Hi All,

A small group of friends and I just started playing AOE2 HD on Steam in February. Most of us played the game when it came out in the late 90s. Now, we have the expansions and play matches on the weekends, and sometimes during the week.

We're looking to expand our player base with other casual armchair generals who love the game. Several of us have become parents, so there are times that we have to pause and take care of things at home. We mainly play against the computer on Moderate, but aren't adverse to fighting each other (although the last time we DID was prior to HD, probably in the first half of the 2000's).

If you're interested in joining us, or just brushing back up on the game before moving onto greener pastures, message me on Steam. My name there is vishalicious213. We also have a small Facebook group where we discuss the game, which all are welcome to look at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/464833603967312/

The battle for Arabia!... (Historically speaking, they are both pretty bad for the AoE2 map Arabia 11)

Hello and welcome back for another Age of Empires 2 civilization match up discussion! This is a series where we discuss the various advantages, disadvantages, and quirks found within the numerous match ups of the game. The goal is to collectively gain a deeper understanding of how two civilizations interact with each other in a variety of different settings. Feel free to ask questions, pose strategies, or provide insight on how the two civilizations in question interact with each other on any map type and game mode. This is not limited to 1v1 either. Feel free to discuss how the civilizations compare in team games as well! So long as you are talking about how the two civilizations interact, anything is fair game! Last week we discussed the Burmese vs Franks, and next up is the Saracens vs Turks!

Saracens: Camel and Naval civilization

• Market trade only costs 5%; Markets cost -75w
• Transport Ships 2x hit points; +5 carry capacity
• Galleys fire +25% faster
• Cavalry Archers +4 attack vs buildings

• TEAM BONUS: Foot Archers +2 attack vs buildings

• Unique Unit: Mameluke (Powerful, expensive Camel unit with ranged attack)

• Castle Age Unique Tech: Madrasah (Killed Monks return 33% of their cost)

• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Zealotry (Camels +30 hit points)

Turks: The best civilization

• Gunpowder units +25% hit points
• Researching gunpowder techs costs -50%; Chemistry free
• Gold miners work +20% faster
• Light Cavalry and Hussar upgrades free

• TEAM BONUS: Gunpowder units created +25% faster

• Unique Unit: Janissary (Powerful, all-purpose hand cannoneer)

• Castle Age Unique Tech: Sipahi (Cavalry Archers +20 hit points)

• Imperial Age Unique Tech: Artillery (Bombard Cannons, Bombard Towers, and Cannon Galleons +2 range)

Below are some match up-specific talking points to get you all started. These are just to give people ideas, you do not need to address them specifically if you do not want to!

• Both of these civilizations feel somewhat similar in that they have deadly Imperial Age armies, but have a crippling weakness that prevents them from seeing frequent high-level play. Which civ has the better post-Imp army? Which is more crippling in your opinion: the Turks' lack of trash units or the Saracens' lack of powerful eco/military bonus?
• When playing team games on any open land map, not knowing whether you'd get pocket or flank, would you rather have a Saracen teammate or a Turk teammate?
• Despite being fairly mediocre on most maps, both of these civs are considered strong Arena picks. In my head, I consider Turks to be a bit better than Saracens as Saracens do not have a fantastic answer to a Castle drop into Jannies. Thoughts?

Thank you as always for participating! Next week we will continue our discussions with the Berbers vs Japanese. Hope to see you there! :)

Links to previous discussions:

Part 1 Part 2

Hey guys, I'm Jonas The Noob Poacher and I have an active discord for Aoe 2 HD. We're looking for a few more active players, preferably 1700 or 1800+ elo on HD for 4 v 4 Arabia, Arena and Gold Rush.

We also host a bunch of FFAs on the weekend, all skill levels welcome for those. Reply if interested, thanks

Seems theViper, Tatoh, Daut all have twitch pages that aren't accessible - are they switching over to something else? When are they going to be back up? Thanks!

As title say, thank you!

Hi all,

TLDR: Looking for suggestions of single player games that fit my likes

I have only really enjoyed a handful of single player games in my life:- 8-12 years old: Knights & Merchants, Age of Empires, Driver & Crash bandicoot, (PS1)- 10-14 runescape, age of empires, age of mythology, rollercoaster tycoon- 14-20 team fortress 2, battlefield 2, GTA games, quake live, Driver San Fransisco (PC)the last 4 years almost only a bit of tf2 and GTA V

I decided to look for a singleplayer game and bought Assassins creed: Origins. Played it for 1h then uninstalled again.Open world games with a lot of freedom is what I enjoy (GTA) but I used to enjoy KaM / AoE a lot back in the day before I played fps.Considering to buy a playstation for the crash bandicoot remake, I'm sure I would enjoy that.

Do you guys have any suggestion what I may like? I actually haven't played that many different games for more than 50hours.. Does the average gamer here play a much larger amount of games?

EDIT: just bought Crash Bandicoot, was not aware it is already available for PC!

Any idea if there is a mod (I know there is one for voobly) that will let you rotate gates? Xx

Just got the game on steam, was basically raised on it as a kid but now I see there's a HD version so had to buy it - question is, do many people still play it / is there much of a following?

This sub seems to be pretty active so that's encouraging.

Specifically ones with the name "Olympic" in the title. I have an idea for a map and I rather build off an already existing design. I want to give players a fun experience and get them thinking, "How did he do that?"

Game is fucked.

Havent had a game fully play out and everytime someone DC's, the game goes out of sync.

Fun fact, this RARELY happened when the ELO system was down.

Technically i suppose it is easy for voobly to know who is lagging.. Why will not just kick them out?

Happy Monday everyone, and welcome to week 8 of the Civ Strategies discussion. This week we'll be discussing the tactical facets of the Ethiopians!

I'm mixing up the questions a little bit this time so we'll see how it goes.

• What are the Ethiopian's best early, mid, and late game strategies?

• What strength do you really try to take advantage of when playing this civ?

• What are some of the Ethiopian's ideal army compositions?

• What do you think are some of the Ethiopian's biggest weaknesses?

• What do you try to exploit when fighting against this civ?

• What are some creative yet viable ways to utilize their extra resources on age up combined with free pikes?

Some handy civ info:

• Civ Bonuses:

  • (Team Bonus: Towers and Outposts have an extra +3 LoS )

  • Archer-line units fire 17.6% faster.

  • Receive +100 food and +100 gold when you age up.

  • Pikeman upgrade is researched for free.

• Unique Techs

  • Royal Heirs (Castle UT: Shotel Warriors are created 100% faster.)

  • Torsion Engines (Imperial UT: Siege Workshop units gain +0.5 blast radius.)

• Unique Unit: Shotel Warrior (Fast, frail, high-attack infantry made quickly.)

Feel free to throw out anything else you feel may be relevant strategical info regarding the Ethiopians. (Also, any feedback on improving the format of these discussions is very welcome)

Previous Civ Strategies:

Aztecs

Berbers

Britons

Burmese

Byzantines

Celts

Chinese

https://www.twitch.tv/elfletchy AoE only stream boyz! Come if interested. !songrequest and be able to join the game too!

It really seems impossible considering the AI just spams infinitely but if anyone here has a video or ANYTHING where someone's done it could you please share it? I mean the goal must be there for a reason.

https://clips.twitch.tv/TacitTenuousUdonTBCheesePull

I hope you will enjoy it :)

I know the beta has been out for a few days. But all of a sudden the number of games in the live game lobby went down by like 90%. Did everyone just suddenly decide to swap over?

Additonally, toggling to the beta appears to not be working for me (using play on mac).

Just won 2 games and got a (0+) elo gain on both, but when I created another lobby, I lost ELO.

Does anyone have any advice for playing the OG AOE2 with a CD on Windows 10? Apparently Windows 10 doesn’t have safedisc supported so the game won’t launch. I have the HD version from Steam but the zoom is horrible.

How effective is a wonder rush in standard matches against AI in general?

I generally can't stand most LPers and streamers so it's rare for me to find one I actually like. Generally what I look for are:

• Being extremely good at the game. This automatically disqualifies 99% of all people.
  
• Good "natural" commentary. This is kind of subjective. Some people overact, some people overexplain everything, some people are clearly reading from a script.
  
• Also they must not have a voice that makes me want to strangle them. This also automatically disqualifies 99% of all people.

The only ones I can think of are Volound for Total War and Werster for speedrunning.

Longtime aoe player here - played ‘em all for the past 12 years. I think aoe3 was/is a worthy successor that streamlined aoe2‘s clunky UI. It added a tremendous variety of strategic options with the cards and eliminated more micro elements such as gather points and rebuilding farms. It has a great setting and much improved naval combat. Pathing was finally fixed!

It’s just a good sequel that tried new things. Why all the animosity towards it?

I wanna talk about Slinging (anyone have any links to slinging guides?)

As the slinger:

1. What civs are good at slinging? How viable is slinging with any random sling? Or does civ really matter that much?

2. At what point should you start sending res to your ally?

• What age should you be in?

• What techs should you research first?

• How many vills should you have?

1. What are some common mistakes to avoid as the slinger?

2. How should you transition out of the sling?

As the player being slung:

1. What are some of the best ways to utilize the resources you are receiving?

2. What are some common mistakes to avoid as the player being slung?

Hi there,

Is there any clan which recruits ?

I don't really know how to make videos so this is my first try.

Time for another weekly round of questions.

Talk about everything from build orders to advanced strategies.

Whatever your questions, the community is here to answer them.

So ask away!

I've played this game on and off for about 10 months now and i decided to become better. So far i can play decently with the japanese and goths, but i feel like i should be able to play more civs.

What are some easy to pick up civs who preferably don't have infantry as their core units? thanks in advance

Hey, I've been creating some civ ideas with u/ChuKoNoob you may have seen here on reddit. I've managed to get a functional HD mod working for all of them, with some bonuses changed cause I discovered they cant be coded. Its basically complete, we've played some games against each other and its really fun.

I know reddit isn't exactly the go-to place for modding help, but I thought i'd ask just in case. There are a few minor issues and one major one I cant seem to work out. I dont want to put an undue burden on anyone, but if you have encountered issues similar to mine or know the solution, I'd love to hear from you. The mod is currently set to friends only, but if you want/need to see it in action to see the issues I am describing, let me know and I can give you access. Starting with the minor issues...

I have been working on the assumption that it is impossible to add new civs and units to HD. Consequently we have been overwriting some of the less popular civs and hero units, is this the correct way to proceed?

I have also managed to allow battle elephants to target trees and cut them down (fallen but not removed). Thanks to their blast radius, targeting a standing tree adjacent to the fallen tree will remove that fallen tree, so you can use battle elephants to cut a path through a forest and sneak. But its a little more effort for the player than I had hoped. I have given them the same type of blast damage as Onagers/SO. Is the addition of an attack bonus vs trees the reason they are not being removed first time around?

I've also created duplicate fisherman for a civ (and disabled the normal ones) which have the capacity to gather from fish traps. Even though I disabled those funky fishermen for all other civs, somehow all civ's vils can gather from fish traps. Is this an issue with how I have gone about coding this bonus, or something hard coded within vils?

A followup from that question, vils gathering from fish traps count as idle. Why is that and how could I fix it?

One of our civs has a siege UU which is kinda a Onager/BBC hybrid. As a unit of that type, its essential that it can attack ground to help counteract micro. It appears to me that certain unit numbers are hard coded to have access to the siege commands, and all others have the standard patrol ect. Is this the case, or is there a way I can get a unit to attack ground without overriding an existing unit which can?

Another civ has 2x2 farms. They are super cute, speed up farming by about 15% (only tested dark age), and help defensively by compacting your base. While they can be automatically reseeded via queueing in the mill, you can reseed a dead farm by right click, and have to make one from scratch. While this is only 2 hotkeys, it would be nice to know if I can fix this issue.

Now for the big issue. Most of the ingame text that gives unit/tech information in building interfaces is completely useless. I understand this is a result of how i copy/pasted my units/techs to retain some of the essential formatting. I am investigating using the modded strings.txt file to create new strings that I can assign to my modded units/techs. This is really important to me so that people who are not familiar with my civs can understand what a UU or UT does/costs, as they will not have them memorised like I have. I have been looking at resources like https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=504740385 but am not quite sure of where i should store the modded .txt file, and how ingame I should setup my mod list and game to draw from that modded file.

Thanks in advance!

So I was screwing around with the Portuguese on a few water maps recently against BruteForce and Barbarian on Voobly and I noticed my hotkey for the Caravel wasn't working at all.

Upon a bit of inspection in the Dock section of the hotkey setup menu, I noticed the one ship that's not listed there is the Caravel. It almost seems as though the hotkey menu is still stuck in the AoC days even though I'm playing using WK.

Does anyone know what the hell is going on, and more importantly, how to fix it?

Recently, I've noticed that I have been having connection issues on eso, with half the times it says that it cannot connect to eso servers and half the time stating that the retrieving home cities failed due to time out. Interestingly, I am able to play perfectly fine on vanilla, with the issues arising only from trying to log in on tad.

I've attempted reinstalling, but I've still not been able to resolve the eso issue on tad. Is anyone here able to help?

The error when trying to play online is always I don't have the right version but I've installed 1.03 several times and downloaded cracks that don't fix the problem. The .exe I have is 6944 KB is that the right size?

If you had a chance to add something new to the game, what would it be? In terms of gameplay, and something that is more or less historically accurate.

E.g. from the top of my head

Bridges - Villagers can build bridges to cross rivers and etc.

Water defenses - Strategic canals, etc.

Spies - Infiltrate a single unit which wears the opponents color so you can gather intel

Etc.

So after watching Hbomberguy advise against buying games from scummy, greedy, shady developers and publishers, and instead go and support those who don’t engage in such practices like indie developers, I do want to know if there are AA and AAA companies who are at the very least, not as exploitative as Activision, Bethesda, EA, Ubisoft, etc and who you support?

I ask this since not only am I curious to hear what your list of companies you support comprise of but also I’m gonna blow my (admittedly pathetically minuscule) Thai army money once I’m released in November, hopefully in time for Black Friday or the Winter Sale, and I’d like to know which companies I should be buying from if I want to improve the game industry.

Off the top of my head, there’s some games on my wishlist whose owners don’t seem to be as scummy.

Bandai Namco : I have Dark Souls III wishlisted and I don’t think Bandai Namco has done anything particularly anti consumer with their other varied published games.

THQ Nordic: Darksiders III, and I’m impressed at how beautiful the game looks despite being a AA game. . So far they haven’t tried anything shady and it is nice to see a new publisher try and publish some more on the niche side games, something I admired from the original THQ (Company of Heroes, South Park, Metro, Darksiders, Saints Row, Dawn of War, Red Faction, and much more)

Motion Twin: Dead Cells. I never played a Metroidvania game but I do wanna give it a shot and help the company out as they seem to be incredibly fair with and equal among their employees

Obsidian Entertainment: Pillars of Eternity 2. While I haven’t finished PoE1, I really do love Obsidian’s commitment to RPG fans and their underdog status.

Sega: Warhammer 2- Total War, Endless Space 2. They are more on the shadier side on my Wishlist due to micro transactions in games like Company of Heroes 2 but I also feel they don’t come close to the other AAA publishers and I do kinda thank Sega for continuing to put on big budget Strategy games like Total War, Company of Heroes, Age of Empires, and Endless Space.

Telltale Games: Batman, The Walking Dead Season 2 and 3. I used to despise TTG as I saw their games as janky, illusion of choice games but lately I realized I’m more in the mood for shorter well written experiences. Plus I like that TTG goes for a cartoony styles look and I also like that their games are relatively cheap. I do hope the new engine they’re using won’t jack up the price or go for ‘realistic’ graphics.

Paradox Interactive: DLC and expansions. Although they have some questionable DLC policies, I think not only are they generally open and receptive to their communities and provide a well made series of niche games, I also think their long term commitment to improving their games is admirable. Games like Stellaris has improved dramatically since release and future updates look to further revamp major mechanics hopefully for the better

I know I missed out on some, especially the indie devs but yeah, which companies do you support?

On HD theres maybe 1 or 2 lobbies at a time but they are game types im not interested in.(custom maps mostly)

If i host, Are their dedicated servers to host or am i hosting of my pc?

Question in title. BF 4v4. Went full Longbowman in my last game (120), got rekt within a minute from 15-20 mongonels. I must say early in the game I told my plan to my teammate asking some units to counter mongonels but he didn't speak english so I didn't get that help. And my fault was to not change my plan because of that and because I didn't know which units to make as britons to protect my archers I guess. What unit should I use next time? THNAK YOU

Edit: title should really be asking how to beat the AI on moderate. It probably is possible.

