Patch 4.8 is a patch for Age of Empires II HD: The African Kingdoms. It was released on December 13, 2016.
MP restore[]
The MP restore system was upgraded and the underlying lobby architecture improved to work with the current save / load structure and player profile systems.
- MP games can now be saved correctly and restored.
- File Transfer now functions correctly in the MP lobby.
- A green loading bar now displays progress for all players.
- MP saves, custom scenarios and custom maps now transfer correctly.
- Please note that old MP restore games may no longer load correctly (4.7 and older).
Performance[]
Extensive profiling and significant improvements were made to the rendering system. Most machines (including minimum spec) have shown steady improvements, however, some configurations with integrated graphics cards may not see as significant FPS improvements.
Recommendations and tools[]
- If players are unable to hold 60 FPS:
- Disable Vsync in the options menu. If FPS is in between 30 and 60 players may attain a higher FPS average with vsync off.
- Disable Render 3D Water in the options menu.
- If players have battery power concerns (running a laptop under battery power):
- Ensure setmaxfps is set to 60 or enable Vsync to ensure optimal usage.
- To view FPS rate press F11 twice in game.
- To change max FPS open the in game chat box and type "setmaxfps 60" (replacing 60 with the desired value). When players press enter they will see a chat notification. They will also need to disable Vsync in order to see FPS rates higher than 60.
Improvements and Optimizations[]
Vsync[]
- Scrolling improvements have been made.
- Software limiter has been added.
- FPS counter has been added (press F11 twice in game).
- FPS limiter has been added and the max FPS is defaulted to 60 FPS when Vsync is disabled.
Rendering optimization[]
- Default Hardware Vertex Processing has been adjusted.
- Terrain lighting and tile updates have been optimized.
- Terrain rendering improvements have been made to the tile system to make them render more efficiently (this is most visible in LudiKris maps sizes).
- Terrain rendering improvements have been to be more efficient in deciding what tiles to render (making L).
- 3D elements have been optimized.
Timing and scheduling changes[]
- Game now utilizes one CPU core more efficiently and requires less power consumption (specifically on laptops).
- Scrolling has been improved and is now smoother in more situations.
- Network events now respond faster.
Game focus[]
- Game now continues to render to the window when it loses focus.
- Sound output will continue to shut off when the window loses focus.
Mp3 Streamer Optimization[]
- Audio data now has a smaller buffer and loads more frequently.
- Audio no longer loads when the music slider is turned down completely.
General[]
- A rare crash was addressed when rapidly refreshing and joining multiple lobbies.
- Lobby co-op flow has been improved and player civilizations are now updated correctly.
- Lobby Location no longer includes expansion maps in Full Random.
- Civilization jingles now play for all players when loading into gameplay (not just the host).
- In-game score list now display AI leader names.
- In-game flares now display in the sender's player colour.
- In-game help text (like Town Center upgrades) should now display correctly.
- Farms no longer appear or sound depleted when they are not.
- Save Chapter (F9) and Save Game (F12) now have a small delay between clicks to prevent performance spikes and crashes when the game is saving.
- Vote dialog now times out disconnected players after 20 seconds (down from 30). This is to ensure the remaining players receive the correct packet updates when a player disconnects.
- Beach terrain now correctly updates when other textures are placed over it.
- Various minor translation and localization issues have been addressed.
Persians: No longer randomly use Saracen villager voices.
Workshop[]
- The structure of the main-screen.json file has been altered. In order to prevent existing main menu mods from crashing, the file has been renamed to main-menu.json. Any existing mods will cease to work until they are ported to the new structure and republished.
- Publishing/Updating more than 1 mod in a row is now possible.
Balance changes and bug fixes[]
Armor class fixes[]
- Elite War Wagon has been updated (fixed armor Class 28 'Cavalry Archers' and Class 0 for all civilizations except Gaia).
- Non-Elite Genitour has been updated (fixed armor Class 28 'Cavalry Archers').
- Non-Elite Caravel has been updated (fixed armor Class 19 'Unique Units').
- (Heavy/Imperial) Camels have been updated (fixed attack vs. Class 30 'HD Camels' and is vs. Class 0 for all civilizations except Gaia).
- Indian Camel armor bonus values have been removed (it incorrectly increased their now-defunct ship armor).
- Eagles (Scout, Warrior, and Elite Warrior) have been updated (fixed attack vs. Class 30 'HD Camels').
- Eastern and Nordic Swordsmen have been updated (fixed attack vs. Class 21 'Standard Buildings' and is vs. Class 0 for all civilizations except Gaia).
- Archer, Crossbowman, and Arbalester have been updated (fixed attack Class 13 'Stone Defense' which was previously only set for Gaia).
- Camel Archers now have anti-spearmen bonus (0 attack against spearmen), so Parthian Tactics can properly affect Camel Archers of other civilizations, like Saracen Camel archers in the first scenario of Berber campaign.
General[]
- Trade Cogs now turn instantly when returning from a Dock.
- Trade Carts now have a smaller collision radius (less blockage on trade routes).
- Fortified Walls take the same time to build as Stone Walls (both 10s now, previously 11s/10s).
- Korean "Faster Fortification" bonus now properly affects Fortified Walls.
- Certain Gate orientations no longer construct faster than others (487&488).
- Arrowslits:
- Elite Skirmisher upgrade costs 200 wood, 100 gold (reduced from 250 wood, 160 gold).
- Husbandry costs 150 food (reduced from 250 food), research time reduced from 50s to 40s.
- Fire Galley line fires projectiles which track moving targets.[note 1]
- Fire Galley -5 hit points (reduced from 100 to 95).
