Along with balance changes, bug fixes, and quality of life updates, this release adds many new options for Diplomatic interactions with other nations to advance your agenda - as well as Nuclear Weapons!

• Bribe: Offer another player a gift of resources in exchange for them declaring war on a target Nation.
  
• Demand Tribute: Does another Nation have something you want? Through Demand Tribute, you can now demand a gift of specific items from other Players. [Not available with Human Players in multiplayer.]
  
• Military Aid: Send allies and enemies of your enemies support by giving them Units from your Reserves.
  
• Advisor Insights: Gain insight into another Nation's sentiments towards you or even get some information on their current plans regarding your nation through Advisor Insights available on the Diplomatic Screen with any Nation. [Not available with Human Players in multiplayer.]
  
• Diplomatic History: See how events throughout the game have shaped your Relationship with another Nation with the History log now available on the Diplomatic Screen with any Nation.
  
• Aggressive Negotiations: Unlock technologies in Act 3 to build nuclear weapons delivered via Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) as well as anti-missile defenses to protect your interests.

• The Resolute Scripture religion strength buff no longer affects non-player religions in majority cities
  
• Devout Discourse religious verse no longer applies to non-religious units
  
• Impulsive trait reduction to established relationships has been changed from 100 to 10

• Beginning the game in Act 2 or 3 now correctly populates evens
  
• “Of Gods and Soldiers” event now clearly indicates which City is affected by buffs or debuffs
  
• “Hearts and Minds” event rewards have been updated to be more distinct
  
• The Smithsonian Institution Act Goal will only occur in Act 3 when the triumph is available
  
• A warning notification now appears when attempting to claim a region already being claimed
  
• Difficulty level no longer alters City base Quality of Life stats

• Balanced the Supplies available for Dwellings and improved the consistency of their upgrades
  
• Updated the second Expert’s buff for the Industrial Fishing Farm
  
• Updated the buffs for the Angkor Wat Triumph
  
• Refineries, Library, and Print Shop have had their domains updated to be more accurate to how they are used
  
• Angkor Wat buff tooltip has been fixed to show that it buffs all shrines, regardless of City
  
• The Hotel and Pub have had their buffs limited to the intended scope and no longer apply to neighboring improvements
  
• Stable now accurately buffs harvest production of animal resources
  
• Upgrading Irrigated Farms to Industrial Farms no longer costs more than building one from scratch
  
• Mines can now be constructed before the Atomic Age after researching Bureaucracy
  
• The Amphitheater of El Jem can be constructed in the Early Middle Ages without War Chariots
  
• The Smithsonian Institution is no longer deprecated by Industrialization before being unlocked
  
• SAM Battery cost has been updated to better align with the production costs of Mobile SAM units
  
• Sacred Timple and City Temple have received unique icons
  
• Watchtowers, Castles, and SAM Batteries have had their categorization updated in the National Economy Screen

• Non-scout land units may be set to auto-explore but cannot claim Caches. This includes naval units as well.
  
• Oracle units now auto-explore both land and sea.
  
• While Fortified, Units capable of Indirect Fire will now automatically attack enemy Forces entering their range, but will not automatically fire on non-hostile tribes
  
• Damage taken during while in ‘Hunt Predator’ behavior has been updated based on the strength of the Force performing the hunt.
  
• Naval unit upgrade lines are now complete across all eras
  
• Units consistently maintain their movement over passable land
  
• Intercepting aircraft remain in the same region as the target forces
  
• Catapults and Swordsmen remain available after unlocking Bureaucracy
  
• Dragoons are now able to be created in the Machine Age
  
• Elephant Ballistae are now listed as a range unit and can Bombard
  
• Muster progress accurately shows the remaining time required

• Regions can be renamed
  
• Save game difficulty is shown on the Save Game menu
  
• Added options for Act culling: None, AI Only, and All
  
• Improvements can be filtered on the National Economy screen using Tags
  
• “Viscount” is no longer listed as the “Default” difficulty. The tooltip for “Prince” has been updated to show it is now the default difficulty
  
• Pause has been renamed to Time-out and Suspend is renamed to Pause which better represent the effect of each action
  
• Using arrow keys to navigate the Resources tab in the Encarta no longer shows pages out of order
  
• Names of undiscovered seas are now hidden under the Fog of War
  
• Selected Preset Map in Multiplayer Lobbies is now visible to all players
  
• Notifications no longer appear for relationship changes of unencountered nations
  
• Modding
  
• Improved subscription flow to prevent attempts to subscribe to mods without being logged in first
  
• Quality of life updates to Mod.io interface

• Alexander the Great’s leader trait now correctly prevents Pikeman and Lancers from being countered
  
• Removed the buff to Soap provided by Howard Florey’s ‘Medical Genius’ Leader Trait
  
• Harriet Tubman’s “Friend of the Oppressed” Leader Trait no longer references non-existent upgrades to Schools

• Cancelling a Slander action will now refund the correct amount of Prestige
  
• Added ‘Turns remaining’ to items received through Diplomacy, in Diplomatic Relations panel
  
• Peace Treaty proposals function correctly without displaying incorrect tool-tip messages about relationships

