Features

The Improvement Mod touches on every aspect of the incredible game that is Age of Empires 3 and its expansions, improving and tweaking every feature the game has to offer while also adding many new features and content such as new mechanics, cards, techs, units, buildings, maps, civilizations, soundtracks and game modes.

The mod is focused on replayability and gameplay smoothness, powered by an advanced AI and improved visuals with upscaled and HD textures. Cards no longer have level requirements, all civilizations have new bonuses, units move and turn faster, advancing through ages is sped up and more rewarding with randomly generated options and much more. Check the "Features" section for more details.

Campaigns, skirmish, multiplayer, all ways the game can be played in were tweaked and expanded with more teams, diplomacy, a plethora of new maps featuring new flora, fauna and natives and improved game rules. The mod and all its features are also fully ESO compatible.


The mod is recommended for AoE3 Complete Collection (Steam version) as it contains everything the mod needs, although it can be installed over any version as long as the game has both expansions and ALL official updates.


Main features of the Improvement Mod:
- new American, Asian and Middle Eastern maps plus new Regicide, Custom and Special maps (over 50 new maps)
- new Native allies for the new maps and new fauna, flora and props
- new playable civilizations added: Americans, Italians, Swedish, Colombians, Maltese
- new Consulate allies added: Americans, Italians, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese and Indians
- new Revolution leaders added: Van Riebeeck (Boers), Aguinaldo (Philippines), Lincoln (USA), Davis (CSA), Blackbeard (Pirates), Weishaupt (Circle of Ossus)
- added the advanced Editor by Reyk and Mister SCP, with numerous new options and trigger effects
- new unique resource for European civilizations added: Fame (used at the Church and Capitol)
- the European Capitol now has new Fame costing units, techs and armies, similar to the Consulate
- added new unique bonuses for every civilization and new starting team bonuses
- Ottomans now have access to Export and the Consulate (reworked their Mosque to Asian standards)
- randomized Consulate allies, Revolution leaders, age up Politicians and Council members
- all civilizations start with a Control Flag that generates XP and increases speed of nearby units
- the monument in the King of the Hill game mode cannot be captured by any Age 1 units anymore
- adjusted the price and age requirement for Trade Monopoly and disabled certain techs in Deathmatch mode
- Native civilizations can now train outlaws via the Embassy and they also have new economic techs and cards
- Docks now have a build limit and Fishing Boats no longer take population space (but have a smaller train limit)
- removed the randomness in attacks for many units, including ships; ships now fire consistently
- ships can now move in formations and they can sail over shallows on which ground units can also walk
- added water treasures to American maps and also fixed other map related issues and inconsistencies
- villagers now stand still while gathering from Mills and Plantations for consistent gather rates
- most European artillery now moves exclusively in Bombard mode at a higher speed (like Asian artillery)
- all ground units are now significantly faster for a smoother combat and faster map traversal (inspired by AoEO)
- multiplayer save game support, OOS restoration, repair all damaged walls and other quality of life features
- many balance changes and gameplay tweaks across the board, some inspired by ESOC
- returning gameplay features such as defensive buildings being able to attack military buildings
- improved and more challenging AI made to work with the newly added features
- tweaked unit hitboxes, turning rates and formations for better and smoother pathfinding
- several inconsequential objects and units no longer have collision to improve pathfinding
- added a new "Break Formation" tactic for all units which keeps units in place while moving
- new and fixed animations and visual effects such as smoke, dust and blood
- new visual rendering features such as "Alpha to coverage" (antialiasing for transparent textures)
- added a new graphics option that can switch only cliff models to low poly variants for maps with cliff lag
- added better low poly cliff models, ported over from Age of Empires Online
- ported all AoE3 Definitive Edition map textures in higher resolution and also added several new textures
- improved map details: ported AoE3DE flora textures and added extra props (no performance difference)
- the game now runs properly on Windows 10/11 without needing WinXP compatibility mode
- removed excess fog from all maps and toned down the bloom (for clearer visuals)
- added new high quality sounds and diversified the existing sounds in the game
- full LAN and ESO support with 4 teams to play with (from the original 2)
- increased population limit to 250 and unit selection limit to 95 (from 50)
- overall new units, cards, techs, buildings and hotkeys for all civilizations
- redesigned UI with upscaled and new textures
- homecity widescreen fix for 16:9 resolutions
- revived diplomacy feature for multiplayer
- and much, much more


Note that some units present in this mod are taken from the Napoleonic Era or War of the Triple Alliance mods.




