<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
is	O
a	O
multiplayer	B-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
real-time	I-Protocol
strategy	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
developed	O
by	O
Robot	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
Gas	O
Powered	O
Games	O
,	O
which	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
16	O
,	O
2011	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
upon	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
the	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
series	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Robot	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
but	O
on	O
February	O
24	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
Gas	O
Powered	O
Games	O
,	O
took	O
over	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
March	O
27	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
premiered	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
after	O
a	O
major	O
overhaul	O
patch	O
which	O
addressed	O
complaints	O
of	O
an	O
"	O
MMO-like	O
grind	O
"	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
features	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
debut	O
of	O
the	O
Celtic	B-Algorithm
civilization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Microsoft	O
representative	O
later	O
announced	O
on	O
the	O
forums	O
that	O
on	O
August	O
22	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
the	O
Games	B-Application
for	I-Application
Windows	I-Application
–	I-Application
Live	I-Application
Marketplace	O
would	O
be	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
leaving	O
the	O
game	O
only	O
accessible	O
by	O
current	O
or	O
former	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
reestablished	O
using	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
publicly	O
released	O
developer-kit	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
and	O
is	O
now	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
server	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
known	O
as	O
Project	O
Celeste	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
,	O
like	O
its	O
predecessors	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
real-time	O
based	O
strategy	O
videogame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
features	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
gameplay	O
of	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
a	O
massive	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
online	I-Application
game	I-Application
element	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
includes	O
five	O
classes	O
of	O
military	O
units	O
:	O
Infantry	O
,	O
archers	O
,	O
cavalry	O
,	O
siege	B-Application
weaponry	O
,	O
and	O
naval	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unique	O
units	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Greek	O
,	O
Egyptian	O
,	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
Persian	O
civilizations	O
,	O
either	O
from	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
or	O
through	O
advisor	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
buildings	O
in	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
are	O
either	O
economic	O
or	O
military	O
buildings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
capital	O
city	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
"	O
Home	O
city	O
"	O
concept	O
implemented	O
in	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
III	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
home	O
city	O
from	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
III	I-Application
where	O
you	O
can	O
only	O
customize	O
the	O
look	O
of	O
buildings	O
,	O
the	O
capital	O
city	O
is	O
completely	O
customizable	O
;	O
buildings	O
and	O
rewards	O
can	O
be	O
placed	O
anywhere	O
on	O
the	O
city	O
map	O
as	O
the	O
player	O
chooses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
released	O
a	O
crafting	O
app	O
for	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
which	O
a	O
player	O
can	O
use	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
crafting	O
within	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
campaigns	O
in	O
previous	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
the	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
have	O
80	O
unique	O
quests	O
that	O
the	O
other	O
civilizations	O
do	O
not	O
possess	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Champion	O
mode	O
PvP	O
results	O
will	O
also	O
determine	O
your	O
TrueSkill	B-Device
ranking	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
determine	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
rank	O
globally	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
help	O
find	O
the	O
player	O
a	O
match	O
and	O
opponents	O
for	O
PvP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Arena	O
PvP	O
will	O
not	O
affect	O
your	O
Sparta	O
PvP	O
Trueskill	B-Device
ranking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Premium	O
civilizations	O
start	O
at	O
level	O
1	O
and	O
are	O
the	O
Greeks	O
,	O
Egyptians	O
,	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
and	O
Romans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
