I love it. I wonder how much of this they applied to AOE2 DE, which is currently thriving, and uses the same basic game mechanics, artwork, and balance as "AOK".
It's the same engine with some updates, except game messages are routed through a centralised server. All of the stuff about lockstep simulation still applies.
If you're referring to building destruction, they are just baked animations; the physics simulation was done in an external 3D modelling program. Which is why the enhanced graphics pack for the game is about 30 gigabytes.
