Old World News

Happy Holidays! From now until January 4th, you can save 25% on Old World, and get great deals on all other games published by Hooded Horse during the Steam Winter Sale. Come check the game out!



In 2023, we released two DLCs this year: The Sacred and The Profane, and Pharaohs of the Nile. We've also announced that the next upcoming DLC, titled Wonders and Dynasties, will be arriving on January 11, 2024. Now is the perfect time to get Old World and shape history!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

The Old World test branch has been updated and is now version 1.0.70129 Test 12/20/2023

Design

• Enabled Resource Density, City Site Density, and City Site Number map options on Random map script selection
  
• Added Random options to above map options and set these with the Random game preset
  
• Added Random option to Map Size
  
• Increased city site density for lower density options (25% and 50% distance increases instead of 50% and 100%)
  
• Christian and Manichaean clergy can now marry like clergy of other religions
  
• Game of the week now has a 4.5% chance to use competitive mode
  
• Added heir name selection popup on birth of first heir
  
• Halved number of center area resources when using the King of the Hill map option for the Disjunction mapscript
  

Programming

• Improved AI exploration and use of reveal territory missions
  
• Added support for events that can trigger for the AI
  
• New attempt to address remote server disconnection issues
  

UI

• When random map options are selected, the game description help text shows which option was actually selected
  
• Permanent game log tweaks - fewer deaths, city breaches shown instead of city captures, offensives no longer shown
  
• State religion notification reminder now opens the Adopt Stage Religion context menu
  
• Team games with duplicate nations no longer force team colors
  
• Revised player color assignment so that unique colors are always assigned to the active team players
  
• Made the "adopt state religion" list in the UI use the same check as gameplay logic for whether a religion can be adopted
  
• Added tooltip to gift unit button
  
• Nation opinion now displayed when there is at least one modifier even if the net opinion is 0
  
• Removed event option text from tutorial events that directs players to options to turn off (redundant with in-event tutorial toggle)
  
• Renamed Active DLC in Encyclopedia to DLC Mechanics
  
• Added duplicate Steam Deck-specific GraphicsOptionsSave fields for scaling options, with higher defaults
  
• Added Wonders & Dynasties DLC to announcement popup
  
• Added support for preset characters with suffixes
  
• Trait help now shows conditional probabilities for gaining other traits or removing this one
  
• Added helptext and concept for trait fallback ratings
  
• Added helptext for a dynasty's first ruler character to link back to the dynasty description
  
• Hall Of Fame screen layout tweaked
  

Bugs Fixed

• Fixed some legacy issues with harvesting and forts
  
• Fixed dynasty selection being unavailable on Choose Leader screen after using a custom archetype
  
• Fixed MP teammate portraits not displaying
  
• Fixed improvement turns remaining not updating when military units go on cooldown (affects Kush when building Forts)
  
• Fixed unit action indicators sorting incorrectly with other worldspace UI
  
• Fixed trait layout for character Encyclopedia pages
  
• Fixed unit position jitter on city sites during undo
  
• Fixed stacked workers using different positions
  
• Fixed cloud shader clipping at certain viewing angles
  
• Fixed Odeons on hills not displaying correctly
  
• Fixed resource fade not being preserved when changing graphics settings, and resource fade not occurring when a unit sharing a resource tile is revealed via exploration
  
• Fixed issue with hill height textures cutting off and leaving tear lines in the terrain
  
• Fixed river start flow splats being too large, causing artifacts when it's placed next to other assets with water
  
• Fixed inconsistent hex grid outlines in the transition between passable and impassable terrain
  
• Fixed undo not updating timeline screen
  
• Fixed AI not invalidating danger calculations after a city has been captured
  
• Fixed tooltip overlap for Leonidas effect in Greece2
  
• Fixed unique dynasty buildings not showing on nation select stats (Ptolemy)
  
• Fixed nested link issue with Pagan Clergy subject
  
• Fixed bug where iAdultProb traits would never be assigned to dynamically generated already-adult characters
  