- Siege Tower costs 200 wood, 160 gold (reduced from 300 wood, 160 gold).
- Acacia Trees are now worth 150 wood (increased from 100 wood).
- Demolition Raft speed -0.1 (reduced from 1.6 to 1.5).
Aztecs[]
- Military creation bonus (+16.5%) doesn't apply to Monks.
- Get Demolition Raft.
- Genitours are now created faster when playing as the Aztecs.
Berbers[]
- Cavalry discount staggered to -15/20% in the Castle/Imperial Age.
- Receive Ring Archer Armor.
- Non-Elite Genitours -1 attack, +1 range.
- Kasbah is longer (doubly) applied to the player researching it.[note 2]
Byzantines[]
- Greek Fire costs 250 food, 300 gold (instead of 250 food, 450 gold).
Ethiopians[]
- (Elite) Skirmishers no longer have an increased fire rate (only Archer line is affected).
- Upgraded (Heavy) Scorpion projectile has 0.3 size.
- (Elite) Shotel Warrior anti-building bonus reduced to 0/1 (down from 2/3).
Franks[]
- (Elite) Throwing Axeman +10 hit points (from 50/60 to 60/70).
Huns[]
- (Elite) Tarkans +1 pierce armor (from 2/3 to 3/4).
Inca[]
- Kamayuks now do +20 damage to elephant type units.
- Kamayuks +0.05 speed (same base speed as Samurai and Throwing Axemen).
Italians[]
- Gunpowder discount increased to -20% (was -15%).
- Fishing Ships cost -25 wood instead of having +2 Line of Sight.
- Condottiero creation time increased from 11s to 13s.
- Pavise no longer incorrectly applies to Skirmishers.
Japanese[]
- Get Treadmill Crane.
- Yasama now fires 1 arrow less (down from +3 to +2).
Malians[]
- Lose Halberdier.
- Wood bonus no longer affects Farms.
- Elite Gbeto attack reduced from 14 to 13.
- The Condottiero is now properly affected by the pierce armor bonus.
Maya[]
- Mayan team bonus now affects all gate types & orientations.
- Archer line with Obsidian Arrows now properly does +6 attack bonus vs stone defenses (see armor class fixes).
Mongols[]
- Elite Mangudai frame delay increased from 0 to 5 (same as non-Elite Mangudai).
- (Elite) Mangudai receive their original anti-siege bonus.
Portuguese[]
- Feitoria now cost 250 gold, 250 stone (changed from 250 wood, 250 gold).
- Feitoria production rates are now 0.8f, 0.8w, 0.45g, 0.25s (from 0.7f, 0.7w, 0.45g, 0.45s).
- Arquebus now has a smaller effect on gunpowder units (Ballistics is still enabled but projectile speed modifier reduced by 75%).
- Organ Guns are now properly affected by the Turkish team bonus.
Saracens[]
- Elite Mameluke missile delay increased to 5 (up from 0).
Slavs[]
- (Elite) Boyar speed increased from 1.35 to 1.4.
Spanish[]
- Team bonus for trade is 25% more gold instead of 33%.
Teutons[]
- (Elite) Teutonic Knights speed increased to 0.7 (up from 0.65).
Turks[]
- Gold miners work 20% faster (up from 15%).
Vikings[]
- Chieftains affect all infantry units.
- Chieftains now properly affects Berserk damage vs Camels.
Campaign fixes[]
Sforza[]
- 1: Aqueducts can no longer be completed before the Luigeusi quest.
- 3: Sabotage objectives now correctly affect events that occur later in the scenario. Triggers in the second and third sections should now function correctly. Some off-grid objects have been removed to improve pathfinding. AI no longer resigns randomly. AI now has enough resources to attack in the third section.
Bari[]
- 3: Norman enemies should now be gray in color.
Vlad Dracula[]
- 4 and 5: Player colors have been updated to use the correct color.
Prithviraj[]
- 1: Opponents no longer walk around incorrectly.
- 2: Additional gold mines have been added near the beginning of the scenario. Scenario can now be won when the purple player is destroyed after the others.
- 3: Additional gold and stone mines have been added near the beginning of the scenario. Some off-grid objects have been removed to improve pathfinding. Completing the Imperial Camel side quest now also researches the Heavy Camel technology. essages no longer trigger incorrectly after Prithviraj has been discovered. Villagers no longer appear to roam the map incorrectly.
- 4: Player colors have been updated to use the correct color. Some off-grid objects have been removed to improve pathfinding.
El Dorado[]
- 2: Completing the collect sail side quest no longer causes a sudden defeat. Missing text string for player 6 has been added.
Tariq ibn Ziyad[]
- 2: Merida is no longer able to build a wonder after being defeated. Guadalajara now resigns more appropriately.
Sundjata[]
- 3: Djenne will now activate when under attack.
- 4: Gbetos now spawn when the player has less than 15 Gbetos and 150 total populations.
- 5: Red player now resigns more appropriately. Overall difficulty has been decreased.
Yodit[]
- 2: AI should appear less passive and attack the player. Player colors have been updated to use the correct color. Player 8 has been removed from the scenario.
- 3: When Dagnajan reaches the pass the player is now correctly defeated. Cyan AI difficulty has been decreased. Missing ending dialogue has been added.
- 4: Red player now has access to additional wood. Conquering all tribes now behaves as intended. Stelae should now provide the correct resources. Stelae should now only change ownership to the enemy AI if it has units next to it.
- 5: Stelae triggers have been updated. Gadajan now correctly displays a custom hero.
