Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition News

Age of Empires 4 tribute - how to pay tribute in AOE4

So, you want to know how to pay tribute in Age of Empires IV? Paying tribute is something you may encounter quite a few times during the new RTS game's campaigns, but it's also something you can do in multiplayer as well, as it involves sending resources to other players.

In the second Norman Conquest mission, for example, you can use the mechanic to pay off viking raiders to stop them attacking you on your way to York. In the second Rise of Moscow mission, you have to pay regular tribute to the Golden Horde otherwise they'll attack you with a strong army in retribution. Both instances place tribute as a crucial part of the mission, but if you've not had much time with the game you might initially be confused as to how you do this.

The first few times you're asked to do this in the game, a tooltip does pop up to point you in the right direction. These can sometimes be easy to miss or click off, however, and that's not taking into account anyone who's turned off hints altogether. We've put together a quick guide on how you pay tribute in Age of Empires IV - we hope you find it helpful.

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Age of Empires 4 system requirements are low enough for Bronze Age gaming PCs

Age of Empires 4 is finally here, and our review finds this latest entry in the beloved RTS series one worthy of its kingly stature. Prior to the game's imminent release, Microsoft has updated its system requirements which should aid players with ageing gaming PCs get started on building their own empires.

Changing the course of history won't need the best graphics card or best gaming CPU, as the game accommodates rigs of all ages. In fact, you might not need an upgrade at all thanks to the new minimum system requirements.

Following the Age of Empires 4 stress test earlier this year, the developer noted a large portion of its player base were still playing previous Age of Empires titles on older gaming laptops and rigs. This meant the game "needed to support a diverse set of PC configuration", according to Michael Mann, executive producer at World's Edge, in an interview with Xbox.

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Age of Empires 4 release times - what time does the RTS game come out?

What time does Age of Empires IV come out? The highly anticipated RTS game has officially gone gold, and we also know what time the strategy game will be releasing across the globe today as it launches for the masses.

The release times were first announced via the official Xbox Japan Twitter account, and have been verified on other platforms since. For our American readers, you'll be able to get your hands on the game from 8 am Pacific, 11 am Esatern Time. That's 4 pm here in the UK, and 5 pm for those on Central European Time. Sorry Australians, you'll have to stay up late, as it doesn't unlock until 2 am October 29 in Aus EDT.

In case you weren't familiar with the term, 'going gold' refers to the point prior to a game's release where the code is 'frozen', and sent out to other departments for distribution. This was of more importance during the age of physical media, although it still means that any fixes or tweaks that come after this week will appear in a day one patch, if there is one, or whenever the first official update lands.

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Age of Empires 4 Delhi Sultanate civilisation guide

Age of Empires IV's Delhi Sultanate civilisation is another one of the RTS game's more difficult factions, rated a three out of three stars in-game. They are a defensive and research focused civilisation, although they don't have notably unique mechanics like the Mongols or the Abbasid Dynasty - barring one key exception, they largely play like any other faction.

This exception is themed around technology - the Delhi Sultanate gets access to the Scholar unit from the Dark Age via the Mosque, which is also available from the start of a match. In addition, this civ gets to research every technology in the game for free - but each tech takes time to complete. This can be sped up by scholars, much like how the Chinese administrator unit can give boosts to economic yields.

Scholars only apply their research bonus if they are garrisoning a building, and techs can improve their utility by letting them garrison buildings they wouldn't normally be able to, like the barracks. Other buildings built within the influence range of a Mosque can also get faster research speeds, depending on how many scholars are garrisoned in the Mosque itself.

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Age of Empires 4 releases tomorrow, so here are some fun facts about the RTS series

If you've been reading the Age of Empires IV reviews this week, including ours, you might be quietly optimistic about the next instalment in one of RTS games' most iconic series. There's not much to do now but wait for the game to unlock in your region - you can check our handy Age of Empires IV release times rundown if you've forgotten.

While you wait, you could also read up on some funky facts about the Age of Empires series as a whole. Since October 1, Age of Empires community member FloosWorld has been posting one piece of trivia about the strategy games on Twitter each day. They range from well-known things like the Age of Empires II anniversary, to anecdotes about a South Korean release, and how one of the series' original lead designers went on to create Empire Earth.

While FloosWorld isn't a developer or officially associated with Microsoft, it seems they've been doing their homework as most of the fun facts they've shared do indeed seem to be, well, fun facts. We get a peek at examples such as the South Korean boxed edition of AOE2 with fact 19, and since last week the trivia drops have been about Age of Empires IV and definitely check out.

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