Ara: History Untold News

Whether it's Civilization 6, Cities Skylines 2, or even Stellaris, I expect economic management in strategy games to be difficult - I want some level of real-world accuracy, and I can only imagine that organizing the finances of an entire city, star fleet, or planet is pretty tricky. But there's a middle point. Detail is good, but repetitive busy work is not. Until now, Ara History Untold has struggled to find a balance. Too much of your time is taken up with micromanaging individual workshops, farms, and other amenities. But that's all about to change. Alongside a superbly designed new world map, a new leader, an overhauled battle system, and myriad other improvements, the new Ara update makes the entire game way, way better.

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• Additional localization updates across most languages.
  
• Sappho’s tenth Muse buff description updated to more clearly explain the regions it affects. The update states now that Coastal Land Regions are where the buff will impact.
  
• Catherine the Great's Siberian Expanse trait is reduced from +2 moves to +1 move per turn.
  

• Farm textures that were not appearing in Act 2, now show up correctly.
  
• Barracks security buff increased from 15 to 25.
  
• Mines of Rammelsberg buff now affects both workshops and their upgrades.
  

• Beer recipe only requires 1 Pottery to accelerate.
  
• Herbal medicine wealth acceleration brought in line with production.
  
• Wine recipe only requires 1 Pottery to accelerate.
  
• Trade Goods now provide +10 security, +5 happiness, +10 knowledge.
  

• The Population growth from buffs cap is increased from 100 to 1000.
  
• The cap has been removed on Happiness, Health, Knowledge, Security, Prosperity City buffs.
  
• The Feast recipe has been updated to have money(wealth) for all three accelerator slots by default.
  

• The build Queue now correctly expands to show all items rather than just one.
  

• Siege units’ strength is now substantially reduced. Their benefit is in bringing down walls and bombardment in general, not as an all-purpose attacker.
  
• Chariots are now changed from Melee Cavalry to Projectile as they have ranged weapons.
  

• A crash that was found to affect the AI after modding the game has been fixed.
  

• After creating a multiplayer game, players are no longer locked into that difficulty setting on subsequent new games.
  

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

• 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.
  
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• 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.
  

• 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.
  
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• 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.
  

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

• We are continuing to update all localized languages.
  

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