Microsoft Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Readme
September 2007

Welcome to Microsoft® Age of Empires® III: The Asian Dynasties. This file contains information to help you install Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. It also includes late-breaking information not included in the manual or in-game Help.

CONTENTS
Installing Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Starting Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Getting Help
What's on the Disc?
Ensemble Studios Online and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
Keyboard shortcuts
User Interface Improvements
New Options
Quick Reference Card Corrections
Troubleshooting
Hardware Issues
Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Information

Installing Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

To install Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, you must first install Age of Empires III and you must have administrator rights on your computer. Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is compatible with Microsoft Windows® XP or Microsoft Windows® Vista operating systems.

To install Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

1.	Insert the Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties disc into the disc drive. (If AutoPlay is enabled, the installation menu appears.)
2.	Click Install and then follow the on-screen prompts.
	—or—

To install the game if AutoPlay is disabled

Windows XP
1.	On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2.	In the Category View, under Pick a Category, click Add or Remove Programs.
3.	Under Pick a Task, click Add a Program.
4.	In the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, click the CD or Floppy button, and then follow the on-screen instructions to install the game.

Windows Vista
1.	On the Start menu, click Computer.
2.	In the Devices with Removable Storage, double-click the disc-drive icon.
3.	In the User Account Control dialog box, click the Allow, and then follow the on-screen instructions to install the game.

==============================================================

Starting Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

You must have the Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties disc in your disc drive to play.

To start Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

1.	Insert the Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties disc into the disc drive.
2.	On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, and then click Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

You can skip the opening cinematics by pressing ENTER, SPACEBAR, or ESC.

==============================================================

Getting Help

You can find information about Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties in the game manual, the in-game Help, and in PDF files.

To display in-game Help

•	Move the pointer over any button or interface item in the game to view rollover Help or tooltips. Right-click any unit portrait or improvement icon in the game to view detailed Help.

==============================================================

What's on the Disc?

The Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties disc contains some additional information that you may find interesting or useful.

To access the information on the game disc

•	On the Start menu, click My Computer. In the My Computer window, double-click the disc-drive icon, and then double-click the Docs folder.

==============================================================

Ensemble Studios Online and Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

You must use an ESO account from Age of Empires III to log into ESO. 

To create an account on ESO
1.	From the main menu, click Multiplayer.
2.	Click ES Online.
3.	On the ESO Login dialog box, click New Account.
4.	Fill in the form, and then click OK.

==============================================================

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keys are helpful during game play.
 
Function	Keystrokes	
Move all military units 	ALT+Y	
Find all of selected type 	CTRL+SHIFT+A	
Find all military units 	CTRL+SHIFT+M	
Find all idle villagers 	CRTL+SHIFT+I	
Find all idle military 	-	
Find all Barracks-type buildings 	-	
Find all Warships 	-	
Find all Docks 	-	
Find all Stable-type buildings 	-	
Find all Artillery-type buildings 	-	
Set Military Gather Point 	M	
Eject all garrisoned units 	CTRL+SHIFT+E	
Stop unit from moving	CTRL+SHIFT+S	
Repair building	CTRL+SHIFT+R	
Build Village	E	
Build Caravanserai	S	
Build War Academy	B	
Build Consulate	F	
Build Dojo	Q	
Build Cherry Orchard	Q	
Build Castle	O	
Build Sacred Field	V	
Build Wonder	K	
Build Monastery	C	
 
Unit Mode Shortcut Keys	 	
Volley Mode 	ALT+V	
Infantry Stagger Mode 	ALT+S	
Cavalry Stagger Mode 	ALT+S	
Infantry Melee Mode 	ALT+M	
Cavalry Melee Mode 	ALT+M	
Cover Mode 	ALT+C	
Infantry Defend Mode 	ALT+D	
Cavalry Defend Mode 	ALT+D	
Stand Ground 	ALT+G	
Trample Attack 	ALT+T	
Bombard Mode 	ALT+B	
Limber Mode 	ALT+L	

==============================================================

User Interface (UI) Improvements

•	Moving the pointer over a building or unit portrait displays the unit’s type.
•	Moving the pointer over native sites lists the units and techs available.
•	After selecting a native site, pressing and holding ALT displays the units and techs available.
•	There is a heavy-infantry unit icon in the unit attack bonus field.
•	Moving the pointer over treasures shows the type and number of guards.
•	Pressing and holding ALT displays hitpoint indicators for units and buildings.
•	The names of your opponents’ Home City decks are hidden.
•	Clicking a unit's portrait centers the map view on that specific unit.
•	There are new keyboard shortcuts for Heroes, Explorers, and Warships abilities.
•	There are new keyboard shortcuts for Pets and Units trained by heroes.

