This patch contains numerous bug fixes & play balance changes. Some of the more obscure bug fixes are not listed here.
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.
Franks now have the Halberd technology.
Chinese start with 50 less food than before (for a total of -200 food)
Bombard Towers now do piercing damage instead of normal damage (the major effect is vs. rams).
Byzantines get free Town Watch
Training time for Teutonic Knights, Longboats, Tarkans, and Samurai is significantly reduced.
Spanish hand-cannoneer and bombard cannons now get a 15% faster fire rate. Fire rate for conquistadors and elite conquistadors is also improved.
Cav archers now have equal range to heavy cav archers.
Goth infantry now gets its full cost discount in Feudal Age.
Japanese infantry now gets its full attack speed bonus in Feudal Age.
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 for certain game types. The computer opponents assume that all Custom maps are Coastal, so a map type which is quite different from this may hinder its skill.
If you play Regicide on ES@Pilgrims_v2, you do not receive a starting castle. If you play Regicide on ES@Metropolis_v2, you get three kings and three castles.
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.
All trade units work 2.0 times faster.
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.
Capped Ram & Battering Ram upgrades no longer cost gold. The food cost is unchanged.
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
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.
Male hunters no longer get +1 LOS.
Teuton TCs now get their attack bonus
War Wagons no longer get unintended bonus damage vs. siege