Questions and Answers (QA) - luskaner/ageLANServer GitHub Wiki

General

Q: Does the server communicates with the internet?

A: No.

Q: Does the launcher communicates with the internet?

A: The only outbound connection is to cdn.ageofempires.com to check if the official server is on maintenance as it will make the game refuse to connect to the local server (the launcher will work regardless if there is no internet at all). It will also try to connect to aoe-api.worldsedgelink.com to verify it's the LAN server, so could theoretically, in case of an issue, connect to internet.

Q: Does the server store any data?

A: No, the server is completely stateless regarding its operations (all is saved in the working memory), nothing is stored on disk about the user, except for the basic request logs (can be disabled).

Q: Does the launcher modify any game files?

A: No.

Q: Can using the launcher/server get me banned?

A: If using the original binaries according to our ToU, it should'nt, but there are no guarantees.

Q: My antivirus detect some of the executables as virus, why?

A: There are no viruses, some antivirus can falsely detect some files as virus, likely due to being programmed in the Go language. You may use VirusTotal to check with multiple antivirus and see that the vast majority (90%+) of Antiviruses do not flag it as a virus. If you are still not convinced, as this is an open-source project, you may review the code and build it yourself.

Q: How (in Windows) do I disable the dialog that asks for confirmation when I try to run an executable/script?

A: You need to manually go in the properties of each exe/bat file (and their bin subdirectories) and unblock them.

Q: What do all the binaries in server/launcher archives do?

A: Look for the respective README.md files:

Q: What do you mean with a "custom launcher"?

A: A Steam emulator like Goldberg that enables you to play without having connectivity to the Steam server. This will not be sufficient to play without internet as the game has additional checks in place. Check my other project for more info and a solution.

Q: Can you provide the so-called "custom launcher" to run the game without requiring the internet?

A: No, legal copyright laws don't allow me to do that as it also bypasses the need to have bought the game (and its DLC's) not just the offline requirement. However, instructions for you to download (and configure) it are available in my other project.

Q: Which are the compatible versions regarding the server and launcher?

A: Versions below v1.2 require the same minor version for both the launcher and server. Versions v1.2-1.4 for both launcher and server work with any combination of versions. Server version v1.5 or above with a launcher version v1.2-1.4 require [Announcement].Broadcast set to true (on by default) and having in the Server config, Games include age2 (set by default). Open a new issue if you need to use an older version.

Note: using an older and/or mismatching version is not supported nor recommended.

Q: Which connections do the launcher/server use?

A:

  • Server:
    • TCP: 443 (Inbound, Fixed) - interfaces depending on the Hosts set in the config.
    • UDP: 31978 (Broadcast, Outbound, Configurable) - if [Announcement].Broadcast is true; same interfaces as the previous.
    • UDP: 31978 (Multicast, Outbound, Configurable) - if [Announcement].Multicast is true; same interfaces as the previous.
  • Launcher:
    • TCP 443 (Unicast, Outbound):
      • ServerHost (Configurable) - ServerHost is auto if launcher started the server, otherwise [Server].Host set.
      • aoe-api.worldsedgelink.com: to test if the host mapping is successful. It should be the same as the previous.
      • cdn.ageofempires.com (IPv4, IPv6): to test if online server is on maintenance as it would make the game not want to connect to our LAN server.
    • UDP: 31978 (Broadcast, Inbound, Configurable) - only if [Server].AnnouncePorts is not empty; all interfaces.
    • UDP: 31978 (Multicast, Inbound, Configurable) - only if [Server].AnnounceMulticastGroups is not empty; all interfaces.
    • UDP: 9999 (Broadcast, Fixed port) - only if [Config].CanBroadcastBattleServer resolves to true:
      • (Inbound, IPv4, IPv6) - most priority interface.
      • (Outbound) - all except the most priority interface.

Note: only aoe-api.worldsedgelink.com (resolved to ServerHost) 443 on TCP is mandatory.

Note 2: Unless otherwise stated, all is just IPv4.

Q: Which other games could be supported in the future?

No other World's Edge games support LAN match lobbies (or have been superseeded). Age of Mythology: Retold does indeed have a local Battle Server but no LAN lobbies support. Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition has neither. Age of Mythology: Extended Edition and Age of Empires II: HD Edition have been superseeded (and abandoned) so support is out of scope.

macOS

Q: Why is there no launcher?

A: Steam Play/Proton which is needed to run AoE is not available since macOS Catalina (v10.15) and Steam no longer officially supports older versions than that. However, it could be made possible to run the game through Wine (9.17+) or any software based off it like CrossOver, Porting Kit... etc. PR's are welcome ;).

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition

Other

Q: Why is there no Xbox console version of the launcher?

A: The Xbox console is a locked down system which does not allow any of system/folder configurations changes required by the launcher. The minimum being resolving the aoe-api.worldsedgelink.com host to the LAN server (which could be worked around by using a local and custom DNS server), and installing a CA certificate which is not possible at all even with Developer mode.