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This article is about the building in Age of Mythology. For the building in other games of the series, see Town Center. |
| “ | Trains Villagers, advances through the Ages, is a drop site for all resources, and supports population. Town Centers are built over Settlements. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
| “ | Trains Villagers, serves as a drop site for all resources, supports population, and provides Age advancement. Town Centers must be built over Settlements. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Town Center is an economic building in Age of Mythology. It is the most important of all buildings as it trains workers and provides Age advancement. In addition, each civilization can train certain other units and myth technologies at the Town Center. It is also a drop-off site for all resources, though it is mostly used by herders and farmers. It can shoot arrows on enemies at its base without requiring Boiling Oil. In Retold, Town Centers also inherently gain the effect of Ballistics from the Classical Age onwards, and the Town Center foundation can be placed on plain ground rather than on top of a Settlement to construct a Village Center instead.
The infobox uses the shorthand R as a suffix to refer to Retold. It uses G, E, N, and A to refer to the Greeks, Egyptians, Norse, and Atlanteans, while CR and C (TotD) are used to refer to the Chinese in Immortal Pillars and Tale of the Dragon respectively.
Special ability[]
Lush (Passive, Gaia only): Spreads Lush terrain, which causes units and buildings to regenerate. With Channels researched, it also increases the movement speed of all ground units by 15%.
Overview[]
Like in Age of Empires II and Age of Empires III, the Town Center can defend itself, easily dispatching early enemy units. Unlike in those games, Town Centers in Age of Mythology do not require to be garrisoned in order to fire arrows at enemies. However, having a garrison increases the damage output. It takes several units with a high hack or crush attack to destroy a Town Center, so they are generally not threatened until the Heroic Age. Town Centers can garrison up to 25 units and initially support 15 population, though this can be increased to 25 in the Heroic Age by researching Fortified Town Center.
A factor that limits the placing of Town Centers is the fact their foundations can be laid exclusively on neutral Settlements. This initially limits the areas in which villagers can be trained, and also negates any effort to rush with Town Centers. However, when Town Centers are placed over non-Settlement land, it transforms into a Village Center, which can train villagers, but is weaker and works slowly, and does not provide population space.
From The Titans onwards, additional Town Centers can be built in the Classical Age. It is very important to build them as they increase a player's population cap. However, they are expensive, take a long time to build, and can only be built on unclaimed Settlements. There are usually three Settlements per player on a standard map, so the number of Town Centers that can be built is limited without wresting control of Settlements from other players.
In the Archaic Age, if a player does not have a Town Center or Village Center, such as when the Nomad random map is played or the starting Town Center is lost, they can build exactly one.
- Civilization traits
- Greeks: The Greek Town Center is average in most ways, but can also train heroes once a Temple is constructed, which it does in a parallel queue.
- Egyptians: The Egyptian Town Center is the cheapest – costing only 550 gold – but takes the longest time to build if not empowering them. Egyptian players can help defend their Town Centers, especially outlying ones, by hiring mercenaries, which are trained almost instantly but last a limited duration. The Town Centers can also train Priests once a Temple has been built, although this is usually not advisable.
- Norse: Unlike many other Norse buildings, their Town Centers are as strong as those of other civilizations. The Norse can train both worker units plus an infantry/scout unit at the Town Center in the Archaic Age. They can train the infantry unit, the Berserk, which acts as both scout and builder.
- Atlanteans: The Atlantean Town Center is built very quickly due to the high work rate of Citizens, even faster with a hero Citizen. Before Retold, Town Centers also passively generated favor.
- Chinese: The Chinese Town Center is built slowly by Peasants, but very fast by Kuafus. They are also sources of Favored Land, spreading it to any other building whose Favored Land radius intersects with the Town Center's aura.
