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Pic of the Day: The red civilization in the Iron Age. (Submit | Archive)
   Welcome to the All New Aeon!
Greetings RTS fans, Aeon's new site is finally here. We now cover not only Empire Earth, but have full coverage of SSSI's new game, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World. Join the community and discuss this and more in our new forum.

Headlines
» Empire Earth II - Patch 1.1
» Empire Earth 2 - Patch 1.05
» Empire Earth 2 Finally Released !
» New EEII FAQ
» Computer Games Magazine Interview
» HeavenGames Empire Earth II Preview
» The Spartan Clan's EEIIU Write Up


Thursday, May 26, 2005

Empire Earth II - Patch 1.1
01:05 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
VUG just released the new Patch 1.1 for the retail version of Empire Earth II.

The change log is huge, so you better click here to view it.

You can get the US Version of the Patch here.

For other Patch languages (English - UK, German, French,...,...) you may look into this thread.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Empire Earth 2 - Patch 1.05
14:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
First Patch availible already for the retail version!

This file updates Empire Earth II 1.0 (original retail version) to version 1.05. Additions in 1.05 are:

• Resolution of known multiplayer lobby issues.
• Addition of autopatch functionality

You can get the English version of the patch here.

Check out this thread for the other patch language versions and updated mirrors!

Empire Earth 2 Finally Released !
08:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
Finally Empire Earth II is released! Exactly one year after its announcement on the 04/26/2004. Be sure to contact your local retailer for a more detailed release date!

At this point, I want to send congratulations from the Aeon-Team to Maddoc for making such a cool game, and to VUG for their amazing marketing strategy. Keep up the good work, guys!

I hope that everyone enjoys the game and we could soon meet on the servers to play a match.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Lots Of New Empire Earth 2 Stuff
07:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
In the last days Vivendi Universal Games put up a lot of content, including the Soundtrack,"Behind the Scenes"-Movies, and more on their Official Empire Earth II homepage.

Check the "Downloads" and "Gallery" Sections to access the new content.

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Empire Earth II Demo Patch 1.1 Released !
07:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
Vivendi Universal Games just released the Patch 1.1 for the Empire Earth 2 Multiplayer Demo.
According to the readme file, it fixes the multiplayer lag issues and adds a note to the login box which tells you that you have to have port 2600 UDP forwarded in order to host.

There are two ways to get the patch.

If you don't have the 1.0 demo already you can download the patched 1.1, 203 MB weighing Demo from here.
But if you have the 1.0 Demo already you can just download the 15 MB light Patch from here.

Friday, April 8, 2005

Empire Earth II "Goes Gold" !
07:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
I just received the message that Empire Earth II went gold. ...
Empire Earth II has gone gold and will begin hitting store shelves around the world on Thursday, April 28th. The game carries a suggested retail price of $49.99, with an ESRB "T" for Teen Rating (Blood, Violence). Please contact your local retailer for availability in your area or pre-order online and score a Bonus DVD packed full of bonus features!
... What basically means that the final version of the game is in the manufactories and is becoming duplicated a dozens of times for the mass-market.

Monday, April 4, 2005

Empire Earth II Multiplayer Demo Released!
07:04 PST | by the_ruleing_ruler
The new Empire Earth II multiplayer demo is officially released since today!
A new age of epic conquest has arrived! In the Empire Earth II Multiplayer Demo you'll experience three of the game's fifteen exciting epochs (Renaissance, Imperial, and Enlightenment) as you match wits against players around the globe. Adapt your tactics to manage changing seasons and inclement weather as you lead the German, American, or Korean civilizations to victory.
You can get the demo from the Sierra FTP

Have fun!

