Ara: History Untold - V1.1 The Invisible Hand Update

Sep 24, 2024
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Ara: History Untold

Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It's Your World Now.

The Ara: history Untold team could not be more excited for today's release - our first major feature update. Below are comprehensive release notes detailing the new features as well as the balance changes and updates. We've also addressed a large number of player reported bugs and issues with this update, and can't wait for you to give it a try! [h1]Ara: History Untold[/h1] [h2]Version 1.1 - The Invisible Hand Update[/h2] [hr][/hr] [h3]Highlights[/h3] [list] [*][b]National Economy Screen[/b] Manage your nation's crafting, supplies, and policies from a single screen, replacing the crafting panel for streamlined management. [*][b]New Amenities[/b] Over a dozen new craftable amenities added, offering additional strategic choices: [list] [*]Anvil: Provide a 150% buff to improvements that can be supplied with them. [*]Biscuits: Grant players a +25 to food as an Amenity. [*]Mining Pick: Add +50% harvest rate to improvements. [*]Fuel Cell: Gives 150% craft rate at improvements, or 100% harvest rate to improvements, +3 City Health. [*]Sewing Machines: Sewing Machines add 200% craft rate to improvements. [*]Fresh Produce: Grant +200 food per turn, +5 health per turn as an Amenity. [*]Scrolls: Grant +15 City Knowledge as an Amenity. [*]Baked Goods: Give +50 Food/turn, -5 City Health as an Amenity. [*]...and more! [/list] [*][b]Unit Upgrades[/b] Upgrade units within your army directly by issuing the new Upgrade Order, but be mindful of the resource and turn cost to complete the upgrade. [*][b]Advisors[/b] [list] [*]Introduces a Sovereign Advisor. [*]Each advisor provides suggestions to enhance your strategy. [*]This feature will become more intelligent in future releases. [/list] [*][b]John A. MacDonald[/b] Canada joins the world stage, expanding your diplomatic and strategic options! [*][b]Earth Map[/b] Added as a pre-made map focusing on gameplay over strict geographical accuracy: [list] [*]Britain and Ireland share an enlarged island. [*]Features like the Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are accounted for. [*]Enhanced mountain ranges for natural barriers. [/list] [*][b]Redeployment[/b] Reform armies with units being sent back to your reserves for better strategic flexibility. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h3]Changelog[/h3] [h3]Performance Enhancements[/h3] [list] [*][b]Memory Optimization[/b] Improved game performance on lower-end hardware. [*][b]Rendering Optimizations[/b] Enhanced framerate stability for lower-end systems. [*][b]LOD Optimization [/b] Better visuals and object clarity while maintaining higher framerates. [*][b]General Performance Improvements [/b] Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience. [/list] [h3]UI Updates[/h3] [list] [*][b]Region Yields[/b] Added region yields to the title bar in the city panel for better resource tracking. [*][b]Improvement Renaming[/b] Players can now rename their improvements for personalized management. [*][b]Supply Availability[/b] Improvements with available supplies now glow to indicate their availability. [*][b]Technology Display[/b] Items now display the required technology to unlock them. [*][b]Customization Slider[/b] Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out. [*][b]Notification System[/b] Players receive notifications when they run out of crafting resources. [/list] [h3]AI Updates[/h3] [list] [*][b]Improved Prioritization [/b] AI better prioritizes city improvements and optimal dwelling locations. [*][b]Data-Driven AI[/b] Supports data driving, allowing designers and modders to enhance AI prioritization. [*][b]War Declaration Intelligence[/b] AI becomes more strategic and intelligent in declaring wars. [/list] [h3]Map Generation[/h3] [list] [*][b]Human Priority[/b] Humans