The Story Age of Wonders transports gamers to the Valley of Wonders, where Lord Inioch's Elven Court ruled peacefully over all living creatures...that is, until the Humans arrived and caused mass destruction. The fall of the Elven Court sharply divided the Elves' vision for the future. Half opted for peaceful reconstruction, while the others known as the Dark Elves, chose revenge upon the Humans. The fragile balance that once existed between the ancient races including the Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs, transformed into a struggle for power and survival. The Gameplay Age of Wonders focuses on strategic conquest and victory. Gamers guide an army towards an apocalyptic battle that will determine the world's fate. During their quest, players journey through many realms, solving scenario objectives such as establishing alliances, gathering heroes, finding magical artifacts, defeating all enemies or killing the players' leaders. Players use military strategy, research, spells and diplomacy. Age of Wonders has single and multiplayer gameplay. In both play modes, gamers use the player-controlled main race and its allies in order to overcome foes. In single player mode, the player can choose one of two main characters, or create a fully customizable character to lead his/her army to triumph. The single player campaign has multiple difficulty levels, two starting factions, many scenario branches, and four endings. Multiplayer games can be played simultaneously or in round robin style by via hot seat play (multiple gamers playing multiplayer on a single computer), play by email, LAN, direct IPX or the Internet. Gamers can play against Artificial Intelligence (AI) opponents or other players. Age of Wonders' Features: 12 playable races each with their own personality, tendencies, weaknesses, and strengths. Six spheres of magic -- Life, Death, Earth, Air, Fire and Water-- with over 100 unique spells ranging from combat and terrain modification to unit, city and global enchantments. Huge detailed, dynamic maps including subterranean areas and dozens of special locations that can be modified by terrain affecting spells. Choice of automatic (fast combat) or turn-based tactical combat. Customizable point-and-click interface to reposition and resize main map views and information floaters. Online help system and tutorial to guide players. A fully functional scenario editor to modify existing scenarios, create maps, place armies, and set goals and conditions. Built-in hero and item editors allow for creation of new heroes, hero libraries, and items that can be incorporated into custom-made scenarios or traded online. Native Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 applications with DirectX support that allows the game to run in a window or on the full screen.