Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition LAN Server

AoE2:DE LAN Server is a web server that allows you to play multiplayer LAN game modes without having an internet connection to the game server paving the way to how the original AoE2 worked plus many features new to HD and DE versions.

You will still need a way to bypass the online-only restriction that is imposed by the game to being connected to Steam or Xbox Live depending on the version to fully play offline.

Features

• Co-Op Campaigns.
• Scenarios (including transferring the map):
  • Event Scenarios*.
  • Custom Scenarios.
• ... all other game modes available by creating a lobby only with server as "Use Local Lan Server".
• Rematch.
• Restore game.
• Data mods.
• Invite player to lobby (including via link but only if game is already running).
• Player Search.
• Chatting (both in the lobby and in-game).
• Crossplay (cross-platform) Steam & Xbox (PC-only).

*Will change depending on the server version and might require an update.

Unsupported features

• Not compatible with Battle Server P2P (LAN):
  • Quick Play.
  • Ranked.
  • Spectate Games.
• Not possible as it would require internet and some access to the user profile:
  • Steam & Xbox Friends.
• Not implemented:
  • Changing player profile icon: the default will always be used.
  • Leaderboards: will appear empty.
  • Player stats: will appear empty.
  • Clans: all players are without clans. Browsing clan will appear empty and creating one will always result in error.
  • Lobby ban player: will appear like it works but doesn't.
  • Report player: will appear like it works but doesn't.

System Requirements

Server

Pre-built releases (Stable)

• Windows: 10 or higher (no S edition nor S mode), Server 2016 or higher. 32-bit/64-bit both Arm and x86.
• MacOS: Catalina 10.15 or higher. 64-bit both Arm and x86.
• GNU/Linux: kernel 2.6.32 or higher (see here for more details). 32-bit/64-bit both Arm and x86 (other archs are considered stable but they are not included).

Admin rights or firewall permission to listen to port 443 for https will likely be required (once or repeatedly) depending on the operating system.

Buildable (Experimental)

• BSD-based (OpenBSD, DragonFly BSD, FreeBSD and NetBSD).
• Solaris-based (Solaris and Illumos).
• AIX.

Note: For the full list see minimum requirements for Go 1.22.

Launcher

• Windows: 10 (no S edition nor S mode) or higher, (possibly Server 2016 or higher) all x86-64 (same as the game). Windows 11 on Arm (arm64) or higher, (possibly Server 2025 or higher) - no S mode - is also supported.
• If you allow it to handle the hosts file, local certificate, or an elevated custom game launcher, it will require admin rights elevation.

Client

• Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition - Steam or Microsoft Store.
• Up-to-date version of the game.

Binaries

See the releases page for server and launcher binaries for a subset of supported operating systems.

The following archives are provided:

• Full:
  • Windows 11 (or higher) on Arm (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_full_A.B.C_win_arm64.zip
  • Windows 10 (or higher) x86-64 (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_full_A.B.C_win_x86-64.zip
• Launcher:
  • Windows 11 (or higher) on Arm (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_launcher_A.B.C_win_arm64.zip
  • Windows 10 (or higher) x86-64 (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_launcher_A.B.C_win_x86-64.zip
• Server:
  • Windows:
    • 10 (or higher) on Arm (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_win_arm64.zip
    • 10 IoT on Arm (32 bits): aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_win_arm32.zip
    • 10 (or higher) x86-64 (64 bits): aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_win_x86-64.zip
    • 10 x86-32 (32 bits): aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_win_x86-32.zip
  • Linux:
    • Arm64: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_linux_arm64.tar.gz
    • Arm32: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_linux_arm32.tar.gz
    • x86-64: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
    • x86-32: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_linux_x86-32.tar.gz
  • Mac OS:
    • Apple Silicon - Arm64: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_mac_apple-silicon.tar.gz
    • Intel - x86-64: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_mac_intel.tar.gz
    • Universal: aoe2DELanServer_server_A.B.C_mac_all.tar.gz

Note: If you are using Antivirus it may flag one or more executables as virus, this is a false positive.

Verification

The verification process ensures that the files you download are the same as the ones that were uploaded by the maintainer.

1. Check the release tag is verified with the committer's signature key (as all commits must be).
2. Download the ..._checksums.txt and ..._checksums.txt.sig files.
3. Import the release public key and import it to your keyring if you haven't already.
4. Verify the ..._checksums.txt file with the ..._checksums.txt.sig file.
5. Verify the SHA-256 checksum list inside ..._checksums.txt with the downloaded archives.

Exceptions on tag/commit signature:

• Tags:
  • v1.2.0-rc.5: mantainer error.
• Commits:
  • 631cfa1 through 9eb66cf (both included): rebase and merge PR issue.

Installation

Both the launcher and server work out of the box without any installation. Just download the compressed archives, decompress and run them.

How it works

Server

The server is simple web server that listens to the game's API requests. The server reimplements the minimum required API surface to allow the game to work in LAN mode. It is completely safe as no data sent from the client is stored or sent to any other server.

Note: See the server README for more details.

Launcher

The launcher allows to easily play the game in LAN mode while allowing the official launcher to be used for online play.

It can do the following setup steps for you:

• Automatically start/stop the server or connect to an existing one automatically.
• (Optional) Use an isolated metadata and profile directories to avoid potential issues with the official game.
• (Optional) Modify the hosts file to redirect the game's API requests to the LAN server.
• (Optional) Install a self-signed certificate to allow the game to connect to the LAN server.
• Automatically find and start the game.

Afterwards, it reverses any changes to allow the official launcher to connect to the official servers.

Note: See the launcher README for more details.

Simplest way to use it

1. Download the asset aoe2DELanServer_full_A.B.C_win_x86-64.zip from the latest stable release https://github.com/luskaner/aoe2DELanServer/releases
2. Uncompress it somewhere (it's fully portable and with no dependencies).
3. If not using the Steam or Microsoft Store launcher, edit the launcher/config.ini file and modify the Client.Executable section to point to the game launcher path, e.g C:\AoE2DE\launcher.exe (no quotes needed). You will need to use a custom launcher for 100% offline play.
4. Execute launcher/launcher.exe: you will be asked for admin elevation and confirmation of other dialogs as needed, you will also need to allow the connections via the Microsoft Defender Firewall or any other.
5. Repeat the above steps for every PC you want to play in LAN with by running the launcher.exe, the first PC to launch it will host the "server" and the rest will auto-discover and connect to it.
6. In the game, when hosting a new lobby, just make sure to set the server to Use Local Lan Server. Setting it to public visibility is recommended.
7. If the lobby is Public, they can join directly in the browser or you can Invite friends by searching them by name and sending an invite as needed. You can share the link to join the lobby automatically (only works if already in-game).

Local development

Rename go.work.example to go.work

System requirements

• Go 1.22.
• Git.
• Task.
• GoReleaser.

Debug

It is recommended to use an IDE such as GoLand (free for academia) or Visual Studio Code (free) with the Go extension.

Depending on the module you want to debug, you will need to run the corresponding task before:

• server: task debug-prepare-server
  • genCert: task debug:prepare-server-genCert
• launcher: task debug:prepare-launcher
  • config: task debug:build-config-admin-agent
  • config-admin-agent: task debug:build-config-admin
  • agent: task debug:build-config-all

Build

Run task build.

Release

1. Install gpg2 if needed.
2. Create a new sign-only GPG key pair (RSA 4096-bit) with a passphrase.
3. Copy .env.example to .env and set GPG_FINGERPRINT to the fingerprint of the key.
4. Finally run task release

Terms of Use

You and all the clients connecting to your server are only authorized to use this software if:

• Owning a legal license of Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition (and all relevant DLC's).
• Not using this software to cheat/hack and, in general, respect all the game terms of service.
• Use this software for personal use.
• Use this software in a LAN environment.

Disclaimer: This software is not affiliated with Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft Corporation, Forgotten Empires LLC, World's Edge LLC, or any other entity that is involved in the development of Age of Empires 2 Definitive Edition.