are prioritized for mild climate locations during map generation. [*][b]Biome Weighting[/b] Adjusted to make starting positions more interesting with fewer snowy starts. [/list] [h3]Gameplay Fixes[/h3] [list] [*][b]Late Game Stability[/b] Fixed a crash bug occurring in the late game. [*][b]La Grand Place[/b] Resolved the issue of La Grand Place not appearing in Act 1. [*][b]Road Spawning[/b] Prevented detail roads from spawning underneath improvements. [*][b]Duplicated Unlocks[/b] Removed duplicate unlock of animal resources. [/list] [h3]Event System[/h3] [list] [*][b]Triggers Added[/b] Added triggers for improvements when they have no items in the queue and when they begin crafting. [/list] [h3]Visual Improvements[/h3] [list] [*][b]Road Textures[/b] Enhanced road texture fidelity for a more polished look. [*][b]Barracks 3D Asset[/b] Improved the 3D asset of Barracks for better visual appeal. [/list] [h3]Modding Support[/h3] [list] [*][b]Advisor Data Driving[/b] Added data driving capabilities for advisors to support modders. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h3]New Feature Details[/h3] [h3]Earth Map[/h3] [list] [*][b]Geographical Features[/b] Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are now accurately represented. [*][b]Gameplay Connections[/b] - Britain and Ireland connected as a single enlarged island. - Italy and Sicily connected for enhanced gameplay dynamics. [*][b]Natural Barriers[/b] Tweaked mountain ranges to provide more natural (and slightly exaggerated) barriers for improved gameplay. [*][b]Real-World Locations[/b] Added real-world locations for nations, ensuring a balance between accuracy and gameplay. [/list] [h3]National Economy Screen Feature Overview[/h3] [list] [*][b]Centralized Management[/b] Replaced the crafting panel with the National Economy Screen for unified management. [*][b]Automatic Supply Allocation[/b] Set the game to automatically add supplies to various improvements as they become available. [*][b]Supply Order Management[/b] Define the order in which supplies are allocated automatically. [*][b]Global Harvester Management[/b] Control resource harvesting globally across all regions. [*][b]Crafting Management[/b] Manage crafting from the National Economy Screen without needing to visit each city. [*][b]Global Improvement Upgrading[/b] Upgrade improvements on a global scale for efficiency. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h3]Balance Adjustments[/h3] [h3]Nation and Building Limits[/h3] [list] [*][b]Print Shop[/b] Nation limit increased to 3. [*][b]Inns[/b] Limited to 1 per city instead of 1 per nation. [/list] [h3]Building and Production Buffs[/h3] [list] [*][b]Barracks[/b] Security set to 15 for level 1 and 25 when an expert is added. [*][b]Blacksmith[/b] Can now be supplied with Tools and Anvil Goods. [*][b]Citadel[/b] Construction no longer requires Concrete. [*][b]Docks[/b] Production buff after adding an expert reduced from 20 to 15. [*][b]Drydock[/b] Default production buff increased from 10 to 20. Production buff after adding an expert increased from 20 to 30. [*][b]Naval Base[/b] Default production buff increased from 10 to 30. Production buff after adding an expert remains 30 with additional benefits. [*][b]Workshops, Factories, Crafting Guilds[/b] Can build Anvils and Mining Picks. [*][b]Residences & Skyscrapers[/b] Residents can now use Soap, improving living standards. [*][b]Foundry & Forge[/b] Can use Anvils and Fuel Cells to increase production. [*][b]Hwaseong Fortress[/b] Available for construction throughout Act 2 and 3. [*][b]Library of Celsus[/b] Available for construction until Act 3, extending its utility. [*][b]London Eye Buff[/b] Corrected; Security buff changed to Prosperity. [*][b]St. Basil's Cathedral[/b] Now only provides 1 Security per Engineer or Artist Paragon. [*][b]Forge[/b] Can now be unlocked by Precision Engineering. [/list] [h3]Metallurgy and Steel[/h3] [list] [*][b]Metallurgy[/b] No