen. When you finish and are ready to start, click the Play button.
- The LAN / Direct IP dialog box now appears. The dialog box lists games in progress on your LAN. You can join a game already in progress, or host a game yourself. If you want to connect to another computer directly via Internet Protocol (IP), in the Direct IP: field type the IP address of that computer and click Connect.
Important Note: Direct IP and GameRanger players behind a NAT or router may encounter problems when connecting to Multiplayer games due to the fact that the game may not know what its true IP address is.
Multiplayer Troubleshooting
Performance:
The following guidelines are recommended for a good multiplayer experience:
- 8 Players -Greater or equal to a G5 DP 2.5 GHz, 2 GB RAM, and Cable/DSL, LAN
- 6 Players -Greater or equal to a G5 DP 2.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM, and Cable/DSL, LAN
- 4 Players -Greater or equal to a G5 2.3 GHz, 768 MB RAM, and Cable/DSL, LAN
- 2 Players -Greater or equal to a G5 1.6 GHz, 512 MB RAM, and Cable/DSL, LAN
These specifications are per machine. Try to ensure that the player with the fastest Mac acts as the Host for the game.
Direct IP / GameRanger and Routers:
Players who are situated behind a NAT or router may encounter problems when attempting to connect to Direct IP or GameRanger games over the Internet. This is due to the fact that the Mac is most likely being assigned a local IP address (such as 192.168.1.1) which is unsuitable for use over the Internet. There are two ways to address this issue:
- Inform the game of your WAN (eg, true) IP Address. For most gamers, your WAN IP address is the one assigned to your broadband Cable or DSL modem by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). To determine your WAN IP address, consult the documentation that came with your router or gateway. Or, use a web browser such as Safari to visit a site such as http://www.whatismyip.com to determine your WAN IP.
Once you have your WAN IP address, start the game and click Help and Tools, then Options, and then the Game Options tab. Enter the WAN IP address in the section marked Direct IP / GameRanger Override Address. Finally, quit and restart Age of Empires III for your changes to take effect. Now youre ready to try to Host or connect to a Multiplayer game.
Please note that if your ISP assigns your WAN IP address dynamically and it changes, you will need to update the Override Address setting with the new value to continue playing games over the Internet. Also, if you decide to play a LAN game (rather than a Direct IP or GameRanger game), youll need to remove the Override Address setting altogether.
--OR--
- Direct connection to the Internet. If entering your WAN IP as your Override Address fails, you may need to bypass your NAT or router and connect your Cable or DSL modem directly to your Macintosh. This should ensure that your Mac is assigned a true IP address directly. It may be necessary to reboot your Mac and/or modem before you can connect to the Internet. Also, make sure to remove any Override Address setting before trying a Multiplayer game using this method.
Port Override: If multiple Macs on a single LAN want to participate in a Direct IP or GameRanger game, youll need to provide each of them a unique Port number. To do this, start the game and click Help and Tools, then Options, and then the Game Options tab. Starting with 2300, enter a unique Port number in the section marked Direct IP / GameRanger Override Port. For example, the first Mac on the LAN could use port 2300, the second Mac could use 2301, etc. Finally, quit and restart Age of Empires III for your changes to take effect.
NAT / Routers: Ideally, computers situated behind Routers or NAT devices should be placed into the routers DMZ before when playing Direct IP or GameRanger games. Consult your routers documentation for information on how to do this. Alternately, you may try using port forwarding on UDP and TCP ports 2300-2310.
Graphics Troubleshooting
Shaders:
Age of Empires III uses vertex and pixel shaders extensively to render its graphics. To change the shader quality setting, click on Help and Tools at the main menu, then click Options, then go to the Graphics Options panel. Under the Shader Quality popup menu, you will see one or more of the following options:
- Low This option uses no shaders at all, and is suitable for older cards without shader support.
- Medium This uses assembly level shaders and will work for all cards that fully
support OpenGL pixel shaders (ATI 9600 and higher; NVIDIA 6600 and higher). It also works under Mac OS 10.3.9 and later.
- High This option uses high level shaders, and is only available for Mac OS 10.4.3 and later (although it is highly recommended that you update to the latest OS version to use this feature). The High setting adds water reflections and the option for animated shadows. If this option doesnt appear, then it is not supported by your video card and/or OS version.
- Very High This option adds High Dynamic Range (HDR) rendering, blooming and fog. The Very High setting requires the very latest and fastest graphics cards. If this option doesnt appear, then it is not supported by your video card and/or OS version.
Animated Shadows:
Animated shadows can be turned on by choosing Help and Tools from the main menu, then selecting Options, then clicking on the Graphics Options panel. There, you can set the Shadow Quality popup menu to either High or Very High.
Animated shadows require a large off-screen buffer in floating-point format in order to work properly. This capability is available mainly for the latest 3D video hardware and OS versions. If the Shadow Quality popup does not list the High and Very High options, then animated shadows are not supported by your card and/or OS version. Please note that turning on animated shadows can decrease performance quite a bit, so they should only be enabled if you have a very fast computer and video card.
On PowerPC Macs, animated shadows currently do not work when using NVIDIA hardware, and only work on very new ATI cards such as the X800. For Intel-based Macs, animated shadows will work with all current ATI and NVIDA hardware, but will not work with the Intel GMA series of video cards. These restrictions may change in future releases of Mac OS X.
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