Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've created a patch that allows you to run AoE2-TC on practically any resolution!

How It Works: It changes the effective resolution of the 1280x1024 (or 1024x768, 800x600) choice to your desktop resolutions (but other options are possible), by changing some of the occurrences of 1280, 1024 and related numbers inside the binary.

It also changes all interface graphics to the right resolution by duplicating some lines and repeating the rightmost pixels.

It writes a new exe and a new version of interfac.drs, both with a different name. The patched exe refers to this new interfac.drs, not to the original one. You can't lose anything.

After running AoE2Wide, you will get a link (batch file) on your desktop that links to the new, hi-res AoE2 !

It works on NoCD versions only, since the original exe's are encrypted and therefore unpatchable. 1.0, 1.0c and 1.0e supported.

.Net 3.5 SP1 is required, but the supplied MSI will install this for you if necessary.

Source Links:
http://www.boekabart.net/aoe2wide/latestpatcher/AoE2WideSetup.msi For latest INSTALLER! [edit: fixed link]
http://www.boekabart.net/aoe2wide For all downloads, sources, screenshots, binary

Donate HERE: http://www.boekabart.net/aoe2wide/donate.html If you're looking to support the past and future development of this patch!

If you install (msi) or download the patcher, make sure you put the files in a subfolder of your AoE2 game directory, or it won't be able to find the right files.

See further in this topic for more details and instructions.

I've moved this here since the Confirmed Solutions area is for step-by-step methods and comparison screenshots exclusively, and nobody could post replies to your message. ;)

Sounds great, could you post one 1280x1024 and one 1680x1050 screenshot ?

Sounds great, could you post one 1280x1024 and one 1680x1050 screenshot ?

2 problems here: 1) How does one make a screenshot of AoE2? a quick google didn't tell me. In win7, normal printscreen doesn't do the trick (colors even more mangled than they are in-game.
2) Is there no way to post attachments here?

Anyway, I've made a screenshot with my photo camera and it's posted behind this link: http://sites.google.com/site/aoe2wide/AoE2wide_camshot_01.jpg?attredirects=0

So the play area is 26 (1050-1024) pixels higher, the background GUI image is also 26 pixels higher (by inserting blank lines behind the play area), but not yet wider - that's where the pink areas right of the original image come from. The big improvement here is of course the fact that the play area is a lot wider than 1280px!

The patch should be ablo to do bigger resolutions too, I just lack the hardware to test this...

If anyone wants to help: I need help on the SLP rle encoding, plus testing of course. There are a lot of X and Y coordinates in there that might need adjustment: they should be figured out and listed in the input.txt .

I'll try to upload a little movie on youtube later that shows the same but in motion (also made with photo cam).

Boekabart

OK, it turns out that the printscreen key DOES work after all, after I disable this greenshot program that I use...
Here goes in PNG-from-original:

The best would be actual screen captures made with software like Fraps or PlayClaw. If PrntScrn works, that's good too.
Launch the game at a 4:3 resolution, take a screenshot, then run the "patched" game in widescreen, take another screenie.
Then upload your screenshots to free hosting servers like imageshack or photobucket, add the links to the pictures to your post, and voilà!

Hi. Looks very promising. Nice to see, there are people with the inspiration, not to mention ability, to hack classic games for the widescreen era.

However, I tested your patch with AoE Collector's Edition version of Conquerors (v.1.0C). Doesn't work.

First of all my age2_x1.exe is not located in the Aoe2-folder (as the patch assumes), it's in a subfolder called "age2_x1". If I copy age2_x1.exe to AoE2 folder, the patch will exit with "Didn't find interfac.drs reference at expected location. Wrong exe. Stopping".

Correct, it does not yet work with the 'original' age2x_1.exe that is located in the age2x_1 folder; as I mentioned I'd have to test it on my old PC that does have a CD drive or connect a usb cd drive to my laptop to test this. But, since that version consists of a small exe and and ICD file, i'd have some more figuring out to do first about the locations to change in those binaries. For now you'll have to use the GCW version.

Today I'll spend some more time making the whole thing a bit easier to use.

It looks like the age2x_1.icd is the actual game executable, but it's been encrypted somehow. So I don't think it'll be easy to patch the non-gamecopyworld version, if possible at all. It seems that would be another reason to use the GCW exe (non having to have the CD with you all the time you want to play is the other one): it's widescreen patchable. I hope this doesn't make the patch unallowable on this forum....

Unrelated opinion: To me it seems unfair that MS is still cashing on this game, selling it for 10-15 euros even today, but refuses to support it in any way: for example, on windows 7 you're stuck with slightly corrupt colors, directplay doesn't work (at least not on local lan) on 7 and I believe even on Vista... The least they could do if they still sell the game, is recompile it with the latest sdks so it works without problems... Shouldn't take that much time for a seasoned developer.... Their response 'please upgrade to AoE3' would be valid only if they would STOP selling AoE2... (and, imho, if the III would indeed be an upgrade...)

Ok, next problem: GCW no longer has files for AoE2. They link to GameFix, but the only Conq. 1.0c exe available from there seems to be different from the one you used (patch doesnt work, same "...interfac.drs reference.." -error)

On the subject of the color corruption under Windows 7: Weirdly, I get that in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (AoE2 engine), but not in AoE2 or Conquerors. Perhaps the Collector's edition has something slightly updated compared to the patched retail version?
(I'm using Win 7 Home Premium x64 on Geforce 9800GT)

In SW:GB the corruption can be fixed by taskkilling explorer.exe before the game starts. I imagine this would work for AoE2 as well.

Also, at least in Europe, I believe it is actually Ubisoft and not Microsoft that's still selling AoE1&2 (CE is about 5-8 euros). Empire Interactive also sold them in it's 'Xplosiv' range but I don't believe they exist anymore.

Indeed, GCW no longer has it. I've checked the gamefix version, the file size is almost the same but the locations to patch are completely different. I'd like to focus my attention on 1 exe to patch now, later it might be trivial to write smth that just looks up the identical pieces of code in the other exe, and patches them there. I don't know whether it's allowed or not but since it's not meant for illegal running, but for wide screen gaming, here is my ('original' - non wide screen) exe, it should be placed in the AoE2 main folder, not in the age2x_1 subfolder.
http://boekabart.dyndns.org/aoe2wide/age2_x1.zip