Hi All!
Patch 5.3 has left open beta, and is now live for all players! Thanks to all who participated in this open beta; we really appreciate your patience, and your input has been essential to ensuring this build is ready for live release! We’ll post a new announcement here when the open beta for Patch 5.4 has begun, so keep your eyes peeled!
As always, we will continue to monitor the forums and we look forward to hearing your feedback in this discussion thread!
Below are the issues that have been addressed in this 5.3 update:
Improved Network Speeds:
- Removed the added network delay on game start
- Tuned the calculations involving network speed granularity to address the issue players were seeing where the game felt too fast or too slow.
- Lowered the minimum command delay to allow max performance on faster machines
- Improved the throttling system to allow for faster network speeds (where applicable)
- In game ping/lag icons have been updated to appear in the correct situations
- Yellow ping circles appear for players above 200ms ping
- Red ping circles appear for players above 400mp ping (previously 700ms)
- Turtle icons appear for each player that cannot maintain 90% of the simulation frame rate (previously only showed for the slowest player)
Community Focused Bug Fixes:
- Repeatedly pressing hot keys during loading screens will no longer crash
- Using standard AI and the original dataset will no longer randomly crash
- Removing a unit from a queue should no longer randomly crash
- Spectators opening the tech tree in the game lobby should no longer crash
- Repeatedly loading into treaty mode games will no longer crash
- Monk tool tip should no longer crash in Russian localization
- Saving during a game should no longer cause a desync when watching the replay
- Unit selection circles now behave correctly when unloading transport ships
- Line of site circles should now correctly follow units (in rare cases they would be misaligned)
- Villagers should no longer stop and attack wolves (ordering a move command will now take priority so users can move villagers if desired)
- Player units should be less likely to get stuck in forests or teleport through walls
- Full Random should no longer select maps that players do not own
- Rise of Rajas main menu music should now randomly be selected
- Custom campaigns should now unlock in order rather that always being unlocked by default
- Custom campaign instruction images should now display correctly
- Custom campaign instruction scrollbar should now display correctly and not hide text
- Loading a saved campaign file and completing the scenario should now correctly unlock the next scenario
Community Focused AI Improvements:
- AI Huns housing bonus should now function correctly with the original dataset
- AI pathing around walls and gates is improved to avoid teleporting through them
- AI should now attack correctly and no longer freeze during a game
- AI improvements when sn-enable-patrol-attack set to 1
- Soldiers should no longer get stuck in animation loops
- Soldiers should now attack the wonder correctly
- Villagers should now respond to weak units attacking
- Villagers should now attack towers correctly inside town-size
Campaign Fixes:
- Saladin 2 trade carts now travel to the correct market
- Dracula 4 should now advance correctly after completing the first objective
- Dracula 4 no longer gets stuck due to an issue with the AI monk during the cinematic
- Sforza 1 should now reward soldiers after completing the correct objective
- Sforza 3 now has a clearing visual path to the monastery
- Sforza 3 has improved resign logic so you should no longer have to destroy every pavilion
- Dos Pilas triggers should now behave correctly
- Prithviraj 2 should now finish correctly even if purple is the last to go
- Sundjata 4 should now complete the rescue princess objective correctly
- Sundjata 5 should now be easier
- Yodit 2 AI should now function and attack correctly
- Yodit 3 triggers should now function correctly when Dagnajan reaches the pass
- Yodit 3 ending dialogue should now appear correctly
- Yodit 3 cyan AI should not be easier to defeat
- Yodit 4 should now complete the appropriate quest when conquering all nearby tribes
- Yodit 4 Stelae should all provide resources now
- Yodit 4 Stelae should now correctly change ownership to the AI when they’re next to it
- Yodit 5 no longer triggers two petard triggers
- Le Loi 5 AI should now attack correctly
- Bayinnaung 1 cinematics should now appear correctly
Balance Improvements:
- Malay cheaper fishing ship cost removed
- Malay Battle elephants 25% cheaper (rather than 20%)
- Malay age up bonus decreased from 100% to 80%
- Elite Rattan Archers +1 bonus attack vs infantry removed
- Elite Camel Archers +1 bonus attack vs infantry removed
- Elite Karambit warrior pierce armor reduced from 2 to 1
- Arquebus speed modifier on bombard cannons and bombard towers removed
- Harbors reload time increased from 2.5s to 3s
- Harbors HP reduced from 2200 to 2000 (docks are 1800)
- Elite Arambai search radius increased by 2 (so they target easier)
P.S. I know this is not the community manager you are used to seeing post updates. No, you’re not going crazy, I’m new! My name is Jenn, and I am a new community manager here on the Microsoft Studios team. I’ll be doing my best to respond to all of your feedback and questions on our forums, and across our social channels! Please let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to getting to know the Age of Empires community!
Thanks for reading,
-Jenn