longer unlocks Steel. Steel crafting is postponed until later ages when Forges are available. [/list] [h3]Fuel Recipe Changes[/h3] [list] [*][b]Production Cost[/b] Reduced from 1000u to 500u. [*][b]Production Bonus for the Second Ingredient[/b] Reduced from 750u to 500u. [/list] [h3]Resource Adjustments[/h3] [list] [*][b]Marble[/b] Now more common. [*][b]Meteors[/b] Now provide Metal Ingots instead of precious metals, eliminating the need for smelting. [*][b]Obsidian[/b] Now more common. [*][b]Tobacco[/b] Yields less money than before. [/list] [h3]Unit and Population Adjustments[/h3] [list] [*][b]Dragoons & Zamburaks[/b] Can now be produced in Act 3. [*][b]Prestige Reward[/b] Capturing an enemy city now provides a prestige reward. [*][b]Horses[/b] Take slightly longer to tame to balance availability. [*][b]Population Tier Requirements[/b] Slightly increased. [*][b]Stat Penalties[/b] Reduced for low-level cities to gradually introduce urbanization effects. [*][b]Tax Revenue[/b] Cities generate slightly more tax revenue to make governments more impactful. [*][b]City Leveling[/b] - Levels 7-13: Slower leveling for better pacing. - Levels 11-23: Receive an additional amenity slot. [/list] [h3]Manufacturing and Production Changes[/h3] [list] [*][b]Factories[/b] Can now manufacture Toys, PDAs, and Sewing Machines. [*][b]Workshops & Crafting Guilds[/b] Hourglasses can be produced here. [*][b]Ceramic Shops[/b] Can produce Mosaic Tiles, now an ingredient for many Triumphs. [*][b]Clothing Production[/b] More involved to produce but provides significantly bigger buffs. [*][b]Rope Usage[/b] Added as an accelerator for Barrel and Carriage production, and Festival setups. [*][b]Plows[/b] Substantially more expensive to produce without appropriate resources (e.g., horses or oxen). Harvest Buff increased from 50% to 100%. [b][*]Furs[/b] Must be turned into Leather and can no longer substitute for leather directly. [*][b]Sneakers[/b] Can use Plastic instead of Leather. [/list] [h3]Technologies[/h3] [list] [*]Hourglass unlocked by Engineering. [*]Mosaic Tiles unlocked by Architecture. [*]Boots unlocked by Horseshoes. [*]Trousers & Sewing Machines unlocked by Industrialization. [*]Mass Food Supply Amenity unlocked by Synthetic Fertilizers. [*]Toys & Sneakers unlocked by Leisure. [*]PDAs unlocked by Internet. [*]Fuel Cells unlocked by Robotics. [*]Embarkation Pass moved to Navigation for better island nation strategies. [*]Ironworking unlocks the Anvil. [*]Precision Engineering unlocks the Forge. [*]Metallurgy no longer unlocks Steel; Steel crafting is delayed until Forges are available. [/list] [*][b]Additional Technology Adjustments[/b] Haberdashery reclassified from religious to industrial. [hr][/hr] [h3]Events and Quests[/h3] [list] [*][b]Forest Fort:[/b] Aesthetics debuff decreased from -3 to -2 for consistency. [*][b]Piercing Request:[/b] Option 2 now asks for Stone Tools and provides a small capital prosperity buff. [*][b]Honoring Their Memory:[/b] First option debuff updated to -1 force strength. Third option now imposes a -2 happiness debuff. [*][b]Political Piety:[/b] Removed happiness debuff from the first option. Wealth is now a required cost. [*][b]Workers of the World Quest:[/b] Removed duplicated reward buff. [*][b]Is It Hot In Here? Event:[/b] The +10 happiness benefit in all cities no longer appears twice. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h3]Armies and Combat Enhancements[/h3] [list] [*][b]Dragoons[/b] and [b]Zamburaks[/b] can now be produced in Act 3. [*][b]Capturing an enemy city[/b] now provides a prestige reward. [/list] [hr][/hr] [h3]Miscellaneous Improvements[/h3] [list] [*][b]Customization Slider:[/b] Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out. [*][b]Localization:[/b] Continued updates to all language localizations for better accessibility and user experience. [*][b]Other Improvements:[/b] Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience. [/list]