Functions[]
Common technologies[]
Age ups[]
- Classical Age
- Heroic Age
- Mythic Age
- Titan Age (before Retold)
Civilization-specific[]
| Civilization | Trains units | Myth technologies | Spawns units |
|---|---|---|---|
 Greeks |
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 Egyptians |
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 Norse |
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 Atlanteans |
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 Chinese (Immortal Pillars) |
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 Chinese (Tale of the Dragon) |
- * once a Temple has been built
Further statistics[]
Civilization bonuses[]
- Egyptians: A Town Center costs 550 gold but is built by a Laborer in 200 seconds.
- Atlanteans: A Town Center is built by a Citizen in 120 seconds.
- Chinese: Town Centers generate Favored Land. A Town Center is built by a Peasant in 176.47 seconds and by a Kuafu in 75 seconds.
God bonuses[]
- Hades: +2 range.
- Isis: Provide +5 population space.
- Gaia: Regenerate 1 hit points per second. Grows lush around itself.
- Sekhmet: Can cast Citadel on own or allied Town Center to turn it into a Citadel Center.
- Fuxi: +300% research speed. (Immortal Pillars)
- Nüwa: +1 Favored Land range. Creator's Auspice improves hit points in tiers as the player generates favor.
- Fu Xi: -20% wood cost (resulting in 100 food, 240 wood, 300 gold). (Tale of the Dragon)
Technologies[]
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Masons: +15% Architects: +20% Fortified Town Center: +25% Sun-dried Mud-brick: +10% (Sobek only) Athenian Wall: +20% (Hera only, before Retold) Rammed Earth: +10% (He Bo only)
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| Attack | Fortified Town Center: +50% Copper Weapons: +10% Bronze Weapons: +10% Iron Weapons: +10% Crenellations: +25% vs. cavalry
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 Range
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Fortified Town Center: +2
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| Armor | Masons: +15%  hack / +5%  crush Architects: +5% crush
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| Line of Sight |  Signal Fires: +6 Carrier Pigeons: +6 Oracle: +5 (Apollo only)
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| Resource cost | Sun-dried Mud-brick: -15% gold (Sobek only) Safeguard: -50% gold (Heimdall only)
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| Build speed |  Divine Blood: +15% (Aphrodite only) Sun-dried Mud-brick: +33%
|
 Work rate
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 Rigsthula: +20% (Heimdall) Feasts of Renown: 0.5 food/s (Aegir only) Abundance: +5% resources dropped off (Houtu only)
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| Healing | Feasts of Renown: 1 HP/s in radius 20 (Aegir only)
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| Other | Fortified Town Center: +10 population
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Relic bonuses[]
- Arrows of the Alfar: +20% attack.
- Blanket of Empress Zoe: -15% crush vulnerability.
- Five Colored Stone of Nüwa: -50% repairing cost.
- Eye of Horus: Support +4 population.
- Head of Orpheus: +8 Line of Sight.
- Nose of the Sphinx: +15% hit points.
- Rheia's Crown: -10% cost and generate 0.01 favor per second.
- Texts of Imhotep: -10% construction time.
Changelog[]
Age of Mythology[]
- The cost of a generic Town Center is 100 food, 300 wood, 300 gold. Its build time is 120 seconds, Line of Sight is 24, pierce attack is 12, pierce armor is 96%, accuracy is 80%, and it has 2,800 hit points.
- A Fortified Town Center has 3,500 hit points and supports 20 population.
- Additional Town Centers can be built starting in the Heroic Age.
- Greek Town Centers can research Athenian Wall (Hera).
- Egyptians: Town Centers cost 100 food, 400 gold.
- Norse: Town Centers can produce Ox Carts.
- Can research Eyes in the Forest (Odin) and Safeguard (Heimdall).
The Titans[]
- Additional Town Centers (except for the Atlanteans) can be built starting in the Classical Age.
- Atlanteans: Additional Town Centers can be built in the Archaic Age. Town Centers generate 0.3 favor/s, and cost -25 wood, -25 gold (100 food, 275 wood, 275 gold).
- Can research Titan Shield (Atlas).
