DOCUMENT:Q177861 08-NOV-2001 [homegame] TITLE :Age of Empires: Contents of the Stratsmp.doc File PRODUCT :Microsoft Home Games PROD/VER:WINDOWS:1.0 OPER/SYS: KEYWORDS:kbmm aoe ====================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information in this article applies to: - Microsoft Age of Empires, version 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY ======= The information in this article is a copy of the contents of the Age of Empires Stratsmp.doc file, located in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires CD-ROM. This file is formatted for Microsoft Word 97 and you cannot open it with WordPad. For more information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Q177787 Age of Empires: WordPad Cannot Read Stratsmp.doc or Strattyp.doc MORE INFORMATION ================ Sample Strategy File September, 1997 (c) Microsoft Corporation, 1997 Overview of .ai (artificial intelligence) file creation You may modify this file to create new computer player strategies. To do so, follow the instructions below and save the file as a text file with an .ai extension. .ai files contain the units, buildings and research that will be performed by the computer player in the general order listed. The computer will try to progress through the list and maintain what has been built. For example, when a unit or building in the list is destroyed, it will generally be replaced before a new unit or building further down on the list will be created. The sample list below contains one of every item to be trained, built, or researched in Age of Empires. Storage Pits, Houses, and Granaries (although included in the list) can be handled completely by the computer player (if the appropriate strategic number is set for the computer player). In other words, these need not be placed in the list at all; the computer player will build them when they are needed. The sequence of items in this list is important. For example, the Market must be built before a Farm, etc. As long as the game rules are respected by maintaining the prerequisite order, items in the list can be resequenced. The technology tree foldout is a good reference source for the prerequisites. Items on the list that cannot be built or researched (for any reason) are eventually skipped (the skipping can be controlled by setting strategic numbers in the computer player's .per file). If there are already units on the board that are also in the Strategy list, these units will be counted as already created and will not be rebuilt. Notes on .per (personality) files The computer player is really controlled by two files: This .ai file and another file called a .per file. The .per file contains strategic numbers that the computer player users to control the actual execution of the strategy contained in a given .ai file. The default strategic number system should work well for most of the strategies that you write. If you need or want to modify the strategic numbers, see the persnlty.doc file in the Docs folder of your Age of Empires directory. Item descriptions Some of the names contained in this file do not correspond directly with the game names. They are as follows: Description Actual ----------- ------ Soldier-Chariot2 Chariot Archer Soldier-Chariot1 Chariot Composite_Bow Research Improved bow Longbow Research Composite bow Boat-War4 Catapult Trireme R73 Legion Research Phalanx R77 Legion Research Legion Soldier-Catapult1 Stone Thrower R54 Heavy_Catapult Research Catapult R36 Massive_Catapult Research Heavy Catapult Hints & Tips Here are some tips for creating your own .ai files. The sample file at the bottom of this document does not necessarily adhere to the principles that follow. Instead, this list is placed in an order that makes the items easy to find so that you may create your own list. Keep the quantity field down to 1 or 2. Higher quantities will cause the computer player to pause on that item until the quantity is fulfilled. Do not research or build an item from a building directly after constructing that building. Example: Don't place the Bowman after the Archery Range. Doing so may cause the computer to pause on the Bowman until the Archery Range construction is complete. Instead, put another item between the Archery Range and the Bowman. Do not place two or more items in a row that come from the same building. Example: Priest, followed by Polytheism, Mysticism, and Astrology. Instead, stagger items from multiple buildings to ensure that production at one building does not slow progress through the rest of the list. Good example: Priest Man Polytheism Man Mysticism Market1 Astrology Limit retrains (see below) of early-age infantry and archers. This ensures that when they are killed they will not be retrained. This frees slots (under the population cap) for them to be replaced by higher-level soldiers. The same concept applies to villagers and fishing boats. Limit the number of units trained to approximately 50. When the computer reaches its population cap of 50, its advance through the remainder of the list will slow down. If your list calls for 30 villagers and 30 military units, do the following: - Put 10 villagers, or early-age soldiers on limited retrain. This will open slots for 10 superior replacements later. - Put the last 2-10 units you want to have trained in the very last line of the file. This way, if you exceed the population cap, you will do so on the last item and not