• Fixed Encyclopedia breaking if there are UnitTraits with no EffectUnits (affects mods)
  
• Fixed modio upload not storing correct metadata blob
  
• Fixed event browser audio picker layout
  
• Updating mods now deletes any files from previous versions that are no longer present in the mod
  
• Heirs can no longer marry other nations leaders, causing them to leave the players nation
  
• Mod Manager will no longer try to display mod update popup if not in the main menus
  
• Rout indicator now longer shown when unit cannot advance to target tile
  
• Text and event fixes
  

Small hotfix update to the main branch today, which is now 1.0.70052 Release 12/15/2023

This fixes a bug with DLC ownership checks.

We are excited to announce the 4th DLC for Old World, Wonders and Dynasties.

Old World - Wonders and Dynasties introduces 30 brand new ways of starting your game with the addition of new Dynastic leaders – each empire has received new leaders and starting conditions. Play as the dictator Sulla to leverage your unique dictator trait, as Khufu to construct endless wonders with the help of his wonder cost reduction, or as Nebuchadnezzar to quickly control large amounts of territory and
forge a massive empire in the early game.

Meanwhile, eight new wonders of the ancient world will add new and unique modifiers to your empire. Generate free specialists with the Jerwan Aqueduct, become the trade capital of the world with the Al Khazneh, or spawn an endless army of swordsmen with the Colosseum.

Carve your legacy in blood, or stone.

"Wonders and Dynasties" releases on January 11th.

Watch the trailer and wishlist now

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2587430/Old_World__Wonders_and_Dynasties/

Main Branch: 1.0.70024 Release 12/13/2023

Headline changes

• Sacred and Profane Clergy have been reworked
  
• Changes to Competitive mode character yields and modifiers
  
• History of the Old World added to loading screen for new games
  

Design

• Sacred and Profane Clergy rework:
  
  • The Initiate into Clergy mission run by the Head of Religion has been replaced by a new mission Suggest For Clergy. This is run via the Chancellor and uses the target characters religion
    
  • A limit of 2 Clergy per nation has been added
    
  • Clergy can now also be Courtiers and marriage restrictions have been removed
    
  • Clergy can run the Tutor as Courtier mission (even if they are not a Courtier)
    
  • Clergy give a base bonus of +30 religion opinion, modified by character opinion
    
  • Pagan Clergy have a +40% chance to become the next Head of Religion and World Religion Clergy have a +20% chance
    
  • Pagan Clergy have a new mission Pagan Sacrifices. This targets a pagan city and has a 75% chance to increase the cities happiness and 25% chance to give an opinion penalty to the religion
    
  • World Religion Clergy can now act as Agents in cities of their religion
    
• In Competitive mode character yields and modifiers now scale linearly. Ratings lower than 5 will have higher effects and higher ratings lower effects. Previous flat 50% penalty removed.
  
• Character upgrades for leaders, governors, and generals (under retirement age) now include only traits, if possible
  
• Doubled money income from connected foreign cities
  
• Event-caused tribal raids will now target the player, even if at Peace or if another foreign city would be a better target
  
• Added doubled Desert map size as a map option (this is the same size as Deserts were before being reduced recently)
  
• Tweaks to the New Difficulty level - start with an added Militia, increased civics and training per turn
  
• Unimproved water tiles can now be exchanged between cities
  
• Tiles cannot be exchanged between cities if that will cause a city territory to no longer be contiguous
  
• Increased tier of grove luxuries ambition
  

Programming

• Improved AI obsolete unit upgrading
  
• AI now has memory about what non-visible city sites are being claimed by other players
  
• AI tries to avoid ending the turn with pending in-place attacks
  
• AI tries to connect road network to foreign cities at peace for the money
  
• Placed a limit on the number of military units the AI uses for exploring
  
• Corrected AI performance regression
  
• AI no longer razes gifted cities and cities obtained from events, even if it can
  
• Fixed bug in AI hurry cost value that was causing it to spend civics instead of saving them for better use
  
