Hello everyone. The purpose of this topic is to keep the community apprised of progress on the fan patch. I'll be updating this as more news come to hand, so look out for those updates

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[25th September 2008]

• Fan Patch (hereafter FP) team formed, and private forum for discussion created.
• Basic plan formulated for the first patch. It was agreed to make the first patch a relatively simple one to fix the glaring balance issues for India and Japan. Thus the first FP will focus upon those areas of concern.
• Balance discussions begun on areas of concern for FP 1.00.

[30th September 2008]

• FP Beta 1.00 created, focusing only on India changes for the time being. Testing begins.

[12th October 2008]

• Balance testing for the civilizations delayed for a little bit due to a certain real life commitment involving some of our testers.
• Balance testing on 'new' maps for the FP nearing completion. Shown below are some examples of the maps that have been under work.

New Andes

- Resources balanced.
- More clearance created around the trade route to enable more room for forward building.
- Rivers removed to stop severe resource imbalances, and issues with player placement in team games.
- Added to standard maps.

Below are examples of both formats the map can appear in (both versions appear in both 1v1s and team games).



New Hispaniola

- Resources balanced.
- Central mountain shrunk in size to prevent choke-point issues.
- Central trade post on left removed to prevent choke-point issues.
- Added to standard maps.



New Pampas

- Resources balanced.
- Rivers moved to the side of the map to prevent resource distribution and player placement issues.
- Map rotated on its side to allow better player placement.
- Two native trade posts relocated behind rivers, while two remain outside.
- Trade route adjusted to allow for more strategic depth, as well as to fit the new location of the rivers - appearing either on the side of the map, or bisecting the map.
- Added to standard maps.

Below are examples of both formats the map can appear in (both versions appear in both 1v1s and team games).



[20th October 2008]

• Following bug changes implemented and being tested in FP beta.

Protoy changes

• BerryBush -- set Gathererlimit to 8 per bush. This should help with the issue where berry gatherers aren't actually gathering when bushes run out but don't show up as idle.
• AbusGun -- gets the same modifiers against units in all modes of the same type (i.e. no villager modifiers in melee mode).
• SettlerNative -- added the ability to build ypCaravanserai for Indian allies who get the Aztec Team 3 Villager shipment.
• FishingBoat/ypFishingBoatAsian -- removed ability for units to garrison in fishing boats.
• TownCenter, Outpost, Blockhouse, FortFrontier, ypCastle, ypCastleJapanese, ypCastleIndians, ypVillage, YPOutpostAsian, WarHut, NoblesHut, Agra Fort 2, 3, 4, 5 -- can no longer garrison fishing boats.
• Blockhouse -- the Chinese Blockhouse from the Consulate can now train banner armies.
• NatBolasWarrior -- set modifiers against LightCavalry and xpEagleKnight to 2.0.
• NatTomahawk -- added ×1.5 multiplier against LightInfantry.
• Galleon -- added ypNatMercGurkha to trainable units (replacing ypUrumi).
• NatEagleWarrior -- added standardized modifiers against Cavalry, CoyoteMen, Light Cavalry, and Eagle Knights. Removed Light Infantry flag.
• Oprichnik -- added modifier against SiegeTroopers and Artillery to Defend and Trample modes.
• Turkey -- removed 'DoNotCreateUnitGroupAutomatically' flag to fix bug with Shrines.
• xpGatlingGun -- fixed icon and portraiticon.
• xpLightCannon -- added penalty against xpArrowKnight.
• xpWarRifle -- set Bounty and BuildBounty to 10 to reflect new cost in 1.01.
• ypNatTigerClaw/ypNatMercTigerClaw -- reduced cover mode buildingattack to 10 and handattack to 8.
• ypChangdao -- reduced cover mode handattack to 8.
• ypQiangPikeman -- increased bonus against LightInfantry to ×3.5.
• ypConsulateBestieros -- now conforms to same statistics as regular Crossbowmen (ranged attacks reduced to 16, modifiers changed).
• ypConsulateCzapkaUhlan -- now conforms to same statistics as regular Uhlans (speed increased to 6.75, armor increased to 30%, and penalty against villagers removed).
• ypConsulateGardener -- now conforms to same statistics as regular Hussars (armor increased to 20%).
• ypConsulateGreatBombard -- added penalty against LightInfantry.
• ypConsulateRogersRanger -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Skirmishers do.
• ypConsulatePrussianNeedleGun -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Skirmishers do.
• ypConsulateSiberianCossack -- now conforms to same statistics as regular Cossacks (armor increased to 30%).
• ypHowdah/ypHowdahMansabdar -- fixed issues with modifiers varying somewhat and Howdahs not getting a bonus against Coyote Men in melee mode. Both units now get the same modifiers.
• ypSiegeElephant/ypSiegeElephantMansabdar -- now have a penalty against Light Infantry as they do against Cavalry.
• ypMercFlailiphant -- set Bounty and BuildBounty to 25 to reflect new cost in 1.01.
• ypNatWarElepehant/ypNatMercWarElephant -- added AbstractElephant flag.
• ypFlyingCrow -- added penalty against LightInfantry.
• ypFlamingArrow -- added penalty against xpArrowKnight.
• ypRepentantElmeti -- now not available until the Industrial Age.
• ypRepentantMameluke -- now not available until the Industrial Age.
• ypRepentantGreatCannon -- now not available until the Industrial Age.
• ypRepentantJaeger -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Jaegers do.
• yp RepentantIronTroop -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Iron Troops do.
• ypRepentantThuggee -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Thuggees do.
• ypRepentantOutlawRifleman -- now have the same modifiers against Cavalry, Coyote Runners, Eagle Knights, and Light Cavalry as regular Renegados do.

