VMDL

VMDL
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires II
Type	Civilian
Training
Trained at	Town Center
Cheat code	i love the monkey head
Statistics
Hit points	25
Melee armor	0
Pierce armor	0
Speed	2.5
Line of Sight	4
Notes
Cannot attack despite having attack values

The VMDL (labelled as Elephant Archer in the HD Edition) is a cheat unit in Age of Empires II. It is very fast and good for exploring but cannot attack (despite the attack value shown in the infobox), gather, or build anything. However, they can lay foundation for buildings when being assigned with the 'build' command. It also can be garrisoned inside buildings, granting an attack bonus.

Unlike all the other cheat units, VMDL are not available in the Scenario Editor.

In-game dialogue language

• Select 1 Wearing the... whatever these things are on my head
• Select 2 Bongo drums on the head
• Select 3 Yeah?
• Move 1 Now that's a good idea
• Move 2 I would really like to see that
• Move 3 Well now, let's see

Trivia

• Its name stands for "Villager Male Dave Lewis", which is named after David Lewis, an Ensemble Studios employee, who also provided the voice for the unit.
• The VMDL appears as a mannequin resembling a naked man in the original game. Sandy Petersen stated that the portrayal is based on a real occurrence involving a rather drunk David Lewis, without disclosing further details.
  • In 2012, Mark Terrano revealed the incident which inspired the unit. More background info was posted by Sandy Petersen in 2025. Ensemble Studios' employees tended to celebrate at conventions after having completed a project and sometimes overdid it with alcoholic beverages. At one such convention in California, David Lewis "got so smashed" that he decided it was a good idea to run naked along the beach, and Petersen heard conflicting stories as to whether Lewis got the idea on his own or was egged on by other programmers. Lewis' courage and swiftness impressed the other team members and they decided to commemorate the event with the VMDL unit. VMDL was originally to be a little nude man; however, Ensemble Studios' management did not want nudity in their games, so the model was changed to "one of those little art models for posing."
• When killed, the unit explodes using the same animation as the Saboteur, Petard, and Cobra Car.
• No matter what civilization the player is using, the VMDL always speaks modern English, except when being assigned to build a building (which he would respond in the usual native language of the civilization). He tends to respond in odd sentences like "Bongo drums on the head." or "Now that's a good idea."
• In the original unofficial Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires, if the VMDL is being attacked by any predator, or such a wild animal enters his Line of Sight, he will turn into a normal female Villager and retaliate or attack the animal.
  • This does not happen in the official Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten, yet this happens again in the Definitive Edition: when attacked, the VMDL permanently turns into a female Villager.
• In the Definitive Edition, the unit's model is given a wooden texture and no longer has "headhair". When the VMDL explodes, the Petard can be seen for a very short moment.
• A reference to the "monkey head" reappears as an easter egg in Age of Mythology, as the name of a Relic.

Gallery

VMDL in-game

VMDL in the Definitive Edition