Recent change logs from updates released through the mod's Patcher are not shown here.


04.06.2021 Patcher update:
- homecities no longer display incomplete models on 16:9 resolutions (basically a widescreen HC fix)
- upscaled and improved various textures from the Sioux, Iroquois and Indian homecities
- fixed the campaign menu UI not selecting scenarios properly
- overhauled and remade more parts of the game's UI
- added new portraits for all AI personalities
- added new standard (some ESOC) maps: Nepal, Manitoba, Zavkhan, Greenland, Newfoundland, Shangri La, El Dorado
- added new special ESOC maps: Vietnam renamed to Plymouth, Herald Island renamed to North Pole (replaces Winter Wonderland)
- tweaked the food balance and visuals of multiple maps
- Japanese can now train Sacred Cows from Shrines
- different unit types can now move together in formation when selecting the same tactic
- added a new model for the Swedish Flagship and added new (steam) ships to British, Americans and Indians
- restored Explorer, Warchief and Monk hitpoints (buffed from previous mod values)
- Architects can now build more buildings (TCs, TPs and Docks)
- Crazy Horse can now build Campfires (that heal units and offer LOS)
- reconverted terrain textures to fix mipmapping and improved some cliff textures
- added Pheasants and Rabbits (plus Chickens) as starting random animals
- added the Peafowl as a new hunt on some of the new south east Asian maps
- added the Seal as a new hunt on some of the new north American/Asian maps
- upscaled textures of Native American village buildings
- female Moose and female Turkeys now exist
- upscaled all animal textures
- AI overhaul, fixes and improvements

The new ships and animals were taken from the Wars of Liberty mod; special thanks to Forsant for his amazing work.


12.01.2022 Patcher update:
- fixed broken player spawns on Florida
- added capturable Trading Posts on Arizona
- added new ESOC map: Guatemala (by dansil92)
- the Aztec Warchief is now ranged (rebalanced accordingly)
- more new HD sounds (arrows, crossbows, buildings, impacts)
- new exe icon and new HD ingame mouse cursors
- added cultural ambient sounds to the Ottoman homecity and Mosque
- added new soundtracks during quiet moments and during battles
- restored a censored campaign voice line for Morgan Black
- Fencibles now have two types of armor ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
- file structure optimizations
- AI fixes and improvements

For this update I recommend a clean reinstall of the game and mod, as there's been significant changes to file structures.


17.10.2021 Patcher update:
- the mod is now fully compatible with Windows 11
- UI texture optimizations and further UI redesign
- optimizations for sound files added by the mod
- added new firing sounds for ships, cannons, muskets and modern rifles
- fixes for two memory errors
- recolored multiple bodies of water
- AI updates and fixes for idling villagers


21.09.2021 Patcher update:
- shock infantry (coyote runner, rattan shield, etc.) now stay in front of formations instead of staying at the very back
- skirmisher units now stay behind musketeers in formations
- ottomans can now pause and resume settler training at will
- changed how trees work to fix their gatherer limit
- tweaked treasure difficulties across most maps, so that now treasures with better rewards spawn more often
- villagers now give off visual and audio cues when they idle for too long
- some other code changes that may improve performance slightly


