Ara: History Untold News

Stay tuned for info on the next Live Stream! We're going to work to get our previous streams uploaded and archived in the near future.

1.0.5 continues our focus on responding to audience feedback and reported bugs, resolving several isolated stability issues, as well as providing additional updates on pacing, balance, and performance.

Additionally, this patch features many additional improvements to all non-English languages, with more still to come based on continued player feedback.

General

• Medium game length changed from 750 to 800 turns.
  
• Long game length changed from 1250 to 1500 turns.
  

City Management

• Many types of resources are visible at the start of the game to provide players with more strategic options.
  
• Smaller cities provide less tax income to encourage taller gameplay.
  
• Smaller cities provide less production to encourage taller gameplay.
  
• Larger cities consume slightly more food to compensate for lower food maintenance on improvements.
  
• Starting cities are more likely to start in a fertile area.
  
• Starting areas are more likely to spawn an interesting resource nearby.
  
• Map generation adjusted to start players in more fertile areas.
  
• 
  

Improvements/Triumphs

• General increase in maintenance costs to tighten the late game economy.
  
• Factory wealth maintenance increased from 5 to 10.
  
• Foundry now has 1 material, 5 wealth maintenance cost.
  
• Crafting Guild materials maintenance is reduced from 5 to 1.
  
• Trading Post provides +10 prosperity to the city.
  
• Forge wealth maintenance increased from 1 to 3, now has 1 material, 1 wood maintenance cost as well.
  
• Refinery wealth maintenance increased from 1 to 5, now has 1 material maintenance cost.
  
• Bazaar provides +10 Prosperity to city.
  
• Grocer district happiness buff reduced from 5 to 1. Grocers are great but not generally a source of joy.
  
• School knowledge buff reduced from 15 to 10 to make the supplies of them more impactful.
  
• Pub wealth production per improvement reduced from 5 to 1 to emphasize the quality of life benefits.
  
• Stonehenge Knowledge buff reduced from 25 to 20.
  
• Foundry craft rate buff increased from 5 to 10.
  
• Docks maintenance increased from 1 to 5 wealth.
  
• Drydocks maintenance increased from 2 to 10 wealth.
  
• Naval base maintenance increased from 3 to 15 wealth.
  
• Dwellings line now has 1 wood, 1 material maintenance cost.
  
• Industrial and Irrigated farms cost 1 material to maintenance.
  
• Reduced flat wealth bonus from certain improvements: Inns now require an expert to provide money, and Mint now provides a 15% buff to city Prosperity rather than 5 wealth.
  

Amenities/Items/Resources

• Shoes amenity Happiness bonus reduced from 15 to 5 to bring happiness more in line with other QoL stats.
  
• Shoes amenity Prosperity bonus reduced from 15 to 5.
  
• Gourmet meal Health Amenity buff reduced from 15 to 5 to balance it with other amenities.
  
• Meteors now provide Metal Ingots without the need for smelting.
  
• Obsidian is more common.
  
• Tobacco does not provide as much money as before.
  
• Treasury Bonds and Law Books are correctly consumed 1 every 10 turns.
  
• Looms now correctly provide 100% Craft Production as an Amenity.
  
• 
  

Techs/Research

• Based on community feedback with a preference to slower default pacing, we have increased the tech costs slightly.
  
• Antiquities research cost increased from 400 to 500.
  
• Early Middle Ages research cost increased from 600 to 700.
  
• High medieval age research cost increased from 800 to 1000.
  
• Renaissance era research cost increased from 1200 to 1500.
  
• Enlightenment era research cost increased from 1500 to 1750.
  
• Machine age research cost increased from 1800 to 2250.
  
• Atomic age research cost increased from 2100 to 3000.
  
• Information age research cost increased from 2500 to 4000.
  
• Singularity age research cost increased from 3000 to 5000.
  

City Management

• Many types of resources are visible at the start of the game to provide players with more strategic options.
  
• Smaller cities provide less tax income.
  
• Smaller cities provide less production.
  
• Larger cities consume slightly more food.
  
• Starting cities are more likely to start in a fertile area.
  
• Starting areas are more likely to spawn an interesting resource nearby.
  
• Map generation adjusted to start players in more fertile areas.
  
• 
  

Events

• "Decor & Devotion" now triggers correctly for Askia Muhammad.
  