• Fixed AI sometimes not healing units when it has the chance
  
• Revised character portrait selection algorithm to duplicate the portrait from a different player, if global duplication can't be avoided
  
• Removed hardcoded prohibition on foreign paganisms being picked for religion subjects
  
• Platform achievements now unlock completed scenarios when resetting gameOptionsSave file
  
• Added Modio verbose logging added to gameOptionsSave file (off by default)
  
• Added better logging for undo/redo errors
  
• More logging and a possible fix for remote server disconnections
  
• Better failure reporting when an EventOption using the new syntax specifies an invalid subject alias
  
• mapPath now excluded from GameParameters when writing to XML
  

UI

• History of the Old World added to loading screen for new games. This will also appear on the Game Log after the first turn
  
• Added a generic improvement ping that is used to indicate preferred placement of any improvement
  
• Improvement pings are less restrictive in checking validity (i.e. can now add improvement pings to Sand that would be valid for Clerics before founding city)
  
• CTRL-click Heal now automatically heals the unit every turn until fully healed or idle healing would bring unit to full health anyway
  
• Specialist tooltip adjusted. All yields are summarized first and the Rural/Apprentice/etc effects are no longer separated from the rest of the list
  
• Character tooltip always shows heir rank, if any
  
• Improved succession help text for characters after the 4th in line
  
• Clergy included in turn summary announcements and notable character list
  
• Religion changes for unimportant characters no longer shown in turn summary
  
• Clergy traits in Encyclopaedia show the related religion
  
• Added Encyclopedia description for city site improvement
  
• Removed "Could lead to future events" link help which was not working consistently
  
• Added text scaling to reduce overlap on city production menu for some mods
  
• Added hint about Polytheism to the 8 shrine ambition
  
• When an Idle Leader reminder is active, the reminder icon replaces the General/Governor icon to the left of the leader portrait
  
• Added Idle Leader reminder for Tutor as Leader (Scholar ability)
  
• Added tooltips to some cloud game host control buttons
  
• Added new Active DLC Encyclopedia category
  
• Fewer characters included in the turn summary
  

Bugs Fixed

• Fixed context buttons not showing up consistently (Send Goods, Assign Agent etc)
  
• Fixed unit upgrades requiring a city with a resource (for an upgrade of A to B, the EffectCity requirements of unit B are only checked if they're different from requirements of unit A)
  
• Fixed some cases where clicking on non-link text doesn't trigger button underneath
  
• Fixed Unavailable trait not always getting removed at the start of the players turn
  
• Fixed interrupting a unit in motion over water with a combat action failing to update the unit's model from water to land
  
• Fixed unit healthbar ticks not getting the correct material, leading to tall models obscuring the ticks
  
• Fixed Carthage scenario null reference for tribal invasion
  
• Fixed city selection lighting change bug
  
• Fixed bug in Heroes of the Aegean scenario with late-game event getting invalidated upon triggering
  
• Fixed display issue with Hierro in Carthage scenarios 3 and 4
  
• Fixed nested link issue with some goal links
  
• Possible fix for EOS re-authentication at 59 minutes causing Modio to reload and throw errors
  
• Fixed replay being discarded in Learn to Play 4
  
• Fix Ptolemy and Seleucus being unable to adopt a state religion in Heroes of the Aegean scenario 6
  
• Fixed stolen city site event trigger
  
• Fixed some flickering on tooltips and unit HP bar
  
• Fixed boundary tiles remaining visible after gaining and then losing visibility
  
• Fixed Caravan stacking bug
  
• Fixed Event Browser showing new syntax message for all events
  
• Fixed Theology Ambitions getting canceled as impossible too soon
  
• Fixed trade events not getting canceled on war declaration
  
• Fixed no-target missions not working with reminders
  
• Fixed some undo/redo issues (i.e. hunter family opinion not resetting after undoing unit kills in territory)
  
• Fixed bonus help text when adding trait
  
• Fixed missing city happiness modifiers for Kush and Hittite pagan religions
  
• Text and event fixes