Age of Empires IV - Patch Preview 5.1.148

30 Nov 2022Developer post

Source: Steam Community (opens in a new tab)

Editor's Note: We are aware that the Map Preference System currently does not reset votes on rotated-out maps during map rotation. For now, you can click on the "reset" button to regain all votes back to down-vote new maps.

Welcome to our first minor patch of Season Three, Patch 5.1.148! In this patch, we’re making some balance changes to Forest Ponds, Hideout, and Waterholes according to your feedback from our Season Three Public Update Preview, you’ll see some new UI improvements, and you’ll also see better general stability and performance of the game! Thia time, we’re mixing up the Season Three Map Pool, we’re giving some visual updates to the unit healthbar settings, as well as more balance work on the Malian and Ottoman Civilizations.

In addition to all of the above, we’re also taking some time to address some of the feedback we’ve heard from you. Special thanks as well to those of you who filled out our Season Three Survey – your feedback is incredibly helpful to us, so please keep sharing your thoughts!

💬 DISCUSS: Official Forum 💬 DISCUSS: Steam Forum 🗣 JOIN: Official Discord

Thanks again to our amazing community members, all of whom have helped to make Age of Empires what it is today!

—The Age of Empires Team

This is just a small taste of what is coming in the latest update. For a more complete list, please visit our site and check out our blog. Happy Gaming!

`◆ PATCH 5.1.148 ◆`

BUILD SPOTLIGHT

In-Game Languages

Fixed an issue where the Microsoft Store version of the game would not launch in Hindi and instead launched in English.

Healthbar Update

We’ve been making an on-going effort to improve the visibility of unit selections. Since the Season Three PUP, we introduced fully-opaque white outlines around healthbars when you select your units, and this worked well to boost visibility in general. However, we’ve also heard your feedback that this change can be visually distracting in certain scenarios, so we are now iterating on this design. In Patch 5.1.148, healthbars will have a better balance with a 50% opacity outline and a black inner border for improved contrast.

When you toggle the Healthbars Setting to “Always on”.
- All unit healthbars (owned, allied, enemy units) stay visible in 90% opacity, regardless if units are damaged.
- Healthbars opacity will increase to 100% when hovered or selected.
- All selected units will now have a white glow with 50% opacity around their healthbars as opposed to 100%. (same as command card unit cycling effects)
When you toggle the Healthbars Setting to “Smart”.
- All unit healthbars (owned, allied, enemy units) stay hidden until damaged or selected.

Ranked Map Pool Rotation

You’ve shared with us your thoughts on the Season Three Map pool, so we’re freshening up the Ranked map pools! We’ll be swapping out some maps that have been in the pool for multiple seasons with some of the brand-new maps that we introduced in the Anniversary Update. We wanted to hit the goal of providing you a good variety of map styles, while diversifying the maps between 1v1 and Team Game queues. As for voting, you’ll still have three votes in the map preference system to prioritize your favorite maps from the map selection.

1v1 Ranked Pool

Dry Arabia
French Pass
King of the Hill
Lipany
Mediterranean
Mongolian Heights
Prairie
The Pit
Wetlands

Team Ranked Pool

Altai
Black Forest
Boulder Bay
Dry Arabia
Forest Ponds
Hideout
Hill and Dale
The Pit
Wetlands

Caster Mode

Resolved a Hotkey conflict between Observer Mode’s “Toggle fog of war” and the global command “Cycle through Villagers gathering Food”. All Cycle villager commands will now be using “Ctrl+Shift+Key” format, and reserving “Ctrl+F” for fog of war only.