Steam News8 August 20261d ago

Update 0.17.0 - The bot update

0.17.0 New opponents The AI has been rewritten from the ground up. Instead of a single generic opponent, you now choose a named character to play against, each with its own economy, army composition and way of attacking

In this update4

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Full Explorers of Esmar update

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What changed

0 fixes2 additions6 changes1 removal

Balance
Security
Server
UI and audio
Gameplay

changedNew opponentsThe AI has been rewritten from the ground up. Instead of a single generic opponent, you now choose a named character to play against, each with its own economy, army composition and way of attacking.

changedNew opponentsLivia Vulpes Varra, "The Fox" — Difficulty ★★☆ Expands efficiently. Raids vulnerable targets. Mixes unit types. Retreats from unfavorable fights. Tries to exploit weaknesses.

addedNew opponentsChoose an opponent — a new lobby screen shows each character's portrait, difficulty rating and description before you seat them. Bots talk back. A new callout panel pops up with a portrait, a voice line and a written message when a bot commits to an attack, wins one, loses one, or comes under attack from you. Portraits react to what happened, and callouts are synced to every client in multiplayer. All characters, callouts and descriptions are fully localized (EN, DE, ES, FR, KO, PL, ZH). ⚠ Please note that savegames from previous versions cannot be loaded with this update!

addedNew featuresSpectator mode — take a free seat as a spectator in the lobby, watch the match unfold, and jump into an open slot with the new Join match button. Spectators see attack warnings and get their own chat notifications.

changedNew featuresPhoto mode — press F1 to detach the camera into a free orbit with depth-of-field blur and a hidden UI, Escape to return. (First iteration — more to come.)

changedBalanceMilitia nerfed across the board: leather archers 55 HP / 6 damage → 40 HP / 3 damage , leather spearmen 60 HP / 8 damage → 45 HP / 4 damage . Cheap infantry is now a stopgap rather than a strategy.

Explorers of Esmar changes

changedThe AI has been rewritten from the ground up. Instead of a single generic opponent, you now choose a named character to play against, each with its own economy, army composition and way of attacking.

changedLivia Vulpes Varra, "The Fox" — Difficulty ★★☆ Expands efficiently. Raids vulnerable targets. Mixes unit types. Retreats from unfavorable fights. Tries to exploit weaknesses.

addedChoose an opponent — a new lobby screen shows each character's portrait, difficulty rating and description before you seat them. Bots talk back. A new callout panel pops up with a portrait, a voice line and a written message when a bot commits to an attack, wins one, loses one, or comes under attack from you. Portraits react to what happened, and callouts are synced to every client in multiplayer. All characters, callouts and descriptions are fully localized (EN, DE, ES, FR, KO, PL, ZH). ⚠ Please note that savegames from previous versions cannot be loaded with this update!

addedSpectator mode — take a free seat as a spectator in the lobby, watch the match unfold, and jump into an open slot with the new Join match button. Spectators see attack warnings and get their own chat notifications.

changedPhoto mode — press F1 to detach the camera into a free orbit with depth-of-field blur and a hidden UI, Escape to return. (First iteration — more to come.)

0.17.0 New opponents

The AI has been rewritten from the ground up. Instead of a single generic opponent, you now choose a named character to play against, each with its own economy, army composition and way of attacking.

Gaius Asinus Maximus, "The Donkey"— Difficulty ★☆☆ Produces endless cheap militia and light infantry. Never upgrades. Attacks too early. Spends resources inefficiently.
Livia Vulpes Varra, "The Fox"— Difficulty ★★☆ Expands efficiently. Raids vulnerable targets. Mixes unit types. Retreats from unfavorable fights. Tries to exploit weaknesses.
Quintus Aquilus, "The Eagle"— Difficulty ★★★ Prefers strong units. Defends his territory well. Uses every tool at his disposal to destroy you — heavy towers, garrisons, siege workshops and a standing reserve.

Choose an opponent — a new lobby screen shows each character's portrait, difficulty rating and description before you seat them. Bots talk back. A new callout panel pops up with a portrait, a voice line and a written message when a bot commits to an attack, wins one, loses one, or comes under attack from you. Portraits react to what happened, and callouts are synced to every client in multiplayer. All characters, callouts and descriptions are fully localized (EN, DE, ES, FR, KO, PL, ZH). ⚠ Please note that savegames from previous versions cannot be loaded with this update!

New features

Attack move — hold Ctrl while ordering units to move and they will engage anything hostile on the way instead of walking past it. The cursor changes to reflect the order.
Spectator mode — take a free seat as a spectator in the lobby, watch the match unfold, and jump into an open slot with the new Join match button. Spectators see attack warnings and get their own chat notifications.
Photo mode — press F1 to detach the camera into a free orbit with depth-of-field blur and a hidden UI, Escape to return. (First iteration — more to come.)
Volumetric construction progress — building sites now show thick walls instead of a just a texture cut-off.
Dedicated forester planting areas — forester huts now only plant within a small dedicated surrounding area instead of a arbitrary area. That saves space, is more efficient and easier to manage.

Balance

Militia nerfed across the board: leather archers 55 HP / 6 damage → 40 HP / 3 damage, leather spearmen 60 HP / 8 damage → 45 HP / 4 damage. Cheap infantry is now a stopgap rather than a strategy.

Improvements

Updated watchtower and residential house textures.
Concurrent sound playback is now capped, removing audio pile-ups in large battles.
Item distribution between consumers is now fair, and transport prioritization was reworked.

Source

Steam News / 8 August 2026

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