• Biscuits remain accessible in Act 3
  
• Updated the Rope’s third Accelerator to apply a meaningful Production bonus
  
• Production boosts and wealth costs for Sneakers ingredient slots have been updated to be more consistent

• Unlocking Mints is now required through Coinage before unlocking Coins
  
• Tooltip for Fermenting accurately describes its Food benefits

• AI more consistently choose beneficial Government Policies
  
• AI are more aggressive to hostile Tribes
  
• AI now starts more neutral and are less aggressive in Gift Giving
  
• AI are more likely to repair important Improvements while at War
  
• AI Nations no longer gift Reserve Units, but use the new Military Aid feature
  
• AI are less likely to raze a city with a Great Hearth
  
• AI are more likely to upgrade Dwellings and Residences

• Many Encarta articles and descriptions have received updates to their text to better match their in-game mechanics
  
• Fixed issues with stuttering when panning
  
• Utilizing the Time-out button no longer causes stalls during the “Actions Submitted, Waiting for Next Turn” phase
  
• Various missing or incorrect strings for display and screen narrator support, including updates for leader text and Encarta entries, have been corrected.
  
• Additional fixes/improvements/tweaks to text in all localized languages

• The Summary within the City Population UI no longer overlaps with the Leader Portrait when using Swedish.
  
• The Cancel Build Icon in Czech displays properly with a Text Scale of 125%.
  
• The Cancel Build Icon in Finnish now appears without overlapping.
  
• The Cancel Build UI and Icon in Dutch are properly aligned.
  
• Text in the Trade Agreement Screen is fully visible in Malay.
  
• Loading screen tips are displayed correctly in all languages when text scaling is set to 125%.
  
• The Vietnamese font now includes the missing Unicode character 1ef7 (ỷ).

(TL;DR Note from the CM: Excited to announce that v1.3 of Ara: History Untold - The Diplomacy Update will be launching after 12PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 12th. Please see below's guided tour of the updates new features from Creative Director Brad Wardell, with full patch notes to follow before Wednesday's update!)

Ara: History Untold v1.3 represents a major advancement in gameplay, emphasizing improvements in AI and expanding diplomatic interactions. Here, we'll delve into each new feature, our design intentions, and how we envision these additions evolving in the future.

Nations demanding tribute to maintain peace isn't new to 4X games. However, in Ara, we aimed to provide alternative diplomatic means to secure resources without resorting to war. This feature particularly benefits players pursuing economic strength over military power. We look forward to observing how this mechanic influences player strategies, especially since interactions with one nation can subtly affect how others perceive you.

Bribery allows you to incite conflicts between other nations, leveraging existing tensions to your advantage. Early in the game, bribes can effectively set nations against each other, but as diplomatic relationships grow complex, manipulation becomes more challenging. Bribery, therefore, introduces another strategic layer, shaping historical rivalries and alliances.


Introduced in version 1.3, the AI now tracks historical relationships, influencing its future interactions with you and other nations. This context appears as a "history" log, adding depth and distinctiveness to each nation over time. We plan significant expansions here, with potential enhancements tied to GPU memory and localization demands, making your diplomatic choices even more impactful.

Inspired by historical precedents like Lend-Lease, you can now provide military support to nations at war. Sending forces can indirectly manage threats without direct involvement, adding strategic depth and enhancing diplomatic influence.

Some people just want to set the world on fire. And in Ara 1.3 you and your opponents can now do just that.

Here is how it works:

Once you have the technology and gather the necessary resources you can build an ICBM:

ICBMs are Special Projects. Once you build one, it goes into your global inventory.
You can then select the target city you want to destroy:
And then send it on its way:

Nuclear strikes eliminate all units and improvements in the targeted region, leaving it—and adjacent regions—uninhabitable for several turns. However, expect severe diplomatic repercussions.



We are developing a detailed roadmap with immediate priorities and broader long-term goals. Version 1.3 emphasizes Ara's unique approach to historical strategy, distinctly separating it from other games in the genre. Your feedback remains vital as we refine and evolve the game. Here are the key areas of focus:

Ara’s complexity makes it challenging to represent the evolution of modern society through goods and services intuitively. Our UI goals prioritize clarity, efficiency, and reducing unnecessary interactions, enabling smoother gameplay.

With significant AI updates already underway, we aim to differentiate the gameplay experience across the game's three historical acts:

• Act I: Survival, domestication, and settlement formation.
  
• Act II: Development of trade, governance, and social institutions.
  
• Act III: Industrialization, globalization, and environmental transformation.

Balancing these diverse historical phases is complex, and our goal is to craft an AI responsive enough to navigate these transitions realistically.

As version 1.3 hints at, we want the nations to be much, much more distinct. Under the covers, they are actually pretty different. Each AI player does actually play the game somewhat differently. However, the game must communicate this more for it to mean anything and one way to do that is to make sure the nations have unique content.

While Ara is already well-optimized, managing millions of individual AI-driven entities is demanding. Every citizen is meticulously simulated, from their profession-based clothing to their unique histories. As the game progresses, optimization challenges increase dramatically. Addressing these performance issues remains a critical near-term goal. Just imagine if we had enabled city car traffic! slightly smiling face

Thank you for your ongoing support and valuable feedback. We genuinely appreciate your engagement and look forward to evolving Ara: History Untold together.

