Announcing the Sprite Update Open Beta

Hi all!

Now that the Secrets of the Archmages are slowly being revealed and we can finally talk about all the exciting things coming with the Free Update. Starting now the Sprite Update is in Open Beta for all Steam Users. Steam Owners of Age of Wonders 4 can access the Sprite Update by opting into the sprite_beta branch (see instructions below).

This beta contains the long awaited Empire Development Tree Update, nearly doubling the Tree in size. For owners of Empires & Ashes, this update also contains the surprise Reaver Culture Rework. But that’s not all, we have the new Narrative Content Filters as well as a Teams Update that will give more flexibility to your game starts.

 With our Open Beta’s we set out for two things:

• A big benefit of our Open Betas is the incredible amount of Stability feedback we receive. What you’re receiving today is the version of the game we will be submitting for Certification. While this Open Beta is running we’re simultaneously developing our Day 0 Patch. Things might be a bit more hotcode but this allows us to address the most pressing issues for our Release Build.

• We also want to give the Modding Community a headstart in updating their content to match the new update. We’ve done some testing to verify initial compatibility but there’s a vast variety of mods and mod combinations out there.

After updating to the Sprite Beta your in-game version will read 1.015.000.121941.

The most effective way to provide us with feedback is by making a Discussion Thread in the Open Beta Discussions. There’s a couple different types of Feedback that we can process during this Beta period.

• Balance

  • With all of these changes there will naturally be a lot of Balance Feedback. Our goal is to address any extreme imbalances and important feedback that needs to be tackled for the Release. We only have time to make these changes until Friday June 5th.

  • Balance changes that require us to change text can be handled as long as they are made before June 1st. Any text-involved balance change as well as smaller balance concerns will be addressed during our regular development period as resources allow.

• Stability

  • Crashes reported with the Crash Tool will automatically show up in our back end, so when you experience a crash please make sure to Upload those.

  • If you have a Blocker i.e. a Crash or Hang that will not allow you to continue your game, please make a report and include your Crash Report Name - given after upload - so we can tackle it.

  • Any general Bugs reported are welcome but not the main focus of this period, we’ll try to address those in a timely manner depending on our available resources.

• Modding

  • If you experience issues and suspect that it might be related to one of the mods you have installed, then please verify which mod it may be by disabling your mods. If you’ve determined which Mod is causing your issue try to contact the Mod Developer first.

  • If you experience crashes with your mods, then please make a thread as stated above. While outdated mods can cause issues, we do try to ensure that they do not crash.

Secrets of the Archmages Release

The final Update of this Beta will be when we submit the D0P for Certification. After that the branch will remain active until the release of Secrets of the Archmages & the Sprite Update on June 16th.

When the time of release hits the Beta branch will be updated to include the Secrets of the Archmages Content, this ensures a smooth transition for users switching back to the Default branch. A few hours after release ~18 CEST, the Sprite Beta Branch will be disabled and removed. Any remaining users will be automatically moved back to Default when this occurs but it’s advised to switch back yourself after you’ve verified that you have access to the Secrets of the Archmages content on the Beta Branch.

If you want to take part in the beta there are a few important things you need to know!

• This Beta is only available on Steam, owners on Console, Epic or Gog will receive the full Scorpion Update alongside the Rise from Ruin Culture Pack on March 9th.

• If a save has been made in Open Beta, there’s no going back! You will not be able to open that save in the game outside of the beta until the beta ends on March 9th!

• Spent Pantheon Points & Unlocked Content do not transfer between branches. If you unlock the new Pantheon Content included with the Scorpion Update during the Beta and decide to switch back your spent points will be lost. The Pantheon Content will need to be reacquired when returning to the beta branch or upon release.

• Only use this in multiplayer if all participants agree. Make sure you do not use the beta in multiplayer without checking with the other players first, once a multiplayer game session has been updated to use the open beta, you cannot go back to previous versions!

To switch to a custom branch in the Steam client, right-click on the game from the library page and select "Properties".

Among the available tabs will be the "Game Versions & Betas" tab.

The Scorpion Beta should be listed in the dropdown menu under "Selected Game Version" A restart of your Steam Client may be needed if the Branch isn’t visible.

Check out the full list of changes included in the Sprite Update here

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