==============================================================

New Options

•	Show advanced unit type information:  Adds UI that describes unit types in the selection panel.
•	Invert SHIFT+CTRL keystroke:  Inverts SHIFT+CTRL keystroke functionality in Unit Select Panel.
•	"Find" hotkeys centers camera on unit:  Pressing the “Find Unit” Hotkey causes your camera to center on that unit.
•	Threshold used on snap to unit: Threshold used before snapping to a unit.
•	Show visual control groups:  Shows visual control groups banner across the top left of the screen.
•	Enable Wonder Power UI:  Shows Wonder Power UI.
•	Right-click economic gather point: This option was available in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, but now includes a third, Town-Center-only option. 

==============================================================

Quick Reference Card Corrections

•	The Indian Fail Elephant is not listed in the Economy / Military section of the QRC. This unit is produced from the Castle in Age of Empires II, and should be depicted next to the Chinese Flamethrower, which erroneously appears to be the only unit the Castle makes in Age of Empires II.

==============================================================

Troubleshooting

Installing Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties without Age of Empires III installed
You must install Age of Empires III before installing Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. If you don’t install Age of Empires III first, you receive the error message, “age3y.exe - Unable To Locate Component - This application has failed to start because RockallDLL.dll was not found. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.” If you receive this message, you must reinstall Age of Empires III before installing Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

There are no changes to DirectX®, Editor, CD-ROM drive, Audio, or Performance Troubleshooting in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. Please check the Age of Empires III Readme for further assistance on previous changes to these features.

==============================================================

Hardware Issues
Ensure that you have the latest drivers from the manufacturer of your display adapter, or check the Windows Update Web site (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com) for the latest drivers. Users of motherboards with non-Intel chipsets should upgrade to the latest miniport drivers available from their motherboard manufacturer.

ATI
Some ATI display adapters may experience difficulties with repeated toggling between the game and another application using ALT+TAB. It is recommended that you do not use this key combination.

ATI Radeon X1950, reference drivers 7.14.0100.0517
On the main menu, the water doesn’t appear properly with reflections turned off.

Intel 965G 
Using this display adapter on Windows XP, you may see random brightness fluctuation. If you change the display resolution, the brightness may stabilize or may not.

Matrox Parhelia 128MB or a Matrox Millennium P750, driver 6.13.0001.1691, reference drivers 6.13.0001.1873, and 6.13.0001.1914
This card may not correctly display some graphics, which may appear as snow or solid grey textures in the game. When running the game on a computer with the Parhelia 128MB, the mouse pointer blinks and displays a black border when you place the pointer over opposing units for attack. 

NVidia
If you are using the NVidia 6800 - Driver: 6.14.0010.7189 (April 14, 2005), terrain objects, particularly trees, will have an artificial appearance when the Shader Quality setting is set to low and the graphic Bit Depth is set to 16. It is recommended that you update to the latest version of these drivers to fix this problem.

If you are noticing flashing, popping, or pausing on an overclocked NVidia 6800, please be aware that this is a known issue with no work around.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties does not support the following display adapters

3D Labs Permedia 1

3DFX – All versions
 
ATI ES1000
Rage (all)
Radeon
Radeon 7000
Radeon 7000 IGP
Radeon 7200 (32 MB only)
Radeon 7500 (32 MB only)
Mobility Radeon 7000 IGP
Mobility Fire GL

Cirrus Logic - all versions

Matrox G100
Matrox G200
Matrox Millennium 
Matrox Millennium II
Matrox Mystique

Geforce 2 (32 MB only)
Geforce
TnT2
TnT
nVidia Riva 128
nVidia Rica 128 zx

S3 Virge_VX
S3 Virge_MX/MV
S3 Virge_MX+
S3 Virge_MX
S3 Virge_GX2
S3 Virge_DX/GX
S3 Trio64V2_DX/GX
S3 Trio64UV+
S3 Aurora64V+
S3 Aurora128
S3 Savage 2000

Intel 945
Intel 915
Intel 810 / 815
Intel 82945G IGP
Intel 845
Intel 850
Intel 865
Intel i740

Vanta

Rendition - all versions
Number9 - All versions
Oak Technologies - all versions
Chromatic Research - all versions
Tseng Labs - all versions
Neo-magic - all versions

DirectX
If you experience video problems using DirectX, go to the DirectX Web site for the latest troubleshooting information at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/.

==============================================================

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Information

For more information about Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, visit our Web site at: http://www.ageofempires3.com/.

© & p 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Age of Empires, DirectX, Ensemble Studios, the Microsoft Game Studios logo, Windows, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Adobe and Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.