Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

April 2004
2004 Big Huge Games, Inc. Portions 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Welcome to the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots expansion pack. This file contains information to
help you install, start playing, and troubleshoot Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots. It also includes
late-breaking information not included in the in-game Help.

CONTENTS
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.

Installing Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

Starting Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
Playing Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
Getting Help
Known Issues
DirectX Troubleshooting
Video Board Troubleshooting
Video Board Manufacturers
Audio Troubleshooting
Multiplayer Troubleshooting
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots Support Services

A. Installing Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

System Requirements
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots requires a personal computer running either Microsoft Windows
XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition. It also is required that your computer
have a processor speed of 500 megahertz (MHz) or higher, at least 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM, and a
16 MB video card. For the best gameplay experience, a 1 GHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, and a 32 MB
video card is recommended.
To install Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
1. Ensure that the original Rise of Nations game is installed on your computer.
2. Insert the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3. If AutoPlay is enabled, the Setup screen will appear after a brief pause. When the Setup screen
appears, click Install and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
or
If AutoPlay is not enabled, double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, double-click the icon
for your CD-ROM drive, and then double-click the Setup.exe icon. When the Setup screen appears,
click Install, and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.

B. Starting Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

You can play Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots after you have installed it on your computer. You must
have the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots CD in your CD-ROM drive to play.
To start Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
1. With the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots CD in your CD-ROM drive, click the Start button.
2. Point to Programs (or All Programs).
3. Point to Microsoft Games.

4. Click Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots.

Note: You can skip the opening animations by clicking on-screen or pressing SPACEBAR.

C. Playing Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots

Gameplay Modes
There are several tutorials to help you learn how to play the game. To access these tutorials, launch the
game and select Learn to Play on the Main Menu.
Custom Scenarios
To load custom scenarios created with the Scenario Editor, you must save your files in the mods folder of
the original game (for example, Microsoft Games\Rise of Nations\Mods). Custom scenarios created in
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots will not work in the original Rise of Nations game.

D. Getting Help
You can find out more information about Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots by using the in-game Help.
To display in-game rollover Help
Hold your mouse pointer over any button or interface item in the game. Help text automatically
appears at the lower left of the screen.
To display the list of keyboard hot keys
1. While playing a game, click the Menu button or press F10.
2. Click Options.
3. Select the Hotkeys tab to display a complete list of the hot keys used in Rise of Nations: Thrones
and Patriots.
Note: Most hot keys also are listed in the in-game rollover Help.

E. Known Issues
Anti-virus software: Having anti-virus software enabled while playing Rise of Nations: Thrones and
Patriots can degrade game load times and performance significantly.
Opening movie playback is slow with Windows 98 Gold: When playing Rise of Nations: Thrones and
Patriots on a computer running the Windows 98 Gold operating system, the first time the opening movie
runs, it might be slow. Subsequent playbacks of the opening movie should not suffer from any degraded
performance.
Opening movie might skip under Windows Millennium Edition: When playing Rise of Nations:
Thrones and Patriots on a computer running the Windows Millennium Edition operating system, the
opening movie might play slowly or skip. To resolve this issue, it is recommended that players download
and install Window Media Player 9 from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/.
Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots runs too slowly: The performance Rise of Nations: Thrones
and Patriots can be increased by lowering the games graphic settings.
To change the settings
1. Select Options & Profiles from the Main Menu.

2. Click the Graphics tab.

3. Select the Low checkboxes next to individual graphic settings.
Limited users overwrite profile files: Playing as a Windows-limited user (someone that does not have
permission to write to the hard drive) does not prevent that user from saving to other user's profile folders
and overwriting their files.
Game crashes cause subsequent games to lag: If a Rise of Nation game crashes or is terminated
through the Task Manager, then games played after this will slow down. To resolve this issue, reboot your
computer before playing another game.
Hardware color cursor support and game resolution: When running Rise of Nations: Thrones and
Patriots on systems without hardware color cursor support, the bit-depth cannot be changed from the
Graphics options panel within the game.
To change the bit depth between 16- or 32-bit
1. Exit the game.
2. Select Start.
3. Point to Settings.
4. Point to Control Panel.
5. Double click the Display icon.
6. Click the Settings tab.
7. Select either 16- or 32-bit color quality.
Replay of saved games might not function: If a Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots game is saved in
the middle of a battle and the player quits and subsequently tries to view a replay of that game, the replay
function might not work. This is also true in multiplayer games where one of the participants is
disconnected from the game. To avoid this issue, do not save games to be played back when battles are
occurring or refrain from viewing recorded games in which a player is disconnected.
Autosaving does not save progress in Espionage missions: In the Cold War campaign, if a player
quits an Espionage Mission that has not been completed, then the progress in that scenario will not be
saved. Selecting the Continue button in the Campaign Selection screen will cause a loss of the 20
Tribute spent on the Espionage Mission, and it will prevent further participation in other Espionage
Missions until the next turn.
Restarting game on a computer running Windows Millennium Edition after a crash: In the event of
a crash while playing the game on a computer running the Windows Millennium Edition operating system,
subsequent attempts to restart the game will result in an error message. The error message states that
the video card is not supported and that users should download the latest version of drivers for their video
card. This can be resolved by rebooting the computer and restarting the game.
Error received when playing an Oath of Fealty card: In some Conquer the World campaigns, the
player might receive a message that says "You may only play one <Nation> Oath of Fealty bonus card
per battle." To resolve this issue, remove all bonus cards from the Cards Played area, and place your
Fealty Card first. Then, place any other cards you want to play.