I'm a noob ngl, but me and my friend keep playing and even though we're getting better at casting quicker and working on small mistakes like build orders and making sure that resources are constantly being used and not stockpiling, we still get rekt lol. Getting kind of disheartening now and we're not sure what to do. Usually one of us gets ganged up on and the other doesn't have a big enough army to go help out. Plus one of the AIs is much stronger and castles very fast. I think it's a fast castle strategy. Any tips?

New blogpost about our modding API.

Infrastructure

Our CI system kevin 0.5 now supports asynchronity.

Upstream

• FIX: get rid of pylint workarounds (Link)

Issues

Nothing new.

Too few bugs for your taste? Build the project yourself for Linux, OS X or Windows and report your own findings to us.

Open Discussions

• Event system pre-merge review (Link)

Roadmap

1. Rewrite of the coordinate system ✓
2. Merge eventsystem code
3. Define core gamestate
4. Establish modpack format
5. Create a simple demo for testing
6. Adapt the new renderer to the simulation model

The complete information is here: https://steamcommunity.com/games/221380/announcements/detail/1715194164144291727

It was stated in the ELO thread but the title hasn't been changed so i decided to open a separate thread here so more people can see it and test the beta.

Keep in mind that if you play the beta you won't be able to play with non-beta players, still better to do that little sacrifice now so the devs collect more data and release a proper fix later on.

This week, as earlier announced, Microsoft has given up ownership of the eso.com domain, which up to this point functioned as the old official AoE3 website with various tools and resources. From now on, it would be ill-advised to follow any links leading to eso.com, as they will be dead at best, or may contain malicious content at worst.

You should still be able to use the mirror website http://agecommunity.com/ for most purposes.

Stay safe!

Continued from Part 1

Koreans

• Chief religion(s): Korean Confucianism in urban areas and Seon Buddhism/indigenous Korean faiths in rural lands. Buddhism was introduced to Korea as early as the 4th century, and flourished under the patronage of the Goryeo Kingdom beginning in the 10th century. However, in the 14th century Korean general Yi Seonggye took power in a coup and established the Joseon dynasty, in which the Zhu Xi school of Neo-Confucianism supplanted Buddhism as the state ideology. In an effort to reduce the influence of Buddhism and other organized religions, Buddhist monks were banned from entering cities, while Buddhists were subjected to significant institutionalized discrimination and marginalized in society. Accordingly, Confucian ideals rose to the fore in government policy. Goshindo (‘way of the gods’), an indigenous Korean faith, was suppressed in the major cities as well. However, Buddhism continued to survive in rural areas, with new orders of Buddhist monks being established outside of the cities. Subsequently, a synthesis of Buddhist philosophies and schools of thought occurred, and many philosophical Buddhist texts such as Hyeonjeongnon were composed during this period. During the Battle of Noryang and the Japanese invasion of Korea, these Buddhist monastic orders played a vital role in delaying and rerouting the Japanese advance.

• Time period: 16th century (Battle of Noryang)

• Background: Hwangryongsa (Yellow Dragon temple), one of the largest Buddhist temples built during the 7th century in Gyeongju, served as the center of state-sponsored Buddhism in Silla, one of the ancient Three Kingdoms in Korea (alongside Baejke and Gogurjeo). The temple was reputed to be the tallest wooden structure in the world at the time of its completion; it would stand for nearly half a millennium before its destruction in the 13th century at the hands of invading Mongols. It is said that the interlocking nine-story structure was constructed with the Korean practice of plate shafting, an architectural technique used for large wooden buildings that required no nails and was later passed to Japan.

Further reading: Philosophical Aspects of the Goryeo-Joseon Confucian-Buddhist Confrontation

Magyars

• Chief religion(s): Pagan faiths and traditions, followed shortly by Catholicism. Despite being known as distant descendants of the Scythians and Huns, relatively little is known of the Hungarian people before their conquest of the Carpathian Basin and establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 10th century. During the conquest, the Hungarians practiced a polytheistic shamanistic faith in which the world was divided into three spheres (upper, middle, and lower) with humans, various mythological creatures, and dead souls scattered across the three realms. Worship and sacrificial offerings were directed at various forces of nature, including the gods of fire, water, war, and the sun and moon. During the 10th century, the Hungarians were visited by several Byzantine popes and bishops, and gradually began to adopt Christianity (also the religion of their Slavic subjects in the area). King St. Stephen, who took power in 1000 after defeating a pagan rival, was a devout Christian who ordered his subjects to routinely attend church and built many Benedictine monasteries in the region. To ensure that his subjects would abandon the traditional Hungarian religion, Stephen had his pagan cousin and presumptive heir Vazul blinded. His eventual successor Andrew I, anointed as king ahead of his pagan brother Levente, successfully crushed multiple pagan uprisings. Eventually, the presence of non-Christian faiths died out by the end of the 11th century.

• Time period: 9th-10th century (Honfoglalas)

• Background: Hunyadi Castle was built in the 15th century during the reign of John Hunyadi. With the exception of the chapel within, the building did not chiefly serve a religious purpose.

Further reading: Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary

Malay

Note: The Malay in-game are represented by the Majapahit Empire, a kingdom commonly associated with the Javanese people.

• Chief religion(s): Javanese Hinduism, intermingled with Buddhism as well as native animist beliefs and traditions (known today as Kejawen). Originally brought to the Indonesian archipelago by South Indian traders during the first century, Hinduism and Buddhism formed a fusion with pre-existing Indonesian faiths and flourished in the Indianized kingdoms of Srivijaya and Singhasari. Raden Vijaya, founder of the Majapahit Empire, was the Hindu son of a Singhasari prince who allied with an invading Mongol armada to defeat a rival vassal, then turned on the Mongols and scattered their fleet to establish his kingdom. By contrast, his first wife, Gayatri Rajapatni, was a devout Tantric Buddhist who joined the monastic order after the death of her son Jayanegara. During Gajah Mada's subsequent reign, Hinduism and Buddhism went through a degree of syncretism, with Hindu gods added to the Buddhist pantheon while the Buddha became synonymous with Shiva as the "Supreme Lord". Islam was a relative latecomer to the archipelago, arriving via trade in the 7th century and gaining followers in Malacca and northern Indonesia during the 15th century. Meanwhile, Majapahit would be the last great Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Indonesia; a war of succession between Ranavijaya and Kertabhumi, two competing regents, weakened the kingdom in the 15th century. The Islamic Sultanate of Demak, let by Sultan Radeh Patah, subsequently overthrew Majapahit and declared itself successor to the Majapahit legacy. As the Sultanate swept across Central and Eastern Java, a few remaining Hindus fled to Bali and the eastern mountains, establishing communities there that still exist today.

• Time period: 13th-15th century (Gajah Mada campaign)

• Background: Candi Kalasan was a Buddhist temple built in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in the 8th century, during the reign of the Javanese Shailendra dynasty in Central Java. The temple was built during the reign of Panamkaran, an adherent of Mahayana Buddhism, and predates the Majapahit Empire by several centuries. It is dedicated to Tara, a female Bodhisattva revered as the manifestation of Avalokiteśvara's compassion in Buddhist tradition, and was one of many Buddhist temples built and patronized by the Shailendra lineage (including Borobudur). Within the temple complex are several inscriptions depicting svarga-lok, a heavenly plane of existence in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, as well as a dedication to an unnamed guru of the king who first prompted the construction of the structure.

Further reading: The Buddhist-Hindu Divide in Premodern Southeast Asia

Malians

• Chief religion(s): Sunni Islam, the patronized prestige religion of the Malian Empire, coexisted alongside traditional African faiths of animist/pagan nature for most of the early history of the Malian empire. Islam was first introduced to the West Africa and the Malian heartland in the 11th century, and gained traction following the unification of Mali by Sundjata in the 13th century. Although Sundiata and his subjects may have practiced a syncretism of Islam with West African folk religion, his nephew Mansa Musa was a devout orthodox Muslim who made a famous Hajj pilgrimage during a reign that would open the borders of Mali to the African and Middle Eastern world. Despite the remoteness of his destination, Musa set out for Mecca with a retinue of over 60,000 soldiers and attendees, and brought back a great deal of knowledge from the Islamic world. Musa was the first Malian king to establish Islam as the religion of the nobility and upper class, and established a large madrassa in Sankore in order to further Islamic study and culture. Islam today persists as the chief religion of the Mandinka peoples in Mali.

• Time period: 13th century (Sundiata campaign)

• Background: The Great Mosque of Djenne was built roughly during the 13th century, and was first attested in the Tarikh al-Sudan, a compendium of West African history composed during the Songhai Empire. The structure of the mosque is dominated by three large minarets lining the eastern wall in the direction of Mecca, and was constructed from a mortar consisting of sand and mud. Little is known of the mosque's architectural details during the Middle Ages, as it fell into disrepair and was abandoned over the course of the 19th century. The current structure standing in its place was built in 1907. In addition, the default monastery in the African architectural set is the Larabanga mosque, built during the 15th century in modern-day rural Ghana. Both the mosques at Djenne and Larabanga were built according to classical Sudanese-Sahelian architectural principles.

Further reading: The Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Kings of Mali

Mayans

• Chief religion(s): The Maya religion, like its Nahua counterpart, was a polytheistic faith adhering to strict ritual practices and interwoven into the fabric of Mesoamerican society. Examination of Mayan cave sites has revealed that patron deities were assigned to major topological formations such as mountains, forests, and rivers. Ceremonies and rituals were held in accordance with the now-infamous Mayan calendar, and the feathered serpent god Kukulkan was worshipped as the creator of humanity (analogous to Quetzalcoatl in the Nahua religion). While the Mayans do not share the Aztecs' reputation for human sacrifice, many sacrificial ceremonies were performed to honor the gods and would often involve animal sacrifice and the use of human blood in offerings. Today, tenets of the Mayan religion survive in translated texts such as the Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam, dating back to the 16th century. Both texts were written by Spanish missionaries attempting to deconstruct the religion of the so-called "native savages", and although inaccurate in parts, serve as a basis for the later fusion of Roman Catholicism with local traditions and rituals.

• Time period: 9th-10th century (Dos Pilas conflict)

• Background: The Temple of the Great Jaguar was built in the 8th century, during the rise of the great Mayan city-state of Tikal, and served as the tomb of the Tikal ruler Ah Cacao (who successfully vanished longtime rival city-state Calakmul in battle). Atop the temple lies a stone carving of a king sitting upon a jaguar throne. The nine-tiered structure of the building is thought to represent different levels of the Mayan underworld, and stood 47 meters high in total. The temple stood undisturbed following the decline of Tikal in the 10th century, and was claimed by the jungle and laid undiscovered for nearly 900 years. Unlike Tikal's counterpart in Chichen Itza, it is not thought that religious ceremonies were routinely conducted at the temple - Tikal was considered more of a symbolic monument. Meanwhile, the default Mesoamerican monastery bears a resemblance to the Temple of the Sun, a large temple located within the Mayan ruins of Palenque built towards the end of the 7th century. The temple exhibits the 'roof comb' typical of Mayan religious architecture.

