We are part of the Wars of Liberty (WoL) community, a long-running total conversion mod for Age of Empires III that adds new civilizations, units, maps, and balance changes, covering roughly the 1789–1916 historical period.
At the moment, Wars of Liberty cannot be played on Voobly due to compatibility issues, which prevents the community from using Voobly as a multiplayer platform.
Because of this limitation, the community is currently fragmented, and most multiplayer games are played using Radmin VPN, which is not ideal for discoverability, stability, or long-term growth.
Before requesting any kind of dedicated rooms or visibility, we would like to ask for technical guidance regarding:
-What specific limitations prevent WoL from working on Voobly
-Whether Voobly restricts certain modded files or structures
-If there are technical requirements (checksums, file structure, versioning, etc.) that WoL would need to meet to become compatible
The WoL community is willing to adapt the mod if possible and cooperate with Voobly to achieve compatibility.
Thank you for your time and continued support of the RTS community.
I need the file name of the game binary and the launch parameters of the game, which are divided into to the host launch parameters and the player launch parameters which connect to the host. But perhaps, this has not changed and is still compatible with the original AoE III. If that's the case, it should be relatively easy adding this game on Voobly.
Here are the details I found on my Wars of Liberty installation:
Game binary
WoL is launched using the AoE3: The Asian Dynasties executable:
Binary: age3y.exe
In a typical WoL setup, this binary is usually located under the bin folder, e.g.:
...\bin\age3y.exe
Example path on my PC (note: install paths vary per user / Steam library location):
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\WOL\age3y.exe
Also worth noting: not all players own/install AoE3 via Steam, so the install directory can differ significantly (non-Steam / retail / other distributions).
Launch parameters (process command line)
To retrieve the command line used to launch the game, I inspected the running Windows process using PowerShell.
This is the command I used (it opens a GUI window listing processes and their command lines via Out-GridView, where I filtered the age3y.exe process):
So far, I haven’t identified any separate host vs player/join command line parameters. It appears to behave similarly to the original AoE3/TAD launch behavior.
Hi, Wars of Liberty uhm... "contributor" here. WoL completely overwrites the original game. Same exe name as well, "age3y.exe", so there is no difference between how you get into a LAN lobby in WoL and the original game. Same amount of automatic clicks that Voobly does in the game.
However, I did some tests and it seems Voobly replaces and overwrites "age3y.exe" when you launch the game? This is a problem because while the exe's name is the same, the WoL exe is modified to use the community made modding extension tool UnHardcode Patch (the ESOC Patch AoE3 mod that you host also uses it). And I assume...
Wait, is this why there is a comment on the ESOC Patch page on the Voobly website that it crashes for them? Is this maybe why ESOC never took off on Voobly, because Voobly actually breaks it by overwriting the exe? And I guess no one noticed?
Is this a security measure? Or maybe to ensure compatibility? I've noticed there are some Game Browser lobbies for some AoE1 and AoE2 mods, how are those started? Would it be possible to have a separate lobby in the Game Browser for WoL as well, under AoE3 The Asian Dynasties?
The game binary exists in the Voobly Client folder in Program Files as well. There should be a sub-folder called AOE3X1 containing the age3y.exe.
Please create a copy of the AOE3X1 folder and rename it to AOE3WOL. Then copy the original age3y.exe from the Wars of Liberty directory to the renamed AOE3WOL folder and overwrite the EXE file there. If the folder does not exist, download and install the package below: https://static.voobly.com/updates/voobly-gamedata-aoe3x1-v1.1.1.2.exe
However, you should know that WoL is built on the Asian Dynasties expansion, like all AoE3 mods.
The Warchiefs is the first expansion, The Asian Dynasties is the second and latest expansion. So the Asian Dynasties should be used as a template for WoL.
Of course. I'm back and I tried everything and here are the results:
1. I created a new "AOE3WOL" folder, put the Warchiefs "gamedata.ini" there, put WoL's "age3y.exe" there, joined the AoEIII: Wars of Liberty main lobby, started a room, launched the game and everything went fine, the ingame lobby was created just like it would normally be in the original game.
2. Likewise, joining the AoEIII: The Asian Dynasties main lobby also starts the game and an ingame LAN lobby fine, as previously stated.
