Old World News

Over the last few months, Old World has received two main branch updates and kicked off another global community tournament series. Here's a roundup of all the recent Old World news that you might have missed.

Old World is also part of the Hooded Horse October Publisher Sale, at 75% off on Steam. Check it out, and the other games that are included in the October Publisher Sale.
[p]Hooded Horse October Publisher Sale[/p]


[h3]Old World News Recap[/h3][hr][/hr]Old World's August update brought some map size changes, multiple victory adjustments, and several AI improvements. Here are some highlights:

• Decreased the size of the duel map
  
• Added a new Tiny map size
  
• Victory conditions are disabled for other players after the first being achieved
  
• Adjustments to prevent AI from founding a religion for a certain number of turns
  

For more details on everything else that came with this update, check out the full changelog:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/597180/view/502834059926307058
The September update introduced additional AI improvements, changes to scout visibility, and theology balancing. Here are the highlights:

• New visibility rules added for scouts
  
• Theology bonuses adjusted to rebalance spread changes and monk happiness
  
• Tribal behavior is made less predictable
  
• AI logic improvements for water control, exploration, retreat, and performance
  
• UI changes and updated tooltips
  

Check out the full changelog for a complete rundown of everything that changed in the September update:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/597180/view/503962497384974566?
Between releasing updates, the Old World team also kicked off their 2025 community tournament! Starting in early September, 30 players from around the world participated in a series of 1v1 network duels. The content creator community came together and provided live commentary and stream coverage of these matches.

You can check out the official YouTube playlist to see how this year's community tournament has shaken out so far. But keep an eye out for more updates, because the tournament isn't quite over yet!

Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!
- The Hooded Horse Team

https://store.steampowered.com/app/597180/Old_World/

[p]Old World is a revolutionary historical strategy game where you lead your dynasty over generations of rule against rival kings and queens. Wage massive wars, manage your court, and build a dynasty — or watch your empire crumble to dust.[/p][p] Old World is now 75% off as part of the Hooded Horse Autumn Publisher Sale, with discounts on its DLC as well.[/p][p]
Hooded Horse October Publisher Sale[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]Test Branch 1.0.80078 Test 2025-10-08[/h2][p][/p][h3]Design[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Hero leaders can now Launch Offensive after attacking. This still puts the Hero unit on cooldown, so they cannot act after Launch Offensive[/p]
• [p]Harbors give 100% bonus to adjacent nets, up from 60%[/p]
• [p]Specialist builds are allowed to continue after their improvement has been pillaged[/p]
• [p]When a preset character joins a preferred family their children now join the same family [/p]
• [p]Reduced the amount of Forest on the Desert map script. Removed option to specify starting inland or on the coast[/p]
• [p]Tribe units can now heal after moving[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Programming[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Unity package updates[/p]
• [p]Minor MP performance optimization[/p]

[p][/p][h3]UI[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Added character archetype crest to mission targets[/p]
• [p]Default player name in MP is now taken from the online platform nickname[/p]
• [p]When a unit cannot complete a move, camera pans back to unit location and fatigued sound is played [/p]
• [p]Right-clicks on UI widgets now work with a tooltip locked [/p]
• [p]Moved some player help text to the advanced help text option[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Bugs Fixed[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed popup and decision processing when not the active player's turn[/p]
• [p]Fixed foreign characters showing on 1st turn of Hotseat game[/p]
• [p]Fixed custom nickname bugs[/p]
• [p]Fixed improvement net yield help text to include income from adjacent tiles that belong to a different city[/p]
• [p]Fixed game reload inconsistent state[/p]
• [p]Fixed pathfinder not being reset when a new tile is revealed [/p]
• [p]Fixed implicit conversion with maiMinStats/maiMaxStats [/p]
• [p]Fixed Recruit button not appearing with no orders [/p]
• [p]Fixed assassinating heir mission not giving achievement when heir exploring[/p]
• [p]Fixed Kush non-worker units not being able to build Forts outside their borders (affected previous Test only)[/p]
• [p]Fixed Modio not initialising on GOG builds (affected previous Test only)[/p]
• [p]Fixed mod infos initialization, source effects were not being properly set on new game. Fixes Rebel text in the Wrath of Gods scenario[/p]
• [p]Text and event fixes[/p]

