AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th February)

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AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th February)

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  • Hello everyone. The purpose of this topic is to keep the community apprised of progress on the fan patch. I'll be updating this as more news come to hand, so look out for those updates!

    --------------------------

    [14th December 2008]
  • Discussions begun on possible balance changes for Fan Patch 1.1 (hereafter FP 1.1), focusing primarily upon which civilization to use as the baseline for balance. That means all other civilizations will be balanced against this particular civilization.
  • The size of our play-tester team has been increased dramatically (from 8 to 22). We decided some time ago that we would be balancing for team gameplay alongside 1v1 gameplay in FP 1.1, so as a result we have recruited many top team players (we obviously need that many people to play-test in 3v3 games). These people are mostly from the Japanese community, who have the strongest grounding in team games.
  • We have begun noting any bugs that have arisen from FP 1.0. We invite the community to report any bugs they find.
  • First build created for FP 1.1. Testing begins.

    [19th December 2008]
  • We have received an impressive donation from matsujun to host tournaments promoting the release of FP 1.0, as well as FP 1.1 later on. The staff at AgeSanctuary would like to thank matsujun very much for his gracious donation. More details to follow shortly.
  • Testing has begun on the second iteration of FP 1.1 (i.e. 1.1.1). Each iteration represents tweaks and modifications from the previous iteration. Once everyone agrees that an iteration is complete and requires no more changes it becomes the final patch. FP 1.0 required 15 iterations until we achieved a build suitable for release.
  • We believe we have solved the map CRC/OOS problem which will allow us to include modified maps in FP 1.1. Testing continues to prove that our solution is working.

    [27th December 2008]
  • Our solution for changing maps has proven to work, so we are changing many of the existing maps to make them better balanced.
  • Most veteran units are being changed so that their stats are colonial-based.
  • In our first patch iteration, we tried to balance the Germans, Dutch, French, and Spanish so that they could become our baseline civs. We tried to nerf the first, and boost the latter 3 to be as close in strength as possible.
  • In our second iteration, we added the Portuguese into the mix, and made some minor adjustments to the first four civilizations.
  • Now we are on our third iteration, and are gradually trying to work on the more unique civilizations - starting with the British, Iroquois, and Russians.
  • Here is an example of some of the changes being tested for the Portuguese.

    None of the balance changes listed below are final.
    o Free hunting dogs at start.
    o Cassadore colonial stats set to 5 hand damage and 15 ranged damage.
    o Cards swapped so that attack and hitpoint cards are available in age 2 and the combat card is available in age 3. Card swapping has to be done in a very particular way so that we don't break online decks. We can't just change the age. Instead unique cards are swapped with other unique cards from different ages. The biggest side effect of this method is that cards will be found in unexpected categories when building decks. For example, TEAM Gunpowder Infantry Hitpoints will be found in the Cathedral instead of the Academy.
    + HCCheapOutpostsTeam: Moved to age 4 slot belonging to HCRangedInfantryDamagePortuguese.
    + HCImprovedWallsTeam: Moved to age 4 slot belonging to HCRangedInfantryHitpointsPortugueseTeam.
    + HCNavigationSchool: Moved to age 1 slot belonging to HCCheapOutpostsTeam.
    + HCXPHouseofBraganca: Moved to age 4 slot belonging to HCRangedInfantryCombatPortuguese.
    + HCRangedInfantryHitpointsPortugueseTeam: Moved to age 2 slot belonging to HCImprovedWallsTeam.
    + HCRangedInfantryDamagePortuguese: Moved to age 2 slot belonging to HCNavigationSchool
    + HCRangedInfantryCombatPortuguese: Moved to age 3 slot belonging to HCXPHouseofBraganca