Techtreey changes

• HCHeavyFortifications -- fixed order in which some upgrades are gained, so names will display correctly. Added Revetment tech.
• InfantryBreastplate -- added NatMercBlowgunWarrior, NatBlowgunAmbusher, ypWokouBlindMonk, ypRepentantBlindMonk, ypMercIronTroop, and ypRepentantIronTroop.
• HCFatterSheepTeam -- fixed livestock fattening. Added missing bonus for Sacred Fields.
• HCShipGalleys3 -- fixed icon.
• HCXPCoinCratesAztec2 -- fixed icon.
• HCXPBloodBrothers and HCXPBloodBrothersGerman -- fixed order in which some upgrades are gained, so names will display correctly.
• NatXPKlamathWorkEthos -- added gathering upgrades for Rice Paddy and Mango Groves.
• NatXPNavajoShepherds -- fixed livestock fattening, Japanese shrine gathering, and bonus to gather XP at Sacred Fields.
• NatTradeLanguage -- now affects Asian Wonders.
• YPWonderJapaneseShogunate4 -- now only provides 600 XP (down from 1600).
• YPExaltedMeteorHammer -- now provides the proper damage boost of 50% (up from 30%).
• YPHCHanAntiCavalryBonus -- added proper bonus against xpEagleKnight.
• YPHCAshigaruAntiCavalryDamage -- added bonus against LightInfantry.
• NatXPCheyenneFury -- added bonus against LightInfantry.
• YPHCStoneCastles -- added +6 range for CannonAttack.

String bugs to fix

• 45125 should probably just say 1 Nobles Hut Travois.
• 47028 'rodeleros' not 'redoleros'.

[13th November 2008]

We have been working hard on balance changes for the past month now, and while testing continues, we have confirmed a few balance changes that we are ready to present to the public.

DISCLAIMER: These are not the only balance changes in the patch. We still have more balance changes that are being tested at present. Also, remember that this patch is focusing on India and Japan only; other balance issues with the other civilizations will be addressed in the next patch.

India

• Zamburak base multiplier reduced to 3.5 against heavy cavalry. (From 4.0)
• Desert Terror (multiplier) shipment gives Zamburaks only a 0.5 multiplier increase versus coyote runners and heavy cavalry. (From 1.0)

Japan

• Japanese Isolation consulate gives +5% attack. (From 10%)
• Ashigaru given 24 attack. (From 26)
• Golden Pavilion gives 10% upgrade to attack. (From 15%)

[24th November 2008]

• Testing complete on the maps to be included in FP 1.0: New Pampas, New Hispaniola, New Andes, New California, and New Ozarks.
• Testing continues on other 'new' maps (New Great Lakes, New Patagonia, and New Sonora), but which will likely be pushed back to the next patch.
• Discussion ongoing as to which maps to include in the new map sets we are introducing in FP 1.0: Random Land Maps, Treaty Maps, and Experts' Choice Maps.
• Language localisation being looked into for FP 1.0.
• Balance testing has concluded. Listed below are the complete set of balance changes. Remember, FP 1.0 focuses upon only India and Japan in terms of balance. FP 1.1 will address balance issues for other civilizations.

General Changes

• Crossbowman multiplier against heavy infantry increased to 1.35. (From 1.25)

India Changes

• Zamburak base multiplier versus heavy cavalry reduced to 3.5 (From 4.0) and 2.5 versus coyote men (From 3.0).
• Desert Terror (multiplier) shipment gives Zamburaks only a 0.5 multiplier increase against both heavy cavalry and coyote men. (From 1.0)
• Distributivism wood trickle lowered to 1.00. (From 1.25)
• Foreign Logging wood trickle lowered to 2.00. (From 2.35)
• Fortress age 9 zamburak shipment reduced to 8 zamburaks.
• Agra Fort hitpoints reduced to 4000 (From 5000), CanonAttack range reduced to 0-24 (From 0-26), and line of sight reduced to 32 (From 34).
• Urumi given a 0.75 multiplier against hand cavalry and coyotemen.

Japan Changes

• Toshogu Shrine wonder bonus reduced to +75% shrine gather rate. (From +100%)
• Toshogu Shrine wonder gives 150 export in colonial age. (From 200)
• Japanese Isolation gives +5% attack. (From +10%)
• Yumi Archer colonial age upgrade lowered to +15% (From +20%)
• Ashigaru Musketeer attack reduced to 24. (From 26)
• Golden Pavillion wonder gives +10% upgrade to attack. (From +15%)
• Shogun gives +15% bonus to unit HP. (From +20%)
• Bushido technology not available until fortress age.
• Paper Cartridge technology not available until industrial age.

It will take us a few more weeks to do final bug hunting and localisation, as well as finish off a few other things. Although I cannot give a definite release date as of yet, it will be in approximately a few weeks from now.