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Questions and Answers (QA)

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David Fernández Aldana edited this page Jan 22, 2026 · 91 revisions

General

Q: Can I play online?

A: You need to use an Online-like Battle Server. Alternatively, using a LAN Battle Server, a third-party VPN solution like ZeroTier, Radmin VPN or Hamachi is needed. The solution must support UDP broadcast (UDP multicast support is recommended too), at least support the number of users you will play together in a single network (at least 12 is recommended), and low latency for a lag-free gaming. Other features to look for could be Windows and Linux support and being free so everyone can join.

Note 1: Support is not provided with these software.

Note 2: See the terms to understand when this is acceptable.

Q: Can I use the server without launcher?

A: Absolutely, you will need to make sure the system resolves the server domain to the server IP instead of the official one:

  • Game before late 2023: aoe-api.reliclink.com with server version v1.7.2 or later (experimental).
  • Game after late 2023 (before april 2025 for AoE II): aoe-api.worldsedgelink.com.
  • AoE II after march 2025: pb-live-release1-api.worldsedgelink.com, pb-live-release2-api.worldsedgelink.com...Etc with server version v1.7.2 or later. As new release come, pb-live-release2-api.worldsedgelink.com, pb-live-release3-api.worldsedgelink.com... appear.
  • AoE III: "api.ageofempires.com" (apart from the base domain).
  • AoM: athens-live-api.worldsedgelink.com [~2024] or andromeda-live-release-api1.worldsedgelink.com... [~2025] (the number increases as with AoE II), "C15F9.playfabapi.com", "api.ageofempires.com".

If you are unsure, you may map all just in case. Plus, cdn.ageofempires.com will need to be mapped if the server is down or in maintenance and the client's PC has internet.

Also, you must trust the server certificate (as stored in resources/certificates/cacert.pem for AoM and the one store in resources/certificates/selfsigned_cert.pem) for the rest of the games.

Note: If using a compatible custom Steam launcher, you may use this.

Q: Does the server communicates with the internet?

A: Yes, it will act as proxy for api.ageofempires.com and cdn.ageofempires.com and will also do a DNS query for it. Nonetheless, the server will work without internet.

Q: Does the launcher communicates with the internet?

A: The only outbound connections is to check for possible hosts mappings. It will work without internet, too. It will check the domains explained in "Can I use the server without launcher?"

Q: Does the server store any data?

A: Yes, persistent user data is saved in resources/userData per game. Also, advance debug/request logs (disabled by default).

Q: Does the launcher modify any game files?

A: Yes (for all except AoE I: DE), it will temporarily add the server certificate to the cacert.pem file.

Q: Can using the launcher/server get me banned?

A: If using different separate user profiles (not shared with the official server) and the original binaries according to our ToU, it shouldn't, but there are no guarantees.

Q: My antivirus detect some of the executables as virus, why?

A: There are no viruses, some antivirus can falsely detect some binaries as virus, specially those antivirus with careless use of AI. Being programmed in Go, some antivirus detect it as malware. Also, the launcher binaries are more likely to be detected due to modifying the host file and the certificate store. You may use VirusTotal to check with multiple antivirus and see that the vast majority (95%+) of Antiviruses do not flag it as a virus. If you are still not convinced, as this is an open-source project, you may review the code and build it yourself.

Q: What do all the binaries in server/launcher/battle-server-launcher archives do?

A: Look for the respective README.md files:

Q: What do you mean with a "custom launcher"?

A: A Steam emulator like Goldberg that enables you to play without having connectivity to the Steam server. This will not be sufficient to play without internet as the game has additional checks in place. Check my other project for more info and a solution.

Q: Can you provide the so-called "custom launcher" to run the game without requiring the internet?

A: No, legal copyright laws don't allow me to do that as it also bypasses the need to have bought the game (and its DLC's) not just the offline requirement. However, instructions for you to download (and configure) it are available in my other project.

Q: Which are the compatible versions regarding the server and launcher?

A: See this table:

Server Launcher Notes
1.0.X - 1.1.X Matching minor version -
v1.2.X - v1.4.X v1.2.X - v1.4.X -
v1.5.X - v1.7.1 v1.2.X - v1.4.X Requires server [Announcement].Broadcast set to true and Games include age2.
v1.5.X - v1.7.1 v1.5.X - v1.7.1 -
v1.7.2 - v1.9.0 v1.7.2 - v1.9.0 -
v1.10.X v1.10.X -
v1.11.X or higher v1.11.X or higher -

Open a new issue if you need to use an older version.

Note: using an older and/or mismatching version is not supported nor recommended.

Q: Which connections do the launcher/server make?

A:

  • Server:
    • TCP: 443 (Inbound, Fixed) - interfaces depending on the Games.<game>.Hosts set in the config.
    • UDP: 31978 (Inbound, Configurable) - if [Announcement].Enabled is true; same interfaces as the previous.
    • UDP: 31978 (Multicast, Inbound, Configurable) - if [Announcement].Enabled and [Announcement].Multicast are true; same interfaces as the previous.
  • Launcher:
    • TCP 443 (Unicast, Outbound):
      • ServerHost (Configurable) - ServerHost is auto if launcher started the server, otherwise [Server].Host set.
      • hosts explained in 'Can I use the server without launcher?' (IPv4, IPv6): to test if the host mapping is successful.
    • UDP: 31978 (Broadcast, Outbound, Configurable) - only if [Server].AnnouncePorts is not empty; all interfaces.
    • UDP: 31978 (Multicast, Outbound, Configurable) - only if [Server].AnnounceMulticastGroups is not empty; all interfaces.
    • UDP: 9999 (AoE II-III) / 8888 (AoE I), (Broadcast, Fixed port) - only if [Config].CanBroadcastBattleServer resolves to true:
      • (Inbound, IPv4, IPv6) - most priority interface.
      • (Outbound) - all except the most priority interface.

Note 2: Unless otherwise stated, all is just IPv4.

Q: Which versions of the games are supported?

  • AoE I: DE and AoE III: DE: Stay on the last version for best compatibility (as development is, pretty much, non existent).
  • AoE II: DE / AoM: RT: Stay 1 (or 2) versions behind for best compatibility, specially around DLC releases.

Note: There is experimental support for game versions older than 2024.

Q: Which other games could be supported in the future?

Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition will be supported in v1.13. Original versions or previous remasters are out of scope.

Q: Why is there no console version of the launcher?

A: The consoles are a locked down system which does not allow any of system/folder configurations changes required by the launcher. The minimum being resolving the host(s) to the LAN server (which could be worked around by using a local and custom DNS server), and installing a certificate which is not possible at all.

Windows

Q: How do I disable the dialog that asks for confirmation when I try to run an executable/script?

A: You need to manually go in the properties of each exe/bat file (and their bin subdirectories) and unblock them.

macOS

Q: Why is there no launcher?

A: Steam Proton (windows compatibility layer) which is needed to run Age games is not available since macOS Catalina (v10.15) and Steam no longer officially supports older versions than that (neither Go compiler). However, it could be made possible to run the game through Wine or any software based off it like CrossOver, Porting Kit... etc. Contributions are welcome ;).

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