Age of Mythology: Known multiplayer issues

This article describes the known multiplayer issues that you may experience when you play Microsoft Age of Mythology.

Note To check the server status, visit the following Ensemble Studios Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

How to connect to Ensemble Studios Online (ESO)

When you try to create a new ESO Online Account for Age of Mythology, you may recieve the following error message: This issue may occur if you have corrupted internet files. To resolve this issue, to delete the Microsoft Windows Temp file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type %temp%, and then click OK.
2. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
3. On the File menu, click Delete.
4. Click Yes when you are prompted to delete temp files.

To clear the Temporary Internet files, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. On the General tab, click Delete Files under Temporary Internet files, and then click OK.

Multiplayer troubleshooting and optimization

Microsoft Internet Explorer

To play multiplayer Age of Mythology online, you must first install Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later. For the most recent version of Internet Explorer, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note Internet Explorer will not replace your primary Web browser.

Performance

The following system parameters are recommended for multiplayer games:

Other Hardware Recommendations

• 32 MB 3-D graphics card with Hardware Transform & Lighting (T&L) functionality
• 512 MB paging (swap) file

Home networks and dial-up connections

When you try to join a multiplayer game through a dial-up modem, you may not be able to start a multiplayer game. To work around this issue, disable the device that is not your current Internet connection, and then try to connect again.

Computer players in multiplayer games

Microsoft recommends that you do not use computer-generated players in a multiplayer game over the Internet; doing so may slow down game performance. If you want to use computer-generated players in a multiplayer game, make sure that the player with the fastest computer and fastest connection is the host of the game.

Note One computer-generated player uses about the same system resources as two human players.

Connecting to Ensemble Studios Online (ESO)

If you have not configured a default language on your computer, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following: To resolve this issue, make sure that you select a default language in Internet Explorer. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. In the Internet Options dialog box, click Languages.
4. Select a default language if one is not already selected, and then click OK.

DirectIP

To play a DirectIP game, you must have a direct connection to the Internet, and your computer must have a real IP address assigned to it. You may be assigned a fake Network Address Translation (NAT) address that hinders or blocks connectivity for DirectIP. Contact your network administrator for more information.

Multiple IP addresses

If you have multiple IP addresses, other players may not be able to connect to a game that you create. To resolve this issue, use the Ipconfig utility to determine whether or not you have multiple IP addresses. Contact your network administrator for more information.

Disconnection from your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

If you disconnect (or are disconnected) from your ISP, you and the host may not be able to reconnect to the current game. This issue may occur when you are assigned a new IP address. To work around this issue, restart the game.

Hard disk space

If you join a multiplayer game but do not have enough hard-disk space to download the scenario, you will receive a message that you must quit the game, clear space on your hard disk, and then rejoin the game.

External programs

Some programs such as virus scanners, Zone Alarm by Zone Systems, and some firewalls may conflict with Age of Mythology or generate warnings during game play. Frequently, these warnings or dialog boxes appear behind Age of Mythology, which causes Age of Mythology to appear as if it has stopped responding. Press ALT+TAB to minimize Age of Mythology, close the warning, and continue. If the ALT+TAB command does not work correctly, click Play in Window on the Options menu. You may also close these programs before you start Age of Mythology.

Two TCP/IP devices

If you experience issues with network connections or you cannot connect to other games, follow these steps:

1. Quit the game, and then verify that you have a network connection or Internet connection.
2. Disable the device that is not your Internet connection, and then try again to connect to the network or Internet.

Internet Connection Sharing And Network Address Translation (NAT) are not supported

For information about how to set up your Internet Connection Sharing installation or how to disable a second TCP/IP device, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Internet Connection Sharing, NAT Clients, Firewalls, and Proxies

Although Age of Mythology does not officially support connection through Internet Connection Sharing or NAT, ESO tries to auto-detect your network setup and configure itself for play on your network.

For more information about Age of Mythology Network Ports, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you have multiple computers, you may also map your computers by increasing the port number of the first computer by one. To do so, type hostPort=increased port number in the Age of Mythology command line box.

Note If you use DirectIP instead of ESO, Age of Mythology cannot auto-configure your network settings, and only direct network connections or perimeter network (also known as DMZ, demilitarized zone, and screened subnet) connections will work. For more information, contact your network administrator.

Proxy

Some ISPs automatically force the use of a proxy, which may cause Age of Mythology to stop responding (hang) when it tries to connect to ESO. To resolve this issue, configure your Internet settings to use a dedicated proxy server. For more information about how to make these changes, contact your network administrator.

Router

If you use a router, make sure that you have the latest firmware updates installed. Doing so may permit users to host without enabling perimeter network connections. For more information, contact your network administrator.

How to set up and disable Internet Connection Sharing

For more information about Internet Connection Sharing, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

For more information about how to troubleshoot network issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about the ports that Age of Mythology requires, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: