Da Boys,
I spoke with Tang, at length, regarding the patch last night and he said that so far the patch is in Beta testing mode only and could change before the official release. I for one, would like to see the game/strats change so that new ideas are formed on how to play the game. I hope we will no longer see banned civs or weaker civs and that this final fix for AoC is the most balanced age game yet. Who knows things like Hun Wars could become things of the past. Maybe Korean wars will be the new rage? I also heard that my prediction of AoM as a Xmas release is going to come true as well! Either way this should breath new life into this (somewhat) old game.
Here is the official fixes thus far for the beta Patch:
FILES CHANGED
Once you have installed the patch, if you chose not to use the desktop shortcut, you can play the patch by going to your Age of Empires II folder and running Empires2_beta_patch.exe .
PLAY BALANCE & ADJUSTMENTS
· Open ground is always green on the minimap, even on snow or sand terrain.
· Black Forest no longer turns up if you select Random Map or Land Random.
· Farms can be queued to 40.
· Fish traps now provide food at a faster rate, about equal to shore fish.
· All archery range units (except hand-cannoneers) now do +1 additional damage to spearman-line units.
· Camels are now as quick to train as spearmen.
· Viking Berserks now move as fast as pikemen.
· Celtic Woad Raiders now move faster (they run faster than Eagle Warriors who lack Squires).
· Bombard Cannons do +80 additional damage to buildings.
· New Multiplayer-only map type "Blind Random". This selects randomly between a number of different map types, and you are not told what kind of map you are playing on.
· Aztecs now get free Loom
· Castles now take 200 build points to construct instead of 150.
Custom Random Maps
New ES Custom Maps are in the patch. To select one for play, go to Map Style and select "Custom". The following maps are included:
ES@Canals_V2.rms
ES@Capricious_V2.rms
ES@Dingos_V2.rms
ES@Graveyards_V2.rms
ES@Metropolis_V2.rms
ES@Moats_V2.rms
ES@Paradise_Island_V2.rms
ES@Pilgrims_v2.rms
ES@Prairie_V2.rms
ES@Sherwood_Forest_V2.rms
ES@Sherwood_Heroes_V2.rms
ES@Shipwreck_V2.rms
ES@Team_Glaciers_V2.rms
ES@The_Unknown_V2.rms
ES@Seasons_V2.rms
These maps are NOT guaranteed to work effectively vs. a computer opponent or in certain game types. If you play Regicide on ES@Pilgrims_v2, you do not start with a castle, as it would be inappropriate.
Turbo Random Map
· To play this new Turbo style, select "Turbo Random Map" from the Game Type menu in either singleplayer or multiplayer mode.
· In this mode, all buildings work 2.5 times faster except when building econ units (fishing boats, trade ships & carts, villagers).
· All econ units gather 2.5 times faster and carry 2.5 times as many resources.
· Villagers construct buildings 2.5 times faster except for castles, towers, & wonders.
Korean changes:
· Shinkichon now increases onager range by +1 instead of +2, but also adds +30 building damage
· Turtle ships have additional armor vs. galley-line ships & heated shot
· Korean Villager LOS increased by +1 additional
· Turtle ship artwork is changed to be more realistic
· war wagon and elite war wagon range is reduced
Feudal Age changes · Scout cavalry get +2 attack once Feudal starts
· Scout Cav produced from stables are now Aggressive stance
· Loom provides +1 additional Pierce armor
· Palisade walls get +3 additional Pierce armor
Naval Warfare changes
· Galleys now take 60 seconds to produce (War Galleys & Galleons still take 45 seconds)
· Fireships & Fast Fireships have additional armor vs. galley-line ships
· Fireships do additional damage vs. turtle ships
Technology changes
· Treadmill Crane, Masonry, Architecture, Hoardings, Fortified Wall, Guard Tower, and Keep have had their stone cost replaced with wood or food. Now these technologies only cost food & wood.
· Theocracy only costs 200 gold
· Shipwright now also decreases ship build time.
· Parthian Shot now does additional damage to spearman-line units in addition to the extra cav archer armor.
· Heated Shot now increases tower damage times 2.25, and adds +4 to anti-ship damage for castles.
BUG FIXES
· Male Mayan farmers are now as good as females.
· Imperial age houses now have normal house armor.
· Villagers will now walk around farms normally if stopped and started again (the infamous "farm bug").
· Monks no longer heal garrisoned units
· Computer opponents no longer always switch to attack the opponent with the highest score. That is, they initially attack that opponent, but then they will keep attacking him for some time afterwards, even if his score drops.
· Teuton Monk Resistance now works properly, so researching Faith is beneficial to them.
· On Nomad maps, Persians, Huns, and Mayans are now getting the correct starting resources.
· Computer opponents now build lumber camps next to bamboo
· Town centers now always take damage from bombard towers
· Players are no longer automatically resigned on the Paradise Island map in regicide games.
· The Team Glaciers map no longer starts players on ice terrain.
· The Unknown map no longer starts players surrounded by wood. This map was also revised with many small adjustments to resources, relics, and terrain.
· Pilgrims now starts off with a lumber camp instead of a town center. Extra villagers and resources have been added to player islands as well
· In ParadiseIsland, players are no longer automatically defeated after launch of regicide games.
What do you think about all of this? (a reply would be nice)
KONAN
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