Version 6.0 (patcher updates)
- added the Italians and Swedish as playable civilizations; both come with a load of new units, cards and techs
- further improved the American civilization as well; also all new civs are now properly implemented into the game with AI support
- added Edward "Balckbeard" Thatch as a revolutionary leader (replaces Washington who is now the American AI leader)
- added American, Italian and Swedish consulate allies; all come with a load of new units and techs
- added several new Large and Regicide variants of existing maps: Large New England, Large California, Large Mongolia, Regicide Siberia, Regicide Indochina, Regicide Yellow River
- added 30 custom maps from the AoE3 map making community, proper credit has been given for each map in-game (I am not clamming any of these maps as my own, I am only sharing them with the players of my mod, so they can reach a wider audience)
- added new Land Maps and Water Maps options
- added 1 new American map: Rockies - Lower
- added 5 new Asian maps: Khingan, Irrawaddy Valley, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand
- added 10 new African maps (plus Large versions): Sahara, River Nile, Sahel, Guinea Coast, Congo, Horn of Africa, Savannah, Rift Valley, Great Zimbabwe, Madagascar
- added 2 new African natives (Dahomey and Saltpeter) with new African units and techs
- added new African animals and trees
- decreased anti-ship attack range for all defensive buildings
- added new treasures for American, Asian and African maps
- increased the attack, hitpoints and armor of several buildings, especially defensive buildings
- max population is back at 250; base pop is 200 and you get +10 pop each Age (the more population, the bigger the lag, keep that in mind)
- added new Age2-3 East European roof textures and new wall, Outpost and Command Post textures for all European cultures
- all ships (and a few other units such as wagons) have better hitboxes and European ships turn faster (for a overall better naval warfare)
- added a new counter system for ships, composed of Light, Heavy and Siege Warships
- improved the Native navy (new upgrades as well) and some wonder bonuses
- added several new soundtracks and sound effects such as ambiental sounds and new firing sounds for Abus Guns and Organ Guns
- added the Livestock Pen to Sioux and Iroquois and the Treasury to Aztecs
- fixed War Chief models being larger than normal
- you can now still train 10 Settlers after revolting plus other Revolution improvements (like more cards including an infinite Factory)
- Militia and Strelets can now build defensive buildings (via cards)
- added new cards and techs to most existing civs (the list would be too big, but almost everyone got something new to improve their game)
- fixed several problems with the original building and environment textures and added new extures and details such as pumpkins on Mills and rainbows...
- added the General to the British and removed him from the Germans (the British get a General for free in Age 3); when Revolting and allying with the Swedish you also get a General
- increased builder limit for all buildings and wonders
- Outposts, Guard Towers and Lookouts can now call out Levy like defensive units (or pets for Natives)
- trade units don't damage other units they run over anymore; this was removed because of a high number of player requests and to help the AI which had its armies crushed by not knowing how to dodge them (walls are still destroyed if placed over a trade route without a gate)
- made some UI changes:
-- total population has been moved under Coin storage; hover your cursor over it to see total villagers count
-- re-added quick selection buttons for Heroes and Town Centers and moved them at the top of the screen
-- the minimized UI is finally fixed! (wonder power buttons and resources display)
- tweaked most Royal Decree techs and units, mainly buffs
- Control Flags now also increase movement speed of nearby military units
- fixed a core problem with free unit upgrades given by certain techs or cards (it's hard to explain but it should fix those unexplained bonuses and stats increases)
- changed how mercenaries work; now each European and Asian civ has a specific mercenary unit that only they can train (enabled via the Command Center or Atonement cards) and the remaining mercenaries have all been added to the randomising pool
- added 2 more mercenaries, representing Hungarians (Poleaxemen) and Arabs (Maghrabi Blades)
- added more gore (not for the faint of heart :)
- now every civilization can train it's hero (Explorer, Warchief, Monk) from the Town Center if he has been knocked out or hasn't been spawned at all at the start of the game; this is meant to give an alternative for players who experience the missing hero bug on some maps (though this bug should now be fixed on all "official" maps; should help on custom maps that have it)
- changed how accuracy and area damage work for some units, it should be more balanced, consistent and competitive now
- Fame is now generated by Town Centers and is no longer gathered by Envoys (Fame is also slowly trickled passively)
- made trees more resistant to siege damage (cannon fire, explosions, etc.), this means less trees will be lost in battles which results in more wood available on every map
- some building cards (Outposts, Farm, Forts, etc.) can now be refreshed in Age5 just like unit cards, which means they can be sent again in Age5 (in the case of Forts and Factories this does not increase their limit, you can only use it to replace lost buildings)
- redesigned the Capitol into a Fame "consulate", where players can buy armies and join alliances using Fame
- reverted some of the Age Up cost changes
- greatly improved the AI in every aspect
- some campaign fixes
- actual balance changes! (some inspired by the Fan Patch and ESOC Patch)
- tons of bug fixes
- many other things...