F. DirectX Troubleshooting
Microsoft DirectX version 9.0 or later must be installed on your computer before you can play Rise of
Nations: Thrones and Patriots. The original Rise of Nations Setup should install the correct version of
DirectX on your computer.
If you experience any problems installing DirectX, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/ and

follow the DirectX links to install the latest version.

If you experience any problems using DirectX, go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/directx/ for
the latest troubleshooting information.
You also should check with your video or sound card manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible
drivers.

G. Video Board Troubleshooting

Check with your video board manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible drivers. See L. 3-D Card
Drivers and Manufacturers later in this Readme for more information on video board manufacturers.
Enable AGP Texture Acceleration: For the best possible gameplay experience, you should set your
AGP aperture to at least 64 MB (128 MB preferred). To see if your computer is set correctly you can open
the Start Menu and select Run. In the Run dialog box, type dxdiag to launch the DirectX Diagnostic tool.
Click the Display tab to see if AGP Texture Acceleration is enabled. If it is not, please contact your
computers manufacturer for instructions on how to enable this setting in your BIOS.
Creating a Merchant causes the game to crash: This problem can occur on the Diamond Viper V550
and Intel 845 chipsets. To resolve this problem, update to the latest drivers for your video board.
ATI Rage 128: When using video boards based on this chipset, buildings will be displayed with solid
white textures. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from the manufacturer.
NVIDIA GeForce: When using some GeForce drivers, you might experience significantly decreased
game performance the first time the game is started after the computer has been restarted. If this occurs,
exit the game by pressing ALT+F4, and then restart the game. After restarting once, the game should
perform as usual until the next time the computer is restarted.
NVIDIA GeForce 2: Occasionally a loading screen or some UI backgrounds will not load correctly while
using the latest drivers (56.64). To resolve this issue, press ALT+TAB to get out of the game and then
either return to the game or restart it.
NVIDIA (GeForce 3, 4): When using these video boards, nuclear explosions might have a muted, grayish
effect, and boat reflections will not be present. To resolve this issue download and install the latest version
of your video card driver from http://www.nvidia.com.
Intel 740, 810, and 815 Chipsets: Attempting to launch Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots on these
chipsets might result in a black screen followed by a crash to the desktop. There is no known solution.
SiS 315: Shore effects might appear blocky on game map. To resolve this problem, download and install
the latest drivers for your specific video board.
ST KYRO: When using video boards based on this chipset, the graphics might be so corrupted that the
game is unplayable. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from the
manufacturer.

Specific 3-D Graphics Accelerator Issues

It is usually a good practice (unless otherwise noted below) to install the latest certified drivers for all your
hardware.
3dfx Voodoo 3 3000: Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots will not run on computers using this video

