Patch Notes - 5.5 (Open Beta) Discussion

[onfire55]

UPDATE: Thank you for your patience. We've spent some additional time investigating desyncs and have updated this Open Beta with four fixes. Please take a look and let us know what you think.

Patch 5.5 is ready for Open Beta! Thank you for your ongoing support and participation as it is fundamental in ensuring that builds are stable and ready for Live release.

In this Open Beta we have implemented password protected lobbies, improved performance and addressed some additional community issues. We are looking forward to hearing from you and we will continue to monitor the forums for your feedback. Here is the new Open Beta discussion thread.

Below are the issues that have been addressed in this 5.5 Open Beta:

Stability and Performance Improvements:

• Performance optimizations should increase frame rates up to 15%
  
• Researching spies during treaty should no longer causes a desync
  
• Extremely long games should no longer desync due to high turn counts
  
• Quitting via ALT+F4 should no longer cause a desync
  
• Resigning but staying in game should no longer desync after remaining players save/load
  
• The desync message should no longer appear over the post game screen

Community Focused Bug Fixes:

• Hosts are able to set a password for their lobby
  
• Audio for notifications should no longer overlap and cause a loud noise
  
• Audio for garrisoning / un-garrisoning should no longer overlap
  
• Lobby civ pools should now be consistent for each host player
  
• Lobby civ pools should now display the conquerors civilizations correctly
  
• Lobby maps should now display random special and real world at the top of the list
  
• Lobby maps no longer displays random special twice in the list
  
• Lobby maps now selects DLC3 Random Real World maps correctly when appropriate
  
• The password checkbox should now remain when changing datasets
  
• Navigating through aoe.net should now correctly prompt the password popup (when needed)

Additional Balance Improvements:

• Magyars no longer need to build a blacksmith to receive their free blacksmith upgrades
  
• Magyars now receive Siege Engineers
  
• Magyar Scout Cavalry, Light Cavalry and Hussar cost -15% (up from -10%)
  
• Magyars Recurve Bow now adds +1 attack and +1 range (up from +1 range)
  
• Indians no longer have the Arbalest upgrade
  
• Malay Karambit Warrior have +1 attack
  
• Fire ships have -1 pierce armor
  
• Fast Fire ships have -1 pierce armor
  
• Viking warship discount changed to -15%, -15%, -20% (up from -10%, -15%, -20%)
  
• Italians fishing ships now cost -15 wood (down from -25 wood)

[Mr_F0NG]

Really happy to see more performance optimizations. Setting passwords on lobby also great, but man the hype train died. Really thought we would see actually see a lobby revamp and make use of steam integration such as adding friends right from lobby or a recent player list.

Was hoping for the ban/block list as well :/

[Laptop]

Keep up the great work! Nice to see more fixes / further optimisation being done.

[IamJeo]

Will sound mods not working, an audio/community issue, be looked into on this Patch?

http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/discussions/18446744073709551615/135513901704937525/?appid=221380

[Ghazna]

I don't intend to sound harsh.. but I was hoping a lot more practical lobby stuff and a rework of it than just the password addition. Adding friends/blocking directly from lobby, and being able to get back to lobby after finishing a game (like voobly or gameranger), being abble to browse lobbies while being inside a game room, would be so good. Also a filter for "restored" games would have been nice.

[Jineapple]

Originally posted by Ghazna:

I don't intend to sound harsh.. but I was hoping a lot more practical lobby stuff and a rework of it than just the password addition. Adding friends/blocking directly from lobby, and being able to get back to lobby after finishing a game (like voobly or gameranger), being abble to browse lobbies while being inside a game room, would be so good. Also a filter for "restored" games would have been nice.

Agreed. The password system is a great addition, but it being the actual only new feature in a patch for the lobby system is rather underwhelming...

[Lord Commander]

Please add an in game block list and friend list, that's what everyone was hoping for in this looby update.

[Ashur_Arbaces]

Some bug fixes and passwords it's nice but indeed underwhelming.

[Rogan]

After I updated my game I can no longer find any games in the lobby? Does anyone has a solution for this?

[Jineapple]

Originally posted by Rogan:

After I updated my game I can no longer find any games in the lobby? Does anyone has a solution for this?

You will only be able to see games from people who are also on the beta patch, which are currently not very many. Switch to the public branch for MP games with strangers.

[guglu]

Originally posted by Ghazna:

I don't intend to sound harsh.. but I was hoping a lot more practical lobby stuff and a rework of it than just the password addition. Adding friends/blocking directly from lobby, and being able to get back to lobby after finishing a game (like voobly or gameranger), being abble to browse lobbies while being inside a game room, would be so good. Also a filter for "restored" games would have been nice.

Yes that would be great

[guglu]

A better Lobby system needs to be in place, like ability for friends to invite, having passwords, and a hybrid server system, so that 1 player can act like the server , and the others like client. Even make a dedicated server option further down the line, so we can install them and play on the servers.

[IamJeo]

Sound mods still aren't working. Would be nice to use my mods, it did work for about a month but then it got rekt and now closing a year for not working.

[RabbitTortoise]

Thanks for the password protected lobbies.

[Ben]

There is a bug with the password system: You can enter a password protected game via aoe2.net without entering the password.
But this aside the password is elementary for a good experience. So huge thank you for bringing this long awaited feature!

Keep adding improvements to the multiplayer gameplay and experiance!

[harooooo]

When are you going to adress the bug with Slavs farming bonus??

Will you add the option for 225 and 275 population games?

When is the new balance patch supposed to come out?

also, gonna copy my minor bug report from the other thread:

camel archer description says that the elite upgrade is 1000 food and 500 gold, while the elite upgrade itself states and actually is 1000 wood and 500 gold, so change the description from food to wood.

Elite plumed archer upgrade was changed from 500food to 700food in expansions, while the plumed archer unit description still states it costs 500 food.