How to use target-line parameters to customize Age of Mythology (888737)

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You can use target-line parameters to customize the Age of Mythology startup process and to resolve certain problems that may occur when you try to start or play the game. This article lists the target-line parameters and explains how they work.

This article also lists the troubleshooting shortcuts that Age of Mythology provides. The troubleshooting shortcuts are preconfigured with target-line parameters to resolve certain problems.

Target line parameters

The following table lists the target-line parameters that you can use to start Age of Mythology:

Parameter	Description
xres=xxxx	Sets the game to run at xxxx resolution width.
+noSound	Turns off all sounds in the game.
+noIntroCinematics	Turns off the introductory movies.
bpp=xx	Sets the color bits per pixel, where xx can be 16 or 32.
+window	Sets the game to run in a window.
OverrideAddress=www.xxx.yyy.zzz	Overrides the private IP address that is assigned by your internal network with the real or the external IP address that is assigned by your ISP. In this example, www.xxx.yyy.zzz is the IP address that you want the game to use.

To manually add parameters to the Age of Mythology shortcut target line, follow these steps:

1. Right-click Start, and then click Open or click Open All Users.
2. Double-click the Programs folder.
3. Double-click the Microsoft Games folder.
4. Double-click the Age of Mythology folder or the Age of Mythology - The Titans Expansion folder.
5. Right-click the Age of Mythology shortcut icon or right-click the Age of Mythology - The Titans Expansion shortcut icon, and then click Properties.
6. Click the Shortcut tab.
7. Click the Target box, press END, press SPACEBAR, and then type the parameter that you want to use. If you want to use an additional parameter, insert a blank space after the first parameter, and then type the next parameter.
   
   For example, the following target line includes two parameters:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Mythology\aom.exe" +noIntroCinematics +window

8. Click OK.
9. Quit Microsoft Windows Explorer.
10. Insert the Age of Mythology CD 1 or the Age of Mythology: The Titans Expansion CD into the CD or DVD drive. If you press the SHIFT key while you are inserting the CD, the program will not start automatically.
11. To start the game, start Age of Mythology from the shortcut that you modified.

Note You can follow steps 5 through 8 when you start Age of Mythology by using the Age of Mythology shortcut icon on your desktop.

Troubleshooting shortcuts

When you install Age of Mythology, the Setup program creates several troubleshooting shortcuts that customize the Age of Mythology startup process.

To access these shortcuts, click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Age of Mythology, or point to Age of Mythology - The Titans Expansion, and then click Diagnostics.

These troubleshooting shortcut icons include the following:

• Safe video
  The Safe video shortcut icon helps you identify if there is an issue with your video adaptor or startup in movies. The Safe video shortcut icon starts Age of Mythology by using the following parameters:

  xres=640 +noSound +noIntroCinematics bpp=16 +window +lowend +terrainHalfDensity +lowPoly -waterbump skipMipMapLevels=1 graphicDetail=2

• No sound
  The No Sound shortcut icon helps you identify if there is an issue with your sound card. The game will start without sound. The No Sound shortcut starts Age of Mythology by using the following parameter:

  +nosound