Age of Empires 2

turnikett1

Are there any AoE tournaments in Ireland? I play online a lot and I'm pretty good. Even though my score doesn't reflect it (bad internet connection, not even joking!), I can beat and regularly contend with ELO 1650+ players.

I'm not sure what the standard would be in an Irish tournament, don't know if we'd be looking at 1800+ or what. Don't even know if there is much interest in this game online in Ireland? Does anyone know?

On a related note is anyone interested in playing!?

Ps This is simply the greatest RTS ever. The mechanics and principles behind it are so simple, yet it allows for such complex and skillful gameplay!

TrueIt

Yeah I use to play an awful lot with a friend and other online players that I have come to know.
Have not played online in a few months though.
You playing it on steam?

turnikett1

I am indeed. Interested?

RoyalMarine

few of us play but not competitive. just for fun. skill level varies though.

I use to be big into it when MSN gaming zone hosted games. Was 2k+ ranked.
damn that brings back memories!

strelok

msn gaming zone, jesus

Spudman_20000

Fantastic game. Never would have been good enough to play competitively, but I was certainly head and shoulders above the friends I played against.

Back in college, six cans of beer with 5 networked PC's. We had to get the ethernet cables hand built, that's how long ago it was! 6 cans, black forest map, playing until 5 in the morning. Great memories.

YouSavedMyLife

Didn't play AoE2 much online compared to AoE but it definitely the more refined game. AoE on MSN gaming zone on a 56k modem was my first online gaming experience. That 8 second delay on commands was comical.

RoyalMarine

was rocking ISDN so had a 1 up on the opponents

IRL_Sinister

Wait, you can play AOE2 online? I have the HD Edition on Steam....

TrueIt

turnikett1 wrote: »

I am indeed. Interested?

Yeah I'll PM you my steam.

Kiith

Moved to PC Gaming.

Pacly

Do most people play the HD edition on Steam now?

Played a little online a few years ago, not very good, but would love to give it another go!

turnikett1

IRL_Sinister wrote: »

Wait, you can play AOE2 online? I have the HD Edition on Steam....

Yes, there is a pretty big online community. There is a core of dedicated fans and professionals (I'm a dedicated fan but no professional!) and many casual players. If you have it on Steam then you can play no problem

Pacly wrote: »

Do most people play the HD edition on Steam now?

Played a little online a few years ago, not very good, but would love to give it another go!

Most "pro" players play on Voobly. A lot of pro/highly skilled players play on Steam too, but most stick to Voobly because of better connectivity and well I dunno really... I prefer Steam because I like the expansion packs, the new civs and techs, etc. There is definitely no lack of quality players to compete with on Steam. But if you're talking about making money and being renowned within the AoE community (think it numbers 2000 regulars?) then Voobly is what it's used.

Be warned - online multiplayer is way different to what you may be used to. Obviously you can find people your own skill level, but if you haven't a clue on how it's "really" played then prepare for numerous thrashings I've tried to get some friends into it and while they enjoy it no one is really up for going through with the learning curve.

If anyone is interested then here are some pointers.

Look up ZeroEmpires and SpiritOfTheLaw guides on Youtube. ZeroEmpires will teach you all there is to know about flushing, build orders, fast castling, etc and also some insights into units, civs and other strategies. SpiritOfTheLaw gives a lot of really good insight into civs, units and other random small things that are important overall.
Watch pro matches. TheViper (no 1 player in the world), ZeroEmpires and BBQTurkman are some names off the top of my head, look any of them up on Youtube and there will be matches galore
Learn the hotkeys!!! So important
Watch replays of matches you lose - take heed on what your opponent did.
Familiarize yourself with each unit strength and weaknesses - remember AoE is a game of counters!

Hope I can convert some of ye...

IRL_Sinister

I got ass kicked by hard computer the other day. Got a long way to go

Pacly

I have watched plenty of ZeroEmpires on Youtube, the pros are ridiculous!

Even with knowing how to play properly, practicing it enough to become anyway decent takes me ages.

turnikett1

Well, like I said, it's not hard to find people your own level to play with. Once you start successfully executing strategies and winning, it becomes very addictive. Although it's definitely the hardest set up, 1v1 Arabia with random civs is definitely the best way to learn, and imo the funnest setting to play on.

I would consider myself at the bottom strata of competent players. Beating 1650+ players was an exaggeration on my part as my last 3 matches have proven to me! But the 1550-1620ish or so is definitely my range. I'll be happy to help anyone here by spectating, playing and giving pointers if anyone wants.

Just takes a bit of practise and patience, like any skill... But like I say, very competitive and thus very satisfying when you do pull off a win completely by yourself Easy to learn... hard to master!

TrueIt

I would also recommend watching Resonance22 on youtube or twitch. I learned an awful lot from him compared to ZeroEmpires. Both gentlemen know there stuff.

The_Valeyard

I used to think I was amazing at the game, then I played other human players...

IRL_Sinister

I literally could not have said it any better.

Ri_Nollaig

TrueIt wrote: »

I would also recommend watching Resonance22 on youtube or twitch. I learned an awful lot from him compared to ZeroEmpires. Both gentlemen know there stuff.

Also worth checking out "Spirit Of The Law" https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChzLZJo-SxuPHz-oYKAIC_g
Some of his videos are very funny :pac: