Main Branch 1.0.76988 Release 2025-03-26

Headline Changes

• New National Ambition system introduced to allow earlier selection of your final ambition
• Launch Offensive changes
• Continent is now the default map script
• AI and performance improvements

Design

• The final ambition is now called a National Ambition and may be offered early, after a player has completed 5 ambitions
• The offer is triggered soon after the player reaches 70% progress towards one of the national ambitions
• National Ambitions are not used for tier counting purposes i.e. they do not make regular ambition offers harder
• All National Ambitions are listed in the Encyclopedia under their own category
• Added new National Ambition '+250 Food, Iron, Stone, Wood and Money per turn'. This replaces the previous ambition to stockpile 2000 of each resource
• Added new regular Ambition 'Control 4 Hamlet class improvements'
• Adjusted ambition threshold calculations and ambition events to allow a greater variety of ambitions to be offered

• Offensive effects do not apply to the leader unit
• Cannot launch offensive when on cooldown
• Leader unit goes on new launched offensive cooldown
• For team games, bonus orders from the offensive go to the unit owners

• Continent is now the default map script
• Added new Extreme Terrain suboption 'None' and made this the default
• Tribal Lands placement option removed

• Critical hits on cities are no longer possible
• Stun is now possible when attacking a unit in a city without any HP left
• Panic and Fireship effects now cause units that cannot retreat to become Disarmed instead of Stunned
• Enlisted units by a Zealot leader now return to full health
• Hidden units now always ignore ZOC
• Money Boost tech card moved to Coinage
• Free Trireme and Free Dromon tech cards removed
• National ambitions now offered at 70% completion instead of 75%
• National Ambitions event enabled in no events mode
• Fire shrines now have adjacent modifier to any improvement in the Mine class (now also affects Laurion Mines)
• Commander leaders always grant +10XP per turn to all units (previously units had to be idle)
• Free improvements are now allowed on resource tiles with a generic improvement ping. Placing a free urban improvement on a resource removes the resource without harvesting it
• Adjusted ambition threshold calculations so a greater variety of ambitions gets offered
• Events where the AI offers Truce on breaching a city now trigger when the city is captured instead
• Can no longer build roads and improvements in territory of an ally
• Water tiles no longer need to be adjacent to land in order to transfer them from one of your cities to another
• Units that earn XP past the maximum level convert that XP to training
• Ezana's Evangelist trait only gives new units Christianity/Adept in city where he is governor (Wrath of Gods)
• 7 new events relating to Calamities happening to other players (Wrath of Gods)
• Reduced other religion opinion penalty duration for Venerate mission (Wrath of Gods)
• Increased chance of Scrub appearing on new Arid tiles on Ebbing Sea map from 2% to 10% (Wrath of Gods)
• Eruption and Earthquake intensities tweaked (Wrath of Gods)
• Made Calamities less common on the Rare and Very Rare settings (Wrath of Gods)
• Wrath of Gods scenario now uses a customized map script with more Volcanoes (Wrath of Gods)

Programming

• Rendering API change: Linux / Steam Deck now default to Vulkan. Windows supports Vulkan with a command-line switch -force-vulkan
• Epic Mac build now runs natively when run outside of the Epic launcher, i.e. using alternative launcher such as Heroic
• Improved UI responsiveness when cycling through workers
• Performance improvements
• AI combat improvements
• Improved AI use of Launch Offensive
• Improved AI order predictions when planning moves
• AI is more aggressive in moving towards enemy cities when at war
• AI more likely to place ranged units in forest when defending its territory with a Tactician leader
• AI fort building now less common
• AI tries harder to delay using anchored units so that land units don't get stranded
• AI now less eager to build some wonders that are not very useful (e.g. Jebel Barkal without world religion)
• AI cares a little more about culture
• Invading organized tribes are less timid
• Added ALLOW_CITY_CRITICAL_HITS to globalsInt, for use by modders
• Mod manager no longer fully loads installed maps when fetching subscription info
• Unit XP overflow into training uses TRAINING_PER_XP for consistency
• Buildable projects now use a ProductionType such as YIELD_CIVICS. Non-buildable projects do not require this
• iCivics has been renamed to iCost in project.xml

UI

• Removed Options Preset dropdown from Simple setup and added Event Level
• Added Reset Options button to Advanced and MP setup screens
• Added difficulty mode to Advanced setup screen
• Simple setup settings are saved separately from advanced setup settings. Going back and forth between Advanced and Simple screens retains only nation and dynasty settings
• Entering the setup screens with a premade map that restricts nation choices stored in the options file will no longer keep that map choice, to ensure all nations are shown
• Enabled DLC no longer gets reset every time