board, regardless of operating system. After the program is run, the screen will briefly flash black before
returning to the desktop. There is no known solution.
3dfx Voodoo 5 (AGP Series): Various graphical anomalies occur on water portions of a Rise of Nations:
Thrones and Patriots map when using this video card on a computer running the Windows 98 SE
operating system. There is no known solution.
3dfx Voodoo 5 (AGP Series): Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is unplayable when running the
game in 32-bit mode on a computer running the Windows 98 SE operating system because of missing
text and buttons and other graphic corruptions. To resolve this issue, run Rise of Nations: Thrones and
Patriots in 16-bit mode.
To change from 32- to 16-bit mode
1. Select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu.
2. Select the Graphics tab.
3. Set the resolution to one of the 16-bit resolutions.
ASUS v-3800 Ultra: Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots might not run on computers using this video
board. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from http://www.asus.com.
Creative Annihilator Pro: The pointer flickers and might cause minor corruption to the game graphics. To resolve
this problem, update to the latest drivers from the chipset manufacturer.
Diamond Monster Fusion: Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots will not run on computers using this video board,
regardless of operating system. After the program is run, the screen will briefly flash black before returning to the
desktop. There is no known solution.
Guillemot Maxi Gamer Cougar: Attempting to launch Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots on a system using
this video card might result in a graphical initialization error. To resolve this problem, update to the latest driver
from the chipset manufacturer at http://www.nvidia.com.
Hercules 3D prophet 4500 (PowerVR Kyro 11): When Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is run with this
video card at 32-bit resolution on a computer running the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems, the
mouse cursor will flicker during the game. To resolve this issue, run Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots in 16-bit
mode.
To change from 32- to 16-bit mode
1. Select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu.
2. Select the Graphics tab.
3. Set the resolution to one of the 16-bit resolutions.
LeadTek GeForce3 Ti 200: A nuclear explosion might appear as only as a white circle. To resolve this problem,
download and install the latest drivers from http://www.leadtek.com.
Matrox Millennium G-400: Buildings might appear covered with solid white patches instead of color graphics, and
some button text might not appear. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from
http://www.matrox.com.
Matrox Millennium G-550: When Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is run with this video card at 32-bit
resolution, the mouse cursor will flash during the game. To resolve this problem, update to the latest drivers from
http://www.matrox.com.
nVidia GeForce FX 5900: When using this video card, some units will lose their textures and appear only in white
after detonating a nuclear missile in the game. This will not affect the function of these units, only their appearance.
There is no known solution.

nVidia GeForce2 MX 200: When using this video board with the retail drivers on a computer running the Windows
XP operating system, the pointer might become sluggish and/or jump around the screen. To resolve this problem,
download to the latest nVidia drivers from http://www.nvidia.com.
nVidia GeForce2 MX 200: When using this video board with the retail drivers on a computer running the Windows
XP operating system, water textures might not blend smoothly. To resolve this problem, update to the latest nVidia
drivers from http://www.nvidia.com.
nVidia GeForce 256: When using this video card and playing Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots in 32-bit mode,
the cursor might flash. To resolve this issue, run Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots in 16-bit mode.
To change from 32- to 16-bit mode
1. Select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu.
2. Select the Graphics tab.
3. Set the resolution to one of the 16-bit resolutions.
Radeon 7500: Ground colors might appear smeared or stretched, or the ground might appear black when using a
computer with this video board. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from
http://www.ati.com.
Radeon 9700: The pointer might not be visible when using this video board. To resolve this issue download and
install the latest drivers from http://www.ati.com.
Radeon 9700: When using this video board and running Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots on a computer
running the Windows Millennium Edition or Windows 98 operating systems, graphical corruption can occur in the
game after a period of time. To resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from
http://www.ati.com.
Radeon 9700: When using this video board with the 9062 version driver on a computer running the Windows
Millennium Edition or Windows 98 operating systems, Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots will not start. To
resolve this problem, download and install the latest drivers from http://www.ati.com.
STB Velocity 4400: When using this video card with the retail drivers on a computer running the Windows
Millennium Edition operating system, graphical anomalies might occur with the in-game tree shadows. To resolve
this problem, update to the latest nVidia drivers (version 4109 or later) from http://www.nvidia.com.

H. Video Board Manufacturers

3DFX
ASUS
Creative
Diamond Multimedia
Guillemot
Hercules
Leadtek
Matrox
NVIDIA
ATI (Radeon video boards)

http://www.3dfx.com
http://www.asus.com
http://www.creative.com
http://www.sonicblue.com
http://www.guillemot.com
http://www.hercules.com
http://www.leadtek.com
http://www.matrox.com
http://www.nvidia.com
http://www.ati.com

I. Audio Troubleshooting
It is usually a good idea to check with your sound board manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible drivers. The
following are the known audio issues and workarounds:

Aureal Vortex: Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots audio might not function with Aureal sound cards. To resolve
this issue, turn off the hardware acceleration.
To turn off hardware acceleration
1. From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then choose Control Panel.
2. Double click Sounds and Audio Devices, and select the Audio tab.
3. Click the Advanced button in the Sound Playback section.
4. Click the Performance tab.
5. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, and click Apply.
SoundBlaster Live!: Using this sound card when running Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots on a computer
running the Windows XP operating system can degrade game performance. To resolve this issue, turn off the
hardware acceleration for this sound card.
To turn off hardware acceleration
1. From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then choose Control Panel.
2. Double click Sounds and Audio Devices, and select the Audio tab.
3. Click the Advanced button in the Sound Playback section.
4. Click the Performance tab.
5. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None, and click Apply.
SoundBlaster Live! Wave: Sound will only come from one speaker when using the 5.1.2535.0 driver. To resolve
this issue, download and install the latest drivers from http://www.soundblaster.com.
Onboard sound: Some audio hardware included on motherboards currently is not supported.
DirectX: If you experience audio problems using DirectX, go to the DirectX website for the latest troubleshooting
information. For more information, see F. DirectX Troubleshooting earlier in this Readme.