Localization

• We are continuing to update all localized languages.
  

Units/Combat

• Most first Act units have 1 material maintenance cost in addition to food cost.
  

Join members of the team from Oxide Games while they play Ara: History Untold.

Ara: History Untold is about to receive its first major update in November 2024 with version 1.1, aka the Invisible Hand update, and it’s packed with features aimed at enhancing player experience, addressing key feedback, and setting the stage for more exciting updates. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from the upcoming release.

[h2]National Economy Screen – A Game-Changer for Management[/h2]
One of the most exciting additions is the National Economy screen, designed to streamline resource management and reduce micromanagement, which has been a top request among players. This new screen allows players to globally manage crafting, set supply priorities, and automate improvement processes through the policy screen. If you’ve set policies for certain improvements, the game will automatically check for supplies and apply them as needed, greatly reducing the manual labor.

[h2]Jonn A. Macdonald Joins the Roster[/h2]

As Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald is a disciplined leader who excels in government and military development. His traits reflect his pragmatic governance and resourcefulness.

His Disciplined trait gives a hefty +50% boost to government and military builds, letting you establish a strong infrastructure quickly. However, his Pacifist trait reduces unit strength outside your territory by 10%, encouraging a focus on defensive strategies rather than aggressive expansion. Meanwhile, his Woodsman ability increases timber production from logging camps, making him perfect for players who want to optimize resources while fortifying their nation.

[h2]Amenity Pack – Expanding Your Arsenal[/h2]
Another exciting feature is the addition of over a dozen new amenities that cover technological progress throughout human history. These will give players new tools to shape the development of their nations, expanding on how leaders can shape the lives of their citizens. Whether it’s increasing prosperity or improving national stability, the amenity pack is a valuable new set of assets for strategic depth.

[h2]Battle Viewer – The journey begins[/h2]

While Ara: History Untold isn’t a war game, war is a crucial aspect of gameplay. The new Battle Viewer paves the way for additional depth being added to combat such as showing how different unit types clash with each other as well as the first step to making terrain matter more in combat. The ongoing development of this feature will allow players to better understand the complexities of warfare in Ara, providing more transparency in battles.

[h2]Unit Upgrades – Bringing Your Army into the Modern Age[/h2]
One of the most asked for features has been the ability to upgrade units. In version 1.1, players will be able to upgrade individual units within an army. Gone are the days of marching modern armies alongside spearmen or having to disband units entirely. This feature provides a preview of costs and benefits, ensuring players make informed decisions when upgrading their forces.

[h2]Adviser System – Smarter Onboarding[/h2]

Ara is a big game and while the tutorial provides new players with a straightforward way to learn the game, the team wanted to also provide ongoing advice to players. To address this, a new Adviser system is included as part of 1.1. Leveraging the powerful narrative event system, advisers will offer real-time guidance based on your chosen leader and paragon. While this initial version will live in a panel, future iterations will make advisers more integrated and visible throughout gameplay.

[h2]Modding Basics – A Four-Phase Plan[/h2]
Ara is embracing the modding community with open arms. Version 1.1 introduces the first phase of modding support, allowing players to mod files and use them in their games. Following phases will focus on mod management, sharing, and seamless in-game mod integration. For those eager to tweak and expand their experience, this is a welcome development that will open countless possibilities.

[h2]The Earth Map – A Fresh Take on Global Strategy[/h2]

The much-anticipated Earth Map will make its debut in version 1.1. Balanced for gameplay first, the continents are sized such that each nation has a bit of breathing room. The map will bring historical flavor to the game, but it will also ensure fairness for all players, preventing certain nations from having an overwhelming geographical advantage. With more iterations on the horizon, the Earth Map promises to be a staple for fans of historical strategy. The Ara team plans to continue iterating on this map as additional nations are added, and player feedback comes in.

[h2]What’s Next?[/h2]
Version 1.1 is just the beginning. The roadmap ahead is filled with exciting updates, including diplomacy improvements, a map editor, naval supremacy, supply lines, and even trade routes. Keep an eye out for what’s in store as the game evolves with each update, bringing even more depth and enjoyment to its players.

Thank you for playing Ara!
- Marc Meyer, President of Oxide Games

Join members of the team from Oxide Games while they play Ara: History Untold.