    [2nd January 2009]
  • Testing begins on the 4th interation of the 1.1 patch which includes balance changes for British, Dutch, French, Germans, Iroquois, Portuguese and Spanish.
  • Some general balance changes include 90 wood fishing boats and changes to both European and Asian Schooners as well as 0 LOS walls.
  • Map Changes
    o California replaced with new map.
    o Great Lakes replaced with new map.
    o Hispaniola replaced with new map.
    o New England replaced with new map.
    o Ozarks replaced with new map.
    o Pampas replaced with new map.
    o Patagonia replaced with new map.
    o Rockies replaced with new map.
    o Sonora replaced with new map.
    o New Map = Dakota Badlands
    o New Map = New Unknown
  • Map Set Changes
    o Pampas added to Random Land Maps.
    o All Maps Set changed so that all of the maps have an equal chance of being selected.
    o Standard Maps Set changed so that all the maps have an equal chance of being selected.
  • Bug Fixes
    o Rifling tech affects Renegados and Thuggees.
    o Caracole tech affects Comancheros.
    o Bayonet tech affects Pistoleros and Dacoits.
    o YPHCGurkhaAid card now affects Mansabdar Gurkhas.
    o UpgradeTech flag added to ImperialRabaulds and Paper Cartridge. Removed from Star Fort.
    o XPRevolutionOHiggins upgrade order changed, so Imperial Hussars displays correctly.
    o NatXPKlamathHuckleberryFeast changed to -0.67, making 10 crates of food possible.
    o Indian and Sioux Surgeons can now construct Field Hospitals.
    o HCMusketeerGrenadierHitPoints now correctly affects Janissaries.
    o NatMercHuronMantlet are now AbstractInfantry.
    o ypConsulateBashkirPony now have 20% ranged resistance.
    o OutpostWagons can now build War Huts.
    o xpAztecWarchief: Damage flag added to hand attack; he should not hurt allied units with the Smoking Mirror card anymore.
    o ypConsulateCarabineer: Stats brought in line with regular Ruyters.
    o xpBuilderStart changed to startingunit, so it will interfere less with early settler pathing.
    o xpMedicineManAztec changed to startingunit, so it will interfere less with early settler pathing.
    o xpBuilderStart changed to startingunit, so it will interfere less with early settler pathing.
    o Tried moving the War Chiefs to the top of the Proto to see if that'll help with the issue where Warchiefs in a group won't pick up a treasure.

    [9th January 2009]
  • We are still on the 4th iteration of the FP 1.1 beta. With changes to several civs being play-tested, it will take us progressively longer to finalise balance changes at this point.
  • Balance discussions are of course still ongoing. The 'Portuguese Changes' topic in our FP private forum has passed 250 replies.
  • Work continues on re-balancing maps, with RF_Gandalf doing a good job of not only re-balancing, but in the case of Rockies doing a complete re-design.
  • Below are some preview images for the 'New Rockies' map. What we had to do was a complete re-design. The old Rockies had a limited number of approaches to players' bases - you could either camp in your base, or alternatively prevent your opponent from leaving their base. That made things very difficult if you didn't have a civilization suited to the map's gameplay. We have worked to address such concerns, with several openings in the cliffs, a re-designed trade route to encourage people to take more trade posts, and a widened valley in the middle to reward more aggressive map control.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):
    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... iew1sm.jpg[/img][img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... iew2sm.jpg[/img][img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... iew3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:

    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 471417.gif[/img][img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 471440.gif[/img]

    [17th January 2009]
  • This week, we have almost finalized our changes with the French, Germans and Spanish. We are also coming close to finishing our testing with the Portuguese, which we have had to give small nerfs to during this iteration, in order to make up for our last set of boosts. Below are some changes that we have finalized. Additional changes are being discussed and tested for these civilizations as well, with so far positive results. These other changes will be posted soon.
    o British
    - Longbows given -1 attack, +.25x multiplier against heavy infantry.
    o French
    - Shipments are obtained at .95 of the original shipment time (~5% faster).
    o Germans
    - HCShipCrossbowmen3German: 9 crossbowmen decreased to 8.
    - HCShipUhlans4: 9 uhlans decreased to 8.
    - Settler wagons deplete .75 coin for every 1.00 coin they gather.
    o Spanish
    - HCShipRodeleros1: 5 rodeleros increased to 6.
    - HCHandCavalryCombatSpanish: now effects Dragoons too.
  • In addition to finalizing these changes, the patch team has started its 5th iteration of the patch, now including changes for Aztecs, Ottomans, and Sioux. There has been lengthy debate on what extent that these civilizations should be changed, and what exactly should be done with them. We plan to test and build multiple iterations in order to come to sound solutions for the problems facing these civilizations.

    [28th January 2009]
  • During our testing with the last iteration of our beta, we were quite surprised with the outcome of some of our newest changes. We have only just started testing changes for our 6th and newest beta based on our latest findings with the Aztecs, Sioux, and Ottomans. We are also trying out small adjustments to China with hopes for success.
  • For the Aztecs, we have applied mostly nerfs to their firepit bonus, as well as modifications for their colonial units. We planned to see whether they would have new weaknesses due to these changes, and see if we could address them. Luckily, the Aztecs have so far have been surprisingly competitive.
  • With the Ottomans, we have tried applying boosts to their economy based on their mosque technologies, as well as minor adjustments to janissaries and abus guns. Their economy turned out fairly competitive, but we quickly found them to be overwhelmingly powerful. We now plan to test further adjustments to abus guns and janissaries.
  • We have also decided to address the imbalances associated with some of the unit conversion cards. We hope to make each card convert units to only the same and similar costing unit type. Since Russia only has one ranged infantry unit, we are considering making Suvorov Reforms convert strelets into a weak proto skirmisher type unit. Han Reforms will also be changed to have a lower effect on the old han banner army, as we believe the current effect is much too strong.