Until next time, cheers!
-Brad Wardell

U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt had a famous motto when it came to diplomacy with other nations -
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

Our upcoming release, v1.3 "The Diplomacy Update" features several new ways to influence and interact with other nations - as well as the biggest stick of them all: Nuclear Weapons.

Highlights from the update:

• Nuclear Capabilities: Players can unlock technologies to build nuclear weapons and defenses.
  
• New Diplomatic Options: Players can engage in bribery, demand tributes, provide military aid, with new ways to gain insights into other nations' opinions.
  
• Diplomatic History Tracking: Players will now be able to view their diplomatic history with other nations, providing context for relationships.
  
• New Events and AI Behaviors: The update also introduces new diplomatic events that influence AI behavior, particularly regarding war preparations.

...and as usual, the build also features dozens of bug fixes, additional performance optimization, and numerous quality of life improvements and adjustments based on your feedback - including the much requested region renaming feature, difficulties being made visible on save games, and "Auto-Explore" enabled as an option for naval units.

We'll be releasing more details and the full patch notes early next week, but in the meantime, here is a little tease of our new Nuclear ICBM technology from a small secret testing ground in an undisclosed desert...

Excited to announce in honor of Black History Month, American abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman is now available as an alternate leader for the United States, with a set of traits and abilities based on her incredible life, and is being provided for free to all Ara Players!

While you're here, wanted to update you that version 1.3 is deep in final development now, with a planned release in March. 1.3 continues to address feedback, balance, with several new features including one that should prove somewhat... explosive.

The latest update for Ara: History Untold introduces gameplay adjustments to enhance balance and pacing, alongside several bug fixes and improvements. These updates aim to refine the overall player experience, with continued improvements based on player feedback.

Gameplay Adjustments

• Cities now generate slightly more tax revenue than before to make getting money a bit easier.
  
• City food consumption now grows slightly slower as cities level up based on player feedback.
  
• City population requirements have been adjusted based on player feedback, in general, the cities will grow more slowly than before.
  
• Resolute Scripture now only applies to City where Religion is Dominant.
  
• Updated Angkor Wat buff to apply universally within the City.
  
• Updated Reflecting Pool to provide a +15 buff to City Happiness instead of Security.

• Embarkation Pass has been added as an unlock for Sails.
  
• The Battleship has been moved to a later position in the tech tree.
  
• The Destroyer has been shifted further into the tech tree.
  
• The base strength of Swordsmen has been increased from 7 to 8.
  
• Swordsmen no longer deprecate with Bureaucracy; they will phase out with Cannons once players unlock superior Infantry units.
  
• Elephant Ballistae have been updated to Ranged units.
  
• Navy Upgrade Groups have been streamlined to ensure ancient ships have late-game counterparts.
  
• Naval Upgrade Trees have been revised so Warships can transition to Cruisers, and Cannon Ships can upgrade to Heavy Gunships, enabling players to continuously improve their Navies across all Ages.
  
• Cruisers are now part of the Warship upgrade tree.
  
• Heavy Gunships are now part of the Cannon Ships upgrade tree.

• The Smithsonian Act goal has been revised to Act 3.
  
• The default slot for Feast is now Food instead of Money to help new players avoid running low on funds.
  
• Dwelling has been adjusted to utilize all the Supplies available to other Housing Improvements.
  
• Biscuits now remain accessible in Act 3.
  
• Corrected the data for the Blacksmith -> Anvil icon asset.
  
• Adjusted the Impulsive Trait to reduce Relationships by 10 instead of 100.
  
• Resolved the issue with the second Expert buff in the Industrial Fishing Farm.
  
• Hunting camps no longer have Wood maintenance requirements.
  
• Hunting camps now provide a small Harvest buff.
  
• The League event that gives players free Republic government tech early is now very rare.
  
• The Library has been reclassified from the Culture Domain to the Science Domain.
  
• Metal Pots now require only one Metal Ingot; Steel has been moved to its own slot with a larger production bonus.
  
• Monarchy's medium tax rate has been reduced from 70% to 50% to differentiate it more clearly from the high tax rate of 80%.
  
• Plows now offer a significantly greater Harvest buff.
  
• Upgrade costs for Farm Improvements have been refined.
  
• The Print Shop has been reclassified from the Impact Domain to the Industry Domain.
  
• Production-to-Research conversion has changed from 1:1 to 10 Production for 1 Research.
  
• The Refinery has been reclassified from the Impact Domain to the Industry Domain.
  
• Rivers now yield a unique +1 Wealth per turn.
  
• Food requirements at levels 5, 6, and 7 have been slightly increased.
  
• Temperate forests now provide +1 more Wood, making them more distinctive.
  
• A minimum of three resources of a given type will now spawn in the world, rather than just one.
  
• The Amphitheater of El Jem now requires Horses and Wheel Items instead of Chariot Units.
  
• The Improvement Category for the Refinery, Library, and Print Shop has been modified.
  
• Rope's third Accelerator now provides a meaningful +40 Production bonus.
  