J. Multiplayer Troubleshooting
Recommend memory for multiplayer games of five or more players: For multiplayer games with five or more
players, it is recommended that each player has more than 256 MB of RAM installed on their computer to prevent
latency problems.
Systems with more than one IP address currently are unable to host multiplayer games: To host a game, one IP
address must be removed, so the system only has one valid IP address.
Using Cannon Time causes errors in playback of recorded game: If a player uses Cannon Time, the replay of
that game will be out of synch.
XP ICS Server Clients: Clients of XP ICS Server cannot join internally-hosted game either using LAN browser or
Direct IP without upgrading ICS Server to Service Pack 1 (SP-1).
Cannot use GameSpy or Direct IP to connect to games hosted on Windows 98 SE ICS server: If the host of a
multiplayer game is running Windows 98 SE ICS server, then players attempting to join using GameSpy or Direct IP
will not be able to connect. Or, if they do connect, they will be unable to select any game variables in the staging
area or see anyone else in the game.
Changing video resolution during GameSpy-hosted games causes graphical glitch: When a game is launched
using GameSpy, if a player changes their game resolution and returns to the game, the cost to build villagers will
appear with a *1 prefix. For example, 25 gold will become *125 gold. This is only a graphical anomaly and
does not change the cost of villagers.

On GameSpy Arcade-hosted games, public IP address is passed when client/host behind same NAT, ICS
server, or firewall: For games played using GameSpy Arcade, the public IP address appears even though both client
and host are behind the same ICS server, firewall, or Network Address Translation (NAT).
GameSpy Arcade does not work with Network Address Translations (NATs), and internal ICS clients cannot
see hosted games on Windows XP SP1 systems in GameSpy Arcade: It is recommended that players instead use
the GameSpy interface inside the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots game shell if they want to play using
GameSpy.
Hosted games might appear as No Name in Gamespy when client/host is behind the same NAT or firewall:
When in Gamespy browsing the list of games to join, some might appear as No Name if the host is behind the
same firewall or Network Address Translation (NAT).
Routers without Universal Plug and Play (uPnP) prevent multiplayer game connection: Players will experience
this connection problem if their NAT/ICS does not have uPnP support. If players have uPnP support, they should
make sure they consult their manual to make certain it is enabled.
Players cannot browse for games over a Virtual Private Network: Players wishing to join a game over a Virtual
Private Network (VPN) might not be able to see hosted games on the VPN. Players wanting to join must get the IP
address from the host, click Join IP, and enter the IP address.
No link to GameSpy rankings website: Although Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots supports a ranking website
hosted by GameSpy, there is currently no link to that website. Watch for further information on the Rise of Nations:
Thrones and Patriots website (http://www.microsoft.com/games/thronesandpatriots/).
Connecting to GameSpy while on a private LAN: If a player attempts to connect to GameSpy through the
Multiplayer menu while on a private LAN with no Internet access, then further attempts to join a LAN game after
that will result in an incorrect error message. The message states that the game is hosted through GameSpy even
though that is incorrect. To resolve this issue, exit out of the game and then restart it.
Enabling Multiplayer gameplay through Windows XP Service Pack 2: The new Windows Firewall in Windows
XP Service Pack 2 must have specific settings selected to allow connections to the Internet for multiplayer games.
To select the correct Windows Firewall settings
1. After installing the Service Pack (SP2), launch the game.
2. Enter the Multiplayer Game menu.
3. Click either GameSpy Internet Matchmaking or the Local Area Network button to attempt to connect to
a game over your Internet connection or private network. (The game should minimize, and the Windows
Firewall application will present a notification that a program has attempted to access the network.)
4. Click the Unblock this program radio button.
5. Click OK to allow the game to connect to other multiplayer games.
This process must be repeated for GameSpy Arcade should you decide to play through that interface.

K. Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots Support Services

This file contains information to help you troubleshoot issues with Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots. You can
find more information about Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots on the Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots
website (http://www.microsoft.com/games/thronesandpatriots/). You can find information on Microsoft Product
Support Services in the manual that came with your game.
Note: If Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots came installed on your computer as an OEM version, contact the
manufacturer of the computer or other hardware with which it was bundled for product support. Refer to the
documentation that came with your computer or hardware for the product support telephone number.