    [5th February 2009]
  • We are still on the 6th iteration of the FP 1.1 beta, with testing still ongoing on the current set of changes.
  • The team has been discussing the patch's progress so that we can think about when we should release the patch. As a result, a rough estimate for FP 1.1's release is early March sometime - although don't shoot me if there are delays!
  • Below are some changes that we are looking to include in the fan patch. Additional changes are being discussed and tested for these civilizations as well, with so far positive results. These other changes will be posted soon. Also, these changes are subject to edits and/or removal from the patch at any time.
    o General
    - Industrial age cavalry training church technology effect reduced to -25% and cost changed to 350 gold.
    - Plantation cost changed to 600 wood, and build/kill bounty reduced by 25% accordingly.
    - HCMercsMamelukes: 5 Mamelukes decreased to 4.
    o Dutch
    - +1 wood crate at start.
    o Germans
    - War Wagon: Train time decreased to 48 seconds.
    - HCShipSettlerWagons4: Ships 3 settler wagons instead of 3 settler wagons and 2 uhlans.
    o Spanish
    - Rodelero: Attack increased from 10 to 11.
    - HCShipLancers1: 3 Lancers increased to 4.
    - PoliticianAdventurerSpanish: (The Adventurer) 4 crossbowmen / 4 pikemen changed to 5 settlers
  • RF_Gandalf continues to work on the new maps being included in the fan patch. Here's a sneak peek at the latest maps: Gold Rush and Shangra La.

    Gold Rush
    This map takes much of its' design concept from the same map that was present in Age of Empires 2. Each player starts with a limited gold supply, and this forces them to rush as it were for the treasure trove of mines located centrally.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):

    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/gr1sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/gr2sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/gr3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:

    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 815870.gif[/img][img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 815838.gif[/img]

    Shangra La
    Players begin in a barren patch of plateau, and are separated from the valley of Shangra La by a sheer mountain range that can be traversed through a number of mountain passes. Resources on the plateau are scarce, but the valley is packed with plenty of resources.

    This map is not necessarily intended for 'standard' play, due to its odd and unique arrangement. One thing I must stress is that current testing has shown that players start too far from the valley. This may well be addressed before we release the patch.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):
    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ala1sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ala2sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ala3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:
    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 816605.gif[/img][img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 816636.gif[/img]

    [15th February 2009]
  • We are now on the 7th iteration of the FP 1.1 beta (i.e. patch 1.1.6). We're looking at ramping up our balance testing, so everything that we've discussed over the past few months we're looking over to see if it should be tested and included in FP 1.1.
  • Here are some balance changes that we are testing in 1.1.6. Additional changes are being discussed and tested for these civilizations as well, with so far positive results. These other changes will be posted soon. Also, these changes are subject to edits and/or removal from the patch at any time.
    o General
    - Explorer: +2 LOS.
    - Converted guardians, native scouts, mongolian scouts, envoys, and native treasures given ×0.1 attack vs explorers and villagers.
    - Socket Bayonet: Cost decreased from 400 wood, 400 gold to 200 wood, 200 gold.
    - Advanced Arsenal: (HCAdvancedArsenal) In addition to pre-patch effects, decreases Arsenal cost by 50%. Automatically researches socket bayonet when sent by Russia.
    o Russians
    - HCShipCossacks4: 5 cossacks decreased to 4.
    - Boyars: (HCUniqueCombatRussian) 15% unit boosts changed to 10%.
    - Suvorov Reforms: (HCXPSuvorovReforms) Transforms strelets into a proto skirmisher unit, with 12 attack and 96 HP.
    o Ottomans
    - Janissary: Ranged attack increased from 20 to 21. Hit Points decreased from 235 to 210. Cavalry bonus increased from ×2.0 to ×2.25. Light Infantry bonus increased from ×1.5 to ×1.8.
    - ChurchMilletSystem: Cost changed from 100 wood to 125 food, 125 wood, 125 gold. Availability moved from age 1 to age 2. Reduces settler train time by 5 seconds and delivers 2 settlers.
    - ChurchKopruluViziers: Cost changed from 250 wood to 180 food, 180 wood, 180 gold. Reduces settler train time by 5 seconds and delivers 3 settlers.
    - ChurchAbbassidMarket: Cost changed from 600 wood to 300 food, 300 wood, 300 gold. Reduces settler train time by 8 seconds and delivers 5 settlers.
    - ChurchTanzimat: Availability changed from age 4 to age 3. Increases settler build limit to 99.
    - HCMosqueConstruction: (Mosque Construction) Cost reductions adjusted for new ChurchMilletSystem, ChurchKopruluViziers and ChurchAbbassidMarket costs.
    o Sioux
    - Economic shipments deliver free bison (All Wise Woman shipments excluding the bison shipments, all villager shipments, town center wagon, advanced dock, advanced plantations, advanced market, advanced farm, and advanced trade post). Age 1 economic cards give 1 free bison, age 2 economic cards give 2 free bison, age3 economic cards give 3 free bison, and age4 economic cards give 4 bison.
    - Bow Rider: Ranged attack decreased from 20 to 17. Hand attack decreased from 10 to 8.5. Heavy Cavalry bonus increased from ×2.25 to ×2.75. Coyote Man bonus increased from ×1.5 to ×2.2. Added ×0.75 attack penalty vs villagers.
    - Cetan Bow: Hit points increased from 90 to 100.
  • I have been negotiating with some individual sponsors to hold a tournament to promote FP 1.1, and things are proceeding well. As a result the tournament will be announced at the same time the patch is launched, with sign-ups to begin then. It is not going to be like our last few tournaments though!
  • I have been designing some of the art for the new patch. With all the new maps and map sets, it always looks a lot nicer to have custom-made art. For example: Korea | Prairie Rivers
  • Work continues as usual on the maps that are to be included in FP 1.1. Below are some more examples of what RF_Gandalf has designed.

