The Eye is a special random map introduced in Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms. The map's unique shape bears resemblance to an eye and thus gives the map its name. There will often be two fronts of war occurring on the map, both naval and land battles will occur. Having a dominant army and navy will be crucial for victory in the map.
Overview
Players start out on the central circular shaped island or the outside surrounding land. Both land bodies have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Players who start out on the island are settled near the coast and have easy access for a navy to get in and out of the island. The island is large and covers up most of the lake surrounding it. On the island there is an abundance of wood from the large groves of trees nearby. However, the island is crowded in multiplayer matches and creates expansion conflicts.
Players who start out on the land surrounding the islands also have significant advantages in the game. For one, there are just as many groves of trees allowing a bounty of Wood. There will also be more land for growth and expansion, allowing the player to expand their borders with less conflict.
The terrain of the map has a similar theme to other maps introduced in the expansion. The terrain features reddish iron rich soil lacking essential nutrients and is not very ideal for farming. Near the edges of the central lake, cracked clay soil is laid out and not very suitable for building on as they will be destroyed at a faster rate.
Environment
Players start out on either part of the map with a small herd of 4-5 Goats nearby, providing a small but feasible source of food. Flocks of Ostriches will be found further away and cautiously lurking within the large groves of trees. Groups of Zebras will also be found grazing nearby and will run far distances when hunted. Small prides of Lions are also found intermittently throughout the map and will viciously strike at any nearby vulnerable Villagers and the player must be on the lookout.
The thin lake surrounding the island will have a dark blue color and will be very deep, allowing only Naval Vessels to traverse through. As thin as the lake is, the lake contains a surprising amount of Perch fish, allowing Fishing Ships to gather them and allow a small yet beneficial fishing economy going.
The large groves of tree species found in the map will consist mainly of the giant Baobabs, which each yield 200 Wood. Dragon Trees are also featured in the map although they feature a smaller amount of 100 Wood.
Stone Mines and Gold Mines will both be found randomly placed in the map. They will be found in small clumps of 4-5 and will be scarcely distributed near groves of trees, providing fair amounts of stone and gold.
