I broke Advanced Genie Editor

Age of Empires II: DE II - Modding
1

:play_button: GAME INFORMATION

:backhand_index_pointing_down: These details are CRITICAL; DO NOT skip them or your issue may not be reviewed.

  • GAME BUILD #: 101.103.16877.0 (#147949) 18848918
  • GAME PLATFORM: Steam
  • OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 11

:play_button: ISSUE EXPERIENCED

:backhand_index_pointing_down: DESCRIBE THE ISSUE IN DETAIL (below). LIMIT TO ONE BUG PER THREAD.
When opening the Genie Editor, after defining the directories, upon clicking open, the application crashes.

This issue began after I added 5 new blank civs in the civilization window. Uninstalling aoe2 and reinstalling it did not solve the problem, but if I load an old compressed data file (from February 2025) the editor will open like normal.

:play_button: FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

:backhand_index_pointing_down: How often does the issue occur? CHOSE ONE; DELETE THE REST!

  • 100% of the time / matches I play (ALWAYS)

:play_button: REPRODUCTION STEPS

:backhand_index_pointing_down: List CLEAR and DETAILED STEPS we can take to reproduce the issue ourselves… Be descriptive!

Here’s the steps to reproduce the issue:

  1. Open the editor

  2. Fill in the fields as follows:

compressed data set:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources_common\dat\empires2_x2_p1.dat

language file location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources\en\strings\key-value\key-value-strings-utf8.txt

language x1 file location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources\en\strings\key-value\key-value-modded-strings-utf8.txt

language p1 file location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources\en\strings\key-value\key-value-paphos-strings-utf8.txt

path for drs file:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources_common\drs

path for palette configuration:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources_common\palettes\palettes.conf

path for player colour palette:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\AoE2DE\resources_common\palettes\playercolor_blue.pal

  1. Click open

:play_button: EXPECTED RESULT

:backhand_index_pointing_down: What was SUPPOSED to happen if the bug you encountered were not present?
The editor should then load the game’s data set, making it available for you to modify.

:play_button: IMAGE

:backhand_index_pointing_down: ALWAYS attach a PICTURE (.jpg, .png, .gif) or VIDEO (.mp4, YouTube link) that highlights the problem.

:play_button: GAME FILES (SAVE / RECORDING)

:backhand_index_pointing_down: Attach a SAVE GAME (.aoe2spgame) or GAME RECORDING (.aoe2record) of the match where you encountered the issue. Link it below if using an external file service.

2

Hi Phaedrus,
I’m not very experienced with the Advanced Genie Editor, but I’ve noticed it can crash easily without clearly indicating what’s wrong.

I also noticed that my default settings look different from yours:

image
image1119×874 47.6 KB

Additionally, you’re using an older version (2024.5.9), whereas the one in my AOE2DE\Tools_Builds folder is version 2024.9.6. Maybe trying the newer version or resetting to default settings could help prevent the crashes?

Let me know if this helps or if you discover another solution.
Cheers!

3

Hi, thanks for your reply

I changed the pathways in the opening screen to mirror yours, no effect sadly.

Do you know how to update the editor? I’m on Steam and I think I just verify the integrity of the game files but I’m stuck in this old version.

4

That’s strange, my copy came bundled with the game. Could you try out version 2025.4.28 available here? I tested that build and the editor launched correctly for me. Unfortunately, version 2024.9.6 isn’t provided as a prebuilt release, you’d need to clone the repository and compile it yourself.

5

I will try that, thanks for your help!