• The Wealth cost of the Sneakers' second Accelerator Slot has been adjusted.

Welcome to the Ara: History Untold Modders Paradise update! In addition to a new nation leader, features, balance changes, and UI improvements, the Modders Paradise release includes easy access to mod support through integration with Mod.io! We are excited to share the new features in this release with players and look forward to your feedback. Have fun!

• New Leader Confucius: The spiritual and wise Confucius is now part of the leader roster, offering unique philosophical and governance-based abilities.
  
• Integrated Mod Manager (powered by mod.io):
  
• Players can now create and customize units, city improvements, technologies, game rules, and more.
  
• Easily share mods with the community or explore and download player-created content.
  
• Sample Mods include a new unit, new improvement and new graphics.

• Greater Nation Distinction: Starting unit visuals updated based on the geographic location of the world.
  
• City Improvement UI Tagging: New tagging system for filtering and managing units, improvements, and amenities based on gameplay objectives.
  
• Performance Optimizations: Users with lower-end hardware should notice a significant increase in turn performance as well as visual performance.
  
• Visual Fidelity Update: In addition to optimizing the game engine for even better performance, we’ve upgraded the lighting system. Explosions are now twice as visually impressive, adding a new layer of immersion to battles and gameplay.
  
• Major AI Update: The AI has been updated to be data driven to help designers and strategy testers shape the way different AI players play like.
  
• Accelerated Start: Players can optionally start in the Middle Ages or the Machine Age and be seeded with resources and items to ensure the early game gets moving quickly.
  
• UI Improvements: The Trade Screen and Government Management Screen have been updated to be more intuitive to use.
  
• Player Requested Features & Changes: Long game setting is now 9,999 turns, cities gain a land claim every level up (though the population requirement has been increased), and new audio notifications help players keep track of what’s happening by sound.
  
• Leader Trait Updates: Andean Masonry, Agrarian, Perfectionist, Woodsman and other leader traits updated to be more interesting and balanced.
  
• Improved Balance: Fewer nations are culled per act, Coins are more challenging to produce but are now used extensively throughout the game, tech pacing and population growth are much more pleasing.

• Accelerated start kits are available to begin games in Act II or Act III.
  
• Act II starts grant starting resources: Money 200, Food 200, Wood 200, Stone 200, Concrete 100, Glass 100, Paper 25, Pottery 25, Prestige 33, Metal Ingots 20, Farm Tools 10, Rope 10, Gears 10, Grain Store 5, Books 5, Coins 5, Jewelry 5, Strategy Codex 5, Hourglass 5, Bandages 5, Baskets 5, Flower 5, Herbal Medicine 5, Candles 5, Wheel 5.
  
• Act II Great Hearth: +60 Research/turn, +25 Production.
  
• Act III starts grant starting resources: Money 250, Food 250, Wood 250, Stone 250, Concrete 200, Glass 200, Paper 50, Prestige 11, Metal Ingots 25, Steel 25, Farm Tools 25, Rope 10, Gears 10, Grain Store 5, Books 5, Coins 5, Jewelry 5, Strategy Codex 5, Clocks 5, Clothes 5, Barrels 5, Dried Food Goods 5, Brewed Coffee 5, Medicine 5, Newspapers 5, Candles 5, Pottery 25, Lamp Posts 5, Gunpowder 25, Wheel 5.
  
• Act III Great Hearth: +200 Research/turn, +50 Production.

• Technologies now control when units become obsolete instead of Acts. Players will see obsolete units gradually disappear as they progress through human history.
  
• Starting City cap has been reduced by 1, but the Bronze Age now increases it by 1. This helps make fast expand a more interesting choice for players. Note: you may have to make a hard choice on skipping some techs.
  
• Armies take 1 extra turn to muster. This helps balance out the ability to reform units and reward players who spend the resources to maintain standing armies. Units in reserve don’t cost Maintenance.
  
• Initial Air/Sea formation cap reduced to 1. City-based army cap increases delayed to higher city levels. There will be fewer armies present late game.
  
• Prestige balance adjustments: Productivity and Tech Prestige reduced slightly, Military and Economy Prestige increased slightly.
  
• Difficulty levels no longer provide free Quality of Life (QoL). This change ensures that players experience the game pacing consistently across all levels as their playstyle improves.
  
• QoL penalties above Prince difficulty reduced.
  
• Recipes updated to reward having necessary resources. Coins are more valuable as accelerators. Having necessary resources is rewarded over brute forcing high production.

• Nemrut Dag now requires Pottery and Rope.
  
• Topiary Park now requires Pottery.
  
• Added Drydocks and Naval Bases as valid sea route connection points for trade routes.
  
• General Hospital requires Concrete.
  
• Water treatment plant uses Steel and Concrete.
  
• Added 3 Expert Slots to City Walls, each Expert increasing the Security bonus provided by City Walls.
  
• Library Knowledge buff reduced by 5 per level.
  
• Police Station +10 Security per level.
  
• Race Tracks now boost Happiness in addition to their economic benefits.
  
• SAM Battery +25 Security.
  
• Grocer limit increased from 3 to 6 per nation.
  
