Both Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced and Machiavelli the Prince Enhanced are on sale June 25 – July 8 as part of the Summer sales on GOG and Steam. Both games also received updates to add important features players have requested, improve player quality of life, and fix bugs.
The new update for Machiavelli the Prince adds a number of important features players have requested, most of which you can access via the new “Settings” button at the Start Screen and in the Venice Guild Hall.
Sound and Music Volume. Players can now adjust the volume for the game’s music and sound effects, or turn them off altogether.
Music Selection. Players can now select the original MIDI music for the game, some of which only plays at specific screens, or the new music. They can also use this setting to change their music selection during the game.
Animation Speed. Players can now choose between the Normal animation speed or Fast animation speed. This impacts the Buy/Sell screen, movement on the main map, trade routes and more.
Font Selection. Players can now choose between our original font and a more modern font. Please note that certain fonts are graphically included on some screens, and those will not change.
Auto Save can now be selected in the start menu.
The game now includes tooltips to clarify the functions of almost 20 buttons
Bug Fixes
Fixed issues when players were not allowed to burn opponents’ villas, or burned the wrong villa.
Fixed bug that allowed you to move mercenaries you had just fired
Fixed misspellings.
Corrected the message the Council Head receives when accusing senators.
Map Editor Fixes
City configs saved as .csv files now allow modders to adjust chance of a city to be open to trade at game start
Implements bump scrolling for map editor
Please note that these updates also require modders to update their work, especially if they have modified .res files. Details are at the end of this changelog.
Quality-of-Life Improvements
One of the most requested quality-of-life improvements has been for build queues in your cities. You can access this new feature via a specific city or the archives. First add a queue – give it a name, select units in the order in which you want them built, and close the window to save it. Now that queue shows up in every city that can build all of its units. Select the queue and the city will build those units, in order, as long as you have enough resources available.
Another QoL improvement involves reordering messages. Players had concerns when a longer series of “Resource Missing” messages would cause more important messages to be missed. Messages now appear in order of general importance, with “Resource Missing” messages at the bottom of the message window
The third QoL improvement involves adding more hotkeys and shortcuts.
Corrected behavior for the number pad Enter key, allowing it to mimic the regular Enter key
Corrected hotkey implementation for shortcuts in the Build menu and messaging,
Pressing “X” will eXit from planet-view to the star-map
Left and Right buttons now allow players to navigate the group finder screen.
Bug Fixes
Corrected dialog boxes incorrectly responding to number pad input
Fixed various shortcuts
Fixed a problem with sync behavior in the launcher
updated the league loan behaviour
Fixed Plague Bomb function configuration
For Modders
New spotting algorithm allows you to choose between 8 different profiles that changes how detection works
Maximum loan amount for league
Starting wealth is now moddable per faction
Information for modders regarding altered data
DAT
EFS.INI
Addition of “maximum_loan_amount” for the League
new “spot_algorithm” with several presets
“starting_credits” removed and put into PlayerTable as PlayerStartingCredits
PlayerTable.DAT
PlayerStartingCredits
UNIT.DAT
Plague Bomb function fix
json
diplo.res/.json (5 lines)
Various data tunings for screen navigation UI/UX
efs.res (around 26+ sections altered)
FileMenu split to Starmenu and HexMenu
Implemented dummy hotkeys through static UI elements
Changed some hotkeys
Queue system support
strings.res (3 sections)
Added confirmation of League loan and more information
Added missing resources and tech info to queue messaging and queue system support
Important Notice for Modders: Update Your Mods for the New Patch
With the release of the new patch, all modders should make sure their mods are updated before launching the game.
If your mod changes any .res files, you may encounter a black screen on startup unless your files have been properly updated. To avoid this, please export your JSON files back into .res format using the provided Python script included with the modding tools.
TLDR:
Update your mods, re-export your JSONs into .res files, and make sure you are using the latest patch-compatible files before playing.
Phoenix Mod Changelog
Graphics
Added new unit artwork. Most units now have unique art.
Added new button artwork.
UI, UX, Documentation & Organization
Reworked the main screen buttons. They are now graphical buttons using bitmasks.
Updated names and hotkeys for better synergy, speed, and WASD accessibility across multiple screens.
Added queue support.
Queues are accessible in two clicks, like vanilla.
To use the hotkey, click Realm with the mouse first, then press Q, or use the corresponding file menu option.
Pressing Q without first selecting Realm will open Quartermaster instead.
Clicking End Turn now automatically rejects diplomacy requests, unless the diplomacy message involves war.
