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

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!

Ara: History Untold

[h2]Version 1.1 - The Invisible Hand Update[/h2]

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[h3]Highlights[/h3]

National Economy Screen

Manage your nation's crafting, supplies, and policies from a single screen, replacing the crafting panel for streamlined management.
New Amenities

Over a dozen new craftable amenities added, offering additional strategic choices:
- 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!
Unit Upgrades

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.
Advisors
- Introduces a Sovereign Advisor.
- Each advisor provides suggestions to enhance your strategy.
- This feature will become more intelligent in future releases.
John A. MacDonald

Canada joins the world stage, expanding your diplomatic and strategic options!
Earth Map

Added as a pre-made map focusing on gameplay over strict geographical accuracy:
- Britain and Ireland share an enlarged island.
- Features like the Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are accounted for.
- Enhanced mountain ranges for natural barriers.
Redeployment

Reform armies with units being sent back to your reserves for better strategic flexibility.

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[h3]Changelog[/h3]

[h3]Performance Enhancements[/h3]

Memory Optimization

Improved game performance on lower-end hardware.
Rendering Optimizations

Enhanced framerate stability for lower-end systems.
LOD Optimization

Better visuals and object clarity while maintaining higher framerates.
General Performance Improvements

Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience.

[h3]UI Updates[/h3]

Region Yields

Added region yields to the title bar in the city panel for better resource tracking.
Improvement Renaming

Players can now rename their improvements for personalized management.
Supply Availability

Improvements with available supplies now glow to indicate their availability.
Technology Display

Items now display the required technology to unlock them.
Customization Slider

Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out.
Notification System

Players receive notifications when they run out of crafting resources.

[h3]AI Updates[/h3]

Improved Prioritization

AI better prioritizes city improvements and optimal dwelling locations.
Data-Driven AI

Supports data driving, allowing designers and modders to enhance AI prioritization.
War Declaration Intelligence

AI becomes more strategic and intelligent in declaring wars.

[h3]Map Generation[/h3]

Human Priority

Humans are prioritized for mild climate locations during map generation.
Biome Weighting

Adjusted to make starting positions more interesting with fewer snowy starts.

[h3]Gameplay Fixes[/h3]

Late Game Stability

Fixed a crash bug occurring in the late game.
La Grand Place

Resolved the issue of La Grand Place not appearing in Act 1.
Road Spawning

Prevented detail roads from spawning underneath improvements.
Duplicated Unlocks

Removed duplicate unlock of animal resources.

[h3]Event System[/h3]

Triggers Added

Added triggers for improvements when they have no items in the queue and when they begin crafting.

[h3]Visual Improvements[/h3]

Road Textures

Enhanced road texture fidelity for a more polished look.
Barracks 3D Asset

Improved the 3D asset of Barracks for better visual appeal.

[h3]Modding Support[/h3]

Advisor Data Driving

Added data driving capabilities for advisors to support modders.

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[h3]New Feature Details[/h3]

[h3]Earth Map[/h3]

Geographical Features

Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are now accurately represented.
Gameplay Connections

- Britain and Ireland connected as a single enlarged island.

- Italy and Sicily connected for enhanced gameplay dynamics.
Natural Barriers

Tweaked mountain ranges to provide more natural (and slightly exaggerated) barriers for improved gameplay.
Real-World Locations

Added real-world locations for nations, ensuring a balance between accuracy and gameplay.

[h3]National Economy Screen Feature Overview[/h3]

Centralized Management

Replaced the crafting panel with the National Economy Screen for unified management.
Automatic Supply Allocation

Set the game to automatically add supplies to various improvements as they become available.
Supply Order Management

Define the order in which supplies are allocated automatically.
Global Harvester Management

Control resource harvesting globally across all regions.
Crafting Management

Manage crafting from the National Economy Screen without needing to visit each city.
Global Improvement Upgrading

Upgrade improvements on a global scale for efficiency.

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[h3]Balance Adjustments[/h3]

[h3]Nation and Building Limits[/h3]

Print Shop

Nation limit increased to 3.
Inns

Limited to 1 per city instead of 1 per nation.

