Howdy Immortals — another update for our KIS and KAG Experimental Branches, Version 1.6.3. Most of this update focuses on quality of life changes for Multiplayer, Lobby hosting, and dual-monitor setups.
How to play right now: Restart Steam, then right-click Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns or Kohan: Ahriman's Gift in your library — Properties — Game Versions & Betas — select the experimental branch. If the branch is missing or the update will not download, fully exit and restart Steam. This update is version 1.6.3, shown in the bottom-left corner of the main menu.
What's in the update:
Multiplayer Lobbies: Hosted games should now stay visible in the game browser for as long as you keep the lobby open. Previously, a game could disappear from other players' lists after about ~25 minutes, even though the host was still waiting in it.
Hosting and PC Sleep mode: If your PC went into Sleep/Lock mode, or you alt+tabbed for too long, the game would shut down/freeze, turning the lobby invisible to other players. This should no longer occur.
Multiplayer Stability: Leaving a multiplayer match while another player is still chatting should no longer crash the game. This was a longstanding exit-timing issue that players frequently reported as an alt+tab crash.
Second Monitor and Alt-Tab: Switching to another window no longer pauses the game automatically, and the game will keep rendering even if another monitor is in focus. Since single player now keeps running in the background as well, the player must pause deliberately (the escape menu or the pause key) before stepping away.
Mouse Cursor: The game is back on the classic software cursor by default, which should fix the sluggish-feeling pointer some players reported after recent updates. If you preferred the new hardware cursor, you can turn it back on under Options -> Video -> Hardware Cursor.
Films: Films should now be viewable in different versions of the same game. Selecting a film shows which version and mods it was recorded with, and if they differ from what you are running, then the game warns you before viewing instead of refusing. Very old films may not play back perfectly, so it warns you first. A film from KIS cannot be viewed in KAG, and a film in KAG cannot be viewed in KIS.
Sound: Zooming the camera or changing resolution should no longer fluctuate volume improperly — a battle should keep the same volume at every zoom level, and sounds should no longer vanish after zooming in too closely.
New /help Command: Type /help in the in-game chat to see the chat commands and the orders you can give an allied AI — attack, defend, tribute, and more. You can read and learn how to use the full list properly by reading the “AI Commands - README.txt” in the game files folder.
Militia Stats: The militia units’ stats display should now properly include militia bonuses, such as the Garrison's +2 DV. These bonuses were always applied in combat, but their UI displayed values that were incorrect. There are no changes to combat from this UI fix.
Mods: Enabling two mods at the same time that replace the same game files is now refused with an explanation, instead of leaving the game unable to start. If a modded launch does go wrong, the next launch runs with mods turned off, so that you can get back to the menu.
First Launch: On a fresh install, the game should now set itself up for your monitor automatically — your screen's resolution and borderless fullscreen — instead of needing manual setup before it looks right.
Menu Bars: The pillarbox option is now called Pillarbox Menus (21:9 Only), naming exactly what it does and the shape it is for. It should now show its side bars correctly on standard monitors as well as ultrawides. If you pick a resolution that is a different shape than your monitor, the Video options now gives you a warning that the game will show bars.
Restore Defaults: Restore Defaults in Options now only resets the tab you are on. Using it on the Keybindings tab should no longer change your resolution or switch the game into windowed mode, for example.
If you want to play with your friends, make sure you are all on the same branch and the same version number, shown in the bottom-left of the main menu. The default and original-release branches are unchanged.
Thank you for your continued feedback and support!
— Lootmax Games