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This update is mostly about the computer opponents. I played a lot against them in the last weeks, and the same things kept bothering me: messy bases, armies that dribbled in one or two at a time, and computers that never quite finished off a beaten player. That is what most of 0.4.2 fixes.

Computer bases that look like towns#

Computer players now build a base the way you would: room between buildings, a clear square in front of the town center with the market on it, barracks grouped behind the front gate with an open field where the army gathers, and clear paths to mines, forest and berries. Every computer also has its own building style: Citadel, Ribbon, Quarters, Outpost or Open Village, depending on its civilization and the land around it. After the match, the results screen tells you which style each computer had.

Walls come later now, from the Iron Age, so the economy comes first. They use mountains in their walls, keep the gate on the enemy side free, put towers in pairs by the gates, and turn their base towards the side you keep attacking from.

Computer armies that attack like an army#

Armies now gather before they attack, just outside your base and out of range of your towers, and then come in together: infantry in front, archers behind, siege at the back. On large maps they regroup along the way and reinforcements arrive in groups. Their cavalry goes around for your archers and workers, wounded soldiers step back, and a retreat happens with a rear guard.

They also open in different ways from match to match: a tower rush, an early cavalry raid, a long build-up or the standard opening. They bring more siege, break through walls and gates instead of waiting in front of them, and finish off a beaten player much faster. Computer allies attack together with you, warn you in chat with a ping on the minimap and send resources when you are almost out. Easy and Beginner computers play as before.

Mountains#

Highlands now has real mountain ridges: dark rock you can't cross or build on, with passes in between. Holding a pass, or walling it off, really matters now. Mixed and Plains get scattered rock massifs and Desert gets mesas. Walls, gates and towers can now be built on hills, so you can close a pass right up against the rock. The campaign, the tutorial and the challenges keep their old maps.

Four new technologies#

• Oil Lamps (University, Iron Age): all research 20% faster.
• Horseshoes (Stable, Iron Age): cavalry and horse archers 5% faster.
• Coinage (Market, Middle Ages): all units cost 15% less gold.
• Guilds (University, Middle Ages): all research costs 15% less.

Online: XP and ranked#

Points are now called XP. You earn XP by playing online: 10 for playing, 1 for every 2 minutes (up to 15), and 20 for a win against other players. Your first win of the day gives 15 extra. Giving up is always free, but leaving without giving up costs 25 XP of the month. Your rating is your skill, and only ranked matches change it. The lobby now shows how many ranked lobbies are open, and the team balance button also works for players who never played ranked.

Smaller things#

• New lobby option, on by default: siege shots fly to where a unit stood when they were fired, so units that keep moving dodge them.
• With several buildings selected, new units and research go to the building where they finish first.
• Hold Shift or Ctrl at the market to see the full price of that click.
• The sandy paths between buildings are smooth paths now instead of a checkerboard.
• Deleting a healthy unit of your own no longer counts as a loss on the results screen.
• On the biggest maps the computer now always finds you; its scout could get stuck before.

Playing online? Everyone needs 0.4.2 to play together. If you see "different game version", restart Steam and it will fetch the update.

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