Town Center

Age of Empires II
Town Centers are slightly more expensive in Age of Empires II and possess increased importance and versatility.

They retain their role of train villagers, advancing into the next age and serving as a main drop site for villagers to store the resources they have collected. In Age of Empires II, Town Centers can also be used as defensive structures. A Town Center can garrison up to 15 units; villagers and archer units increase its firepower. Town Center are some of the only buildings that have no minimum range without upgrades, apart from the Bombard Tower.

Unlike Age of Empires I or III, the number of Town Centers one can build is unlimited. They are only available from the Castle Age onward unless the gametype is Nomad, in which case they are available throughout the game.

The Town Center is particularly useful for setting up camp in a new area to gather resources, as it spawns villagers, and is the center of any encampment.

Upgrades available

 * Dark Age - Loom
 * Feudal Age - Town Watch
 * Feudal Age - Wheelbarrow
 * Castle Age - Town Patrol
 * Castle Age - Hand Cart

Age of Empires III
The Town Center in Age of Empires III is the starting building for a colony and acts as the default Home City drop-off point. Town Centers can train Settlers/Villagers, call in one levy of Minutemen, and can advance to the next Age.

The Town Center is a strong building. It can defend itself from its top tower and can garrison up 10 Settlers/Villagers to protect them. If the player's Explorer has fallen in battle too close to enemy territory, instead of manually retrieving the unit, he/she may choose to pay ransom money and receive his/her Explorer back safely.

Only the Explorer or a Covered Wagon can build a Town Center and each player is limited to only one before Fortress Age which after that increases to three.

The Portuguese receive a free Covered Wagon every time they Age up until the Industrial Age and together with some Home City shipments can have the maximum increase to six Town Centers.

The Spanish in the other hand have a shipment which increases Town Center population so much that Houses become unnecessary when they possess three Town Centers.

Germans also have a shipment that increases the attack and hitpoints of their Town Centers.