Ladder Season 5 Begins!
- Ladder rankings reset
- Your best Season 4 ranking can still be showcased using the distinct Season 4 badges
New Multiplayer Lobbies
- Multiplayer games are now organized through lobbies
- Click "Quick Play" to immediately join Ranked lobby or create one if one isn't available
- Private lobbies - set your lobby to private and share its join code with friends
- Steam friends can join your lobby directly through Steam
New Single-player Skirmish Lobbies
- Single-player skirmish setup now uses a lobby setup similar to multiplayer
- Add bots individually and configure each bot's civilization, difficulty, and aggressiveness
- Assign players and bots to teams manually - uneven teams (like 2v3) are supported
Team Play for Multiplayer and Single-player
- PvP team battles now supported
- Cooperative mode has been merged into Teams Mode. Move and attack orders are immediate if all humans are on the same team.
- Chat with multiplayer teammates by pressing the "/" key
- Allied units can now occupy the same hex
- Units can enter and garrison allied cities
- Units can embark from allied cities with a Harbor
- Units heal in allied territory at the same rate as in their own territory
Experimental AI
A new Experimental bot difficulty is now available. We're experimenting with machine learning based on the behavior of human multiplayer players. Experimental bots do not receive any bonuses. This AI is a work in progress - its current version it will still not be a major challenge for experienced players. We'd love to hear your feedback as we continue to develop it!
- New "Experimental" option in bot difficulty settings, also selectable per bot in skirmish
- Receives no bonuses
- Currently provides a challenge between Normal and Hard AI difficulties
Misc
- Steam Deck readability improvements
- Various performance improvements