Earlier this week we asked on our social channels:

Many of you not only shared the last time you invited everyone over for a LAN party, but you also asked how to create a LAN game in AoE II HD. Below are the quick and easy instructions on how you host a local game for you and your friends so you can enjoy low ping.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. You will need an internet connection to set up the game.
2. Your friends will all need to be on the same local internet connection as you.
3. Host a multiplayer game and have your friends join as normal.
4. If all of your friends are on the same local internet connection and join the game, the game’s connection will then automatically turn local.

That’s it! Time to play.

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular strategy games ever with stunning 4K Ultra HD graphics, a new and fully remastered soundtrack, and brand-new content, “The Last Khans” with 3 new campaigns and 4 new civilizations.

If you’re not already following, head over to the Age of Empires Facebook page and Twitter Feed. And if you’d like to chat with the Forgotten Empires team, click here to go to their Facebook Page.[tap the links to go.] See you there!

Discuss of 3 comments

• Game details Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most popular strategy games ever with stunning 4K Ultra HD graphics, a new and fully remastered soundtrack, and a brand-new expansion, “The Last Khans” with 3 new campaigns and 4 new civilizations.
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Hey guy's i am new to this game is there anyway to play a lan game? Showing 1-1 of 1 comments.
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews.

• Let me translate this for you: No, you cannot play LAN games. But as we are Microsoft, we can make you think you can. First, you need an internet connection...

• This is complete and utter horseshit and you know it. A LAN game should NOT require an internet connection; I mean, that's the definition of LAN as opposed to WAN. So if all my WAN connected friends are all on the same LAN, then 'the game's connection will automatically turn local', but if they're already on the same LAN, they're already local anyway! The moment you need a WAN connection to create a supposed LAN game, it's already *NOT* LAN anymore, idiots.

  • could not agree more.. but I guess they did it to prevent piracy... well I guess people will pirate even more ...

Happy 2020, everyone! The first build of the year comes with a handful of fixes for issues that arose in the massive December Update (Update 34055) or which crept into the game with its first Hotfix (34223). It includes the return of major performance fixes introduced (initially) with last month’s build, a fix for the “Castle Age Crash” which kicks players out of the game as they’re Aging-up, as well as new fixes for issues that have been prevalent subjects of discussion amongst the community.

And as always: once you’ve had the opportunity to play with the new build, we WELCOME your feedback!

A Note on Game Issues

Crashes, disconnects, and bugs are frustrating—both as players and as developers of the game. It’s impossible to anticipate every problem, which is why we will continue working with you to gather information, gain an understanding the issue, and hopefully find a solution that gets you online and playing. Sadly, these issues don’t always come with a simple fix, which is why we ask that you gather and include as much information as possible whenever you report a problem!

Here’s where you can search for discussions or start a new discussion (if one doesn’t already exist) about problems you encounter in the game:

• Experiencing a technical issue? Search or post on Steamor the official forum!
• Encountered a game bug? Search or post on the Steam or official forum!

Finding a fix can also take time, and we appreciate your patience as we work to investigate, test, and implement new improvements during the early months of the game! We’re already working on a new, major content update aimed for later this month, and will continue to monitor your discussions as you have time to play with today’s build!

Plenty more to come, but for now: Enjoy the update!

—The Age of Empires Team

Remember that you’ll need update your game in the Microsoft Store:

1. Open the Microsoft Store.
2. Click the [ ∙ ∙ ∙ ] symbol next to your profile picture.
3. Select Downloads and updates.
4. Press the Get updates button to automatically detect, download, and install the latest changes to your game!
5. Open the game. The title screen should read Build 34397

That’s it; you’re ready to play!

1. Open Steam.
2. Click on Library to see your games list.
3. Click Downloadsat the bottom of the Library window.
4. [If the new build does not download automatically,] click the Download Now button to manually download the new update.
5. Open the game. The title screen should read Build 34397

That’s it; you’re ready to play!

♦ ♦ ♦

Age Of Empires 2 Definitive Edition En Landscape

FIXES

• Fixed a crash that could trigger when upgrading to a new Age—most notably to the Castle or Imperial Age.
• Fixed a crash triggered when loading into a match as a spectator.
• Fixed an issue that was impacting some of the prior performance gains initially released with the December Update.
• Fixed a bug that allowed units with minimum range attacks to pass through obstructions.
• Fixed a bug that prevented certain battle audio from playing on machines with Vsync enabled.
• Fixed a visual bug that prevented control group numbers from displaying next to grouped units.
• Fixed a visual bug that caused the banned map cross to disappear after queuing for a ranked match.

MODDING

• Fixed a bug that prevented music mods from working in-game.

Issues After Updating

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NOTE: Some users have mentioned that their game no longer launches after the update. If you were able to play previously, make sure you add your Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition client as an exception to your firewall and antivirus programs. More information can be found here.