Me and my dad love playing Age of Empires 2 and its expansion, Conquerors. We haven't been able to play for while because of our recent upgrade straight from Windows 7. We've spent months looking for a solution, with many people offering solutions through multiple forums, which have not worked. We have therefore gone back to XP machines, an old but working laptop and desktop machine.
They can ping each other, remain on the same router, both machines have IPX network protocol installed, have the same IP range (ex. Laptop 10.0.0.2 and desktop is 192.168.1.1. So when we go to multiplayer on the main menu of the game, we go to Local Lan TCP/IP games and search for each other's game (meaning I make a game, my Dad tries to join, but can't even see the name show up on his list, so he made a game and I tried to find it but it doesn't show up), but it just isn't listed. So we go to Internet TCP/IP for Direct Play and try machine host names and direct IP connections (we are both over the same network, in fact we're hardly 1 metre away from each other and our machines). This does not work either. We've tried IPX Connection for Direct Play but that is to no avail as well.
We have the firewalls turned off and allowed the programs through our anti viruses. (if it helps, I have avast! Antivirus, maybe this has issues, I don't know.) We have tested the DirectPlay through dxdiag. This test does not have any results over IPx, but on TCP/IP and given the correct port, I can join his session.
How to use the Hack on AGE OF EMPIRES II in Game Ranger. Start the Game ranger. Now Join any AOE II conquerors room. While you are in room Go to the hack folder and start the Hack by double clicking on it. Now when the Game starts (means when you in Game and selecting civilizations teams etc). Download AOE Multiplayer Hack v2 Game.
My Dad recalls issues with wireless lan gameplay from before, and that machines that just happen to connected wirelessly to the network cannot join games, but once connected by an ethernet cable (from desktop to router and laptop to router) the game appears on the list and we can play. We are no longer in a situation where that can be done as the router is on a different floor from our computers, and we just connect wirelessly.