• Tannery max from 3 to 5 and given supply slots.
  
• Lamp Posts Security increased to +25.
  
• Weaver costs 25 Wealth.
  
• Ceramic Shop Craft Production Modifier no longer appears in the Build Production breakdown for all cities.

• Coins are produced faster if you have precious metals/precious stones, but far slower if you do not. Get that Gold!
  
• Mint now requires Metal Ingots and Money instead of generic materials.
  
• Adjusted Cocoa, Shellfish, Saffron, Sugar harvesting (Cocoa/Sugar yields reduced, Shellfish give Precious Stones, Saffron can get Flowers).
  
• Brewed Coffee acts as Amenity for +10% productivity.
  
• Perfume Amenity gains +5 Prosperity.
  
• Fishing Nets give significant Food.
  
• Industrial Fishing Farm boosts food output significantly.
  
• Grocers now buff Farm harvest rates instead of Happiness.

• Spearman units no longer incur Materials maintenance. Horseman Food maintenance increased from 1 to 2 and animal-based units have +1 Food maintenance.
  
• Spearman material costs reduced 25 to 15, Archer 30 to 25, Swordsmen 25 to 20. Higher level units are more expensive (e.g. Tanks 140 to 300 Production).
  
• Added back Retreat ability for Scouts, Mounted Scouts, and UAVs.
  
• Expanded Auto-Explore to include military units and ships.
  
• Increased the Fortify-based tactics buff to +30% Strength.

City Management

• Adjusted city population changes for pacing. Restored giving Region Claims after each city level up.
  
• Tier 5 Cities now provide an Expert.
  
• Tier 26 and up Cities provide 2 Claims to make "super cities" a thing.
  
• Amenity slots continue beyond Tier 20 to have a new cap of 25.
  
• Increased population requirements to level up cities, rewarding good Health management.
  
• Low Health in Cities further reduces population growth.
  
• Reduced city research output at lower city levels by 1 to improve pacing.

Technology

• Updated technologies to obsolete various units/improvements at appropriate points.
  
• Adjusted late game tech costs to increase gradually (Machine Era, Atomic Age, Future Age, etc.).
  
• Flowers are now immediately harvestable.
  
• Mosaic tiles/Lampposts/Barrels unlocked by more techs.
  
• Unlocked the AI Assistant with Artificial Intelligence tech instead of Post-Humanism, aligning narrative and gameplay progression.

Government and Policies

• Monarchy now makes the Capital provide more knowledge. Tall nations will benefit from Monarchy.
  
• Monarchy Security buff increased from 10 to 25 and Prosperity from 5 to 10.
  
• Republic reduces Capital population growth. Wide nations will benefit from Republic.
  
• Low tax tier gives fewer taxes, medium/high gives more tax money to make having low and medium tax rates distinct.

Miscellaneous

• Adjusted Earth map handling to boost yields after Capital moves.
  
• Fixes to map for starting locations improvements and regions quality.
  
• Reduced the Eyeglasses buff from 2 to 1 per Science building, tempering early Science spikes.
  
• Reduced AI relationship decay by a flat 10 per turn.
  
• Swapped Chinese starting region from Beijing to Luoyang.
  
• Changed the first Russian city to St. Petersburg for historical accuracy.
  
• Updated predator behavior and gear references.

• Fixed Difficulty text so Prince is (Normal) instead of Earl.
  
• Updated translated text (multiple places)
  
• Updated Leader trait text as appropriate to match traits
  
• Added ability to rename regions via City Panel or Region Info.
  
• Adding Amenity tags for easier filtering.
  
• Closing the City Screen will also close the Consumables UI. Added harvest filters and improvements for Ore resource tiles
  
• Added new mechanics text related to how Force quality and quantity affect Predator damage.
  
• Implemented a new trade screen UI/UX to improve clarity and consistency.
  
• Workshop, Crafting Guild, and Factory tooltips now show all craftable items (no more hidden recipes).

• Updated Pachacuti Leader Trait: The Andean Masonry
  
  • Boosts Harvest Production at Stone Pits and their upgrades.
    
  • Increases Paragon Spawn Chance.
    
  • Increases Engineer pick chance.
    
  • All Military Improvements boost City Siege Defense.
    
  • The additional chance to spawn Paragons and more likely to get engineers helps them leverage a focus on city development.
• Updated John Macdonald’s Leader Trait: Boreal Forest Leader
  
  • Boosts the Harvest Production of Hunting Camps.
    
  • Reduces Hunting Camps' Maintenance Cost.
    
  • Boosts Housing in all Cities by 3.
    
  • Minor Leader Traits updated to include Adventurous, Woodsman, and Pacifist.
    
  • Removed the Disciplined trait.
• Updated Askia Muhammad I's Leader Trait: Gold-Salt Trade
  
  • No longer provides a buff based on Trade Posts.
    
  • Increased Harvest Production at Stone Pits and their upgrades by 100%.
    
  • Gains +5 Prosperity and Knowledge for each Trade Agreement in all Cities.
    
  • Focuses on production and trade, with an early boost to Relationships that can be leveraged for alliances and trade.
• Updated Benito Juarez's Leader Trait: Son of the People
  
  • Gains additional Housing from building Government Buildings.
    
