for you peeps still using the SVN to test with Tuxu was just having some problems and we just finished hacking through it, posting chat log here incase it helps anyone. Main problems were the name of the SVN directory not being just 'Empires', the appID's and the .dll's being incorrect and not updating via SVN(highlighted with a red '!' like when you change a file on your end, steam fuck with the .DLL's when you try to load the game? no idea) requiring Tuxu to delete them and re-update the SVN.
Just to make it clear that using SVN to test isnt a great idea as so many files may be different between the beta branch and the svn revision that has been downloaded. The best way for 99% of people is by the steam method stickied at the top of this thread. Anyone wanting a TLDR version of Keefs post: 1. Make sure the svn folder is called Empires. It should be in your sourcemods folder. 2. If you have red folders / files (apart from cfg folder) then delete them and start again.