Retold[]
- The cost of a generic Town Center is 350 wood, 350 gold. Its build time is 150 seconds, Line of Sight is 25, pierce attack is 10, pierce armor is 90%, and it has 2,400 hit points.
- A Fortified Town Center has 3,000 hit points and supports 25 population.
- Athenian Wall removed.
- Egyptians: Town Centers cost 550 gold.
- Norse: Town Centers can no longer produce Ox Carts.
- Can no longer research Eyes in the Forest and Safeguard.
- Atlanteans: Additional Town Centers cannot be built in the Archaic Age anymore. Town Centers do not generate favor anymore. There is no discount on Town Centers anymore.
- Can no longer research Titan Shield.
- With update 17.27932, Town Centers have 12 pierce attack and 100% accuracy.
- With update 17.64528, Town Centers have 10 pierce attack.
History[]
| “ | The rise of agriculture provided a food surplus that had to be collected and stored to be available in winter months and other periods when food was scarce. The need to collect, store, and protect food surpluses gave rise to the first towns as administrative centers. Towns quickly became engaged in many additional activities, including the gathering and storage of other resources, centers of manufacturing, population concentration points, and centers of trade. All villages and towns had an administrative center that was the site of governmental power and leadership. At first this might have been the local leader's home. The Town Center was often the place where important supplies were stored, especially food surpluses. The destruction of the Town Center usually meant the loss of the town's governmental infrastructure. If this could not be restored, the town or village ceased to function. | ” |
| —In-game help section | ||
Campaign building[]
| “ | Trains Villagers, advances through the Ages, is a drop site for all resources, and supports population. Town Centers are built over Settlements. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
Town Center is also the name of an unconstructable economic building in Age of Mythology: Retold, used to denote the Town Center of a people abandoned by the gods, as it distinctly lacks a major god statue that Town Centers have. The abandoned Town Center is present in the scenario A Lost People (since Retold, before which it used just a regular Town Center) and is available in the Scenario Editor. They behave identically to regular Town Centers when playing as the Atlanteans. However, when playing as any civilization other than the Atlanteans, they cannot train any workers or Age-up. Citadel cannot be invoked on it.
Trivia[]
- At some point in development, Town Centers did not require Settlements to be built. Additionally, they were built in the final and original third Age, the Olympic Age.
- At some point in development, the Atlanteans originally were able to build a unique Town Center called the "Township" which was cheaper, available in the Classical Age onward, and could be upgraded into Town Centers.
| “ | The Atlantean Township trains Villagers, provides population room, and acts as smaller city hub than the Town Center. You can only build Townships on Settlements. There are enough Settlements on most maps for every player to have 3, but the more Settlements you have, the less your enemy can use. If your team claims all the Settlements on a map, you win the game under standard victory conditions. The Atlanteans sent people forward to help start these smaller Townships in order to gain geographical advantages in resource gathering. These Townships became smaller centers of manufacturing, population concentration points, and centers of trade, but allowed the Atlanteans to increase the boundaries of their population and controlled land earlier than other civilizations. Gaining and holding settlements also how the Atlanteans gain favor The destruction of the Town ship does not have quite the impact as the loss of the Town Center but getting them up early and defending them well gave the Atlanteans a seemingly unfair territorial advantage. After getting a strong foothold in the area the Atlanteans would move in stronger forces and eventually rebuild Town Centers in the place of these Townships. | ” |
- During the development of Retold, a new mechanic was considered for Town Centers such that they would have lower work rates at the start, which would be improved as more buildings were constructed in their vicinity. This idea was eventually scrapped as a general mechanic, thus becoming cut content.[1]
- The Chinese Town Center from Tale of the Dragon reuses the icon of the Norse Town Center. In Immortal Pillars, the Chinese Town Center now has its own icon.
- Internally, the abandoned Town Center costs 350 wood, 350 gold and takes 150 seconds to construct by one builder.
Gallery[]
- Egyptians
- Greeks
- Norse
- Atlanteans
- Chinese (Immortal Pillars)
- Chinese (Tale of the Dragon)
- Other
