Update 1.127 Jan @ 3:02am - Enkî
The update is finally here. Tons of changes to gameplay mechanics, balancing and especially game flow and playability.
-------------Important Notes-------------• As stated in the previous announcement, save game feature has been temporarily disabled until it is fully viable for use.
-------------Rehauled AI-------------The villagers have been significantly improved. A lot of players noticed that the AI would get stuck behind resources or not be able to reach a certain depot. In 1.1, most problems regarding the villager AI have been fixed.
And to wrap up general changes in AI, a short summary:
o Citizens don't collide with AI Characters anymore, neither units nor villagers are affected by the activities of the idle citizens that spawn outside your district
o Villagers pathfinding to tasks has been improved, now the only time villagers will reroute to areas is when the target seems to be unreachable or occupied by other AI
o Save, AI behavior is now being saved more effectively, saving their present states (will be noticeable when save games are enabled)
o Enemies don't bug in front of your walls anymore, they move pass them if they are not reachable
o Better horde movement, enemies move out of spawn much more coherently, trying to avoid existing paths
-------------Updated UI-------------The old interface for the resource tab looked outdated and was spread too widely on the top bar. So a fresh, much better-arranged resource panel.
The display on the bottom left had some issues and the buggy-looking bordered UI. The left one is also updated with the identical design to the bottom right panel.
Moreover, a lot of font sizes that were not really fitting were changed.
The waves arrived UI, as requested is now slightly smaller and doesn't interfere as much as it previously did.
The menu is now accessed via a golden coin on the top right, so another design update, to match the overall aesthetic of the game.
o Encyclopedia added into the in-game menu, now accessible whenever you need it
o Encyclopedia bug fix, not displayed information if you double-click the tab
o Trade menu optimized, now the display which resources are being traded and the amount that is gained
o Total population is now permanently displayed on the bottom right corner, as a UI element.
o Updated Start-game menu, faction information is now displayed in the box next to it (hover or select)
o Parameters added (read more in the segment below)
-------------Gameplay-------------A lot of players had trouble getting started with the game, as guidance, there will now be a small infobox displayed on the top left, advising you to take certain actions.
Some people also criticized that the game is too slow in the beginning and that it needs more tempo to get to the fun part of the game as quickly as possible.
Therefore, you can now select the preparation time in the start menu.
Available options are 15,10,7 and 5 minutes.
Additionally, an option has been added to modify the game speed.
You can now choose between slow, normal and rapid.
You also start with 5 villagers now.
And that leads to another new feature, the score multiplier, which is visible at the bottom right panel.
More difficult options lead to a higher multiplier, easier ones to a lower multiplier. Feel free to combine as you choose.
Max is 400%
o Magi now generate favor every 4 seconds. Rate halved
o Taxcollector will now tax citizens more frequently
Some unit stats have changed, this might affect existing strategies, more about this below in "Balance".
-------------Hostile Camps-------------An expected change, and a much-needed one. Nibû now features hostile camps.
You can attack, raid and earn resources from the beginning of the game.
4 different camps are available, each one of them features a specific set of units.
Barbarian Camps, Chief Camps, Abandoned Forts and the Mines of Sparta.
Raiding and destroying a camp leaves resource drops, the camps will predominantly provide food and weapons, the forts will grant favor and the mines will mostly yield ore and gold.
All the hostile structures are guarded, as soon as you enter their realm with your troops they proceed to come out of their hideout and attack.
-------------Visuals-------------Have been modified once again, the terrain textures have been updated, the overall look of the game has changed:
o Higher resolution ground textures
o Improved metallic shader, units weapons & armor affected
o Global lighting improved and optimized.
o Individual skin shader of all human units has been optimized
-------------Opimization-------------Far too many changes to mention them in this thread, but some of the important ones summarized:
o Better AI Task success rate, lower resource cost
o Structures now use more inexpensive shader operations
o Buggy grass has been removed
o AI movement performance improvement
o Average late-game performance improved by 6-7 FPS.
o Unpassable sections of terrain reworked
-------------Balance-------------The Eternal Templar has been nerfed. -1 speed, -1 attack
Shadow Templar has been buffed. +20 HP
Stat buff of shield-mode reduced.
Babylonian knights nerfed. -2 pierce
Slicer buffed. +1 attack
Supreme Slicer buffed. +10 HP
Contester nerfed. -500 HP, -2 armor & shield
The feedback this time was great, always feel free to comment on the forums regarding problems, suggestions or general discussions.
Hope you enjoy the game!