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A big update for new players and for the first Greek missions.

A tutorial in seven chapters#

The tutorial now has seven chapters instead of five. The first five gained gold and mining camps, the rally point, orders in a row with Shift, weapons research and turning the view. Chapter 6, Defence and siege, covers diagonal and round walls, locking a gate, a whole row of towers in one drag, a battering ram against an enemy tower, the Iron Age, the hospital and the fort. Chapter 7, Town and overview, adds the market, the university, tearing down buildings, the scoreboard, diplomacy and pausing. Both can be started on their own.

The first time you start Aetas, you're asked whether you want to begin with the tutorial. If you do, the computer starts on Easy for your first matches.

Troy, Marathon, Thermopylae and Cannae#

• The Wooden Horse: no more rams against walls that are too strong for them. Build a workshop, gather 1000 wood for the horse, and the gate opens.
• Marathon: two stages. Drive off the Persian archers in front, then face their main line. Their cavalry is back after five minutes.
• Thermopylae: a new wave every minute, each larger than the last, until Xerxes sends his Immortals. Your scout warns you when Ephialtes comes over the mountain path.
• Cannae: the Romans advance at once. Close the ring behind the legions and they deal 30% less damage; men near Hannibal deal 15% more.
• Leonidas and Hannibal wear a small golden crown, so you know who to protect.

Saved games of these four missions from an earlier version can no longer be loaded.

A map in every briefing#

Every campaign mission and historical battle now has a hand-drawn parchment map in its briefing, with the armies and your objectives. Missions also show how hard they are, from one to three swords. Hard is a little milder in missions and battles (120% enemies instead of 135%), and the game remembers the difficulty you picked last time.

Computer armies at your walls#

Computer armies no longer stand still in front of a gate or wall, and armies with rams no longer squeeze one by one through a small gap into your towers. They widen the gap first and storm in together.