Border

Note: A major update has been pending for a while. My apologies for the delay.

Border is a simple overlay for RTS games (such as Age of Empires 2) for displaying build orders on top of the game. It is mainly intended for new players or getting help playing new maps. This will help you to learn the strategies that are used online. You might find features that are tailored to Age of Empires 2, since it was the reason for my to build this. For Starcraft 2 there is a widely used commercial app.

If you have no idea what a Build Order is or don't know what the app means with something, check out this for a short read.

Important: Not all build orders have been tested by multiple people, so I'd be happy if you comment on the default Build Orders. You leave your comments on this issue.

Features

Show Build Orders on top of your game
Quickly cycle through build orders
Highlight your current task
Click through the overlay and control it with hotkeys
Default Build Orders included (AoE2)
Create and share your own Build Orders

Getting Started

Download the latest version of the app
Launch the app
Right-click the to see all the options.
Press Alt + \ or right-click and press Click Through Window
Start the Game and play versus AI
Select a Build Order (Alt+ArrowUp/ArrowDown)
Press Alt + Space to Highlight the first step
Execute the highlighted step
Repeat step 7 until done
Win the game
Press Alt + \
Right-click -> Quit
Be happy

FAQ

Can I use this online?

It's up to you. The current version of this overlay does not communicate with the game so I doubt they will detect it.
I think it's okay, I used to have my tablet up with a couple of Build Orders. But I always lost track. But one could argue that it removes the skill of game knowledge.

Why did you make this tool?

I wanted to learn a new programming thing and I was really into learning Age of Empires 2.

Can I add my own Build Orders?

Yes, it does require a bit (straightforward) of editing a textfile (e.g. Notepad) though. See this page for details.

If you made great build orders you and would like to donate them to this app open an issue.

I want to change some hotkeys and some colours. How do I do that?

You can edit the settings.json file with a text editor. Which will allow you to modify the values. You can get the key codes from this page, use the codes that look like 0x01.

How do I know if there is a new version?

The app will bug you about it.

Your Build Orders Suck

FeelsDautMan.

All Hail King DauT!

Amen

Is there a Forest Nothing Build Order included?

Can I help with the app?

Try out the app, and test the default Build Orders. Want to do some programming? Sure, fork & play around with the code for a bit, then check out the issues.

How do I compile the code?

Fork the code, then open it in Visual Studio with the latest C# and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) installed.

Can I ask you something else?

Si, either on twitter or by creating an issue.

Possible Future Features

If people want these features I might add:

A settings window
Timer - automatically advandce through the steps, or keep track of your speed records.
Variants - quickly update the build order based on the situation.
In-App Build Order Designer
Share Build Orders with others

Authors

abductedPlatypus - Original Author

wegesdal / Border