Opening movie may skip under Windows ME: When playing Rise of Nations on a computer running

the Windows ME operating system, the opening movie may play slowly or skip. To resolve this issue it is
recommended that users download and install Window Media Player 9 from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/.

It is usually a good practice (unless otherwise noted below) to always install the latest certified drivers for
all your hardware.

While playing a game, click the Menu button or press F10, click Options, and then select the Hotkeys tab to
display a complete list of the hot keys used in Rise of Nations. Most hot keys are also listed in the in-game rollover
Help. The following quick reference lists some of the most common hot keys.

Hold your mouse pointer over any button or interface item in the game. Help text automatically appears at
the lower left of the screen.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Use the in-game Help to discover the other available structures, units, and technologies.
6. Keep playing and have fun!
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. When the Citizen has completed the new City, tell them to create a Market (Barter research must be
completed before you can do this).
12. Select the completed Market, and create a Caravan. When finished, the Caravan automatically begins a
trade route between your two Cities, increasing your Wealth income.
13. Build more Farms around your new City. Each City can contain only five Farms. If you find yourself
short of Timber, find another patch of woods and build another Woodcutters Camp.
14.

15. Order a Citizen to build a Barracks. Select the Barracks and create a few military units to defend your
nation. Later, you can also upgrade your units.

16. To conquer an opponents City, build a Siege Factory and create some siege units. Siege units can
reduce a Citys defenses, at which point you can send in foot troops to capture the City.
17.
18.

19. When you have enough food, research the Classical Age at the Library.
20. When Classical Age research is completed, you can have Citizens gather Metal by building Mines near
21.

any mountain within your national border. Create a few Citizens to run the Mines.
When you reach the Classical Age, order a Citizen (create one if your entire population is busy) to
build a University. Select the University and create Scholars. Universities (especially those populated
by Scholars) gather Knowledge, which is necessary for additional Library research.

22.

23. Select your City Center, and create two new Citizens.
24. Select a Citizen, and construct a new Farm. Constructing a Farm gives you a one-time bonus of food
and increases Food income. Repeat with the other Citizen.

25. Select your City Center, and create two more Citizens. Right-click the Woodcutters Camp to set the
gather point there. When you do so, the new Citizens automatically start working at the Camp.
Walkthrough
The following walkthrough of the first few minutes of a multiplayer or player vs. CPU game is designed to get your
first game of Rise of Nations off to a great start. In this game, your goal is to capture your opponents capital city,
which is marked with a star. You start the game with three Farms, manned by Citizens, and a Woodcutters Camp
manned by two Citizens, as well as a Library and a City Center.

With the Rise of Nations CD in your CD-ROM drive, click the Start button, point to Programs (or All
Programs), point to Microsoft Games, and then click Rise of Nations.

B. Starting Rise of Nations

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

Installing Rise of Nations

Starting Rise of Nations
Playing Rise of Nations
Getting Help
Known Issues
DirectX Troubleshooting
Video Board Troubleshooting
CD-ROM Drive Troubleshooting
Audio Troubleshooting
Multiplayer Troubleshooting
Rise of Nations Information
Video Board Manufacturers
Rise of Nations Support Services

A. Installing Rise of Nations

There are several modes in which you can play Rise of Nations:
You can skip the opening animations by clicking on-screen or pressing SPACEBAR.

C. Playing Rise of Nations

Gameplay Modes

A. Installing Rise of Nations

System Requirements
Rise of Nations requires a personal computer running either Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98,
or Windows Millennium Edition. It is also 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.
Installing Rise of Nations
1.
2.

Insert the Rise of Nations CD into your CD-ROM drive.

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 disabled, double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, double-click the icon for your
CD-ROM drive, and then double-click the RoNSetup.exe icon. When the Setup screen appears, click
Install, and then follow the instructions that appear on the screen.

System Requirements
Rise of Nations requires a personal computer running either Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98,
or Windows Millennium Edition. It is also 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.
Installing Rise of Nations
You can play Rise of Nations after you have installed it on your computer. You must have the Rise of Nations CD in
your CD-ROM drive to play.
Starting Rise of Nations
1. Tutorial
Playing the tutorials is a great way to learn how to play Rise of Nations. If you are an experienced real-time
strategy (RTS) game player, be sure to start with Tutorial 3. The tutorials cover the following topics:
Unit Selection and Movement
Fog of War
Camera Zoom
Combat
Rollover Help
Structure Building and Control
Unit Creation and Control
Resource Gathering
Research/Technology
City Capture/National Borders
Modern Units
Putting It Together
2. Single player vs. CPU
This option includes the full variety of map and game types for solo play against the computer.
3. Multiplayer
Play against other people over a network. The following methods are supported:
Local Area Network (LAN) using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Internet using an IP address
GameSpy matchmaking service
4. Conquer the World
Select a nation and maneuver armies on a strategic map to create Rise of Nations scenarios linked into a grand

campaign! Can you conquer the entire world map?

26. Select your Library, and click the first blue, civic technology: City State.
27. Create one more Citizen, and when City State has been researched move this Citizen to the forward
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

edge of your national border. The border shows the farthest point at which you can build new
buildings. Use this Citizen to create a new City.
While the new City is being built, research the first green, commerce technology at the Library: Barter.
When you can, research the first red, military technology: Art of War. When Art of War has been
researched, you can build Barracks and create troops for your army.
When you have enough food, research the Classical Age at the Library.
When Classical Age research is completed, you can have Citizens gather Metal by building Mines near
any mountain within your national border. Create a few Citizens to run the Mines.
When you reach the Classical Age, order a Citizen (create one if your entire population is busy) to
build a University. Select the University and create Scholars. Universities (especially those populated
by Scholars) gather Knowledge, which is necessary for additional Library research.
Order a Citizen to build a Barracks. Select the Barracks and create a few military units to defend your
nation. Later, you can also upgrade your units.
To conquer an opponents City, build a Siege Factory and create some siege units. Siege units can
reduce a Citys defenses, at which point you can send in foot troops to capture the City.

D. Getting Help
You can find out more information about Rise of Nations by using the in-game Help.
Displaying in-game rollover Help
Displaying the list of keyboard hot keys

Camera and Status

To
Move (pan) camera
Zoom out/in
View information on unit

Do this
Move the pointer to the edge of screen, or press one of the arrow keys.
Roll the mouse wheel, or press the PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN keys.
Click it.

Basic Orders
To
Move selected unit(s)
Order selected Citizen to
occupy a gather building

Do this
Right-click the destination.

Order selected Citizen to

build

Click the Build button on the panel in the lower-left portion of the screen, and then click the
desired building category (Buildings, Military Buildings, Wonders). Click the desired building,
and then click to place it on the map. The building will turn green when over a valid location.

Creating Units
To
Build a military unit
Build a Citizen

Right-click the building (this order only works if there are available openings in the building).

Do this
Click your Barracks, Stable, or Forge, and click the button for the desired unit type.
Click a City, then click the Create Citizen button.

Selecting Units and Buildings

To
Do this
Select a unit
Click it.
Select multiple units
Click and drag to draw a box around them.
Add units to selection
Hold down SHIFT while selecting additional units.
Select next idle Citizen
Press (.) PERIOD, or click the Idle Citizen button in the lower center screen.
Select all idle Citizens
SHIFT + (.) PERIOD.
Select all units of one type
Double-click one of the units.
on the screen
Select next City
Press C.
Select next Barracks
Press K.
Select next Stable
Press S.
Select next Forge
Press O.
Select next Market
Press N.
Select next Library
Press L.
Select next University
Press U.
Combat
To
Order selected unit(s) to
attack enemy unit(s)
Attack move
Queue multiple orders
Grouping
To
Group selected unit(s)
Recall group
Recall and jump to group

Do this
Right-click enemy unit(s).
Press A.
Hold down SHIFT while giving multiple orders.

Do this
Press CTRL and a number key (09).
Press a number key (09).
Press a number key (09) twice quickly.

E. Known Issues
Anti-virus software: Having anti-virus software enabled while playing Rise of Nations can significantly degrade
game load times and performance.
Opening movie playback is slow under Windows 98 Gold: When playing Rise of Nations on a computer running
the Windows 98 Gold operating system, the first time the opening movie runs, it may be slow. Subsequent playbacks
of the opening movie will not suffer from any degraded performance.
Rise of Nations runs too slowly: You can increase the performance Rise of Nations by lowering the games graphic
settings. To change the settings, select Options & Profiles from the Main Menu, click the Graphics Tab, and 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, games played after this will slow down. To resolve this issue the user should reboot their computer if a
Rise of Nations game crashes before playing another game.

Hardware color cursor support and game resolution: If running Rise of Nations on systems without hardware
color cursor support, you cannot change the bit-depth from the Graphics options panel within the game. To change
the bit depth between 16- or 32-bit, exit the game and select Start, Settings, and Control Panel. Double click on the
Display icon and the click the Settings tab. Select either 32- or 16 bit color quality.
Replay of saved games may not function: If a Rise of Nations 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 may not work. To avoid this
issue, do not save games to be played back when battles are occurring.

F. DirectX Troubleshooting
Microsoft DirectX version 9.0 or later must be installed on your computer before you can play Rise of Nations. Rise
of Nations Setup should install the correct version of DirectX on your computer.
If Setup does not detect DirectX properly, you can install DirectX manually by running Dxsetup.exe in the directx
folder on the Rise of Nations CD.
If you experience sound or video problems using DirectX, go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/directx/ for
the latest troubleshooting information.
You should also 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 In this document for more information on video board manufacturers.
Some video drivers may cause the pointer to flicker: To solve this problem, right-click the Rise of Nations
shortcut and click Properties or select Rise of Nations from the Start menu, right-click, and select Properties.
In the Target box type -nohwcursor at the end of the existing text (e.g. \rise.exe -nohwcursor). Click Apply and
OK.
Creating a Merchant causes the game to crash: This problem may 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 may 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 3, 4): When using these video boards, nuclear explosions may have a muted, grayish effect and
boat reflections will not be present. To resolve this issue download and install the 43.45 version driver from
http://www.nvidia.com.
Intel 740, 810, and 815 Chipsets: Attempting to launch Rise of Nations on these chipsets results in a
black screen followed by a crash to the desktop. There is no known solution.
SiS 315: Shore effects may 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 may 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

3dfx Voodoo 3 3000: Rise of Nations 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 map when using this video card on a Windows 98SE operating system. There is no
known solution.

3dfx Voodoo 5 (AGP Series): Rise of Nations is unplayable when running the game in 32-bit
mode on a Windows 98SE operating system due to missing text, buttons, and other graphic
corruptions. To resolve this issue run Rise of Nations in 16-bit mode. To change from 32- to 16-bit
mode select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu, select the Graphics tab, and then set the
resolution to one of the 16-bit resolutions.

ASUS v-3800 Ultra: Rise of Nations may 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 may 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 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 on a system using this
video card may result in a graphical initialization error. To resolve this problem, please update to
the latest driver from the chipset manufacturer at. http://www.nvidia.com.

Hercules 3D prophet 4500 (PowerVR Kyro 11): When the Rise of Nations is run with this video
card at 32-bit resolution on a computer with a Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system,
the mouse cursor will flicker during the game. To resolve this issue run Rise of Nations in 16-bit
mode. To change from 32- to 16-bit mode select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu, select
the Graphics tab, and then choose one of the 16-bit resolutions.

LeadTek GeForce3 Ti 200: A nuclear explosion may 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 may appear covered with solid white patches instead of
color graphics, and some button text may not appear. To resolve this problem, download and
install the latest drivers from http://www.matrox.com.

Matrox Millennium G-550: When the Rise of Nations 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 GeForce2 MX 200: When using this video board with the retail drivers on a computer
running the Windows XP operating system, the pointer may 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 may 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 in 32-bit mode, the
cursor may flash. To resolve this issue run Rise of Nations in 16-bit mode. To change from 32- to
16-bit mode select Options & Profiles on the Main Menu, select the Graphics tab, and then
choose one of the 16-bit resolutions.

Radeon 7500: Ground colors may appear smeared or stretched, or the ground may 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 may 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 on a computer running
Windows ME and Windows XP, graphical corruption may 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
Windows ME or Windows 98, Rise of Nations 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 ME operating system, graphical anomalies may occur with the in-game tree shadows.
To resolve this problem, update to the latest nVidia drivers (version 4109 or better) from
http://www.nvidia.com.

H. CD-ROM Drive Troubleshooting

Rise of Nations uses SafeDisc encryption technology. Some CD-ROM drives may not be compatible with this
technology, as follows:

Acer CD-624a: If you experience problems with this drive when using real-mode drivers, install protectedmode drivers.

Cybermedia 204: You may experience problems with this drive. There are no known solutions.

Liteon 4265: You may experience problems with this drive. There are no known solutions.

Memorex CD-RW2224: You may experience problems with this drive. There are no known solutions.

Sanyo CRD-256P: If you experience problems with this drive, do not attempt to run Rise of Nations more than
once before restarting your computer. Also, try ejecting and reinserting the CD-ROM.

Sony CDU77E 2X: If you experience problems with this drive, make sure it is configured as a master, and then
run the game again.

Yamaha 2216E, 4416SX and CDR6416S: If you experience problems with these drives, contact Yamaha for a
firmware upgrade. [http://www.yamahamultimedia.com/]

I. Audio Troubleshooting
Check with your sound board manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible drivers.
Following are the known audio issues and workarounds:

Audio stops playing: If some parts of the in-game audio (including combat sounds) stop playing after the game
has been running for a while, add the -sw3Dsound command-line option to the Rise of Nations shortcut. To do
so, left-click the shortcut and click Properties, and then in the Target box type -sw3Dsound at the end of the
existing text. Click Apply and OK.

Audigy 2: Using an Audigy 2 sound board may interfere with SafeDisc, the encryption technology used to
protect Rise of Nations. To resolve this issue, disable the Audigy 2 splash screen. Also, if you play a DVD, you
must restart your computer before running Rise of Nations.

Aureal Vortex: Rise of Nations audio may not function with Aureal sound cards. To resolve this issue, turn off
the hardware acceleration. From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then choose Control Panel. Double
click Sounds and Audio Devices and select the Audio tab. Click the Advanced button in the Sound Playback
section and then click the Performance tab. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None and click Apply.

SoundBlaster Live!: Using this sound card when running Rise of Nations on a Windows XP operating system
may degrade game performance. To resolve this issue, turn off the hardware acceleration for this sound card.
From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then choose Control Panel. Double click Sounds and Audio
Devices and select the Audio tab. Click the Advanced button in the Sound Playback section and then click the
Performance tab. 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 is not currently supported.

DirectX: If you experience audio problems using DirectX, connect to the DirectX Web site for the latest
troubleshooting information, as explained in the DirectX Troubleshooting section preceding.

J. Multiplayer Troubleshooting
Recommend memory for multiplayer games of 5 or more players: It is recommended for multiplayer games with
five or more players 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: In order 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 98SE ICS server: If the host of a
multiplayer game is running Windows 98SE ICS server, players attempting to join via 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: Once a game is launched
via 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 passed when client/host behind same NAT, ICS server,
or firewall: For games played via 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 game shell if they wish to play via GameSpy.
Hosted games may appear as No Name in Gamespy when client/host behind same NAT or firewall: When
in Gamespy browsing the list of games to join, some may appear as No Name if the host is behind the same
firewall or Network Address Translation (NAT).
Routers without Universal Plug and Play (uPnP) prevents multiplayer game connection: Users will
experience this connection problem if their NAT/ICS does not have uPnP support. Users should make sure if
they have uPnP support that 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) may not be able to see hosted games on the VPN. Players wishing 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 supports a ranking website hosted by GameSpy,
there is currently no link to that website. Watch for further information on the Rise of Nations website.

K. Rise of Nations Information

For more information about Rise of Nations, visit:

http://www.riseofnationsinsider.com

Rise of Nations is a registered trademark of Big Huge Games.

L. Video Board Manufacturers

3DFX
ASUS
Creative
Diamond Multimedia
Guillemot
Hercules

[http://www.3dfx.com]
[http://www.asus.com]
[http://www.creative.com]
[http://www.sonicblue.com]
[http://www.guillemot.com]
[http://www.hercules.com]

Leadtek
Matrox
NVIDIA
ATI (Radeon video boards)

[http://www.leadtek.com]
[http://www.matrox.com]
[http://www.nvidia.com]
[http://www.ati.com]

M. Rise of Nations Support Services

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

Rise of Nations
March 2003
2003 Big Huge Games, Inc. Portions 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Welcome to Rise of Nations!
This file contains information to help you install, start playing, and troubleshoot Rise of Nations. It also includes
late-breaking information not included in the in-game Help.

CONTENTS