  • No longer gains an early extra Expert due to balance concerns.
    
  • Remains a development-focused leader, excelling at maintaining Quality of Life.
• Updated George Washington's Leader Trait: Minutemen
  
  • Provides +1 Speed to Gunpowder Infantry and Modern Infantry instead of specific formations.
    
  • Provides bonus Force Strength to Forces carrying out the Fortify Order.
    
  • Combined with changes to Ambitious, makes Washington more expansionist and defense-focused, especially early on.
    
  • In the late game, enhanced speed improves infantry utility and compensates for reduced Army cap.
• Updated Itzcoatl's Leader Trait: Flower Wars
  
  • Provides +20 Growth to all Cities after engaging in combat instead of buffing Security and Prosperity.
    
  • Grants +5 Prestige after defeating an enemy Force during a Skirmish War.
    
  • Includes +100% Force Heal Rates.
    
  • Rewards early and frequent aggression, making Itzcoatl a strong war-centric leader.
• Updated Nefertiti's Leader Trait: Rays of the Aten
  
  • Farms built on Rivers provide additional Prosperity to their Cities.
    
  • Replaced the Museum buff with a bonus to Established Relationships per Culture Improvement.
    
  • Nefertiti focuses on internal development and diplomacy, benefiting culture and trade-focused players.
• Agrarian Minor Trait
  
  • Boosts Harvest Production by +100% to remain more beneficial long term.
• Perfectionist Minor Trait
  
  • Reduces Build Production on Industry Improvements (previous Craft Production penalty was too harmful).
    
  • Completing Industry Improvements provides additional Prestige as a tradeoff.
• Ambitious Minor Trait
  
  • Adjusted to -1 Land Force Cap and +1 City Cap.
    
  • A tradeoff for expansion-focused Leaders who must carefully deploy and station their Forces.
• Updated Efficient Minor Leader Trait
  
  • No longer directly boosts Craft Production (previously too powerful).
    
  • Now provides a 10% boost to Build Production of Industrial Improvements.
• Updated Lavish Minor Leader Trait
  
  • Provides +2 Merchants.
    
  • Grants +10 Established Relationship with all other Nations, encouraging early Trade.
• Updated Mercantile Minor Leader Trait
  
  • Provides +1 Merchant.
    
  • Grants +5 Established Relationship with all other Nations, encouraging early Trade.
    
  • Updated Woodsman Minor Leader Trait
    
  • Boosts Harvest Production by 50% at Logging Camps and their upgrades to remain beneficial long term.
  Miscellaneous Changes/Fixes
  • Improved camera panning smoothness.
    
  • Fixed incorrect starting improvement for Act 3 AI Prince.
    
  • Pharmacies retain Craft bonus at all expert tiers.
    
  • Fixed Fighter Planes so they… fight.
    
  • Fix for Air Forces not mustering correctly.
    
  • Fixed flickering on Stealth Bomber and War Elephant.
    
  • Fixed display of Capitals in War Summaries (after conquests or changes in Capital location).
    
  • Number of techs to advance Eras increased from 3 to 4 in the Machine Age and beyond.
    
  • Region Claims are now provided at every city level, but population requirements have increased significantly.
    
  • City tier QoL penalties increased after level 8 and 15.
    
  • Cities provide more taxes per nation level until level 27.
    
  • Additional fixes/improvements/tweaks.
    
  • There be whales here! Made Whales visible closer to the ocean surface.
  
  

The latest update for Ara: History Untold introduces gameplay adjustments to enhance balance and pacing, alongside several bug fixes and improvements. These updates aim to refine the overall player experience, with continued improvements based on player feedback.

Gameplay Adjustments

• Low health in cities now further reduces population growth.
  
• Population requirements for leveling up cities have increased, encouraging better health management for advancement.

• Research output at lower city levels reduced by 1, improving the pacing of scientific progress.
  
• City level 3 no longer grants a new claim, slowing geographical expansion and reducing the ease of blocking other cities.

• Science building bonus from eyeglasses reduced from 2 to 1, maintaining their usefulness but with more balance.

Multiplayer

• Multiple issues with trade agreements have been fixed.

Resolved Issues

• A "Goodbye" prompt now replaces the "Confirm" prompt when multiple trade items are selected.

• Logging Camp workers will now spread out appropriately rather than clustering in one place.

The Ara: history Untold team could not be more excited for today's release - our first major feature update. Below are comprehensive release notes detailing the new features as well as the balance changes and updates.

We've also addressed a large number of player reported bugs and issues with this update, and can't wait for you to give it a try!

---

• National Economy Screen
  
  Manage your nation's crafting, supplies, and policies from a single screen, replacing the crafting panel for streamlined management.
  
  
  
• New Amenities
  
  Over a dozen new craftable amenities added, offering additional strategic choices:
  
  • Anvil: Provide a 150% buff to improvements that can be supplied with them.
    
    
  • Biscuits: Grant players a +25 to food as an Amenity.
    
    
  • Mining Pick: Add +50% harvest rate to improvements.
    