Version 5.4
- tweaked the AI military
- added a new USA HomeCity
- added moving wakes for all naval units
- fixed ships space blocks, which results in better formations, better maneuvering for canoes and overall more realistic naval battles
- Aging Up changes
-- starting with Age3, Minutemen, Warriors, Irregulars and Peasants get damage and HP bonuses with every age
-- the Colonial Age (Age2) now costs 800 Food and 200 Wood; more changes are planed for Age1 and Age2
-- each Age increases villager limit by 10, made possible by the increased max pop (see below)
- fixed ranged cavalry melee attacks; enemy units must be very close for the ranged cavalry to switch to melee
- improved mercenaries distribution on Asian maps
- the Winked Knight can now only be obtained through the German Command Centers card
- improved/tweaked/updated the "Blood, Ice and Steel" campaign, scenarios and cutscenes
- added butterflies to berries and cherry orchards...
- melee cavalry now fight more dynamic and realistic
- European Houses can now train and manage livestock like Livestock Pens
- the Livestock Pen is now the East European food producing building, replacing the Bakery
- all newly created European Home Cities now get the Royal Decree card for free
- added the Miner as Mercenary on American and Asian maps
- fixed some units with area attack damaging buildings (if you happen to notice melee units damaging buildings with their melee attack, let me know...)
- added a new resource for all Europeans, Fame, which has the following characteristics...
-- there is a small continous trickle of Fame for all Europeans
-- it can be gathered from Town Centers by Envoys; Aging Up rewards Fame
-- it can be used on Church and Royal Decree techs
-- it can be used on special cards, and can be exchanged for Shipments at the Capitol
- fixed AI building more than one set of walls
- units are (a little) less likely to get run over by trade units
- Natives can now train Scouts from the Town Center from the beginning of the game
- the Fort can now train armies similar to the Consulate ones; the cost of the army will be cheaper than the overall cost of all units from the army
- changed livestock units for some European and Native civs
- Natives now have WarChief pets enabled form the beginning of the game
- important changes made to Revolution!; after revolting...
-- you can still train 10 Settlers
-- military units can be trained in blocks of 10, instead of 5 (also added this to the Native Confederacy Support tech)
-- you get a new infinite Factory card, although Factory build limit is 3
-- Outpost build limit is increased by 4
- added European Brigades to the Native Embassy for all Native civs
- artillery can't fire from point blank anymore, which makes them incredibly vulnerable to melee attacks, so protect your artillery!
- all European politicians are unlocked from level 10 (wasn't fair before)
- added the Lancer to the Dutch (the Spanish Lancer is still better)
- changed how European Minutemen and Asian Irregulars work, now they are infinite but you can call out a new group only after the previous group got to 1 HP
- added the Black Powder Boat to all Native civs
- added historical names to Town Centers for all civs
- further improved all Revolution civs; Revolution is now a very viable option
- added the Sowar to the Ottomans (the Indian Sowar is cheaper to upgrade)
- enabled another AoE2 lost feature, height bonus attack damage, which means that units which are on higher ground, like hills, do slightly more damage to units that are on lower ground
-- the bonus is very small but its there
-- the higher the ground the bigger the bonus
-- if you thought this was already enabled you are mistaken
- improved and tweaked all vanilla and TWC campaign scenarios and most cutscenes
- added Hotkeys for all  the new units and buildings added by the mod
- further improved civ bonuses, each European civ is now more unique (read each civ's description for more info)
- fixed the Japanese Monks' healing animation
- increased maximum population capacity to 300
-- House, Village, Longhouse, etc. build limit increased to sustain the increased population; Teepee's now sustain 5 pop
-- you start with 200 max pop and each Age adds another 20 pop to the limit; the Chinese and British get 40 free pop in the Imperial Age
-- you can achieve 300 pop only by researching the Reformed Government tech and by building all available Town Centers
-- the Reformed Government tech now also makes villagers to use no population space
- when advancing to the Imperial Age, Europeans can chose a main political party, each party researches for free a powerful Imperial Age upgrade
-- The Liberal Party researches for free Immigrants
-- The Conservative Party researches for free Aristocracy (Peerage and Spyglass)
- all map native units upgrades are now researched for free once you reach the required Age
- added map territorial Control Flags, capture them to generate more experience points
- Longbowman upgrades and all Mortar, Hand Mortar and Morutaru upgrades now increase maximum attack range (balanced the Mortar a bit more by decreasing its max range and having it re-increased with upgrades)
- added water treasures on American maps (similar to the ones on Asian maps)
- Asian War Tents can now heal nearby units (mini Field Hospitals)
- when destroyed, defensive buildings (Outposts, Castles, Warhuts, etc.) spawn a few Levy units (Minutemen, Warriors, Irregulars)