    Prairie Rivers
    Prairie Rivers is a large map that RF_Gandalf designed for treaty gameplay. It is a rather diverse map - although there is always just the 2 rivers, there can be anything from 1 to 4 crossings on each river. In addition, the terrain varies widely, so it should always be a visual delight playing on this map.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):
    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ers1sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ers2sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps ... ers3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:
    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 676827.gif[/img] [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 676853.gif[/img]

    Korea
    Both players begin close together on the Korean peninsula (sound familiar?), but the exception is that they aren't located along the length of the peninsula, but rather along the sides. This was necessary obviously for the purposes of resource balance. Fishing is plentiful, but you have to pay close attention to land warfare seeing as you start so close together.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):
    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Korea1sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Korea2sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Korea3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:
    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 670997.gif[/img] [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 671028.gif[/img]

    Dakota Badlands
    This was the map that won Ensemble's RMS competition, and although they said it would appear in a patch at a future date, they never quite got around to it. We are aware of the fact that it lags on low-end computers, and sometimes there are pathing issues as a result of the cliffs; that is why this map won't be placed in standard maps. Dakota Badlands has been publicly available for some time now (although RF_Gandalf has done some balance changes to it recently), but for those who don't have it here are some preview pictures.

    Screenshot previews (click thumbnails to enlarge):
    [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Dakotas1sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Dakotas2sm.jpg[/img] [img]http://viper.sanctuary-network.com/maps/Dakotas3sm.jpg[/img]

    Map previews:
    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 673712.gif[/img] [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 673737.gif[/img]

    Shangri La changes

    In the last update, I mentioned that changes to Shangri La were likely given that players started too far away from the valley of Shangri La. RF_Gandalf took that and other comments on board and has come up with a new version. The mountain range has been moved eastward, players are placed in better locations (especially in team games), and resource balance has been altered somewhat for more competitive play.

    [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 674884.gif[/img] [img]http://agesanctuary.com/uploads/post-10 ... 674909.gif[/img]
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by Sporting_Lisbon »

The fanpatch is discussed in our members section, check it out :)


actually, an admin has to upgrade your account btw
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by James246 »

Oh... There is a members section?

So, I shouldn't of posted this here?
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by Sporting_Lisbon »

Lol you can post it here, but members section has more information ;)
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by James246 »

Where's the members section?
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by Sporting_Lisbon »

One of the lazy admins has to upgrade your account.
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by Blackadderthe4th »

Those maps look sweet looking forward to playing them oh and try PM StrokeyBlofeld to get your account upgraded quicker James.
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by Sporting_Lisbon »

Korea and prairie rivers definitely look great.
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by James246 »

I just sent him a PM then.

Those new maps do look good.
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by StrokeyBlofeld »

I'm liking the look of the new maps. Account has been upgraded.
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Re: AgeSanctuary FanPatch 1.1 Discussion (Updated 15th Febru

Post by James246 »

Thanks a lot man!

The Dakota Badlands map looks really cool.
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