However, for both cases there is only one problem: Voobly refuses to use WoL's exe from the Voobly "Programs Files" folders to overwrite the game's exe. Seems like some form of security measure so people can't just put anything there. Are the exes perhaps hashed and because WoL's exe has a different hash, Voobly won't use it? But if WoL's exe is already in the game folder (and in "Program Files"), everything works fine.
Should I send you WoL's exe? Could we maybe talk on Discord to make it faster?
You can take it yourself if you install WoL from their website if you want: [You must login to view link]
But you'd have to install the whole mod and run the updater to get the latest exe, as it was modified recently.
Alternatively, I can just send it to you.
Hi! Thanks for the update — I tested everything as well and I’m getting very similar results.
In my case I own the Steam version of AoE3. When I tried to launch a match through Voobly using the mod setup, Voobly actually broke my game executable, and after that Windows showed this error:
“The application was unable to start correctly (0xC0000005). Click OK to close the application.”
After troubleshooting, I found out that Voobly had set age3y.exe to Windows XP compatibility mode automatically. Once I disabled compatibility mode, the game worked normally again.
Then I repeated all the steps described (creating the new AoE3WOL folder, copying Warchiefs’ gamedata.ini, placing WoL’s age3y.exe, joining the WoL lobby, etc.). Everything launches fine, and the ingame LAN lobby is created like in the original game.
But I still have the same main issue: Voobly refuses to launch WoL properly.
When I start a match, it always opens The Asian Dynasties, not Wars of Liberty like Mandos described.
So it looks like Voobly is not accepting WoL’s exe replacement from its “Programs Files” folders (probably due to security/hash checking), even though the exe works fine when it’s directly in the game folder.
Let me know if you want me to provide logs or test other launch parameters.
However, for both cases there is only one problem: Voobly refuses to use WoL's exe from the Voobly "Programs Files" folders to overwrite the game's exe. Seems like some form of security measure so people can't just put anything there.
I just tried again, no difference. Again, it all works, the exe is simply not copied from "aoe3wol" to the game's installation. For example if I install WoL, make "aoe3wol" in Voobly, put the WoL exe there and then put the original Asian Dynasties exe in the WoL game folder, Voobly won't copy the WoL exe from "aoe3wol" to the game folder, it will just run whatever "age3y.exe" is in the game folder, which in this test was the original.
But if I just install WoL and leave it like that and just create "aoe3wol", it all works fine, no issues.
If nothing is copied from "gamedata" to the game folder, this is also kind of fine btw. So that in case the WoL exe is updated again, we won't bother you with it. The main thing that was needed was a WoL Main Lobby and the WoL exe to not be replaced by the original.
We are part of the Wars of Liberty (WoL) community, a long-running total conversion mod for Age of Empires III that adds new civilizations, units, maps, and balance changes, covering roughly the 1789–1916 historical period.
At the moment, Wars of Liberty cannot be played on Voobly due to compatibility issues, which prevents the community from using Voobly as a multiplayer platform.
Because of this limitation, the community is currently fragmented, and most multiplayer games are played using Radmin VPN, which is not ideal for discoverability, stability, or long-term growth.
Before requesting any kind of dedicated rooms or visibility, we would like to ask for technical guidance regarding:
-What specific limitations prevent WoL from working on Voobly
-Whether Voobly restricts certain modded files or structures
-If there are technical requirements (checksums, file structure, versioning, etc.) that WoL would need to meet to become compatible
The WoL community is willing to adapt the mod if possible and cooperate with Voobly to achieve compatibility.
Thank you for your time and continued support of the RTS community.
Kind regards,
Gorgorito123
Here are the details I found on my Wars of Liberty installation:
Game binary
WoL is launched using the AoE3: The Asian Dynasties executable:
Binary: age3y.exe
In a typical WoL setup, this binary is usually located under the bin folder, e.g.:
...\bin\age3y.exe
Example path on my PC (note: install paths vary per user / Steam library location):
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\WOL\age3y.exe
Also worth noting: not all players own/install AoE3 via Steam, so the install directory can differ significantly (non-Steam / retail / other distributions).
Launch parameters (process command line)
To retrieve the command line used to launch the game, I inspected the running Windows process using PowerShell.
This is the command I used (it opens a GUI window listing processes and their command lines via Out-GridView, where I filtered the age3y.exe process):
Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Select Name,CommandLine | Out-GridView
I also used this to specifically query the command line for the age3y.exe process:
(Get-CimInstance Win32_Process -Filter "ProcessId = $((Get-Process age3y).Id)").CommandLine
The process is launched simply as:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\WOL\age3y.exe"
Host vs player parameters
So far, I haven’t identified any separate host vs player/join command line parameters. It appears to behave similarly to the original AoE3/TAD launch behavior.
Kind regards,
Gorgorito123
However, I did some tests and it seems Voobly replaces and overwrites "age3y.exe" when you launch the game? This is a problem because while the exe's name is the same, the WoL exe is modified to use the community made modding extension tool UnHardcode Patch (the ESOC Patch AoE3 mod that you host also uses it). And I assume...
Wait, is this why there is a comment on the ESOC Patch page on the Voobly website that it crashes for them? Is this maybe why ESOC never took off on Voobly, because Voobly actually breaks it by overwriting the exe? And I guess no one noticed?
Is this a security measure? Or maybe to ensure compatibility? I've noticed there are some Game Browser lobbies for some AoE1 and AoE2 mods, how are those started? Would it be possible to have a separate lobby in the Game Browser for WoL as well, under AoE3 The Asian Dynasties?
Please create a copy of the AOE3X1 folder and rename it to AOE3WOL. Then copy the original age3y.exe from the Wars of Liberty directory to the renamed AOE3WOL folder and overwrite the EXE file there. If the folder does not exist, download and install the package below:
https://static.voobly.com/updates/voobly-gamedata-aoe3x1-v1.1.1.2.exe
Then please test, whether the duplicated AoE III The War Chiefs template is compatible with Wars of Liberty.
https://www.voobly.com/games/view/AoE-III-Wars-Of-Liberty
However, you should know that WoL is built on the Asian Dynasties expansion, like all AoE3 mods.
The Warchiefs is the first expansion, The Asian Dynasties is the second and latest expansion. So the Asian Dynasties should be used as a template for WoL.
And thank you for your help.
1. I created a new "AOE3WOL" folder, put the Warchiefs "gamedata.ini" there, put WoL's "age3y.exe" there, joined the AoEIII: Wars of Liberty main lobby, started a room, launched the game and everything went fine, the ingame lobby was created just like it would normally be in the original game.
2. Likewise, joining the AoEIII: The Asian Dynasties main lobby also starts the game and an ingame LAN lobby fine, as previously stated.
However, for both cases there is only one problem: Voobly refuses to use WoL's exe from the Voobly "Programs Files" folders to overwrite the game's exe. Seems like some form of security measure so people can't just put anything there. Are the exes perhaps hashed and because WoL's exe has a different hash, Voobly won't use it? But if WoL's exe is already in the game folder (and in "Program Files"), everything works fine.
Should I send you WoL's exe? Could we maybe talk on Discord to make it faster?
You can take it yourself if you install WoL from their website if you want: [You must login to view link]
But you'd have to install the whole mod and run the updater to get the latest exe, as it was modified recently.
Alternatively, I can just send it to you.
In my case I own the Steam version of AoE3. When I tried to launch a match through Voobly using the mod setup, Voobly actually broke my game executable, and after that Windows showed this error:
“The application was unable to start correctly (0xC0000005). Click OK to close the application.”
After troubleshooting, I found out that Voobly had set age3y.exe to Windows XP compatibility mode automatically. Once I disabled compatibility mode, the game worked normally again.
Then I repeated all the steps described (creating the new AoE3WOL folder, copying Warchiefs’ gamedata.ini, placing WoL’s age3y.exe, joining the WoL lobby, etc.). Everything launches fine, and the ingame LAN lobby is created like in the original game.
But I still have the same main issue: Voobly refuses to launch WoL properly.
When I start a match, it always opens The Asian Dynasties, not Wars of Liberty like Mandos described.
So it looks like Voobly is not accepting WoL’s exe replacement from its “Programs Files” folders (probably due to security/hash checking), even though the exe works fine when it’s directly in the game folder.
Let me know if you want me to provide logs or test other launch parameters.
But if I just install WoL and leave it like that and just create "aoe3wol", it all works fine, no issues.
If nothing is copied from "gamedata" to the game folder, this is also kind of fine btw. So that in case the WoL exe is updated again, we won't bother you with it. The main thing that was needed was a WoL Main Lobby and the WoL exe to not be replaced by the original.
But, your choice. Tell me what to try next.