interrupt the progress of the list. Start by modifying an .ai file that is already close in content to the file you want to create. If that list is missing certain items, copy them from the list below and paste them into your .ai file. In the Stone Age, the computer must be able to quickly locate forage bushes, trees, and/or water. Failure to do so will cause the computer not to place a Granary, Storage Pit, and/or a Dock. This may prevent your .ai file from reaching the Tool Age, since these buildings are necessary prerequisites for reaching the Tool Age. Test! After you have completed your .ai file, put it into a scenario, give the computer unlimited resources, and observe the build process on x2 speed. Insure that all items are correctly built. Delete items that have limited retrains and ensure that they are replaced with other units. This technique will greatly accelerate your .ai design and development process. Legend for the prefix to the ID number Each object in the game has a unique ID number. In the strategy file, that ID number is preceded by a qualifying prefix. The prefixes are listed below: B - Building - Will be rebuilt if destroyed. A - Building - Will be rebuilt up to to the number of times specified in the "Limited Retrains" column. R - Research - Item will be researched if possible. If not possible, it will be skipped according to the strategic numbers. C - Research - Item will be researched if possible. If not possible, the computer player will progress no further until this critical research is done. For example, if the computer player does not have enough food to advance to the Tool Age, it will wait to collect enough food and will not skip the Tool Age). U - Unit - Will always be replaced if killed. T - Unit - Will be trained up to the number of times specified in the "Limited Retrains" column. Example: 1 indicates that this unit will be created once. Once killed, this unit will not be created again. Limited ID Description Qty Parent Retrains -- ----------- --- ------ -------- B109 Town_Center1 1 -1 U83 Man 6 109 B12 Barracks1 1 -1 T73 Soldier-Inf1 2 12 1 U83 Man 6 109 C101 Tool_Age 1 109 B87 Range1 1 -1 U83 Man 2 109 U4 Soldier-Archer1 2 87 B101 Stable1 1 -1 U83 Man 2 109 U299 Soldier-Scout 1 101 R40 Leather_Armor_-_Soldier 1 103 U83 Man 1 109 R41 Leather_Armor_-_Archer 1 103 U83 Man 1 109 R42 Leather_Armor_Mounted 1 103 U83 Man 1 109 R46 Tool_Working 1 103 U83 Man 2 109 B70 House 3 -1 R11 Stone_Wall 1 68 B45 Dock_1 1 -1 R16 Watch_Tower 1 68 B79 Watch_Tower 1 -1 U13 Boat-Fishing1 1 45 B72 Wall_Small 5 -1 U15 Boat-Trade1 1 45 B84 Market1 1 -1 U19 Boat-War1 1 45 U17 Boat-Transport1 1 45 B72 Wall_Small 5 -1 R107 Wood_Working 1 84 R108 Gold_Mining 1 84 R109 Stone_Mining 1 84 U83 Man 2 109 B50 Farm 2 -1 R81 Domestication 1 84 R63 Axe 1 12 U73 Soldier-Inf1 1 12 C102 Bronze_Age 1 109 T83 Man 2 109 2 U41 Soldier-Chariot2 1 87 R5 Medium_War_Ship 1 45 U19 Boat-War1 1 45 R6 Merchant_Ship 1 45 U15 Boat-Trade1 1 45 R4 Fishing_Ship 1 45 U13 Boat-Fishing1 1 45 R32 Artisanship 1 84 R28 Wheel 1 84 B104 Temple1 1 -1 T83 Man 1 109 2 U125 Priest 1 104 B70 House 3 -1 R21 Mysticism 1 104 R22 Astrology 1 104 R24 Polytheism 1 104 R23 Jihad 1 104 R43 Scale_Armor_-_Soldiers 1 103 R44 Scale_Armor_-_Archers 1 103 R45 Scale_Armor_-_Cavalry 1 103 R51 Metal_Working 1 103 R47 Bronze_Shield 1 103 R13 Medium_Wall 1 68 R12 Sentry_Tower 1 68 B101 Stable1 1 -1 U37 Soldier-Cavalry1 1 101 U40 Soldier-Chariot1 1 101 B0 Academy 1 -1 U93 Soldier-Phal1 1 0 R64 Short_Sword 1 12 U75 Soldier-Inf3 1 12 R65 Broad_Sword 1 12 U75 Soldier-Inf3 1 12 U41 Soldier-Chariot2 1 87 R56 Improved_bow 1 87 B70 House 3 -1 U5 Soldier-Archer2 1 87 R57 Composit_bow 1 87 U5 Soldier-Archer2 1 87 B82 Government_Center 1 -1 B49 Siege_Workshop 1 -1 U35 Soldier-Catapult1 1 49 R34 Nobility 1 82 R112 Architecture 1 82 R31 Plow 1 84 B103 Storage_Pit1 1 -1 C103 Iron_Age 1 109 U39 Soldier-Cavalry3_Arc 1 87 R80 Irrigation 1 84 R7 Trireme 1 45 R8 Heavy_Transport 1 45 R9 Trireme_with_Catapult 1 45 U250 Boat-War4 1 45 R19 Monotheism 1 104 R20 Fanaticism 1 104 R18 Afterlife 1 104 R30 Coinage 1 84 R110 Craftmanship 1 84 R111 Siege_Craft 1 84 R37 Alchemy 1 82 R114 Writing 1 82 R35 Engineering 1 82 R113 Aristocracy 1 82 R106 Balistics 1 82 R15 Guard_Tower 1 68 B79 Watch_Tower 1 -1 R14 Fortifications 1 68 B72 Wall_Small 1 -1 R48 Chain_Mail_-_Soldiers 1 103 R49 Chain_Mail_-_Archers 1 103 R50 Chain_Mail_-_Cavalry 1 103 R52 Metalurgy 1 103 R117 Iron_Shield 1 103 R54 Heavy_Catapult 1 49 U11 Soldier-Balista 1 49 U25 Soldier-El_Archer 1 87 R66 Long_Sword 1 12 U75 Soldier-Inf3 1 12 R71 Heavy_Cavalry 1 101 U37 Soldier-Cavalry1 1 101 U46 Soldier-Elephant 1 101 R73 Phalanx 1 0 U93 Soldier-Phal1 1 0 R25 Juggernaught 1 45 U277 Boat-War5 1 45 R2 Catapult_Tower 1 68 B79 Watch_Tower 1 -1 R27 Helepolis 1 49 U11 Soldier-Balista 1 49 R36 Massive_Catapult 1 49 U35 Soldier-Catapult1 1 49 R79 Centurion 1 0 U291 Soldier-Phal3 1 0 R38 Heavy_Horse_Archer 1 87 U39 Soldier-Cavalry3_Arc 1 87 R78 Cataphracts 1 101 U37 Soldier-Cavalry1 1 101 R77 Legion 1 12 U282 Soldier-Inf6 1 12 B276 Wonder 1 -1 End Additional query words: 1.00 contents age aoe ages empire ageofempires ====================================================================== Keywords : kbmm aoe Technology : kbHomeProdSearch kbAOE kbGamesSearch kbZNotKeyword kbAOESearch Version : WINDOWS:1.0 Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY. Copyright Microsoft Corporation 2001.