[h2]Main Branch 1.0.80048 Release 2025-10-07[/h2][p]
Hotfix release that updates Unity version to resolve a security vulnerability and fixes a potential AI hang[/p]

[h2]Test Branch 1.0.79976 Test 2025-10-01[/h2][p][/p][h3]Design[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]AI now requires a Diplomat leader to start a National Alliance. Increased probability of an alliance offer [/p]
• [p]Map options limiting the number of city sites now concentrate sites around player starts[/p]
• [p]Consorts can now be Regents without needing to be Royal. Ill characters will not be picked to be Regents[/p]
• [p]Added repair cost to Town and Village improvements[/p]
• [p]Free-for-all player starts no longer try to separate human players[/p]
• [p]Ambitions that require Wonders now consider Wonders owned by teammates to be impossible to acquire[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Programming[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Improved AI for Zealot leader enlisting[/p]
• [p]AI no longer attacks civilians if doing so puts their units in danger of being killed[/p]
• [p]Modio version upgrade [/p]
• [p]Added option for CRC tracing when loading mods[/p]

[p][/p][h3]UI[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]In sequential turn network games, observer view automatically switches to the next player when the observed player's turn ends. This is disabled after manually switching to a different player[/p]
• [p]Observers now use their set language rather than the language of the observed player[/p]
• [p]Cities with effects that give Rebel chance are marked with a Rebels icon in the city list screen and city tooltip [/p]
• [p]Population in the city list screen is now a link to city specialists [/p]
• [p]Worker build action button yields no longer subtract unimproved tile yields[/p]
• [p]Map Overlay Customizer now has seperate options for Urban and Rural Improvements[/p]
• [p]Renamed the City Number options and City Site Density to City Site Spacing [/p]
• [p]Chat hotkey no longer works for non-host observers [/p]
• [p]Show Foreign Family Colors option now also applies to city widget crests [/p]
• [p]Clicking a General portrait on a selected unit now selects the character[/p]
• [p]Law tooltips now show family opinion changes instead of family class opinion[/p]
• [p]New Place Bonus decisions get sorted to the front of the event queue [/p]
• [p]Improvement pings no longer removed after a terrain change if the improvement is still valid or after a resource is added if the improvement matches the resource[/p]
• [p]Added foreign opinion helptext to specify the portion of the Ruthless AI opinion that is due to a player alliance[/p]
• [p]Network server name is now the username of the player on the current online platform, where available[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Bugs Fixed[/h3][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed AI development claiming more than the nation's share of city sites when using limited City Site Number options[/p]
• [p]Fixed agent tab not properly updating after assigning agent character[/p]
• [p]Fixed setup screen bug with number of players [/p]
• [p]Fixed modified trade values not being calculated in trade bonus helptext [/p]
• [p]Fixed city culture tooltip flicker[/p]
• [p]Fixed overlay customizer not updating toggles when re-opening after making unsaved changes[/p]
• [p]Fixed locked overlay highlight switching off of Custom when toggling customizer [/p]
• [p]Fixed improvement filter issues, include unfinished improvements [/p]
• [p]Fixed pillaging, burn and launch offensive not clearing hidden status[/p]
• [p]Fixed some issues with temporarily hidden units [/p]
• [p]Fixed retry cloud upload directing to succession UI [/p]
• [p]Fixed map selection with character assignment UI active[/p]
• [p]Fixed double state religion reference in happiness help text [/p]
• [p]Fixed AI leaving Wonders unfinished if interrupted[/p]
• [p]Fixed not being able to change language when it's not your turn [/p]
• [p]Text and event fixes[/p]