Age LAN Server

Age LAN Server (formerly AoE 2 DE LAN Server) is a web server (with its launcher) that allows you to play multiplayer lobbies without having an internet connection to the game server ensuring the game multiplayer functionality is still available even if the official server is in maintenance or is eventually shutdown.

Note: It is not strictly limited to LAN only.

[!IMPORTANT] You will still need a custom launcher to bypass the online-only restriction that is imposed by the game to being connected to the internet and Steam or Xbox Live, depending on the platform and version, to fully play offline. My other project provides the files and information to download a Steam Emulator and play 100% offline.

🎮 Supported games:

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition.
• Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition.
• Age of Mythology: Retold (currently only the Steam version).

⚙️Features

• 🌐 Scenarios.
• 🗺️ Map transferring in-lobby.
• ↕️ Restore game.
• 📦 Data mods.
• 🗣️ Lobby chatting.
• 🎮 Crossplay Steam & Xbox.

[!TIP] See more details in Questions and Answers (QA).

AoE II: DE, AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE and AoM: RT

List of features

• 👁️ Observing (including CapturAge for AoE II: DE).
• 📩 Lobby invite.
• 🔗 Share lobby link.
• 🔍 Player Search.

AoE II: DE and AoE III: DE

List of features

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Co-Op Campaigns.
• 🔄 Rematch.

AoE II: DE

List of features

• 💬 Channels.
• 🗣️ Whispering.

AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE

List of features

• 👥 Groups

AoM: RT

List of features

• 🗣️ Whispering.
• 🙏 Arena of the Gods.

General limitations

List of limitations

• ⚠️ Joining a game lobby from a link only works if the game is already running.
• ⚠️ Subscribing to online mods only works if using the official launcher.
• ❌ No Xbox and Steam friend integration.

AoE III: DE, AoE IV: AE

List of limitations

• ⚠️ Friend list will instead show all online users as if they were friends.

AoM: RT

List of limitations

• ⚠️ Friend list will instead show all online users as if they were friends.
• ℹ️ Arena of Gods:
  • No rewards are gained, all blessings and rarities are unlocked by default, including those not available in the official server.
  • Favor stash is infinite.
  • Story mode has all missions unlocked by default.
  • Challenge mode lifes are infinite, you have access to all legends, and you are max level (99) by default.

Unimplemented features

List of unimplemented features

• ❌ Matchmaking: does not make sense having a likely ephimeral server with limited users, use the official server for that.
• ❌ Achievements: only the official server should be able to. Meeting the requirements of an achievement during a match might cause issues (see Troubleshooting for more details).
• ❌ Leaderboards: will appear empty.
• ❌ Clans: all players are outside clans. Browsing clan will appear empty and creating one will always result in error.
• ❌ Lobby ban player: will appear like it works but doesn't.
• ❌ Report/Block player: will appear like it works but doesn't.

Note: Most of these do not apply to Age of Empires: Definitive Edition.

Minimum system requirements

Server

Stable

• Windows: 7 or equivalent (10 or higher recommended).
• Linux: kernel 3.2 (5.10 or higher recommended, see here for more details).
• macOS: Monterey v12 (Sonoma v14 or higher recommended).

Admin rights or firewall permission to listen on port 443 (https) will likely be required depending on the operating system and configuration.

Experimental

• BSD-based (OpenBSD, DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD and NetBSD).
• Solaris-based (Solaris and Illumos).
• AIX.

Note: For the full list see minimum requirements for Go 1.26.

Launcher and Battle Server Manager

• Windows without S edition/mode (recommended):
  • 7 on x86-64 (10 or higher recommended).
  • 11 on ARM.
• Linux with kernel 3.2 (5.10 or higher recommended):
  • x86-64 (recommended).
  • ARM64.
• macOS Monterey v12 (Sonoma v14 or higher recommended):
  • Intel (recommended).
  • Apple Silicon. Required for AoE II: DE native Steam version in Launcher.

Note for launcher: If you allow (and is needed) to handle the hosts file, local certificate, or an elevated custom game launcher, it will require admin rights elevation.

Client

• Age of Empires: Definitive Edition on Steam or Xbox (only on a compatible Windows version). Recommended version 100.2.31845.0 or later.
• Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition on Steam or Xbox (only on a compatible Windows version). Minimum a mid 2024 version or later.
• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition on Steam or Xbox (only on a compatible Windows version). Recommended a late 2023 version or later.
• Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition on Steam or Xbox (only on a compatible Windows version). Recommended a 2025 version or later.
• Age of Mythology: Retold on Steam. Recommended a 2025 version or later.

Note: An up-to-date (or slightly older) version is highly recommended as there are known issues with older versions.

Binaries

See the releases page for server and launcher binaries for a subset of supported operating systems.

Provided archives

• Full:
  • Windows:
    • 7 on x86-64: ..._full_A.B.C_win7_x86-64.zip
    • 10 on x86-64: ..._full_A.B.C_win10_x86-64.zip
    • 11 on ARM: ..._full_A.B.C_win11_arm64.zip
  • Linux:
    • x86-64: ..._full_A.B.C_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
    • ARM64: ..._full_A.B.C_linux_arm64.tar.gz
  • macOS: ..._full_A.B.C_mac.tar.gz
• Launcher:
  • Windows:
    • 7 on x86-64: ..._launcher_A.B.C_win7_x86-64.zip
    • 10 on x86-64: ..._launcher_A.B.C_win10_x86-64.zip
    • 11 on ARM: ..._launcher_A.B.C_win11_arm64.zip
  • Linux:
    • x86-64: ..._launcher_A.B.C_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
    • ARM64: ..._launcher_A.B.C_linux_arm64.tar.gz
  • macOS: ..._launcher_A.B.C_mac.tar.gz
• Battle Server Manager:
  • Windows:
    • 7 on x86-64: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_win7_x86-64.zip
    • 10 on x86-64: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_win10_x86-64.zip
    • 11 on ARM: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_win11_arm64.zip
  • Linux:
    • x86-64: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
    • ARM64: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_linux_arm64.tar.gz
  • macOS: ..._battle-server-manager_A.B.C_mac.tar.gz
• Server:
  • Windows:
    • 7, Server 2008 R2, Home Server 2011, Embedded 7 on x86-64: ..._server_ A.B.C_ win7_x86-64.zip
    • 7, Embedded 7, Thin PC on x86-32: ..._server_ A.B.C_ win7_x86-32.zip
    • 10 (IoT), Server (IoT) 2025 on ARM64: ..._server_A.B.C_win10_arm64.zip
    • 10 (IoT), (Storage) Server 2016, Server IoT 2019 on x86-64: ..._server_A.B.C_win10_x86-64.zip
    • 10 (IoT) on x86-32: ..._server_A.B.C_win10_x86-32.zip
  • Linux:
    • ARM64: ..._server_A.B.C_linux_arm64.tar.gz
    • ARM32:
      • ARMv5 (armel): ..._server_A.B.C_linux_arm-5.tar.gz
      • ARMv6 (sometimes called armhf): ..._server_A.B.C_linux_arm-6.tar.gz
    • x86-64: ..._server_A.B.C_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
    • x86-32: ..._server_A.B.C_linux_x86-32.tar.gz
  • macOS - Monterey (v12): ..._server_A.B.C_mac.tar.gz

Note: If you are using Antivirus it may flag one or more executables as virus, this is a false positive.

Note: On macOS, downloaded binaries are quarantined by Gatekeeper and may be refused as unverified as releases are not notarized. From the extracted download directory, run the following in the terminal to clear it: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine . (alternatively, right-click each binary and choose Open). Self-built binaries are unaffected.

Verification

The verification process ensures that the files you download are the same as the ones that were uploaded by the maintainer.

Verification steps

1. Check the release tag is verified with the committer's signature key (as all commits must be).
2. Download the ..._checksums.txt and ..._checksums.txt.sig files.
3. Import the release public key and import it to your keyring if you haven't already.
4. Verify the ..._checksums.txt file with the ..._checksums.txt.sig file.
5. Verify the SHA-256 checksum list inside ..._checksums.txt with the downloaded archives.

Exceptions on tag/commit signature:

• Tags:
  • v1.2.0-rc.5: mantainer error.
• Commits:
  • 631cfa1 through 9eb66cf (both included): rebase and merge PR issue.
  • 55697d4: rebase of dependabot.
  • feb28de: partially verified due to dependabot.
  • d2b1749, 82ca9f1 and baa75ce: merge mistake.

Installation

Both the launcher and server work out of the box without any installation. Just download the archives, decompress and run them.

How it works

Server

The server is simple web server that listens to the game's API requests. The server reimplements the minimum required API surface to allow the game to work with lobbies. Some requests are partially proxied to cdn.ageofempires.com and api.ageofempires.com and a request is used to get the public IP

Note: See the server README for more details.

Launcher

The launcher allows to easily play the game in lobbies while still allowing the official launcher to be used for online play.