Changed descriptions for some technologies.
Organized files into folders.
Established the foundation for a documentation system:
INFO corresponds to MECHANICS
DATA corresponds to ASSETS
Added the first visual information chart: Engineer Overview.
Categories with entries are now marked with an asterisk at the end, for example: WORLD*.
Reorganized graphics into folders corresponding to movement type archetypes
Fixes
Fixed clergy tithe skim being far too powerful.
Fixed structure build offset error.
Fixed structure technology offset issue.
Updated technology descriptions and corrected erroneous technology offsets.
Renamed files for Linux compatibility.
Linux support has not yet been fully verified.
Units
Made several light combat balance and tuning adjustments.
Increased base movement for motorized and mechanized units to 11.
City Builders now have 2 movement and are amphibious.
Some entrenched elements now have 2 movement instead of 1.
Logistics Trucks can now be built anywhere, but require Line Infantry. This matches the Infantry → APC progression.
Star Command Cruiser now has the Officer Flag.
Updated Sceptor movement:
Imperial Sceptor uses tread movement.
Royal Sceptor uses wheeled movement and has 3 movement.
Planetary Sceptor uses hover movement and has 4 movement.
Altered several resource costs across the board. There are too many individual changes to list.
New Units
Added several new units. All of these units have unique small artwork.
Star Corvette
Similar to the Frigate, but slightly worse in combat.
Has the same spotting and stealth profile as the Frigate.
Has higher agility, but less armor.
Cannot carry units.
Assault Transport
Larger version of the Assault Lander.
Assault Shuttle
Smaller, boarding-focused Assault Lander variant.
Personnel Shuttle
Small 1-cargo shuttle.
Light Shuttle
Small 2-cargo shuttle.
Exploration Craft
Rare 3-movement, 1-cargo craft.
Requires a Scientist.
Orbital Support Vessel
Cargo and orbital bombardment support vessel.
Naval Landing Craft / LCAC
Producible in Castles, not factories.
Line Infantry
District-based infantry.
Includes an entrenched version.
Machine Gun
Includes an emplaced version, similar to ATG, Artillery, and AA units.
Cargo Logistics
This is one of the largest changes in this update. Units now have cargo portage costs. This affects a wide range of unit transportation and logistics behavior.
General cargo portage values:
Infantry: 1
Tanks: 2
Fighters: 3
Waystation: 16, requiring bulk haulers
Cargo: 8, meaning Freighters and larger ships now have transport capacity
Global
Reduced clergy tithe skim income, as it was previously far too high.
Adjusted starting Firebirds for Houses to 300k.
Galaxy
Reworked Symbiot jump routes.
The Symbiots should now gain more routes into the Known Worlds as the game progresses.
Added Lyssar.
A custom-built shared starting planet with excellent infrastructure.
Inaccessible by starship in the early game.
Added Enik.
A custom-built rebel-controlled planet.
Slightly altered the New Mariana start, including both terrain and starting units.
Rebalanced starting homeworlds in terms of available resources and infrastructure.
Some asymmetry should still be expected.
Overall differences should generally be imperceptible during normal play.
Both Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced and Machiavelli the Prince Enhanced are on sale this week as part of the DreamHack Atlanta Steam sale. Both games also received updates to add more features, improve player quality of life and fix bugs.
The latest update to Emperor of the Fading Suns primarily expands capabilities for our modders. It also fixes some reported bugs, so thanks to those of you who report!
The patch fixes a problem were Pathing behaved incorrectly if an unit was unable to move to a selected hex
Correctly addresses sect bonuses set to 0
Crash fix with transports
Fixed a problem with single-unit stacks sometimes not working correctly
Fixed a problem causing invulnerable transports
Incorporated nested cargo support for modders, allowing them to put cargo inside of cargo inside of cargo inside of …
Improved the cargo display to show both how many slots a unit can take as well as carry
Updated unit.dat for nested cargo
Machiavelli the Prince also has its first formal patch, including a number of improvements to the map editor!
Prompt “Save Game” when players end turns with PBEM security on
Add sound effect when a player uses a playtest (cheat) code in multiplayer
Permanently destroy goods in a warehouse that gets burned down
Add a red “X” in a multi-turn unit path to show how far it can go each turn
Thanks to everyone for their great feedback on the game, as well as for all the time you have already been playing! It is heartening to see such a strong average playtime only a week since the game launched!