Further reading: The Popol Vuh and the Dominican Religious Extirpation in Highland Guatemala

Mongols

• Chief religion(s): Tengri-ism, gradually giving way to Tibetan Buddhism (east) and Islam (west). Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, was an adherent of the Tengri faith - a shamanistic, polytheistic Central Asian faith practiced centuries earlier by the Huns involving the worship of Tengri and prayer to nature spirits - but encouraged the practice of all religions and maintained a diverse court. In the east, Kublai Khan (founder of the Yuan dynasty and the 5th Great Khan) was one of the first khans to convert to Buddhism in 1240, and heavily promoted the practice of Tibetan Buddhism in China and in the Mongol heartlands. In the west, Mahmud Ghazan of the Ilkhanate converted to Islam in the 13th century but remained tolerant of other religions. However, his general Amir Nowruz engaged in repeated persecution of Buddhists and Christians and the destruction of 'infidel' temples, leading to a confrontation between the two at the Battle of Nishapur that would end with the Amir's death and renewed tolerance of non-Islamic faiths. In time, the leaders of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate would convert to Islam as well, in order to strengthen their rule over their Muslim subjects.

• Time period: 13th century (Genghis Khan campaign)

• Background: Neither the Mongol Wonder (the Great Tent) nor the East Asian monastery (Japanese in design and nature) are affiliated with Mongol religion.

Further reading: The History of Buddhism Among the Mongols

Persians

• Chief religion(s): Zoroastrianism (with Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist minorities), later supplanted by Islam. The in-game Persian civilization is representative of the Sassanid Empire, which ruled Persia from the 3rd to 7th century AD. At the peak of the empire under Khosrau II, the Sassanids heavily promoted Zurvanite Zoroastrianism as the official religion of the state. One of the oldest monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism is centered on the Supreme Being Ahura Mazda (the wise Lord), from whom a duality of benevolence and chaos was imparted to the world. Cleansing fire was considered an agent of ritual purity, and as such major fire temples housing sacred fires were constructed in Fars, Parthia, and Media. The Christian minority in Persia chiefly belonged to the Nestorian Church, which split from orthodox Christianity in the 5th century due to pressure from the Sassanid government, which disliked the presence of a “foreign” religious influence in the form of Catholicism.

Following the prophet Muhammad's death, the Arabian caliph Abu Bakr raised an army and waged a full-scale invasion of the Sassanid Empire (weakened at the time due to a long and ruinous war against Byzantium). The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and subsequent fall of the Sassanids in 636 marked the beginning of Zoroastrianism's decline in the region. The Rashidun Caliphate suppressed Zoroastrianism in the region through several means, including a heavy tax on non-Muslims, laws giving first priority to Muslims in inheritance and other legal matters, and the widespread destruction of fire temples in outlying areas. Nevertheless, Zoroastrianism persisted in eastern regions of Persia until the 9th century, while a small population emerged in India as well.

• Time Period: 6th century (Battle of Bukhara)

• Background: The Archway at Ctesiphon was originally an imperial palace complex in the heart of Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire. Following the Arab conquest, the structure was converted into a mosque, and gradually fell into disrepair after the city was abandoned. The default Middle Eastern mosque is a Persian-style masjid, and heavily resembles the Ulug-Beg Madrasah built in Registan, Uzbekistan during the 15th century under the Timurid Empire.

Further reading: Conflict and Cooperation: Zoroastrian Subalterns and Muslim Elites in Medieval Iranian Society

Portuguese

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism. Portugal had long been Christianized since the arrival of the Visigothic tribes in the Iberian peninsula. Braga, host to the Portuguese archdiocese of the Catholic Church, played an important role in the conversion of the Visigoths from Arianism to Catholicism. During the subsequent invasion of the Umayyads and the Emirate of Cordoba, Christians in Portugal (termed 'Mozarebs') adopted the Arabic language and customs but held fast to Christian beliefs. In the 12th century, Afonso I founded the Portuguese kingdom and immediately united church and state by declaring Portugal to be a vassal state of the Pope in Rome. He also constructed several churches and convents, including the Alcobaça Monastery - the first Gothic church in Portugal. Battles against the remaining Moors in Portugal would continue until Francisco de Almeida's time, during which Grenada was finally re-conquered by the Castilians. In 1501, four years before Almeida's appointment as viceroy of India, the Castilian Crown harshly oppressed the Muslim and Jewish minorities remaining in Iberia, mandating that they emigrate or convert to Catholicism.

• Time period: 15th-16th century (Francisco de Almeida campaign)

• Background: The Portuguese wonder serves no religious purpose (although a Catholic monastery built at the same time remains next door). In addition, the Portuguese default monastery is based on an Italian church, rather than a Portuguese one.

Further reading: [Muslim Spain and Portugal - A Political History of al-Andalus](file:///C:/Users/AkshayC/Downloads/9781317870418_preview.pdf)

Saracens

• Chief religion(s): Islam (Sunni and Shi'a), with small Coptic Christian/Jewish minorities in Egypt. By the 12th century, Islam was the dominant religion across Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. The Fatimid and Abbasaid caliphates, both of Arabic origin, ruled over Egypt and the western Arabian peninsula and incorporated Arabs, Turks, Black Africans, and Berbers among their subjects. Under Saladin's rule, Copts faced significant persecution in Egypt; they were prohibited from holding high-ranking positions, conducting religious processions, or even ringing church bells. Meanwhile, Islamic theology and philosophy flourished during this dynasty; many madrasahs were built and patronized, including the Madrasa al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub in Cairo and Zahiriya in present-day Aleppo. Saladin's greatest project was the construction of the enormous Citadel at Cairo, within which the Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque was later built and served as the royal mosque of the sultans of Cairo.