• Selected characters now appear in the upper right side of the screen and Ambitions in the upper left
• Added Net Yield Change to specialist build tooltip, which takes modifiers into account and subtracts yields for any replaced specialist
• Popup text minimum scaling reduced
• Removed background UI blur when events are active
• EffectUnit links now also include the effect icon by default
• Timeline screen slider is now disabled while advancing by season or by year
• Clarified City Site Number help text
• Wonder legitimacy bonuses now named per culture tier to differentiate them
• Can now queue the same tile multiple times without the unit executing the queued moves
• When the last tile in a move queue is right-clicked, the unit executes the queue
• Flipped luxury panel buttons
• Tweaked alignment for scenario-specific goal info
• Archetypes now shown in line of succession panel
• Strategic resource icons for unit production shown on city categories when available
• Temporary unit effects now show the remaining turn count on their icons
• Changed all happiness/discontent yield displays to use relevant icon instead of signed text
• Added worker list to tile tooltip when multiple workers are stacked
• Selecting a character centers the camera on job-relevant city or unit
• Research UI is now always shown regardless of selection
• Added reminder for pillaged tiles
• Added ability to hide improvement tooltips by holding CTRL
• Timeline now shows map terrain changes over time
• Timeline now shows current revealed-not-visible state for borders when it is set to show the current turn
• With a land unit selected, hovering over a water tile in anchor range will show "Must end move on land tile"
• Network games are now paused automatically when the game is over
• Cannot surrender a multiplayer game if you are the last player remaining
• World tile text now shows over city UI
• Unworked wonders show Requires Worker text with worker selected
• Right-click toggles tab panel menus off if already open
• Improved unit strength tooltip text
• Updated premade map descriptions
• Removed some of the yield breakdown from the specialist tooltip and added modified total yield
• Removed line break from event option tooltips that start goals
• Removed 'New Event in Wizard' button from Event Browser
• City links that do not open the city screen now pan the camera to the city when clicked (i.e. tribal raid notifications)
• Starting a game using a parameter string no longer updates the options file with the game's settings
• Added custom savegame prefix to standalone scenarios
• Added more promotion and effectUnit information to encyclopedia
• Updated credits
• Updated Shapur's dynasty description to clarify that Strike applies to melee and ship units (Wonders and Dynasties)
• Plague flies are only shown on units with the Plagued effect. Plague fog effect is confined to city territory (Wrath of Gods)
• Wildfire visual effect is less extreme (Wrath of Gods)
• Improvement pings are no longer removed by an occurrence rendering a tile impassable (Wrath of Gods)
• Boosted plague fog visibility (Wrath of Gods)
• Boosted volcano animation speed (Wrath of Gods)

