Age of Empires III – Multiplayer FAQ & Troubleshooting
This article contains ESO Server Status, Connectivity
Information, ESO Accounts & Multiplayer FAQ
View the ESO Online Gaming Policy
Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) Service &
Connectivity
·
Weekly
AOEIII ESO server maintenance occurs Tuesday at 10AM – 12PM Pacific
·
The
current Age of Empires III ESO Server Status can be found online here. I also frequently provide updates during downtime via twitter: @RChaply
·
Do
I need to allow AOEIII as an exception to my firewall?
Yes, Age of Empires III
should be added as an exception in your local firewall for improved
connectivity. Forwarding the necessary ports on your router is also highly
recommended (see below).
·
What
ports are required for Age of Empires III?
The following ports are
required for Age of Empires III, and manually port forwarding them is
recommended for improved internet connectivity. To manually override the ports
AOEIII uses to connect, please see this link.
o
2300-2310
TCP
o
2300-2310
UDP
o
80
TCP & UDP
·
I
get “Invalid IP Address” when attempting to connect to ESO or join games.
Power cycle the PC and
router. If that does not resolve the issue, additional troubleshooting steps
can be found at this link
·
I
get “failed to Join” when attempting to connect to a game
This error can occur if
any individuals in a group have connectivity issues. Troubleshooting varies
depending on software, hardware, and network configurations, however the
following are important to check:
o
Verify
Age of empires III is an exception in local firewalls
o
Verify
the required ports are forwarded on the router (See Above)
o
Restart
System & Routing Equipment
o
Additional
information and troubleshooting tips can be found here and here
·
I
receive an Out of Sync (OOS) error while playing multiplayer games
This can be caused by several things.
o
Make
sure you do not have any mods installed, or have not modified any game files.
o
If
you have a corrupt installation, game mods, etc, remove the mods and re install
the game through steam or Impulse.
o
If
the game is going out of sync late game (generally when you're about to win),
and the system incorrectly reports a loss, the opponent may intentionally be
'droptricking'. If this is the case, report the user to age3support@microsoft.com. It is considered a form of
cheating.
·
ESO
Connection Errors: The following are
errors and their resolutions
o
Error
100 – Bad CD key
§ Somehow you have a key that is not
accepted by the online service. This can
occur in a few rare occasions. Contact
me by email for more information.
o
Error
101 – CD key cannot be used to create further accounts
§ The CD key was used to create an
account previously. If the game was
recently purchased, email me for more information so I can investigate.
o
Error
102 – Bad Login Information
§ The username or password was
incorrect for the account. Visit the ESO
account tools at www.agecommunity.com to reset your password.
o
Error
103 – Account Disabled
§ The account is banned, or the CD key
you are using is invalid.
§ Pirated CD keys cannot be used to
access ESO (even if connecting with a legitimate ESO account)
§ When bans are issued, a notification
to ban reason and duration is sent to the user.
§ Accounts do not become disabled due
to inactivity.
·
I
had the game previously installed, and am receiving a 101 error:
If the game did not ask
for a CD key upon launch, your old CD key may still be in the system. If you feel comfortable editing your
registry, it’s an easy fix, if not please contact me at age3support@microsoft.com.
o
Using
Regedit navigate to the following locations:
§ 32 bit operating systems:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft
Games\Age of Empires 3\1.0
§ 64 bit operating systems:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Microsoft
Games\Age of Empires 3\1.0
o
Remove
the key PID and Digital Product ID (select and Delete)
o
Restart
Age of Empires 3 (without any expansions)
o
Enter
the provided CD key from Steam or Impulse
Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) Accounts & Multiplayer FAQ
·
NEVER
give out your ESO account password and do NOT share ESO accounts.
·
Some
providers have trouble receiving password resets, including @comcast,
@sbcglobal, @aol, and @aim email addresses. It is not recommended to use them
when creating an ESO account.
·
How
do I create an online account?
Ensemble Studio Online
(ESO) accounts for Age of Empires III can be created from within the game. From
the main menu of the game or expansion, select “Multiplayer” followed by “ES
Online”. The next screen will have a button that says ‘new account?’. Simply
select that and fill in the information to create your account.
If you receive a “failed
to create account” make sure you are running the game as administrator.
·
How
many ESO accounts may I have?
Each copy of Age of
Empires III: Complete Collection on Steam may have 1 ESO account. A single
account works on the game and both expansions.
·
Can
I change my name, delete and restart my account, or reset my stats?
ESO account names cannot be changed,
deleted, or reset after creation.
·
How
do I request a password reset, change my ESO account email, or recover a
forgotten username?
Visit www.agecommunity.com and use the ESO account tools
to make account settings changes. You may need your PID to reset the password.
The PID can be found in game. From the main menu select “Help and tools”
followed by “About”.
·
I
forgot my password and have a new email, or I need advanced account
verification and recovery.
For advanced ESO account
recovery, email age3support@microsoft.com with as much of the following
information as possible. While not all is required, the more information you
can provide, the quicker the recovery process will be.
§ ESO Name
§ Age3 PID (You can find it in game
under “help and tools” => “about”)
§ Hint question/answer
§ Date you created the account
§ Date you last accessed the account
§ The external / public IP address used
to create the account. You should be able to use a site likehttp://whatismyipaddress.com/ to find the address we would
see.
§ The MAC address of the machine that
created the account.
§ Old email address
§ New email address
·
Clans,
Friends, and Power Rankings – see this article for more information
·
Some
behavior to avoid (and may result in account bans)
o
Offensive,
racist, or vulgar account names, clans, game names, chat room names, or chat
speech
o
Harassing
other players or moderators
o
Cheating
/ hacking in games
o
Cheating
on in-game ladders (point trading)
o
Intentionally
freely losing games to devalue rank
o
Leaving
games prior to completion with the intent of avoiding a rating decrease
o
Impersonating
employees / moderators
Any additional account questions should be directed to age3support@microsoft.com