,	O
under	O
the	O
working	O
title	O
Project	O
S	O
,	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Robot	O
Entertainment	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
founded	O
by	O
45	O
of	O
the	O
110	O
former	O
staff	O
members	O
of	O
Ensemble	O
Studios	O
,	O
who	O
created	O
the	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
early	O
production	O
,	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
called	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
IV	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
felt	O
that	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
II	I-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Age	I-Application
of	I-Application
Kings	I-Application
had	O
blended	O
the	O
economic	O
and	O
military	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
perfectly	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
play	O
test	O
it	O
with	O
hindsight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
during	O
this	O
time	O
the	O
team	O
decided	O
to	O
do	O
an	O
"	O
Age	O
of	O
Kings	O
style	O
gameplay	O
in	O
an	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
setting	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
designers	O
were	O
surprised	O
that	O
fans	O
of	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
were	O
most	O
fond	O
of	O
the	O
simpler	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
previous	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
II	I-Application
lead	O
designer	O
Ian	O
M	O
.	O
Fischer	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
When	O
we	O
started	O
floating	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
 [ AoEO ] 	O
out	O
to	O
people	O
other	O
pieces	O
fell	O
into	O
place	O
–	O
I	O
cannot	O
tell	O
you	O
how	O
many	O
times	O
I	O
have	O
had	O
someone	O
email	O
me	O
or	O
talk	O
to	O
me	O
at	O
a	O
show	O
and	O
mention	O
how	O
much	O
they	O
loved	O
the	O
villagers	O
carrying	O
big	O
hunks	O
of	O
meat	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
Age	O
or	O
the	O
priest	O
"	O
wololo	O
""	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
that	O
point	O
on	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
goals	O
was	O
to	O
invoke	O
nostalgia	O
from	O
fans	O
of	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
when	O
playing	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
newer	O
and	O
updated	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
decision	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
online-only	O
was	O
based	O
in	O
part	O
on	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
II	I-Application
and	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
its	O
online	O
integration	O
with	O
MSN	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
resulted	O
in	O
a	O
heavily	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
BANG	O
engine	O
used	O
in	O
previous	O
games	O
of	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
requiring	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
additional	O
server	O
code	O
and	O
infrastructure	O
to	O
be	O
implemented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Excluding	O
the	O
tools	O
,	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
contains	O
over	O
1.2	O
million	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
designing	O
the	O
new	O
look	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Robot	O
had	O
six	O
artists	O
come	O
together	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
art	O
style	O
which	O
would	O
look	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
previous	O
games	O
from	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
,	O
yet	O
look	O
more	O
"	O
visually	O
appealing	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
timeless	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
"	O
bright	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
art	O
team	O
was	O
Ensemble	O
Studios	O
 '	O
first	O
artist	O
Brad	O
Crow	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
worked	O
on	O
every	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
game	O
produced	O
by	O
the	O
studio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
composing	O
the	O
music	O
,	O
Rickwood	O
strove	O
to	O
keep	O
it	O
in	O
the	O
spirit	O
of	O
Stephen	O
Rippy	O
's	O
and	O
Kevin	O
McMullan	O
's	O
work	O
from	O
the	O
prior	O
games	O
of	O
the	B-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
was	O
postponed	O
to	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
four	O
civilizations	O
solely	O
created	O
from	O
start	O
to	O
finish	O
by	O
Gas	O
Powered	O
Games	O
since	O
taking	O
over	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
3	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
AOEO	B-Application
Trajan	O
(	O
Kevin	O
Perry	O
)	O
via	O
the	O
official	O
community	O
blog	O
that	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
had	O
finished	O
its	O
development	O
stage	O
and	O
was	O
entering	O
its	O
support	O
phase	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
September	O
2013	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
Studios	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
servers	O
would	O
be	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