Friday, March 25, 2005

March Newsletter
13:03 PST | by DK
March's edition of the Empire Earth II newsletter is now online and contains new batch of epoch specific screen shots, unit higlights, and developer diaries. The newsletter can be found here.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

New EEII FAQ
03:03 PST | by DK
There's a new Empire Earth II FAQ on the official site which offers answers to pretty much every question you may have about Empire Earth II. Amongst other things, the FAQ makes it clear that the long awaited multiplayer demo probably will be released in early April. You can find the FAQ here.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Computer Games Magazine Interview
03:03 PST | by DK
Computer Games Magazine features a new interview with Mad Doc CEO Ian Davis. Besides providing us with the typical walk through of Empire Earth II's exciting features, Ian Davis also provides us with several interesting snippets of information - such as the fact that the "Quick Start" feature wasn't planned from the beginning:
Computer Games - What have been some of the more unexpected things that have cropped up in the development of Empire Earth II since Mad Doc started to work on it?

Ian Davis - Making a game is an interesting process. You assess the situation, you plan, you roll up your sleeves, and then you get in there and start creating. The cool thing is, every once in awhile, something pops up you didn’t plan for -- and often, it’s these moments of chance -- these “in the moment ideas” -- that provide the greatest moments of clarity. For instance, we didn’t go into the making of Empire Earth II with the intent to create the “Quick Start” games, yet I think it’s one of the most exciting new features of Empire Earth II.
You can find the entire interview here.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

HeavenGames Empire Earth II Preview
14:03 PST | by DK
HeavenGames features a new 5-paged Empire Earth II preview. The preview naturally goes into detail on all the well-known features and concludes that while some of Empire Earth II's features might slightly resemble those of Rise of Nations, the gameplay has a distinct and unique feel to it. You can read the preview here.

Saturday, March 19, 2005

The Spartan Clan's EEIIU Write Up
11:03 PST | by DK
The Spartan Clan's web site features an Empire Earth II University Write Up by Mokon. The interesting write up can be found here.

Friday, March 18, 2005

GameSpy EEIIU Coverage
11:03 PST | by DK
Our host, GameSpy, features lots of premium coverage of the Empire Earth II University event. The coverage includes two interesting articles dealing respectively with the balancing of Empire Earth II and the diplomacy in the game. Furthermore, is a war story and a "Behind The Scenes" video available. You can find it all here.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

New Video Developer Diary
13:03 PST | by DK
The official Empire Earth II site has a new video developer diary, this one features Mad Doc's Lead Level Designer Dan McClure who discusses the matters of scenario design and What kind of research that went into the game. The diary can be found here. What kind of research that went into the game

Monday, March 14, 2005

Back From London - Update
11:03 PST | by DK
Am I the only one that hates the fact that English pubs close at 11 pm?

Anyways, as I've been in London for a week (yah!), there are few news pieces that has gone unnoticed. Chronologically, first up is the fact that the first advertisements for Empire Earth II began to appear in games-related print magazines world-wide last week, as a part of the so called "Twice" magazine campaign marketed by the slogan "Twice the Power. Twice the Glory." You can find one of the ads in PDF format here.

Secondly, Worthplaying featured a positive preview (yet another) of Empire Earth II. The preview can be found here. Finally, we soon hope to be able to bring you coverage of the recent Empire Earth 2 University, to which we where able to send one pretty darn lucky delegate courtesy of VUG and Mad Doc. Thanks!

Saturday, March 5, 2005

Empire Earth II ads on GameSpy
05:03 PST | by DK
When visiting our host GameSpy, you may be lucky enough to be treated with a cool Empire Earth II ad!

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

New Poll!
13:03 PST | by DK
We've updated our monthly poll with a new question, this time asking our visitors exactly how good they found the Empire Earth II single player demo to be. This naturally also marks the closure of our the latest poll asking the always relevant question: "Do you think Empire Earth 2 will be better than its predecessor?" Out of the 704 registered votes, an impressive 66% thought that this would be the case.

A Message From The Mad Doctor
12:03 PST | by DK
In an admirable move from Mad Doc, CEO Ian Davis has written very, very long post at the official Empire Earth II forums to address the both positive and negative feedback the single player demo has garnered:
Thanks for the feedback on the single player demo, I appreciate your input and suggestions. I have actually read through all of the notes (you guys write a lot!), and wanted to address some of the questions you've brought up. We've been working hard to create a game in your best interests, and all of this helps Empire Earth II become a better game.
For those of you too lazy to read the full and very interesting post, his message is that the single player demo build is a very, very old one that is severely outdated with regards to balance and optimization. Furthermore, Ian Davis reveals that a multi player demo will be released shortly! You can find the post here and discuss it in our forum here.

New Empire Earth II Newsletter
12:03 PST | by DK
This new edition of the Empire Earth II newsletter features a stunning total of four video diaries, a developer's letter on the subject of AI, and naturally the obligatory age-specific screen shots and "units of the month". The newsletter can be found here online.

Monday, February 28, 2005

New Interview with Dr. Ian Davis
01:02 PST | by Matt
The Spartan Clan has posted a new, quite lengthy interview with Mad Doc CEO and founder, Dr. Ian Davis. Here's an excerpt:
Q: One thing we’ve been wondering about is what type, if any, of a recorded game system will you have? Could you just explain it a little to us?

A: It’s actually quite complicated, but just to give you some idea of what’s going on here…think of it as a recording of all the input commands. This allows the game to play itself over, exactly as it played itself through the first time. It does other cool things as well: it allows you to view the game from other people’s perspectives, and it allows you to just “jump in” at any point (so, if you just played and were thinking, “I wonder what would’ve happened if I had done X…” – you can go back to that exact point and try a different tactic).

Q: Another feature your game boasts in the Territory System. Now in terms of importance and effect on the game, do these act more like Rise of Nations Territory System or Age of Mythologies Settlements?

A: It’s sort of a mix between the two. The Territories are discrete like in AoM, but you can place your City Centers anywhere in them, and there are far more bonuses associated with them than in AoM. It’s different from RoN because it’s less of a historical note, and more of a goal. You get more for capturing Territories, and the discrete count of how many you have is a yardstick for how well you’re doing (and you know who to take out!).
The full interview can be found here. Thanks goes to TSC_Blade for this news.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

New Forum Online
22:02 PST | by Matt
As some of you may remember, several months ago the GameSpy network came under attack by a malicious web script which took advantage of an exploit in the phpBB forum software. Dozens of sites across the GameSpy network were affected, including Empire Earth Aeon. Many of our core forum files were destroyed or otherwise corrupted, and the attacker gained access to our MySQL database. Subsequently, the Aeon forum has been offline ever since.

Today, however, I have some good news. We've finally finished setting up our brand new forum, which is online and ready for business. The exploits in the forum software have been corrected and GameSpy has taken extra steps to improve the security of the entire network.

That being said, I would like to welcome you all to join us in our new forum to discuss, among other things, the newly-released Empire Earth 2 demo.

View: Empire Earth Aeon Forum

Friday, February 25, 2005

Empire Earth II Demo Out!
15:02 PST | by DK
Just as I was preparing to post about the upcoming release of a Empire Earth II demo March the 1st, I stumbled upon the news that it already had been released! The single-player demo lets gamers lead one of three civilizations - the Germans, Americans, or Koreans - through three of the game's 15 epochs, including the Renaissance and Age of Enlightenment. There are two games types to choose from: conquest and territory control. The demo, coming in at 177MB, can be found at these mirrors: FileRush, Worthplaying, 3DGamers, GGMania, ActionTrip.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Warcry Preview
11:02 PST | by DK
The Warcry Network has a You can find the preview new preview of Empire Earth II, as with the other previews linked to today, it isn't worth reading if you're on the look for new details, however, the sheer enthusiasm the previewer shows for the game brings joy to an Empire Earth fan's heart:
Combine giant robots, several significant improvements to the genre, and a non-cheating AI, and you have an RTS worth looking at. Now add all these cool little Civ-type features and enough variations and options to make gameplay last hundreds of hours, and you have Empire Earth 2. If you’re going to play one RTS this year, play this one.
You can find the preview here.

New Previews
06:02 PST | by DK
Both Games Domain and Computer & Video Games offers previews of Empire Earth II. The previews are only worth a read if you haven't read any previous previews, as they reveal nothing new. They can be found here and here.