[h3]Building and Production Buffs[/h3]

Barracks

Security set to 15 for level 1 and 25 when an expert is added.
Blacksmith

Can now be supplied with Tools and Anvil Goods.
Citadel

Construction no longer requires Concrete.
Docks

Production buff after adding an expert reduced from 20 to 15.
Drydock

Default production buff increased from 10 to 20.

Production buff after adding an expert increased from 20 to 30.
Naval Base

Default production buff increased from 10 to 30.

Production buff after adding an expert remains 30 with additional benefits.
Workshops, Factories, Crafting Guilds

Can build Anvils and Mining Picks.
Residences & Skyscrapers

Residents can now use Soap, improving living standards.
Foundry & Forge

Can use Anvils and Fuel Cells to increase production.
Hwaseong Fortress

Available for construction throughout Act 2 and 3.
Library of Celsus

Available for construction until Act 3, extending its utility.
London Eye Buff

Corrected; Security buff changed to Prosperity.
St. Basil's Cathedral

Now only provides 1 Security per Engineer or Artist Paragon.
Forge

Can now be unlocked by Precision Engineering.

[h3]Metallurgy and Steel[/h3]

Metallurgy

No longer unlocks Steel. Steel crafting is postponed until later ages when Forges are available.

[h3]Fuel Recipe Changes[/h3]

Production Cost

Reduced from 1000u to 500u.
Production Bonus for the Second Ingredient

Reduced from 750u to 500u.

[h3]Resource Adjustments[/h3]

Marble

Now more common.
Meteors

Now provide Metal Ingots instead of precious metals, eliminating the need for smelting.
Obsidian

Now more common.
Tobacco

Yields less money than before.

[h3]Unit and Population Adjustments[/h3]

Dragoons & Zamburaks

Can now be produced in Act 3.
Prestige Reward

Capturing an enemy city now provides a prestige reward.
Horses

Take slightly longer to tame to balance availability.
Population Tier Requirements

Slightly increased.
Stat Penalties

Reduced for low-level cities to gradually introduce urbanization effects.
Tax Revenue

Cities generate slightly more tax revenue to make governments more impactful.
City Leveling

- Levels 7-13: Slower leveling for better pacing.

- Levels 11-23: Receive an additional amenity slot.

[h3]Manufacturing and Production Changes[/h3]

Factories

Can now manufacture Toys, PDAs, and Sewing Machines.
Workshops & Crafting Guilds

Hourglasses can be produced here.
Ceramic Shops

Can produce Mosaic Tiles, now an ingredient for many Triumphs.
Clothing Production

More involved to produce but provides significantly bigger buffs.
Rope Usage

Added as an accelerator for Barrel and Carriage production, and Festival setups.
Plows

Substantially more expensive to produce without appropriate resources (e.g., horses or oxen).

Harvest Buff increased from 50% to 100%.

Furs
Must be turned into Leather and can no longer substitute for leather directly.
Sneakers

Can use Plastic instead of Leather.

[h3]Technologies[/h3]

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.

Additional Technology Adjustments

Haberdashery reclassified from religious to industrial.

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[h3]Events and Quests[/h3]

Forest Fort:

Aesthetics debuff decreased from -3 to -2 for consistency.
Piercing Request:

Option 2 now asks for Stone Tools and provides a small capital prosperity buff.
Honoring Their Memory:

First option debuff updated to -1 force strength.

Third option now imposes a -2 happiness debuff.
Political Piety:

Removed happiness debuff from the first option.

Wealth is now a required cost.
Workers of the World Quest:

Removed duplicated reward buff.
Is It Hot In Here? Event:

The +10 happiness benefit in all cities no longer appears twice.

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[h3]Armies and Combat Enhancements[/h3]

Dragoons and Zamburaks can now be produced in Act 3.
Capturing an enemy city now provides a prestige reward.

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[h3]Miscellaneous Improvements[/h3]

Customization Slider:

Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out.
Localization:

Continued updates to all language localizations for better accessibility and user experience.
Other Improvements:

Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience.