 |
This article is about the campaign scenario in Age of Empires. For the food gathering method, see Hunt. |
Hunting is the first scenario of the Ascent of Egypt campaign, and introduces the player to the basic components on optimizing strategic game play in Age of Empires. The scenario is designed to teach players how to hunt and build in the game.
Scenario instructions[]
Description[]
| “ | Island in the Nile Delta, 8000 BCE Egypt is a land blessed with plentiful plants and wildlife, making it an excellent place to settle your wandering tribe of hunters and gatherers. Even though your people have primitive technology and rely on stone tools, they are skilled hunters. |
” |
| —In-game section | ||
| “ | Hunting, 8000 BC The Ice Age has passed; plants and wildlife are plentiful thanks to the improved climate. Although the technology of your tribe is still primitive, your hunting skills are excellent. Establish a small village on this Nile Delta island and grow your tribe to seven people. |
” |
| —In-game section | ||
Tutorial[]
- HUNTING
- To assign a Villager to hunt, select the Villager, and then right-click an animal, such as a gazelle. The Villager will hunt the animal, gather food, and deposit it at the Town Center, where it is added to your stockpile (visible in the upper-left corner of the game screen).
- CREATING VILLAGERS
- Villagers cost food. To create a Villager, select the Town Center, and then select the Create Villager button at the bottom of the game screen. After a brief training period, the Villager appears beside the Town Center. Resources (such as food from hunting) are accumulated faster if you assign newly created Villagers to gather them.
- BUILDING HOUSES
- Houses cost wood. Each House supports four units. The Town Center also supports four units. To build a House, select a Villager, select the Build button at the bottom of the game screen, select the Build House button, and then left-click a location on the map. The House is shown in red if you cannot build it in a particular location.
- HUNTING
- To assign a villager to hunt, click the villager, and then right-click the animal to hunt. For example, to hunt a gazelle, right-click it. The villager hunts the animal, gathers food, and deposits it at the Town Center where it is added to your stockpile (as shown in the upper-left corner of the game screen).
- CREATING VILLAGERS
- Villagers cost 50 food. To create a villager, select a Town Center, and then click on the Create Villager button in the lower left corner of the game screen. After a brief training period, the villager appears beside the Town Center.
- BUILDING HOUSES
- Houses cost 30 wood and each House supports four villagers. The Town Center also supports four villagers. To build a House, select a villager, click the Build House button in the building panel in the lower-left corner of the game screen, and then click a location on the map. The House is shown in red if you cannot build in a particular location.
History[]
| “ | Since the dawn of our species, humans relied on hunting and foraging for survival. They lived and hunted in small groups, moving along the migratory tracks of large animals. Meat was complemented with berries, roots or other edible plants for a diverse diet. Egypt was one of the first regions to be inhabited by humans due to its mild climate and its proximity to eastern Africa, where the first human ancestors evolved. At the end of the last Ice Age, the Sahara Desert was very different from its modern state. It consisted mostly of Savannah grasslands where many species of large animals grazed, making the Sahara ideal for hunter-gatherers to thrive. Cave paintings and stone tool production sites have been found from this early period as cultures like the Badarian and Naqada spread throughout Egypt. Stone circles similar to Stonehenge were built in a place called Nabta Playa to the west of the Nile River near a great and now extinct lake. |
” |
| —In-game section | ||
| “ | The Nile Valley has been inhabited by humans for perhaps millions of years due to the mild climate, the presence of fresh water, and its proximity to southern Africa, where the first human ancestors evolved. Water is necessary for all life, making the river valley a good place to find useful plants and animals. The delta area of the river is especially bountiful. It is not hard to imagine Stone Age peoples making a comfortable life, by the standard of the time, along the Nile. By 8,000 years ago, the ice was gone and the climate was comparable to what we encounter today. Stone Age hunters would have shared the Nile Valley with a variety wildlife that could be hunted for food. By this time, our ancestors had domesticated the dog and were using spear throwers (atlatls) and primitive bows. | ” |
| —In-game section | ||
Starting conditions[]
Objectives[]
Hints[]
- You can support a population of 50.
- Hunt gazelles and elephants to increase your stockpile of food in order to create new Villagers.
- To create new units, you must build new Houses to support your growing population.
- Villagers can move around gazelles and herd them closer to the Town Center before hunting them. This decreases the distance Villagers must travel to drop the meat off at your Town Center.
- Elephants will attack Villagers hunting them, so instead of herding them like gazelles, you must select a Villager, shoot the elephant, run away, and then (when he's almost out of range) turn your Villager around and shoot it again. Repeat this process to lure the elephant to your Town Center, where you can easily kill it with multiple Villagers, also reducing the distance your Villagers must walk.
- Food from dead animals decays over time, so minimize waste by assigning multiple Villagers to harvest meat.
- Beware of crocodiles, which will eat unwary villagers who wander near the shore. Crocodiles and other predators can be hunted, but they provide less food than other animals.
- You must hunt gazelles and elephants to increase your stockpile of food in order to create new villagers.
- As your population grows, you must build new Houses to accommodate the new units or else you will not be able to create anymore new ones.
- Villagers can move around gazelles and herd them closer to the Town Center before hunting them. This decreases the distance the villagers must travel to carry the meat to the Town Center (where it is added to your stockpile).
- When you hunt elephants, you must use a different tactic than when you hunt gazelles. Elephants will attack the villagers that are hunting them so instead of moving around the elephants like you'd do with gazelles, you must select a villager, shoot the elephant, run away and then (when he's almost out of range) turn your villager around and shoot him again. If you repeat this process, you can lure the elephant to your drop off point where you can easily kill the elephant with multiple villagers, and you reduce the distance your villagers must walk.
- Food from dead animals deteriorates over time, so it is more efficient to assign more than one villager to gather the meat from a kill.
- Beware of Crocodiles—they tend to eat unwary villagers who wander near the shore. Crocodiles and other predators can be hunted and provide food like gazelles but at a much lower return rate.
- You must hunt gazelles to increase your stockpile of food so you can create new villagers. As your population grows, you must build new Houses before you can create new villagers.
- Villagers can move around gazelles and herd them closer to the Town Center before hunting them. This decreases the distance the villagers must travel to carry the meat to the Town Center, where it is added to your stockpile.
- Food from hunting deteriorates over time, so it is most efficient to assign more than one villager to gather the meat from a kill.
- Beware of alligators -- they tend to eat unwary villagers who wander near the shore. Alligators can be hunted and provide food like gazelles.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player (
Egyptians): The player starts with a Town Center and a Villager in the center of the island.
Player[]
- Player ( Egyptians): The player starts with a Town Center and three Villagers in the center of the island.
Player[]
- Player ( Egyptians): The player starts with a Town Center and a Villager in the center of the island.
Strategy[]
- Original
This campaign is pretty straightforward, since no enemies are present. The only thing the player should look out for are Alligators lurking around near the coastal areas of the map. Contrary to the scenario instructions, the player only needs to create six Villagers, as one is already available. A total of 300 food is required, and a house needs to be built. Bring the Villager to the west and walk through the large herd of Gazelles. Try to judge how far the player wants the prey to be from the Town Center before hitting with a spear twice. Have the hunter collect the meat and create Villagers as the food comes in. As soon as the player has finished, build a House with one Villager while continuing to hunt. Create the required Villagers and the task will be complete.
- Definitive
The same strategy as above applies in this version, with the changes being needing to train fewer Villagers, as the player already starts with three.
Postgame messages[]
Trivia[]
- In the northeast, there is a small landmass which normally cannot be seen. This remains true for the Definitive Edition and Return of Rome.
Gallery[]
Hunting (AoE)
Video playthrough of the Definitive Edition version
