Modding is the act of modifying an Age of Empires game using third-party tools to add or change content such as attributes, buildings, units, etc, which it does not support natively (unlike say custom scenarios and campaigns).
Age of Empires[]
These are some prominent Age of Empires mods. They require The Rise of Rome:
Major mods[]
- 5th Legacy: Adds numerous civilizations to the game from all across the old world, as well as new buildings and units for existing civilizations. Features improved AI, and two modes: Classic and Expanded.
- Beyond the Indus Expansion: Unofficial expansion based on Indian civilizations featuring complete art.
- Lost Empires: A mod that adds 27 civilizations and new technologies.
- Rise of Minor Empires
- UPatch HD: Quality of Life improvements.
Minor mods[]
- Anti-Decay mod
- Jan DC Buildings sets: Unique wonders for all civilizations and a unique Carthaginian building set.
Age of Empires II[]
The lists below divide mods between partial conversions (add-ons) and total conversions; the first category includes mods that add to the original content of the game, as well as unofficial patches, but without dramatically altering the core aspects of gameplay. Some partial conversions can be considered overhauls; these significantly change an entire game's graphics and gameplay but not to the extend of a total conversion.
As for the second category, it includes mods of the Age of Empires games that replace most or all of the artistic assets in the original game and occasionally, aspects of gameplay.
Here are some examples from the second game:
Add-ons[]
| Name | Description | Base game |
|---|---|---|
| Age of Empires II HD: The American World | Replaces the Southeast Asian architecture introduced in Rise of the Rajas with a new Andean architecture. |  HD Edition
|
| Age of Kings: Realms | Adds 19 civilizations across all the world. |  The Conquerors
|
| Forgotten Empires | Fanmade expansion that added civilizations considered in the design process of Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It became the basis for the official Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten and the Forgotten Empires Studios. | The Conquerors
|
| Rome at War | Fanmade conversion that changes the Mesoamerican civilizations i.e. the Aztecs and the Mayans with the Romans and Greeks. It became the basis for the open-source game 0 A.D. | The Conquerors
|
Total conversions[]
| Age of Chivalry: Hegemony | A Europe-focused total conversion featuring new systems such as politicians and mercenaries. | The Conquerors
|
| Dharma Expansion | Replaces several civilizations with new ones from the Indian subcontinent and nearby regions, such as the Tibetans and Siamese. Reworks some in-game civilizations such as the Persians. |  Definitive Edition
|
| Portuguese Civ Mod (III) | Adds Wonder powers, support units, mercenary system, redesigned scout, sea buildings, Renaissance age, and a new Experience resource, across 18 new civilizations (focused on but not limited to the Iberian peninsula). | The Conquerors
|
| Romae ad Bellum | Spiritual successor of Rome at War, for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. | Definitive Edition
|
| Sengoku | A Japan-focused total conversion. | The Conquerors
|
| Tales of Middle-Earth | A Lord of the Rings total conversion. Officially removed. |  The Age of Kings The Conquerors
|
The file system page contains information on the various file types for the purposes of modding.
Age of Mythology[]
Add-ons/overhauls[]
- Expanded Mod
- The Return of the Gods
- Voobly Balance Patch
- The Roman Legion (unreleased)
- The Xin Dynasty (unreleased)
Total conversions[]
- Legends of Middle-Earth
- Age of Kings Total Conversion (unreleased)
- Age of Mythology: The Natives (unreleased)
Tutorials[]
Age of Empires III[]
- Main article: Modding (Age of Empires III)
Add-ons/overhauls[]
Total conversions[]
- Wars of Liberty
- Wars of Middle-Earth (unreleased)
- Galactic Conflict (unreleased)
Trivia[]
- Despite its seemingly trivial impact on the series, modding is partially responsible for the existence of all expansions of Age of Empires II: HD Edition, Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon, and perhaps even all of the Definitive Editions. The Forgotten Empires development team includes former modders such as Bert Beeckman (Cysion), Alexastor Fleger (original director of Napoleonic Era), Daniel Pereira (creator of Age of Empires II's Portuguese Civilization Mod and developer on Age of Empires III's Wars of Liberty),[1] Tilanus Commodor, and WarriorMario (developer of Age of Mythology: The Natives).
- Return of Rome also had a mod background history: there have been numerous mods that had tried to port Age of Empires or the ancient ages into Age of Empires II and III:
- Rome at War (2001, Age of Empires II: The Conquerors) by Wildfire Studios replaced Mesoamerican civilizations with Greek and Roman factions. The studio discontinued the mod project and started their own game and engine, 0 A.D.
- Rise of History: The Ancients Wars (2017, Age of Empires II HD Edition) by Enkeli. The mod was redone from scratch because of plagiarism accusations and later discontinued.
- Rome Returns (2017, Age of Empires II: The Conquerors) by Gallas AoE. A port of Age of Empires to Age of Empires II: The Conquerors.
- Dawn of Rome (2018, Age of Empires II HD Edition) by Ivacula. A mod set on the fall of Rome, including Romans, Thracians, Nubians, Sarmatians and Vandals.
- Romae ad Bellum (2022, Age of Empires II Definitive Edition) by Caesar3842. The spiritual successor of the Rome at War mod.
- The Ancient Age (2007, The Asian Dynasties) by Tilanus, now a developer of Forgotten Studios.
- Age of Empires: HD Edition (2015, The Asian Dynasties) a port for Age of Empires III with additional features like unique units.
- The official status of the Tales of Middle-Earth mod is that it was removed due to a copyright takedown notice issued by Warner Brothers.
Gallery[]
A mod by Nick3069 that changes the Sphinx's appearances as it is upgraded with the Criosphinx and Hieracosphinx technologies
Another example, a recreation of the Charioteria, and Chariot from pre-release versions of Age of Mythology in Expanded Mod made by Morayus1 (XLightningStormL).