    
  • Fuel Cell: Gives 150% craft rate at improvements, or 100% harvest rate to improvements, +3 City Health.
    
    
  • Sewing Machines: Sewing Machines add 200% craft rate to improvements.
    
    
  • Fresh Produce: Grant +200 food per turn, +5 health per turn as an Amenity.
    
    
  • Scrolls: Grant +15 City Knowledge as an Amenity.
    
    
  • Baked Goods: Give +50 Food/turn, -5 City Health as an Amenity.
    
    
  • ...and more!
  
  
• Unit Upgrades
  
  Upgrade units within your army directly by issuing the new Upgrade Order, but be mindful of the resource and turn cost to complete the upgrade.
  
  
  
• Advisors
  
  
  • Introduces a Sovereign Advisor.
    
    
  • Each advisor provides suggestions to enhance your strategy.
    
    
  • This feature will become more intelligent in future releases.
  
  
• John A. MacDonald
  
  Canada joins the world stage, expanding your diplomatic and strategic options!
  
  
  
• Earth Map
  
  Added as a pre-made map focusing on gameplay over strict geographical accuracy:
  
  • Britain and Ireland share an enlarged island.
    
    
  • Features like the Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are accounted for.
    
    
  • Enhanced mountain ranges for natural barriers.
  
  
• Redeployment
  
  Reform armies with units being sent back to your reserves for better strategic flexibility.

---

• Memory Optimization
  
  Improved game performance on lower-end hardware.
  
  
  
• Rendering Optimizations
  
  Enhanced framerate stability for lower-end systems.
  
  
  
• LOD Optimization
  
  Better visuals and object clarity while maintaining higher framerates.
  
  
  
• General Performance Improvements
  
  Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience.

• Region Yields
  
  Added region yields to the title bar in the city panel for better resource tracking.
  
  
  
• Improvement Renaming
  
  Players can now rename their improvements for personalized management.
  
  
  
• Supply Availability
  
  Improvements with available supplies now glow to indicate their availability.
  
  
  
• Technology Display
  
  Items now display the required technology to unlock them.
  
  
  
• Customization Slider
  
  Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out.
  
  
  
• Notification System
  
  Players receive notifications when they run out of crafting resources.

• Improved Prioritization
  
  AI better prioritizes city improvements and optimal dwelling locations.
  
  
  
• Data-Driven AI
  
  Supports data driving, allowing designers and modders to enhance AI prioritization.
  
  
  
• War Declaration Intelligence
  
  AI becomes more strategic and intelligent in declaring wars.

• Human Priority
  
  Humans are prioritized for mild climate locations during map generation.
  
  
  
• Biome Weighting
  
  Adjusted to make starting positions more interesting with fewer snowy starts.

• Late Game Stability
  
  Fixed a crash bug occurring in the late game.
  
  
  
• La Grand Place
  
  Resolved the issue of La Grand Place not appearing in Act 1.
  
  
  
• Road Spawning
  
  Prevented detail roads from spawning underneath improvements.
  
  
  
• Duplicated Unlocks
  
  Removed duplicate unlock of animal resources.

• Triggers Added
  
  Added triggers for improvements when they have no items in the queue and when they begin crafting.

• Road Textures
  
  Enhanced road texture fidelity for a more polished look.
  
  
  
• Barracks 3D Asset
  
  Improved the 3D asset of Barracks for better visual appeal.

• Advisor Data Driving
  
  Added data driving capabilities for advisors to support modders.

---

• Geographical Features
  
  Canadian Shield and Gulf Stream are now accurately represented.
  
  
  
• Gameplay Connections
  
  - Britain and Ireland connected as a single enlarged island.
  
  - Italy and Sicily connected for enhanced gameplay dynamics.
  
  
  
• Natural Barriers
  
  Tweaked mountain ranges to provide more natural (and slightly exaggerated) barriers for improved gameplay.
  
  
  
• Real-World Locations
  
  Added real-world locations for nations, ensuring a balance between accuracy and gameplay.

• Centralized Management
  
  Replaced the crafting panel with the National Economy Screen for unified management.
  
  
  
• Automatic Supply Allocation
  
  Set the game to automatically add supplies to various improvements as they become available.
  
  
  
• Supply Order Management
  
  Define the order in which supplies are allocated automatically.
  
  
  
• Global Harvester Management
  
  Control resource harvesting globally across all regions.
  
  
  
• Crafting Management
  
  Manage crafting from the National Economy Screen without needing to visit each city.
  
  
  
• Global Improvement Upgrading
  
  Upgrade improvements on a global scale for efficiency.

---

• Print Shop
  
  Nation limit increased to 3.
  
  
  
• Inns
  
  Limited to 1 per city instead of 1 per nation.

• Barracks
  
  Security set to 15 for level 1 and 25 when an expert is added.
  
  
  
• Blacksmith
  
  Can now be supplied with Tools and Anvil Goods.
  
  
  
• Citadel
  
  Construction no longer requires Concrete.
  
  
  
• Docks
  
  Production buff after adding an expert reduced from 20 to 15.
  
  
  
• Drydock
  
  Default production buff increased from 10 to 20.
  
  Production buff after adding an expert increased from 20 to 30.
  
