Hello all – the Multiplayer Update for Millennia will be released today. This is an update focused on primarily adding a beta version of Simultaneous Multiplayer to the game, this was originally slated for Update 6 but we wanted to bring a version of it earlier for players to access sooner! [h2]Featured Changes[/h2] One of the bigger things in this update is Simultaneous Multiplayer. If you haven’t been following, we released an experimental version of Simultaneous Multiplayer in August, available only in the Open Beta branch. That allowed us to get additional real-world testing (thanks, everyone) of multiplayer and we have been improving the system since. We’re happy to report that this has come along really well and it’s now ready to move over to the main branch. Simultaneous Multiplayer will no longer be “experimental”, but it is still “beta.” There are things to fix and quality of life improvements to make, but you can now reliably play multiplayer games. (The list of changes for Simultaneous Multiplayer might be a little more difficult to follow if you haven’t been in the Open Beta. The feature is just becoming available for most players through this update, but we have updated Open Beta several times and we also have a new set of improvements going in today. Sections at the end of this cover the changes if you want details.) Some other featured changes of this update: [list] [*] The AI’s ability to play the water game has been substantially improved. The AI is much better at understanding the importance of water terrain, building docks, building ships, and fighting on the water. [*] By popular request, we added edge scrolling. [*] Similarly by popular request, we added support for ignoring the turn limit end of game. One turn prior to turn-limited ending, the player is presented with an option to continue playing. [*] Added a new default Nation, the Indus Civilization (AI Personality of Reserved, and default starting bonus of Age I: Exploration XP). [/list] [h2]Balance Changes[/h2] [b]PLEASE REMEMBER THAT BALANCE CHANGES WILL ONLY APPLY TO NEW GAMES.[/b] [list] [*] Marble Prospector startup bonus moved from Age 1 to Age 2. [*] Chivalry National Spirit’s Peasants are now able to build Farms in Vassals. [*] Added an additional bonus to some Scavenge Events that otherwise only revealed locations. [*] The diplomatic penalty for being too close to another Nation is now capped at -100. [*] Updated Icon Statue to upgrade line 4. Also now grants Influence like other Monument Buildings. [*] The Cosmic Insight Innovation during Age of Plague now applies to Religious Texts. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/5878602b1ef2bc9816681eac0c172076c7170045.png[/img] [*] Lush terrain now provides bonus for Vassals. [*] Blast Furnace and Deep Mine now unlocked by Automachina Technology in Age of Discovery. [*] Reworked Guns for Hire from the Mercenaries National Spirit. The sender now receives Warfare XP and much more Wealth than before, and the receiver receives an unrest-free version of their powerful Mercenary unit. These "on-loan" mercenaries also deal no damage to other mercenary units, making them powerful if you share enemies, but weaker if they try to turn them on you. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/3c32a4fa8908d6dfe0e85675d0e1fecf52afda6e.png[/img] [*] Added the requirement to have a Castle Outpost for the Chivalry National Spirit’s Tavern Ideal to match other Ideals that unlock Specialization-specific Outpost Improvements. [*] Swapped the unlock cost and tier of the Chivalry National Spirit’s Tavern and Medieval Medicine Ideals. Vassal bonuses can be quite powerful over time so the latter fits better in Tier 2, there's already a vassal-focused ideal on Tier 1 so this spreads the functionalities out more, and this prevents both Tier 2 Ideals from having requirements on them, which would have obstructed progression if you don't want to meet either requirement. [*] Added a requirement for 2 Religious Birthplaces to the Crusaders National Spirit’s Holy Lands Ideal. [*] Rebalanced recycling Improvements. [*] The Mercenaries National Spirit’s Call Ambush Power can no longer be targeted inside Minor Nation or enemy Nation borders. [*] The Mercenary Training Camp of the Mercenaries National Spirit now requires that you have built a Colony. This is to prevent unlocking the Improvement without realizing it requires a Colony to be built. [/list] [h2]Gameplay [/h2] [list] [*] Improved map drag-scrolling. [*] Slow automatic healing (when fortified) now works within the borders of Minor Nations. [*] Abilities that increase population can no longer be targeted on Regions that are at their maximum population. [*] Barbarian conquest of water Regions now destroys the Region. [*] Adjusted Inland Oceans map generation to place correct amount of Barbarian Camps. [/list] [h2]AI[/h2] [list] [*] Adjusted AI’s use of Settlers to prevent AI Settlers from getting stuck. [/list] [h2]UI / Art[/h2] [list] [*] Updated various startup bonuses to have more accurate tooltips. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/48d5256ec04e32ce8a600044a49cfd472406cfbd.png[/img] [*] No longer show Rally Point button for Towns and Improvements in a Vassal. [*] Updated Chinese Capital and Town names to use more historically accurate or notable options. [*] Updated Infopedia to clarify specifics on Unit Types. [*] Updated Good chain UI so that Goods icons on tooltips work as nested tooltip links. [*] Fixed an issue with Unrest Suppression not updating correctly in UI after an Innovation affects it. [*] Clarified tooltips for buffs that alter health recovery within your borders. [*] Revised Russian Nation flag. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/0bffeec1cff57a2247e191dfbc98833659d089e6.png[/img] [*] Adjusted Arcana particle effect to be more visible. [*] Adjusted multiplayer UI to avoid text overflow on load button in some languages. [*] Adjusted main UI to avoid text overflow on mods button in some languages. [*] Adjusted setup of air combat in Combat Viewer to avoid “stuck” aircraft shadows. [*] Clarified tooltips for Demand Fealty to highlight that it does not apply to Vassals created after using this Power. [*] Clarified that the Warrior Government Ideal's unrest reduction is even stronger if you've declared a Justified War. [*] Corrected the Shogunate National Spirit’s Right to Strike Ideal incorrectly stating it only affects Samurai when it affects Daimyo and Shogun Units as well. [*] Clarified tooltip for the Commanders Legacy Ideal. [*] Added nested tooltip to the housing bonus from foraging forest tiles with the Naturalists National Spirit. [*] Shortened requirement for the Visa Sponsorship tooltip. [*] Clarified Sistine Chapel tooltip to indicate the bonus applies to Masterpieces. [*] Clarified how the Crusaders National Spirit’s Holy Lands Ideal works. [*] Clarified how Religious Birthplaces generate Culture. [*] Updated Infopedia entries, nested tooltips, and help screens for Religion to better clarify how conquered Religious Birthplaces act as potent multipliers to the Culture gained from Religion. [*] Fixed numerous cases where entries for Units, Buildings, and Improvements were not appearing as intended in the Infopedia. [*] Adjusted the Culture Power UI to correctly update in cases where the player has browsed other Domain Power options in the same Domain. [*] Adjusted the Improvements UI to correctly update after Improvements are selected. [*] Fixed Caravanserai showing that it can be built in “Desert” or “Desert.” [*] Fixed inverted tooltips and incorrect keywords present in some languages during Age of Intolerance and Age of Generals. [*] Fixed an issue with text alignment in Band Society being incorrect in some languages. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/5a043a02f94b0805e9c32faea30d1d178c87591b.png[/img] [/list] [h2]Modding[/h2] [list] [*] Fixed an issue with modded Governments and National Spirits showing as unlocked between new games. [*] Added support for modifying stats of existing Units. [*] Added support for adding Culture and Domain Powers through mods (you currently cannot edit existing Culture and Domain Powers through modding). [*] Now enable and use local mods even if Steam mods fails to load. [*] Added a failure message when a Mod fails to upload or update to Steam. [*] Added ability to reload a mod (to be able to test without needed to relaunch the game). [*] Removed preview image field from the upload dialog (now automatically searches the mod folder for an image and uses that). [*] No longer update the mod title unless a title is entered. [*] Added support for localization of mods. [*] Added functionality for being able to add maps through mods. [*] Added functionality for being able to add Goods biome data to existing maps so that modded Goods appear. [/list] [h2]Bugfixes[/h2] [list] [*] Fixed Frozen Waste Expedition option that provided a negative success chance. [*] Added and updated tooltips and detail text for Apprentice, Artist, and Master Artist. [*] Updated Jaguar Unit to be a leader-type Unit. [*] Fixed City of Gold parameters so that they show up consistently during the Age of Discovery. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/fa496806b86984b8629f9e8a4adf26f09ba6e434.png[/img] [*] Can no longer use Raze Action on ruined Towns. [*] Fixed an issue where trade relationship modifiers were being applied to players other than the trading partner. [*] Fixed Promote Shogun Culture Power to not display as usable when you already have a Shogun. [*] Fixed an issue with spawning Towns on top of locations with a Riot or Plague Outbreak in them. [*] Fixed Age 2 Invaders Chaos Event to state correct number of Barbarians spawned. [*] Fixed issue where outline scrolling would sometimes change map zoom level too. [*] Fixed Units not properly displaying their idle after undoing certain moves. [*] Fixed an issue where upgrading a Town would destroy any aircraft stationed in the Town. [*] Corrected and expanded the Domains Infopedia entry. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/7c2c03edb3cca5585558d88e0a8bb178ade90b1f.png[/img] [*] Improved the tooltip for the Truce Culture Power. [*] Fixed buildings and improvements that were not showing up in the correct categories in the Build Helper menu under certain circumstances, such as from buffs or special bonuses -- numerous fixes applied across the game. [*] Corrected the Age of Singularity Infopedia entry. [*] Fixed a number of buff tooltips not displaying resource icons. [*] Fixed an issue with Project icons disappearing under certain conditions. [*] Fixed an issue with the Age up alert message sometimes showing the wrong number. [*] Corrected the terrain build requirements for Cultural District. [*] Fixed an issue where some tooltips would occasionally include debugging “TRUE” or “FALSE” text. [*] Fixed underwater air Units in underwater cities. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/83e50a8f5cb2df1e8143a25cbe2e036e1c790501.png[/img] [*] Fixed targeting Units able to spawn Goods in a tile on tiles that already contain an Improvement. [*] Fixed double display of a buff in Welfare State tooltip. [*] Fixed an issue with the Peasant’s Dub Unit Action when used with a full Army. [*] Fixed typo in Iguazu Expedition. [*] Fixed display of camera frustrum on minimap being cut off along edges under certain circumstances. [*] Fixed sound effect not playing when closing the Goods import / export window. [*] Fixed issue in alphabetical display of Nation names. [*] Fixed numerous religious Improvements not receiving benefits from the Cultural Excellence Ideal. [*] Fixed not being able to repair or upgrade some Improvements that are Region limited. [*] Fixed an issue with Army size limits that could cause new Units to appear in tiles you could not enter normally due to diplomatic settings. [*] Shogun, Dubbing, Artist, and Great Artist Unit Actions now retain health, combat XP and movement on upgraded Units. [*] Fixed an instance where the undo button had missing text. [*] Fixed Improvement visual effects being visible in fog of war. [*] Updated missing tooltips for Capital Regions Buffs from Commission Research, News Cycle, and Rapid Development. [*] Air strikes no longer show as losses in the combat log. [*] Adjusted the Tidal Power Generator Improvement in Age of Ecology to avoid situations where it positioned incorrectly relative to the coastline. [*] Fixed an instance of the Analytics Good being listed as Research. [*] Adjusted how effects that change terrain (such as Ecological Revitalization in Age of Ecology) interact with Landmarks to prevent Landmark terrain from being changed. [*] Upgrading Utility Ships no longer breaks their ability to harvest. [*] Fixed instances where Improvements with region limits could not be upgraded or repaired. [*] Fixed Age of Plague Crisis charging notification to display correct value at all game speeds. [*] Fixed an issue with queued building orders when a Capital is destroyed. [*] Fixed a situation where, under certain circumstances, a player could cause the cost to rush build something to become negative. [*] Fixed issues where the Power for an Army sometimes showed different values in the Outliner and on the map. [*] Fixed undo related to attacking with or moving air Units. [*] Fixed an issue reported in forums (thanks) where if you advanced the turn when an AI player was eliminated, the turn would never come back around to you. [*] Fixed an issue with Knowledge value of the Paradigm Shift Ideal not updating in the tooltip of the Eureka Culture Power. [*] Added missing nested tooltips involving Fertilizer, Religious Tract, Crypto Currency, Inventions, Exhibitions, Foreign Manuscripts, and Media Goods. [*] Fixed issue with some Innovation Events unintentionally triggering after they were meant to appear. [*] Fixed Outpost Castle Specialization allowing Capital Attack when Specialization was changed. [*] Fixed issue with certain Infopedia entries not appearing as intended. [*] Fixed Age 9 Innovation Buildings (The Cube, Particle Accelerator, and Needle Point Skyscraper) unintentionally being unobtainable in The Ages of Visitors and Age of Ecology. [*] Fixed an issue with conquered Regions not handling razed Improvements correctly (causing gains from tiles to not display correctly). [*] Fixed an issue that caused some players to not have content in Age of Utopia and Age of Departure unlocked correctly. (Fixed this issue in existing saves also.) [*] Fixed a case where you could encounter another player’s Units but fail to discover them Diplomatically. [*] Fixed a case where graphical corruption could occur when generating maps with certain custom settings. [*] Fixed an issue causing the Customizer Achievement to be unattainable. [*] Fixed an issue where in some cases undoing an Improvement upgrade could cause extra worker slots to be lost. [*] Fixed an issue where, under some narrow circumstances, damaged defenses would get "reset" incorrectly. [/list] [h2]Misc[/h2] [list] [*] Added support for playing with DLC enabled in offline mode. [*] Assigned Settler Units a Settler Unit Type. [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/886671a4b066726079b9140432f75a1350441742.png[/img] [img]https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//44642325/5276ac0855378b24f3afed5e1d92e2da018e8444.png[/img] [*] Made various performance improvements to how Millennia handles internal economy management. [*] Made various performance improvements in the buffs system. [*] Made a number of changes that improve performance when a player is eliminated. [*] Made a number of changes that improve performance when a Capital City is destroyed. [*] Made a number of changes that improve performance when terrains are altered. [/list] [h2]Simultaneous Multiplayer -- Changes in Open Beta Prior to Multiplayer Update[/h2] If you were playing in the Open Beta, these were changes that were made in updates (things players in Open Beta have played with): [list] [*] Fixed an issue with border expansion in SMP games. [*] Fixed an issue with camera jumping to focus on events incorrectly. [*] Fixed an issue with the names of Armies being different for different players. [*] Fixed an issue with Town upgrade sound playing for all players in SMP games. [*] Prevented Tech UI from appearing while waiting in SMP. [*] Changed air strikes to resolve immediately in SMP. [*] AI in Simultaneous Multiplayer has been updated. You can now use AI players in Simultaneous Multiplayer. [*] Made change to improve performance of AI thinking about its moves. [*] Fixed some issues with all messages from host not being shown for all players. [*] Fixed some issues with incorrect player name being used in lobby. [*] Fixed several issues that could occur when a player hosted and then joined a game (or vice versa). [*] Reworked some of the structure of alerts to fix numerous issues (for example, combat alerts in SMP being displayed a turn after they should have appeared). [*] Reworked a variety of Unit sorting and economy recomputing issues to fix / prevent a number of synch issues. [*] Fixed numerous Simultaneous Multiplayer synch issues. (Thanks for the testing!) [*] Fixed issues with failure to create or join lobbies and added messages for failure cases. [*] Added player color to chat. [*] Added the ability for Simultaneous Multiplayer players who have ended their turn to “unready” and resume their turn. [*] Diplomacy actions targeting players who have already ended their turn now display the Diplomacy message for the player who has ended their turn and allow them to resolve the Diplomacy action. [*] Fixed an issue where, in certain circumstances, a player could accept a multiplayer invite and cause a singleplayer save to attempt loading as a restored multiplayer game. [*] Fixed issues related to eliminated players. [*] Fixed an issue with certain hotkeys still issuing commands after a player has ended their turn. [/list] [h2]Simultaneous Multiplayer -- Changes made as part of Multiplayer Update[/h2] If you were playing in the Open Beta, these are additional Simultaneous Multiplayer changes going in as part of this Update. [list] [*] Made a number improvements to performance in multiplayer games. [*] Eliminated some camera scrolling on certain commands that could be confusing in Simultaneous Multiplayer games. [*] Fixed an issue with hosts seeing Cloud Hotseat saves as Simultaneous Multiplayer saves. [*] Changed Simultaneous Multiplayer overlay to show when the AI players are making their moves. [*] Fixed additional Out of Synch issues as discovered. [*] Made the process of finding out of synch conditions in Simultaneous Multiplayer far more performant. [*] Eliminated players are now called out as ELIMINATED. [*] Human players that have been replaced by AI players no longer show up as “disconnected”. (They are not displayed.) [*] Fixed a case where the host’s “unready” state was not shown correctly. [*] Added tooltips and additional UI support to Simultaneous Multiplayer. [*] Fixed lobby flickering and UI dropdowns in lobby closing unnecessarily. [*] Fixed an issue with culture rush button flickering in MP games. [*] Fixed multiple scenarios in MP lobby where lobby was displaying incorrectly. [*] Fixed multiplayer status panel missing labels, tooltips. [*] Fixed multiple issues with savegame files not having data to properly recreate Simultaneous Multiplayer lobby state. [*] Fix for multiplayer status panel getting stuck in some situations when reloading a save. [*] Added error messages for certain multiplayer lobby conditions. [*] Disabled some unnecessary synch checking. [*] Fixed lobby to not look like players could change settings when restoring saves. [*] Lobby now shows (host and client) if game being setup is a restored save. [/list] [h2]Simultaneous Multiplayer – Known Issues / Be Aware Of[/h2] [list] [*] If you join a Simultaneous Multiplayer lobby, any mods will be disabled. As of now, you would need to restart Millennia to re-enable those mods. [*] Eliminating the hosting player in a Simultaneous Multiplayer game currently prevents the game from continuing. [/list]