Overall, the selection of buildings and upgrades is very similar to the original AOE in terms of numbers. While there are upgrades that were not available in the first installment, none of the new included ones are game-changing items. That was the big deal in the original. While the original was sometimes a study in micromanagement frustration, as your workers sat idly by as the food and resources dwindled to nothing, not that much has changed here either. Once a resource runs out, the villagers will simply stand around unless there is another source of that same resource close by.
Farmers simply stand in their dying fields, almost like they did in the original game.
The addition of build queues is something that is, again, a must for any new RTS game. The Muster point option is fairly new, but again, nothing that you would not expect to find in today's newest RTS games. It may be one of the most cost-effective ways to defend the player's most important buildings. Garrisoning towers and buildings, obviously, lets the units inside help out in the defense of the building. All the important buildings in the game have the ability to have a small contingent of units to help defend it.