A Beginner's Guide to Modding: Adding New Technologies to Age of Empers II 'aoe 2 de tech tree'

Hello everyone, I am new and excited to share my first article on modding for Age of Empires II. As a newcomer myself, I understand the challenges that come with modifying this classic game engine.

In this tutorial, we will focus specifically on adding new technologies (techs) to your custom campaigns or single-player maps using AGE (Age of Empire's Game Editor). By following these steps and tips, you'll be able to seamlessly integrate your own creations into the existing tech tree without breaking anything else in the process!

To begin:

1. Download and install AGE from their official website if not already done so.

2. Open up any campaign or map where you want to add new technologies; for this example let's say 'My Campaign'.

Step 1: Creating a New Technology

First things first, we need to create our brand-new technology in the game editor.

a) In AGE, navigate to 'Campaigns' > right-click anywhere inside the hierarchy panel and select 'New -> Unit/Technology'.

b) Double click on your newly created item and give it an appropriate name (e.g., 'Magical Axe' or whatever suits your mod).

c) Now let's define its properties by double clicking again under 'Unit Properties'. Here you can set things like resource cost, build time etc...

Step 2: Adding the New Technology to the Tech Tree

Now that we have our new technology created in AGE, it's time to add it into the actual game.

a) In the campaign or map where you want this tech visible (still 'My Campaign' for simplicity), right-click inside the 'Campaigns' panel and select 'New -> Trigger'.

b) Double click on your newly created trigger and give it a name like 'Add Magical Axe Tech'.

c) Under 'Trigger Properties', under 'Event' choose 'Unit/Technology researched'.

Step 3: Assigning Hotkeys

Finally, let's assign hotkeys to our new technology so we can easily access them in-game.

a) In AGE, go back up one level until you see 'My Campaign' and right-click on it. Select 'Properties'.

b) Under 'Hotkey' select a key combination that hasn't been used yet (e.g., Shift + F1 - F5). Repeat this process for each new technology you want to add.

And That's It!

Congratulations, my friend! You have successfully added your first custom technology mod to Age of Empires II using AGE. With these simple steps and a bit of patience, the sky is truly the limit when it comes to creating unique experiences within one of gaming's most beloved franchises. Happy modding everyone!

Aoe 2 de tech tree