With Civilization 7 flying the 4X flag next year, arguably the biggest and most anticipated newcomer this year was Ara History Untold. While it hasn't set the world alight quite like strategy game fans hoped it would, there's still a lot to enjoy in Ara – and developer Oxide Games has just pushed out a new update that makes it even better. Alongside a slew of gameplay improvements, a monstrous "super long" campaign option, and a new Leader, the headline act of the aptly-named Modder's Paradise update is a new integrated mod manager.
4X game's new mod manager, which is powered by mod.io, lets players share mods with the community and player-created content way more easily. This means that "players can now create and customize units, city improvements, technologies, game rules, and more," according to Oxide.
The new update also adds another Leader to Ara History Untold, this being Confucius, the Chinese philosopher. Confucius "excels at spreading wisdom" – schools and universities have reduced maintenance costs, unlocking new technologies grants golden age points, and you get bonus prestige each turn from your capital.
For those wanting their Ara experience to quite literally last an age, a new "super long" option has been added which increases the turn limit to 9,999. Previously, the maximum length of a game could be set to 1,250, so this is a pretty huge jump.
If there's a particular age that you want to try and improve at, there's now also the option to start at any era you want. If you want to skip through right to the final stages and begin at the Machine Age, you go for it.
Elsewhere in this sizable update, Ara's visuals have been given an overhaul, with a particular focus on better lighting. Improvements have been made to make different nations more distinct, with starting units now having unique appearances depending on where in the world they're from. UI improvements have also arrived, so you'll notice slicker layouts for the Trade and Government Management screens.
On top of all of that, there is an extremely long list of balance changes. If you want to dig into all the tweaks being made, head on over to the full patch notes here.
The Modder's Paradise update for Ara History Untold is out now and free for all players. For more experiences like Ara, you'll find plenty of options in our best games like Civilization.
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