Buying a copy of AoM that will work for online play

Topic Subject: Buying a copy of AoM that will work for online play

emtilt
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 02:22 AM EDT (US)

I played all of the AoE games, but never tried AoM. Recently, I've been picking up some old games that I missed when they came out, so I thought I'd grab AoM, too. I've read, however, that some editions and copies of them game have CD keys that are invalid for online play, and, that while they used to give you new keys if you complained, they don't anymore.

So, my question it, where do I buy AoM and what edition do I get? I'd also like to have the Titans expansion pack. I know the online community is probably a fraction of what it once was, but I still want to be able to try it out a bit if there is still anyone out there.

this is my music i hope you like it
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Severed Cat Heads and Jehovah's Witnesses

[This message has been edited by emtilt (edited 07-18-2011 @ 02:24 AM).]

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Replies:

DeathAndPain
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 04:30 AM EDT (US) 1 / 17

You need a used copy. The older, the better your chances. It should come on CD's (no DVD) and not have been produced after ~2005. Modern budget copies are ESO-incompatible in a number of ways, see FAQ.

Darkness is a state of mind
Valor is the contempt of Death and Pain. (Tacitus)
Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back. (Piet Hein)

scragins
Heretic of December

posted 18 July 2011 04:42 AM EDT (US) 2 / 17

Just did a quick check on E-bay and didn't find a copy so i guess you will need to put some effort into your search.

emtilt
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 12:42 PM EDT (US) 3 / 17

You need a used copy. The older, the better your chances. It should come on CD's (no DVD) and not have been produced after ~2005. Modern budget copies are ESO-incompatible in a number of ways, see FAQ.

I was under the impression that a used copy would not work because ESO allows only one account per CD-Key.

this is my music i hope you like it
this is music i listen to these are movies i like these are books i like
Severed Cat Heads and Jehovah's Witnesses

Villi
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 12:58 PM EDT (US) 4 / 17

That's only for AoE3, on AoM/T accounts are not tied to cd keys, and you may have as many accounts as you desire.

I think FOG.

emtilt
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 03:38 PM EDT (US) 5 / 17

Are you guys sure? The FAQ thread says, "To play on Ensemble Studios Online, (ESO) you must have a unique CD-Key." And, various internet sources claim that the reason the gold versions of the game don't work online is because they used the same CD Key for many of them, rather than a unique one, so ESO rejects them.

this is my music i hope you like it
this is music i listen to these are movies i like these are books i like
Severed Cat Heads and Jehovah's Witnesses

Villi
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 05:19 PM EDT (US) 6 / 17

I must have misunderstood you.

What you say is true, that's why you'd have to find an old, microsoft published, CD version to be sure to get a unique cd key (and you'd have to trust the seller to stop using it...). All the ones being sold new now has the same cd-key. However, once you obtain a cd-key there is no limitation like the one implemented in AoE3, where only one account can be created per cd-key.

I think FOG.

TTK_GeneralNoob
Mortal

posted 18 July 2011 08:11 PM EDT (US) 7 / 17

Hope this makes things clearer emtilt. Basic rules:

1. Only a unique cd-key will be accepted on ESO
2. If you have a unique cd-key you can have as many accounts as you like (unlike AOE-3 where it is 1 account per cd-key)
3. Only one account per unique cd-key will be allowed on ESO at a time.

The problem with the newer ubisoft versions is that everyone has the same cd-key, therefore 1000 people are trying to get online with the same cd-key - only one will get on. All the old versions will have a different cd key per box, therefore if you're the only person using that cd key then you'll be able to get on easy

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-Wartrain.

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-Vagabond Tom.

[This message has been edited by TTK_GeneralNoob (edited 07-18-2011 @ 08:12 PM).]

emtilt
Mortal

posted 19 July 2011 00:04 AM EDT (US) 8 / 17

Ah, ok. Thanks for the clarifications. Now I just need to figure out how to be sure what I'm ordering online is an old enough copy....

I know the Gold Edition is bad, but there are like three others, too. Any way sure-fire to tell which are the correct ones?

this is my music i hope you like it
this is music i listen to these are movies i like these are books i like
Severed Cat Heads and Jehovah's Witnesses

scragins
Heretic of December

posted 19 July 2011 02:11 AM EDT (US) 9 / 17

Well post the name of what your buying and we can probably tell you.

DeathAndPain
Mortal

posted 19 July 2011 05:31 AM EDT (US) 10 / 17

The Gold edition is not bad: the (really) early Gold editions have unique keys and work nicely on ESO.

One key criterion is that the game must not come on a DVD. Another is that it needs to have a unique CD key. Since you are going to buy used, have the vendor assure you that it is a unique key, so you can return it if it is not and threaten to complain @Ebay.

Darkness is a state of mind
Valor is the contempt of Death and Pain. (Tacitus)
Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back. (Piet Hein)

kenwag
Mortal

posted 22 July 2011 10:18 PM EDT (US) 11 / 17

For those of us not in the U.S ebay's not really an option is it?

If I bought another copy from any of the options given here:
http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/ageofmythology.aspx#buyit

Would that work?

scragins
Heretic of December

posted 23 July 2011 00:08 AM EDT (US) 12 / 17

Well som of those links don't exist anymore, so there old which is a good sign.

BSU_DoLhades
Mortal

posted 23 July 2011 05:06 AM EDT (US) 13 / 17

Well i have been playing the original gold edition online since it came out so im sure it works on ESO :P

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emtilt
Mortal

posted 26 July 2011 12:08 PM EDT (US) 14 / 17

I managed to order some copies of the original release on ebay. Hopefully all will be well when they arrive. Thanks again for all your help!

this is my music i hope you like it
this is music i listen to these are movies i like these are books i like
Severed Cat Heads and Jehovah's Witnesses

PhatFish
Mr. Beta

posted 27 July 2011 07:52 AM EDT (US) 15 / 17

Never buy Ubisoft age stuff, they all pretty much suck. For AoM, no working CD key for eso. For AoE gold, no CD tracks, only midi.

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kenwag
Mortal

posted 17 October 2011 08:06 AM EDT (US) 16 / 17

How did it go?

ephestion
Mortal

posted 19 October 2011 01:53 PM EDT (US) 17 / 17

Phatfish, I have a Sound Blaster XFi card which can load soundfonts (that are free on the web). That plus EAX effects and using a program like Audacity, you can make those midi files sound better than the original compilations. It is like having the source code for the music which is great in some ways.

I was thinking actually of making some mixes for AOE original, if time permitted. You would be surprised at the quality you can get with MIDI with a proper sound card.

If you don't have sound fonts then yes I guess playing MIDI files may sound a little crappy.

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