We're back with a big batch of improvements and bug fixes. Also a new feature: the Server Timeline. Here you can see new villages, ownership changes and more. Finally, the science formula is getting overhauled.
Features added
- Added a Server Timeline page, showing newly settled, tiered up, conquered and destroyed villages and objectives.
Server timeline on the development server, so not much going on
Balance changed
Players who focus on science early get way too far ahead, and players who go for it later are punished harshly. This results in some people finishing the research tree early, while others wait to expand only because of science. We're changing the scaling formula from an exponential to a linear one to make the increase much more gradual.
To get specific: scaling was adjusted from base_cost * 1.1^village_tiers to base_cost * (1 + 0.17 * village_tiers)
This means initial scaling will be slightly steeper, while significantly reducing science costs for bigger players. The break-even point is at tier 15, so 5 cities. The repeatable researches were also made slightly more expensive to fit with this redesign.
As a result, science will be quite cheap this round. We will have new numbers for the next server, so enjoy it while it lasts!
Improvements made
- Reports are now shown by exact arrival time instead of the moment processed by the server.
- Units now walk back from their exact arrival time instead of the moment processed by the server.
- Show 2 decimals for the defensive strength in the village bonuses.
- The Aether purchase form was redesigned so the + and - buttons don't move on changing amounts.
- Added a small space between menu and objectives on the Kingdom overview page for smaller screens.
- The incoming attacks button now shows the open/close text again, and the send troops button is now a reinforce button.
- Removed the full reload when buying resources or builders for Aether.
- Removed the full reload on the village overview when incoming movements arrive that aren't attacks (move, reinforce, return)
- Battle report headers showing the player name and village (User [EMP] from Village (x|y)) now look better on mobile.
Bugs squashed
- Archived reports that involved multiple players were getting deleted if only some of the players involved archived it. We're sorry for any lost reports, and this won't happen in the future. Archived reports are kept until the end of the server.
- Hotfix: can now send delayed (siege) attacks on objectives as intended.
- Fixed floating point error when showing the exchange rate bonus.
- The objective page now shows the correct prestige timer.
- Objective prestige timer now shows smaller/greater than correctly.
- The kingdom page for account production now collapses on 2 lines on mobile.
- An incoming siege attack on the incoming troops page now triggers a full reload on arrival.
- The queue research button once again shows up on repeatable projects if you've completed it more than once.
- The objectives page map link now links to the coordinates of the objectives instead of just the map.
- The message that an attacker has a too low town hall to conquer now only appears when there's Nobles in the attack.
Hope to see you in game! Play Aether Kingdoms now!