Instructions
Enter the standard cheats by pressing "Enter" and typing one of the game's standard codes. For instance, "Enter" then "Medium Rare Please" will instantly give you 10,000 units of food.
Modify the amount of resources you begin a map with by opening the "proto.xml" file in the game's "data" directory. Find any of the "CrateOf" entries and modify the value "InitialResourceCount." This changes the amount of resources in the crates around your initial camp. For example, "CrateOfWood" then "InitialResourceCount" then "5000.00" gives you 5,000 wood per crate.
Open "sp_[yourcityname]_homecity.xml," located in the "Age of Empires III" directory in the "My Documents" folder to change your home city's level. Find the entry "&#ltlevel&#gt[number]&#ltlevel&#gt" and change the number in the middle to any two digit number; this will be the new level of your city.
Give yourself unlimited Unlock Points using the same file as in Step 3. Find the entry "&#ltskillpoints&#gt[number]&#ltskillpoints&#gt" and change the number to anything you want. This will be the number of points you have available to unlock upgrades for your hometown.