New Official Empire Earth II Site
06:02 PST | by DK
Sierra and Mad Doc has just launched the new Empire Earth II official site. Besides the new looks, the site also features tons of new content; so much, that it take hours to list it. In other words: Check it out!

Friday, February 11, 2005

On Vacation!
15:02 PST | by DK
As I'll be going to Italy tomorrow, there will most likely not be any news posting made until next sunday (the 20th that is). I'll naturally update the site when I return!

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

A Batch of News
12:02 PST | by DK
As I haven't been able to update the news in the last few days, there's quite a bit of Empire Earth II coverage that has been left unnoted here at the site: First of all, Worthplaying features five new stunning screen shots, which are some of the best shots of Empir Earth II. Secondly, GameSpot has the second video diary from the hands of Mad Doc CEO Ian Davis. Finally, GameSpy, as promised in their last preview, has a new hands-on preview of the multiplayer aspect of Empire Earth II.

Saturday, February 5, 2005

IGN Preview
05:02 PST | by DK
IGN has yet another hands-on preview of Empire Earth II:
Empire Earth II received a facelift from the original, as one would expect. This is a new engine that allows for better realization of battles and armies. It isn't going to wow anyone like some of the Age of Empires III or Earth 2160 screens have been, but everything is certainly functional with a good level of detail.

But aside from mere environments, buildings, and units, Empire Earth II has some nice effects. Explosions are pretty and bright, but there are also those with meaning. Weather effects have a drastic effect on how the game plays. While units won't necessarily stop working (unless they're aircraft that's been grounded by storms), they'll suffer a huge drop in speed and sight radius. This means keeping an eye on the month and time is a good idea. Sending your giant army out only to get caught in a blizzard could be detrimental to their health when they accidentally wander into a fortified base.

Empire Earth II has a lot going for it. There certainly are some things that need to get fixed before everything is running perfectly, but they have a while to finish things up so hopefully that will be enough time. If so, this game could be one that fans of the hardcore RTS genre can get all bubbly about.
Its sort of funny, but admittedly also logical, how the three big gaming networks all preview the game within the same week.

Friday, February 4, 2005

GameSpot's Empire Earth II Frenzy
11:02 PST | by DK
GameSpot has a hands-on preview of Empire Earth, 27 new screen shots, and 4 new gameplay videos. The preview touches the same subjects as the recent GameSpy preview, but is more in-depth. You can find an overview of GameSpot's Empire Earth II coverage here.

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Hands-On Preview At GameSpy
09:02 PST | by DK
Our host, GameSpy, has a new hands-on preview of Empire Earth II focusing on the single-player aspect of the game. Previewer Allen Rausch sounds rather overwhelmed by the scale, level of customization, and complexity that Empire Earth II offers, but also notes how great additions Empire Earth II's "macromanagement" tools, such as the Citizen Manager, are to the game:
The real innovations in Empire Earth II lie in the game's "macromanagement" tools. The game encourages players to look at their civilizations as organic wholes, rather than as just a collection of units. Rather than shepherding a bunch of peasants from resource to resource, I could use the "citizen manager" interface to just decide which resource my empire needed at the moment and direct my labor force to start producing. The citizen manager is just a specialized cursor that appears when you hover over your resource list on the interface (there's also one on a separate screens). It lets you know how many citizens are working to extract that resource as well as how many idle peasants you have. A few mouse clicks is all it takes to shift them around. After a few hours of using this, I realized that I would find it hard to go back to the old method of controlling my proles in other RTS games.
He also mentions the War Planner:
The same thing might be said about the new "War Planner" tool. This is just a simplified map of the territory that allows you to give order to separate elements of your army using arrows and waypoints. There are also a series of tools and commands that allow you coordinate your attacks so you can give multiple groups of units orders and have them carried out simultaneously or in a certain sequence. While the unit selection in the game follows a fairly simple "rock, paper, scissors" style of combat supremacy, it's really the war planning system that will give players a good strategic workout.
The last thing worth mentioning is that we can expect a preview covering the multiplayer aspects of the game in a few days. You can find the preview here.



   


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