  
  
• Naval Base
  
  Default production buff increased from 10 to 30.
  
  Production buff after adding an expert remains 30 with additional benefits.
  
  
  
• Workshops, Factories, Crafting Guilds
  
  Can build Anvils and Mining Picks.
  
  
  
• Residences & Skyscrapers
  
  Residents can now use Soap, improving living standards.
  
  
  
• Foundry & Forge
  
  Can use Anvils and Fuel Cells to increase production.
  
  
  
• Hwaseong Fortress
  
  Available for construction throughout Act 2 and 3.
  
  
  
• Library of Celsus
  
  Available for construction until Act 3, extending its utility.
  
  
  
• London Eye Buff
  
  Corrected; Security buff changed to Prosperity.
  
  
  
• St. Basil's Cathedral
  
  Now only provides 1 Security per Engineer or Artist Paragon.
  
  
  
• Forge
  
  Can now be unlocked by Precision Engineering.

• Metallurgy
  
  No longer unlocks Steel. Steel crafting is postponed until later ages when Forges are available.

• Production Cost
  
  Reduced from 1000u to 500u.
  
  
• Production Bonus for the Second Ingredient
  
  Reduced from 750u to 500u.

• Marble
  
  Now more common.
  
  
  
• Meteors
  
  Now provide Metal Ingots instead of precious metals, eliminating the need for smelting.
  
  
  
• Obsidian
  
  Now more common.
  
  
  
• Tobacco
  
  Yields less money than before.

• Dragoons & Zamburaks
  
  Can now be produced in Act 3.
  
  
  
• Prestige Reward
  
  Capturing an enemy city now provides a prestige reward.
  
  
  
• Horses
  
  Take slightly longer to tame to balance availability.
  
  
  
• Population Tier Requirements
  
  Slightly increased.
  
  
  
• Stat Penalties
  
  Reduced for low-level cities to gradually introduce urbanization effects.
  
  
  
• Tax Revenue
  
  Cities generate slightly more tax revenue to make governments more impactful.
  
  
  
• City Leveling
  
  - Levels 7-13: Slower leveling for better pacing.
  
  - Levels 11-23: Receive an additional amenity slot.

• Factories
  
  Can now manufacture Toys, PDAs, and Sewing Machines.
  
  
  
• Workshops & Crafting Guilds
  
  Hourglasses can be produced here.
  
  
  
• Ceramic Shops
  
  Can produce Mosaic Tiles, now an ingredient for many Triumphs.
  
  
  
• Clothing Production
  
  More involved to produce but provides significantly bigger buffs.
  
  
  
• Rope Usage
  
  Added as an accelerator for Barrel and Carriage production, and Festival setups.
  
  
  
• Plows
  
  Substantially more expensive to produce without appropriate resources (e.g., horses or oxen).
  
  Harvest Buff increased from 50% to 100%.
  
  
  
• Furs

[/b]
Must be turned into Leather and can no longer substitute for leather directly.

Sneakers

Can use Plastic instead of Leather.

[/list]

• Hourglass unlocked by Engineering.
  
  
• Mosaic Tiles unlocked by Architecture.
  
  
• Boots unlocked by Horseshoes.
  
  
• Trousers & Sewing Machines unlocked by Industrialization.
  
  
• Mass Food Supply Amenity unlocked by Synthetic Fertilizers.
  
  
• Toys & Sneakers unlocked by Leisure.
  
  
• PDAs unlocked by Internet.
  
  
• Fuel Cells unlocked by Robotics.
  
  
• Embarkation Pass moved to Navigation for better island nation strategies.
  
  
• Ironworking unlocks the Anvil.
  
  
• Precision Engineering unlocks the Forge.
  
  
• Metallurgy no longer unlocks Steel; Steel crafting is delayed until Forges are available.

Additional Technology Adjustments

Haberdashery reclassified from religious to industrial.

---

Events and Quests

• Forest Fort:
  
  Aesthetics debuff decreased from -3 to -2 for consistency.
  
  
  
• Piercing Request:
  
  Option 2 now asks for Stone Tools and provides a small capital prosperity buff.
  
  
  
• Honoring Their Memory:
  
  First option debuff updated to -1 force strength.
  
  Third option now imposes a -2 happiness debuff.
  
  
  
• Political Piety:
  
  Removed happiness debuff from the first option.
  
  Wealth is now a required cost.
  
  
  
• Workers of the World Quest:
  
  Removed duplicated reward buff.
  
  
  
• Is It Hot In Here? Event:
  
  The +10 happiness benefit in all cities no longer appears twice.

---

Armies and Combat Enhancements

• Dragoons and Zamburaks can now be produced in Act 3.
  
  
• Capturing an enemy city now provides a prestige reward.

---

Miscellaneous Improvements

• Customization Slider:
  
  Added a slider allowing users to customize when the nation overlay and the Living World Buildings fade in/out.
  
  
• Localization:
  
  Continued updates to all language localizations for better accessibility and user experience.
  
  
• Other Improvements:
  
  Several performance enhancements have been made to improve overall game stability and experience.

Join creative director Brad Wardell as he demonstrates our first game feature update - The Invisible Hand.