We are releasing this hot fix to address two specific bugs players found, but it is also a great chance to incorporate some of the Quality-of-Life improvements you requested. Please keep letting us know what would make the game even better for you, and we will see what we can do.
On GOG and Steam
Bug Fixes
Clicking the “Match” button repeatedly while in the process of selling goods could cause the game to lock up. Now you can spam that button all you please, but we still don’t know why you would want to J
The game would crash when you tried to remove an active unit, like mercenaries, from your payroll. Now the mercenaries go away like they were supposed to. If they become brigands, that is your fault for not paying them J
Quality of Life
Pressing ESC on the main screen opens the load/save/quit menu
Pressing “V” while on the main play screen now opens the Venice screen
Subscreens accessed from the Venice Screen, like St. Marc’s Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace, should now return the player to the Venice screen when closed
Added ability to disable storms and pirates while setting up the game
Added a “Store All” button to move goods to your warehouse on the Bazaar screen
The header on the Commodities screen is pinned while scrolling
Automatic scrolling stops if mouse leaves the game window
Added tooltips to the graphical buttons, like “Build Roads,” on the main play screen
Please check out those tool tips and let us know what other tool tips you would like to see in the game
If we tried to write up a changelog of everything that has changed with this game line since we first released “Merchant Prince” with QQP in 1993, it would take almost as long as it took us to actually implement these latest changes 🙂
“Merchant Prince,” which won a strategy game of the year award from Computer Game Review, set the tone for everything that was to come. After American Laser Games bought QQP, we took the game to Microprose and upgraded it to “Machiavelli the Prince,” the name under which most people know the series. We upgraded it again with Merchant Prince 2, published by Take Two Interactive. Unfortunately, we have not been able to contact anyone at Take Two about bringing that game back onto the market, and thus we turned our attention to “Machiavelli the Prince Enhanced.”
Strategy
We learned a lot from “Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced,” which may have been the most ambitious game patch in PC gaming history. As with EFSe, we had to migrate our old code over to work in Microsoft’s Visual Studio development environment, which was first released the year we made the original EFS, and well after we made Machiavelli 🙂
We had several key goals for the Enhanced game:
Make the game playable under modern Windows systems;
Upgrade the game to run on Linux and in Steam;
Incorporate APIs for things like Steam achievements, and port these to GOG;
Give players greater control of the windowed environment; and
Incorporate feedback from players to remove old gameplay annoyances, like the old soundtrack.
Overview
In working on EFSe, we learned that after fixing the key player concerns, we needed to listen to players about what else matters. We have incorporated a number of new patches for that game, primarily responding to quality-of-life issues the players have raised. Many of the things we thought would be important paled in comparison to these. PLEASE continue to let us know what improvements matter to you, and we will look to incorporate them in future patches. Nothing teaches you what makes a game better than thousands of smart players trying it and letting you know.
Windowed Mode
After the new soundtrack, this was probably the second-most common request. Not only can you press Alt+Enter to enter and exit windowed mode, but you can click and drag the borders to resize the window to your choosing! I know, it sounds like a small thing, but not for code from 1995 🙂 Yes, you can also use the minimize and maximize buttons, just like apps originally designed for a Windows environment.
Other Fixes
Numerous spelling corrections – sorry about those
Fix letters overflowing text boxes
Added the game icon to windowed mode
Fix issue with commodity list when prices get over 1,000 florins
Fix inability to exit a multiplayer game if you forgot password
The New Soundtrack
Thanks to Paul Mercer, who has worked on other games with us, for these songs. The soundtrack was the most common annoyance we heard when discussing how to improve the game. Apparently very few of you played the game with the old soundtrack still on. We think Paul’s music captures the flavor of the age with a modern twist, while providing a great background for a contemplative, strategic experience like MPe.
Since releasing the demo, however, we have heard from defenders of the old soundtrack. Please let us know your thoughts. Would it be worth it to include both with the game?
Song List
TANTO NOMINI NVLLM PAR ELOGIVM – composed and performed by Paul Mercer
Arnos Vale – composed and performed by Paul MercerMercer and Sheryl L Bielewski
The Bloody Eye Gang – composed and performed by Paul Mercer
Ghost Ship Gang – composed and performed by Paul Mercer
Orphan Kings Return I – composed and performed by Paul Mercer and Sheryl L Bielewski
Orphan Kings Return II – composed and performed by Paul Mercer and Sheryl L Bielewski
Rouse the Beasts of War I – composed and performed by Paul Mercer
Rouse the Beasts of War II – composed and performed by Paul Mercer