July	O
1	O
,	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Producer	O
Kevin	O
Perry	O
gave	O
a	O
presentation	O
at	O
the	O
2013	O
Game	O
Developers	O
Conference	O
explaining	O
the	O
reasons	O
for	O
AoEO	B-Application
's	O
closure	O
and	O
why	O
he	O
believed	O
its	O
business	O
model	O
ultimately	O
failed	O
,	O
that	O
being	O
mostly	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
content	O
being	O
too	O
expensive	O
to	O
create	O
for	O
the	O
small	O
daily	O
active	O
userbase	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
has	O
been	O
republished	O
in	O
mid-2017	O
under	O
a	O
non-commercial	O
license	O
under	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
"	O
Game	O
Content	O
Usage	O
Rules	O
"	O
by	O
an	O
independent	O
group	O
of	O
developers	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
for	O
free	O
on	O
a	O
server	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
known	O
as	O
Project	O
Celeste	O
with	O
all	O
online	O
features	O
fully	O
enabled	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
they	O
then	O
made	O
announcements	O
later	O
that	O
day	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
on	O
the	O
2nd	O
of	O
May	O
2021	O
to	O
confirm	O
that	O
Ancient	O
India	O
is	O
coming	O
to	O
AOEO	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
launch	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
in	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
prices	O
were	O
lowered	O
and	O
Steam	B-Application
offered	O
all	O
premium	O
content	O
and	O
booster	O
packs	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
a	O
discount	O
through	O
the	O
"	O
All	O
in	O
Wonder	O
Bundle	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Defense	O
of	O
Crete	O
booster	O
pack	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
booster	O
pack	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
for	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
,	O
garnering	O
an	O
aggregated	O
review	O
score	O
of	O
70	O
on	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
critics	O
praise	O
the	O
co-operative	O
missions	O
,	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
familiar	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Justin	O
Calvert	O
of	O
GameSpot	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
6.5/10	O
,	O
noting	O
the	O
PvP	O
matchmaking	O
system	O
,	O
enemy	O
AI	O
,	O
and	O
pricing	O
as	O
weak	O
points	O
,	O
but	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
effectively	O
infuses	O
its	O
conventional	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
gameplay	O
with	O
massively	O
multiplayer	O
online-style	O
loot	O
and	O
leveling	O
mechanics.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Kolan	O
closed	O
by	O
saying	O
,	O
"	O
For	O
all	O
its	O
flaws	O
,	O
I	O
ca	O
n’t	O
help	O
but	O
like	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Caught	O
somewhere	O
between	O
massively-multiplayer	O
online	O
role-playing	O
game	O
and	O
hardcore	O
competitive	O
real-time	O
strategy	O
,	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
delivers	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
addictive	O
parts	O
of	O
both.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewer	O
Matthew	O
Murray	O
wrote	O
,	O
"	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
is	O
highly	O
enjoyable	O
,	O
and	O
I	O
found	O
myself	O
afflicted	O
with	O
one-more-turn-itis	O
when	O
a	O
fiendish	O
mission	O
objective	O
captivated	O
(	O
or	O
frustrated	O
)	O
me	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpy	O
reviewer	O
Mike	O
Sharkey	O
panned	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
his	O
initial	O
review	O
,	O
but	O
after	O
the	O
game	O
received	O
a	O
major	O
overhaul	O
patch	O
he	O
later	O
stated	O
,	O
"	O
Well	O
,	O
AoE	B-Application
Online	I-Application
is	O
now	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
and	O
courtesy	O
of	O
a	O
massive	O
spring	O
patch	O
,	O
the	O
vast	O
majority	O
of	O
the	O
problems	O
I	O
had	O
with	O
it	O
have	O
been	O
addressed.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Gamer	O
initially	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
65/100	O
at	O
launch	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
reviewed	O
the	O
specific	O
DLC	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
campaign	O
giving	O
it	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
90/100	O
and	O
calling	O
it	O
,	O
"	O
The	O
best	O
free	O
RTS	O
gaming	O
you	O
'll	O
find	O
,	O
the	O
Celts	B-Algorithm
bring	O
AoEO	B-Application
two	O
steps	O
closer	O
to	O
greatness.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
was	O
the	O
third	O
most	O
played	O
Games	B-Application
for	I-Application
Windows	I-Application
Live	I-Application
title	O
for	O
the	O
year	O
2012	O
based	O
on	O
unique	B-Protocol
users	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
its	O
shutdown	O
in	O
2014	O
,	O
Age	B-Application
of	I-Application
Empires	I-Application
Online	I-Application
had	O
its	O
players	O
embark	O
on	O
500	O
million	O
single-player	O
quests	O
,	O
another	O
13.7	O
million	O
multiplayer	O
quests	O
,	O
and	O
2	O
million	O
arena	O
matches	O
in	O
its	O
three-year	O
history	O
.	O
</s>
