Man, I love AOE2: DE, but let’s be honest: this game crashes with a “quite regular” frequency, let’s say: about 5% of the time, increasing with each “hotfix” or patch.
But, after a crash, there is nothing you can do about it. Just cry and be sorry for your team mates, if that’s the case. Or just lose the ELO for no good reason.
I think this should be addressed like other multiplayer match games, like League of Legends, DOTA2…
In AoE2, the match should instantly came to a 2min halt/pause, while the dropped player tries to return. When the player opens the game again, there should be a message saying “you have been disconnected from an ongoing match and we are trying to reconnect”. Preferebly, with no ‘cancel’ option.
And then you get reconnected and get back to the game. Then play and everyone is happy.
If the 2minute is passed, then the game resumes, with standard defensive AI playing for the dropped player.
And at anytime the player is able to reconnect, it assumes the game as it it.
I think this is a must for a ranked team game match.