Bugs Fixed

• Fixed Korean text sometimes not displaying
• Fixed text autosizing issues
• Fixed popup text not updating immediately after changing scaling
• Fixed assert when removing player ownership from a tile with a religion attached
• Fixed forest on lake tile in Middle East map
• Fixed bad city border preview on Old World Map by removing an urban tile to the west of Pella
• Fixed a threading issue that could cause server-side exceptions
• Fixed unit queuing bugs
• Fixed units not being selectable through overlays
• Fixed some UI elements not updating properly after undoing initial found
• Fixed occasional opinion arrow misalignment in event popup
• Fixed city recommendation assert
• Fixed workers and ships in cities with no defenses not taking damage from attacks
• Fixed clicks on parts of the UI selecting map elements behind them
• Fixed Continents map script bug
• Fixed Caravans being unable to travel through anarchy territory
• Fixed improvements being repairable inside hostile territory
• Fixed unit health bars appearing incorrectly for some attack previews
• Fixed the Ignore Map Nation Starts option not working on some maps
• Fixed Family Seat founding bonus not showing in the setup screens and in game before player has founded their capital
• Fixed Road To overlay not updating when changing mouseover tile
• Fixed flickering issue when hovering over build recommendations on some parts of the screen
• Fixed bug where AI could still win in some cases when player achieves victory on the same turn
• Fixed goal threshold bug incorrectly making ambitions invalid
• Fixed Barbarian Horde MP achievement not working in hotseat
• Fixed Greek and Assyrian capitol buildings not being shown when adjacent to rivers
• Fixed Allow Negative Cognomens option appearing when no characters option selected
• Fixed Free Court Minister encyclopedia entry with null icon
• Fixed encyclopedia prompt showing on traits with no encyclopedia page
• Fixed encyclopedia null references
• Fixed succession law preview tooltip showing wrong law
• Fixed Courtiers Added stat not increasing when recruiting an existing foreign courtier
• Fixed Organized tribes not healing
• Fixed some AI bugs
• Fixed research UI not updating immediately when yield rates change
• Fixed Carthage scenarios giving a lower-tier victory than earned if one of the goals was completed indirectly
• Fixed Portrait Editor loading issue
• Fixed portrait models potentially obscuring each other
• Fixed unit cycle tooltip sometimes not locking
• Fixed ship building on a tile that has turned to land
• Fixed nested link issue in governor candidate tooltip
• Fixed team color intensity slider
• Fixed map timeline GIF palette not representing border colors correctly
• Fixed citrus grove configuration
• Fixed ZOC display exception
• Fixed pillage notification links selecting units
• Fixed some dropdown appearance issues
• Fixed autobuild cities not repairing upon being founded with a damaged settler
• Fixed bug in effectCity help text yield breakdown
• Fixed occurrence effects after a new city has been founded
• Fixed sporadic disconnections in network and server games when one or more player slots are open
• Fixed pathfinding for hidden units
• Fixed AI bug that caused it to sometimes move units back and forth between the same tiles
• Fixed null pointer if an init phase EffectPlayer, i.e. from difficulty mode, uses miReligionOpinionChange (only affects mods)
• Fixed aiUnitTraitConsumptionModifier help text bug (only affects mods)
• Fixed repair yield purchase for Stateira (Wonders and Dynasties)
• Fixed Flood not displaying correctly in some cases (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed Calamity level showing on in-game difficulty mode and game parameters tooltips, if the content is disabled in the current game (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed calamity postprocessing profiles overriding postprocessing settings from graphics settings i.e. Motion Blur (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed some rendering issues when terrain changes height (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed calamity effects being removed from rivers too early in some cases (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed eruptions displaying on volcanos obscured by fog of war (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed double legitimacy penalty when abandoning a Demand (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed trees removed from building improvements not being counted for demands (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed issue where some global calamities that target tiles were instead targeting all tiles (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed Wrath of Gods scenario victory event not triggering when next victory becomes impossible (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed Wrath of Gods scenario duplicate victory threshold events in some cases (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed Hurricanes not displaying correctly in some cases (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed wrath generation issues casued by Undo / Restart Map (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed mid and major raid Occurrences being invalidated (Wrath of Gods)
• Fixed Calamities causing city sites to become impassable (Wrath of Gods)
• Global Occurrence fixes (Wrath of Gods)
• Text and event fixes

• Each of the 7 kingdoms has four noble families that provide various benefits when put in charge of your cities.
  
• Manage family ties through events, actions, and marriages to keep them happy and reap additional benefits. Upset them, or make them too powerful, and you risk their ire.
  
• Maintain a strong family unit, or distract yourself with more illicit adventures.

• Seek out and recruit famed warriors, philosophers, builders, and more. Have them tutor your children, lead your armies, and further your reign.
  
• Different personality archetypes allow your court members to perform different tasks in similar roles. Find the right combinations to take full advantage of governors, diplomats, spymasters, and even your spouse.
  
• Characters develop new personalities and traits over time, growing old, gaining experience, and finally falling ill and passing away, leaving room for the next generation.

• Discover artifacts and great heroes of the past at ruins scattered across the map.
  
• Experience over 3,000 unique events inspired by history and mythology.
  
• Contact with foreign dignitaries triggers event chains, stories, and courtroom drama.
  
• Pursue ambitions and legacies related to conquest, development, faith, and more.
  
• Historically inspired scenarios, weekly challenge games, and a choice between randomly generated and handcrafted maps to explore. Lead Carthage to victory as Hannibal in the Punic Wars, hold your own against Barbarian Hordes, or compete against other players in tackling fictional scenarios.

• Go beyond the traditional resources. Buildings are made of wood and stone, not "industry." Population doesn't grow off "food" alone.
  
• Orders are a resource shared across your realm. Instead of moving every unit once per turn, each unit can be moved multiple times until fatigued or Orders are depleted.
  
• Technological advancement is not predetermined. Randomization helps keep technology trees feeling fresh with each new playthrough.
  
• Quality of life improvements, such as the ability to undo mistaken commands and nested tooltips, ensure you're always making informed decisions.
  
• Play with friends in countless multiplayer modes — from hotseat, to asynchronous, to cloud play.
  
• Mods further open up infinite options for new worlds, empires, and dynasties — inspired by our real world, and by works of fiction as well.

• OS: Ubuntu 18.04+
• Processor: Intel i5-6400 2.7ghz or similarMemory: 8 GB RAM
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 770 / AMD R9 290
• Storage: 10 GB available space

• OS: Ubuntu 20.04+
• Processor: Intel i5-8500 3ghz or similarMemory: 16 GB RAM
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 5500-XT
• Storage: 14 GB available space