Mike Nelson, Xbox Wire Editor
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Summary
- Ara: History Untold’s first major update features aimed at enhancing player experience and addressing key feedback.
- Version 1.1 is just the start — the road ahead is filled with exciting updates like diplomacy improvements, a map editor, naval supremacy, and more.
- Ara: History Untold is available now for Windows PC, Steam, and with PC Game Pass.
Ara: History Untold is about to receive its first major update with version 1.1, aka the Invisible Hand update, and it’s packed with features aimed at enhancing player experience, addressing key feedback, and setting the stage for more exciting updates. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from the upcoming release.
National Economy Screen – A Game-Changer for Management
One of the most exciting additions is the National Economy screen, designed to streamline resource management and reduce micromanagement, which has been a top request among players. This new screen allows players to globally manage crafting, set supply priorities, and automate improvement processes through the policy screen. If you’ve set policies for certain improvements, the game will automatically check for supplies and apply them as needed, greatly reducing the manual labor.
Jonn A. Macdonald Joins the Roster
As Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald is a disciplined leader who excels in government and military development. His traits reflect his pragmatic governance and resourcefulness.
His Disciplined trait gives a hefty +50% boost to government and military builds, letting you establish a strong infrastructure quickly. However, his Pacifist trait reduces unit strength outside your territory by 10%, encouraging a focus on defensive strategies rather than aggressive expansion. Meanwhile, his Woodsman ability increases timber production from logging camps, making him perfect for players who want to optimize resources while fortifying their nation.
Amenity Pack – Expanding Your Arsenal
Another exciting feature is the addition of over a dozen new amenities that cover technological progress throughout human history. These will give players new tools to shape the development of their nations, expanding on how leaders can shape the lives of their citizens. Whether it’s increasing prosperity or improving national stability, the amenity pack is a valuable new set of assets for strategic depth.
Battle Viewer – The journey begins
While Ara: History Untold isn’t a war game, war is a crucial aspect of gameplay. The new Battle Viewer paves the way for additional depth being added to combat such as showing how different unit types clash with each other as well as the first step to making terrain matter more in combat. The ongoing development of this feature will allow players to better understand the complexities of warfare in Ara, providing more transparency in battles.
Unit Upgrades – Bringing Your Army into the Modern Age
One of the most asked for features has been the ability to upgrade units. In version 1.1, players will be able to upgrade individual units within an army. Gone are the days of marching modern armies alongside spearmen or having to disband units entirely. This feature provides a preview of costs and benefits, ensuring players make informed decisions when upgrading their forces.
Adviser System – Smarter Onboarding
Ara is a big game and while the tutorial provides new players with a straightforward way to learn the game, the team wanted to also provide ongoing advice to players. To address this, a new Adviser system is included as part of 1.1. Leveraging the powerful narrative event system, advisers will offer real-time guidance based on your chosen leader and paragon. While this initial version will live in a panel, future iterations will make advisers more integrated and visible throughout gameplay.
Modding Basics – A Four-Phase Plan
Ara is embracing the modding community with open arms. Version 1.1 introduces the first phase of modding support, allowing players to mod files and use them in their games. Following phases will focus on mod management, sharing, and seamless in-game mod integration. For those eager to tweak and expand their experience, this is a welcome development that will open countless possibilities.
The Earth Map – A Fresh Take on Global Strategy
The much-anticipated Earth Map will make its debut in version 1.1. Balanced for gameplay first, the continents are sized such that each nation has a bit of breathing room. The map will bring historical flavor to the game, but it will also ensure fairness for all players, preventing certain nations from having an overwhelming geographical advantage. With more iterations on the horizon, the Earth Map promises to be a staple for fans of historical strategy. The Ara team plans to continue iterating on this map as additional nations are added, and player feedback comes in.
What’s Next?
Version 1.1 is just the beginning. The roadmap ahead is filled with exciting updates, including diplomacy improvements, a map editor, naval supremacy, supply lines, and even trade routes. Keep an eye out for what’s in store as the game evolves with each update, bringing even more depth and enjoyment to its players.
Ara: History Untold Deluxe Edition
Xbox Game Studios
Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It’s Your World Now.
The Deluxe Edition Includes
• Ara: History Untold Base Game
• Exclusive Leader Collection – featuring five exclusive leaders not included in the base game including: Charlemagne, Genghis Khan, Yoo Gwan Soon, Hildegard and Boudicca.
• Modern Leader Skin Set – enhance five Ara: History Untold leaders (Elizabeth I, Genghis Khan, Nefertiti, Sappho and George Washington) with the Modern Leader Skin Set, featuring modern versions of their in-game costumes.
With your pre-order of the Deluxe Edition receive the Gilded Leader Skin Set.
Ara: History Untold Standard Edition
Xbox Game Studios
Build a nation and lead your people throughout history to the pinnacles of human achievement as you explore new lands, develop arts and culture, conduct diplomacy, and go head-to-head with your rivals to prove you are the greatest ruler ever known. It’s Your World Now.
Ara: History Untold is an evolution in historical grand strategy, featuring beloved classic PC strategy mechanics alongside innovative gameplay like a national crafting economy, true simultaneous turn resolution, a non-linear technology tree, and cloud-backed synchronous/asynchronous multiplayer – all with an expansive and vibrant presentation where you can zoom out from surveying the very edges of your empire all the way down to your citizens living their daily lives. In Ara, there are no pre-set paths to victory, leading to endless possibilities. Your choices will define the world you create, your experience, and your legacy.
Explore an Immersive Living World
Explore a dynamic living world filled with life and charm across sweeping landscapes ranging from tropical jungles to sand-swept deserts as you discover the resources you need to develop your nation. Witness the world come to life in vivid, realistic detail as citizens move throughout the world and react dynamically to times of health and sickness, war and peace, wealth and despair with unique biomes, cultures, and eras representing the diversity of human experience.
Build Your Nation
Serve your people and grow your prestige with numerous Improvements, from forges to libraries, citadels to cathedrals, public parks to industrial factories – as well as a global variety of the greatest architectural Triumphs ever conceived and built by human hands.
Guide your people through the eras of human discovery
Nurture your people’s brilliance and invention as you progress your Nation through twelve unique Technology Eras, making the hard choices about where to focus your Nation’s greatest minds. As you near the end of each Era, you’ll have to decide how fast to push your scientists along the path to the future – at the risk of the present.
Oversee a rich and detailed national economy
Harvest the bounty of the natural world and deploy the labor of your people with a depth-filled National Crafting system. Will you manufacture Amenities – like lavish feasts – to provide your cities and citizens with powerful benefits, or invest in the creation of Equipment – the weapons of war – to prepare your Armies to defend your nation or conquer your rivals? Whatever paths you choose you’ll need to carefully optimize your resources and production to achieve the most efficient systems if you want to outpace your rivals to fortune and lasting glory.
Rule Your Way
Choose from dozens of history’s most influential figures to embody as you reshape the world through your choices. The unique and varied global Leaders and Nations in Ara emphasize a wide variety of different playstyles. Experiment with gameplay-impacting Traits and powerful Leader Abilities drawn from the effect they had on world history. Whether friend or foe, each Leader has a distinct personality based on their historical background that informs their AI behaviors.
Experience True Simultaneous Turns
Every turn each nation’s actions and choices resolve simultaneously, leading to suspense, anticipation, unique outcomes, and surprising twists on the classic turn-based formula. The fate of your people will be determined by your decisions and your ability to predict your opponent’s next move, putting your skill as a leader to the ultimate test.
Defend your people by land, sea, and air
Warfare in Ara is presented in the Living World, as thousands of years of military conflict reflect the progress and martial prowess of your people. Develop technologies to advance your weaponry against your rivals, hone your wartime economy and industry to gain the edge, and outthink your opponent’s strategies as maneuvers resolve authentically at once thanks to the power of True Simultaneous Turns.
Prove Your Worth in Online Multiplayer
Combining the speed and surprise of True Simultaneous Turns with the power of the cloud – multiplayer in Ara is fast, seamless, and able to be enjoyed asynchronously with a wide range of options to tailor you and your friend’s experience to the way you want to play together.
A Microsoft Account is required to play online multiplayer.