Features

• Automatically start/stop the server or connect to an existing one.
• (Optional) Use an isolated metadata (except AoE I) directory to avoid potential issues with the official game.
• (Optional) Modify the hosts file to:
  • Redirect the game's API requests to the LAN server.
  • Proxy certain requests:
    • CDN so it does not detect the official game status.
    • Chat and usernames show properly.
• (Optional) Install a self-signed certificate to allow the game to connect to the LAN server.
• (except AoE I and AoE IV) Add a certificate to the game's store to allow the game to connect to the LAN server.
• (Optional) Run custom configuration commands to set up/revert the configuration.
• (Windows Optional) Re-broadcast the battle server through other network interfaces apart from the most priority one.
• Automatically find and start the game.

Afterward, it reverses any changes to allow the official launcher to connect to the official servers.

Note: See the launcher README for more details.

Simplest way to use it

1. Download the proper full asset from the latest stable release from https://github.com/luskaner/ageLANServer/releases.
2. Uncompress it somewhere.
3. Windows Optional: You may need to add the launcher/server binaries to the exception list of your Antivirus.
4. Windows Optional: Unblock the .exe files as explained here
5. If not using the Steam or Xbox launcher, edit the launcher/resources/config.<game_title>.toml file with a text editor (like Notepad) and modify the Client.Executable section to point to the game launcher path. In this case, you also need to modify Client.Path to point to the game's directory. You will need to use a custom launcher (plus what my other repo provides) for 100% offline play.
6. If you are using AoE IV/AoM and don't have AoE II: DE installed edit the battle-server-manager/resources/config.<game>.toml file and point Executable.Path to the AoE II: DE BattleServer.exe executable (it's portable), for example, 'S: \SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\BattleServer\BattleServer.exe'.
7. Execute launcher/start_<game_title> script: you will be asked for admin elevation and confirmation of other dialogs as needed, you will also need to allow the connections via the Microsoft Defender Firewall or any other.
8. Repeat the above steps for every PC (except the point 6) you want to play in LAN with by running the launcher, the first PC to launch it will host the "server" and the rest will auto-discover and be prompted to connect to it.
9. In the game, just host a new lobby via the Multiplayer section. Setting it to public visibility is recommended.
10. If the lobby is Public, they can join directly in the browser or you can Invite friends by searching them by name and sending an invitation as needed. If the game allows, you can share the link to join the lobby automatically ( only works if already in-game).

Standalone execution

Server instructions

1. Download the proper server asset from latest stable release.
2. Generate the certificate by simply executing bin/genCert.
3. If needed edit the config file.
4. Run the server binary for all games or the start_ game title specific script.

Launcher instructions

1. Download the proper launcher asset from latest stable release.
2. If needed edit the launcher/resources/config.<game_title>.toml and/or launcher/resources/config.toml files. You will need to edit the Client.Executable section to point to the game launcher path if using a custom launcher which you will need to use a custom launcher for 100% offline play.
3. Run the start_... script.

Note: If you have any issues run the bin/config revert -a.

Battle Server Manager instructions

1. Download the proper battle-server-manager asset from latest stable release.
2. If needed edit the battle-server-manager/resources/config.<game_title>.toml.
3. Run the start_... script.

Development

See DEVELOPMENT.md to see how to develop and release builds.

Additional Terms of Use for the Downloadable Package

Important Notice:
This software is distributed under the AGPL (Affero General Public License), which guarantees every user the right to use, study, modify, and redistribute the source code. The following additional terms govern only the contractual relationship between the provider of the downloadable package and the user who obtains it through this channel. These terms do not affect or restrict the rights granted under the AGPL, which shall prevail over any additional restrictions when it comes to redistribution, modification, or access to the code.

By downloading and using this package, you agree to the following:

1. Game License:
   You are only authorized to use this downloadable package if you possess a valid and legal license for the corresponding game, including any downloadable content (DLC) required for the software to operate properly.
2. Compliance with Game Terms:
   The use of the software is contingent upon your full compliance with the terms of service and any applicable conditions established for the game.
3. Personal Use Only:
   This downloadable package is intended for strictly personal use. Commercial use or any use beyond personal purposes is prohibited unless express written consent is obtained from the provider.
4. Usage Environment (LAN):
   The software must be used within a LAN (Local Area Network) environment, as long as the official game servers remain available and operational. If the official servers are undergoing maintenance, become temporarily unavailable, or are permanently withdrawn, this requirement becames void.
5. Limitation of Provider's Liability:
   These additional terms apply solely to the original downloadable package provided by the provider. The provider assumes no responsibility for any misuse of the software or for intellectual property infringements resulting from its use contrary to these terms. Any liability arising from the improper use of the software lies exclusively with you.

Disclaimer: This software is not affiliated or endorsed by any publisher or developer of the games.