• Time period: 12th century (Saladin campaign)

• Background: The Great Mosque of Samarra was built in Samarra, present-day Iraq in 851 during the rule of al-Mutawakkil (a caliph famous for his love of art and architecture) of the Abbasid caliphate. Upon its completion, the spiral-shaped Malwiya tower stood as the tallest minaret in the world. The design of the spiral minaret may have been based on the Pillar of Gor, a tower associated with a long-destroyed fire temple in the Sassanian city of Gor that still stands today. At the top of the tower rests a round vestibule, accompanied by eight pointed-arch niches. The mosque accompanying the minaret held up to 80,000 worshipping Muslims within the ziyada, and was destroyed during Hulagu Khan's invasion of Baghdad in the 13th century.

Further reading: Coptic Identity and Ayyubid Politics in Egypt

Slavs

• Chief religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with a declining Slavic pagan minority. Before the 10th century, the Eastern Slavs (Rus) worshipped a variety of nature spirits derived from Proto-Indo-European traditions, including those of water (rusálka), forests (lisovyk), and various household deities. In 863, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople began efforts to Christianize the Rus', and by 944 a sizeable minority of the Slavs practiced Christianity. Towards the end of the 10th century, the Rus established strong diplomatic ties with Constantinople. In 986, following the Rus' alliance with the Byzantines to quell a major uprising, the pagan king Vladimir I officially accepted Orthodox Christianity as the religion of the empire and held a mass baptism in Kiev, destroying the immense statues of Slavic gods he himself had commissioned years earlier. Vladimir's successors held similar mass baptisms and persecuted pagans in the other major cities, leading to revolts in Novgorod and Rostov that were eventually put down. The Ostromir Gospels, a Slavic gospel lectionary, were composed in Novgorod during this period.

• Time period: 9th-13th century (dominion of the Kievan Rus).

• Background: The Church of the Transfiguration at Kizhi Pogost was built in 1694, and later reconstructed to its current form in 1720. Standing as one of the greatest feats of Middle Ages Russian architecture, the church was built without nails or steel and served as a mecca for pilgrims of the Eastern Orthodox church. The church is one of three structures standing on the frozen archipelago of Kizhi that were built by Peter the Great to commemorate his victory over the Swedes, and by tradition was only used during the summer. Meanwhile, the default Slavic monastery is based on the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, constructed during the reign of Vsevolod III Yuryevich in the 12th century.

Further reading: The Political Background to the Baptism of Rus': Byzantine-Russian Relations between 986-89

Spanish

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism, with a significant Islamic minority in al-Andalus. The Medieval Ages saw Spain caught in the grip of Reconquista, a bloody war pitting the Catholic Iberian kingdoms of Leon, Castille, Navarre, and Aragon against the Almoravid (later Almohad) Berbers of the Islamic caliphate. In the 11th century, Spain was split between Muslim and Christian control; large populations of Christians (Mozarebs) in the cities of Valencia, Toledo, and Grenada lived under the rule of localized emirates. As dhimmis, they were allowed to practice Christianity without interference, but were barred from holding positions of power and subjected to jizya. Jews were the victims of intermittent pogroms in the south, but also enjoyed basic protections. Under Moorish rule, Islamic art and philosophy prospered - the Ghayat al-Hakim, a book of magic and philosophy that laid the foundations of Sufi mysticism, was composed in Cordoba during this period. Further north, many Christians immigrated to the kingdoms of Castille and Navarre after facing persecution from the Almohads. Jews were tolerated and even granted full equality alongside Catholics at times, although this level of tolerance would vary with successive kings. Defeats of Christian kings at the hands of Moors were often blamed on Jewish communities, with pogroms following soon after. Several Christian councils were held in Spain during this time period with the patronage of local kings, including the ecclesiastical councils of Coyanza and Gerona.

• Time period: 11th century (El Cid campaign)

• Background: The Torre del Oro holds no major religious significance.

Further reading: A History of Medieval Spain

Teutons

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism was the single official religion of the Holy Roman Empire for the entirety of its existence (Jews and other minorities were not considered citizens of the kingdom). The Teutons enjoyed extremely strong ties to the Catholic Church - each Holy Roman Emperor could only be elected with the express approval of the archbishops of Trier, Mainz, and Cologne, and could only be official crowned by the Pope himself. Following the Concordat of Worms, an uneasy balance of power was struck between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor regarding the ability to appoint church officials. In 1159, a split papal election resulted in the appointment of two popes - Alexander III and Victor IV - who immediately began to curry influence with Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor. Barbarossa endorsed the latter, in what was the first of many attempts to undermine the Pope's power to the benefit of his own, and subsequently invaded Italy to anoint his wife Holy Roman Empress. Within his kingdom, Catholicism continued to grow in influence among the common people, and Frederick took advantage of this sentiment to promote the Third Crusade during the Diet of Mainz in 1188, following Saladin's capture of Jerusalem. During the Diet, Barbarossa also re-affirmed his tolerance of Jews and religious minorities.

• Time period: 12th century (Barbarossa campaign)

• Background: The Maria Laach Abbey was a large monastery founded in 1093 by Henry II, the inaugural Count Palantine of the Rhineland, and served as a center of religious and spiritual study for the Benedictine monks who lived there. It was considered a prototypical example of German Romanesque architecture, and was originally populated by monks from Trier and Affligem Abbey. The abbey adhered to the Rule of St. Benedict, a treatise by Benedict in which the principles of religious life and working 'in the Lord's service' were set forth - including selfless devotion to God, a monastic lifestyle led in simplicity, and the repeated chanting of hymns. Meanwhile, the default Central European monastery is based on the Sioni Cathedral, a Georgian Orthodox cathedral built in Tbilisi in the 12th century, and bears little resemblance to German/Scandinavian churches during the time.

Further reading: Pope Alexander III and the Council of Tours (1163)

Turks

• Chief religion(s): Sunni Islam. The Seljuq Turks were a Persianized branch of the Oghuz Turks, a tribe of Turks originally from Central Asia. In the 11th century the Seljuqs adopted Islam and entered Persia, defeating the Ghaznavid Turks at the Battle of Dandanagan and later entering Anatolia after routing a large Byzantine force at the Battle of Manzikert. Alp Arslan, the victorious Turkish general, was seen as the 'champion' of Sunni Islam due to his support of the weakened caliph in Baghdad and his hostility towards the Shi'a Fatimid caliphate in Egypt. At its height, the Seljuks unified the Islamic world, with their rule stretching from Anatolia to present-day Afghanistan. With little previous Islamic tradition of their own, the Turks adopted Persian culture and language and exported it throughout the Middle East. Many mosques and madrasahs were built over the duration of the kingdom, including the Great Mosque of Esfahaan in Iran built in a distinct Persian style. These mosques were run by ulumas, Muslim clerics who wielded significant power and influence in the decentralized governmental structure of the Seljuks. This decentralization would ultimately become the empire's undoing, as external pressures in the form of the Crusades and the Mongols caused the empire to split apart into several territories and fiefdoms.

• Time period: 11th century (Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Empire)

• Background: The Blue Mosque was constructed in 1606 on orders from Ahmed I, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The massive mosque combined traditional Islamic architecture with elements of Byzantine design from the nearby Hagia Sophia, and dominates the skyline of Istanbul even today. The name of the mosque derives from the interior, which was layered with 20,000 blue ceramic tiles inscribed with verses from the Quran as well as decorative flowers, trees, and abstract designs. The ceramic tiles were created in Iznik, a town in Anatolia reputed for its high quality cobalt blue ceramic pottery. The structure was the first major mosque in Turkey to feature six minarets; this design caused controversy as it matched the number of the Masjid al-Haram, leading Ahmed I to send an architect to Mecca and construct a seventh minaret there.

Further reading: Turkish Myth and Islamic Symbolism: The Battle of Manzikert_(Carole_Hillenbrand-2007).pdf)

Vietnamese

• Chief religion(s): Confucianism and Vietnamese Buddhism (Mahayana), with Hindu Cham communities further south. During the Trần dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries, Buddhism was the de facto official religion of the Dai Viet and co-existed with Confucianism and Taoism. In 1407, the Ming dynasty of China used a succession dispute as a pretext for invading Vietnam, and the Yongle emperor issued an edict calling for the destruction of all non-Buddhist/Taoist inscriptions and religious texts. However the subsequent Lê dynasty, founded by Lê Lợi following the success of the Lam Sơn uprising, patronized Neo-Confucianism and promoted such philosophies throughout the kingdom - including the 'Learning of the Way' civil service examination system borrowed from Imperial China. Buddhist monks, many of whom held significant land interests and enjoyed strong ties with previous regimes, became the target of Confucian scholars and government officials who decried the 'waste' of money on pagodas and religious literature. Despite these setbacks, Buddhist monasteries continued to serve as places of learning as well as centers of cultural enrichment and even local politics. In addition, limited Hindu influence from the conquered Cham kingdoms in the south could be seen; deities such as Phan Vuong (Brahma) and Đế Thich (Indra) became part of the Vietnamese pantheon during this period.

• Time period: 15th century (Le Loi campaign)

• Background: The Nhan Thap was a Buddhist temple built during the rule of the Trần dynasty in Vietnam. The main temple itself is part of a larger complex of 10 buildings with in the pagoda, and is situated near the Duong river and several rice paddies. Housed within the temple are many iconic deities, including the thousand-armed Guanyin (the bodhisattva of compassion, also known as Avalokiteshwara) as well as a statue of Manjusri (the bodhisattva of wisdom) atop a blue lion. The architecture of the temple represents a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese styles; although originally constructed in the 13th century, the structure was rebuilt in the 17th century by Queen Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc of the Lê dynasty.

Further reading: Religion and Ritual in the Royal Courts of Dai Viet

Vikings

• Chief religion(s): Catholicism among the kings and ruling elite, with Old Norse religion still common among the lower classes. The Old Norse religion was polytheistic in nature, and featured a pantheon of several deities derived from Proto-Indo European myths (including Thor, Odin, Tyr, Freyr, and Heimdallr among others). Norse mythology portrayed the gods as mired in a constant state of eternal conflict, ultimately leading up to Ragnarok and the final downfall of the Norse gods at the hands of a malevolent deity known as Loki. Beginning in the 10th century, Christianity began to spread throughout Norse lands - Haakon Haraldsson, who became king of the Vikings in 934, grew up in England, converted to Christianity and encouraged Catholic missionaries to proselytize among his subjects. Haakon Sigurdsson, who later took the throne by murdering Haraldsson's nephew, temporarily established the Norse religion as the official state ideology once again. However, his successor Olaf Tryggvason was a devout Christian who destroyed pagan temples and compelled his subjects to convert to Christianity, often through the use of violence. Olaf also baptized several explorers, including Leif Ericsson, and sent several missionaries to neighboring kingdoms in Iceland and Sweden. Through his efforts, the Vikings became fully Christian-ized by the turn of the 12th century.

• Time period: ~10th/11th century (Vindlandsaga)

• Background: The church seen in the game looks to be an amalgamation of the massive stave churches built by the Vikings in Borgund and Hopperstad. Both were built during the 12th and 13th centuries following the Christianization of the Vikings, and feature the distinct architectural style typical of stave churches. The name 'stave' church' derives from their construction, which makes use of four large load-bearing staves surrounded by multiple smaller columns. The churches were often kept austere, free of the religious relics and works of art typical of other Catholic churches in Europe. Borgund's architecture features four dragons' heads atop the roofs, which were thought to have served the same purpose as gargoyles in Gothic churches further west.

Further reading: Ethelred II, Olaf Tryggvason, and the Conversion of Norway