Version 5.2
- Europeans get an infinite tech at the Capitol which can be used to sell Export for home city shipments, as you use this tech it gets more expensive 3 times
- fixed Canoe sounds
- State Religion now increases healing speed of Healers
- added the Independent Government tech to the Revolution civs, replaces Civilized Government- added the Dove (female assassin) as mercenary
- added the 7 Dove Assassins card to the USA, British and Russians
- the Spy can now score critical hits
- added the Sapper to the Revolution civs, can build military buildings
- added the Saker to the Spanish, Indians and Knights of St. John, first European Age2 cannon
- to unlock the Saker and Monitor, Asian players need to ally with an European (or US) nation
- you can have only 20 chests of coin at a time from the Treasury (spamming issues)
- fixed a long standing bug with archers flaming arrows
- Warrior Priests, Generals, Shoguns and Mansabdars can now score critical hits
- the Skull Knight now has a melee attack against buildings
- the Oneida Rider now has a torch as main weapon
- added hoof walking sounds to all horses (if you notice missing ones please let me know)
- added the Baron (coin production unit) to the British (removed Bank)
- renamed "Colonial Age" to "Expansion Age" and "Fortress Age" to "Enlightenment Age" (fits Natives and Asians better)
- improved the Renegade Spanish cards, now also sends Conquistadors and Sakers
- enabled map specific mercenaries for Natives at the Native Embassy
- added new animations for the Halberdier (awesome)
- added more units on trade routes (?)
- added the Fishery (water building) to all civs (buildable by Fishing Boats)
- the Portuguese Covered Wagons can now train Settlers
- the Mortar now has a melee attack in the fixed Bombard Mode
- improved the Regicide Regent (higher damage and some new skills)
- added the Native Confederacy Support tech to the Council's Hut and High Temple
- fixed some Native projectiles
- improved civs descriptions...
- fixed population additions...
-- Age4 and 5 will give 10 pop each for all civs
-- Chinese Age5 will give 20 pop
-- Independent Government will give 10 pop (revolution)
-- all Revolution civs will have a max pop of 220
-- Civilized Government will give 20 pop to all civs
-- all civs will have a max pop of 240 except for the Chinese who will have 250
- bug fixes...


Version 5.1
- fixed Spy stealth animations (missing)
- fixed Outlaws reload animation (missing)
- fixed Cranequinier hats texture (missing...)
- fixed Japanese Monk, Yumi Archer and Shinobi attack animations
- fixed Grenadier, native and muskter bayonet units melee animations
- switched Yojimbo with Shinobi, Shinobi can now mount and dismount his horse
- improved USA Settlers look and attack animation
- replaced Colonial Militia and Minuteman "hoe" with a shovel
- fixed Outlaws reload animations, Pistolero can now mount and dismount his horse
- bug fixes...


Version 5.0
- Minutemen and Colonial Militia ca now use a "hoe" in melee (increased melee damage)
- fixed Nanib from the India campaign (almost perfect)
- added new unique University tech for the USA (new icons for all techs)
- added new firing animation for archers and gun powder infantry
- added new bored animation for musket bayonet infantry (Musketeers and such)
- moved the Tashunke Prowler to the Native Embassy
- added the Oneida Rider to the Iroquois Native Embassy
- changed and added the Polish Winged Hussar to the German Command Post (also German cavalry cards now affects it)
- added Polish sounds for the Winged Hussar and new sounds for the Hoop Thrower
- War Tents can now train Disciples (Monks can't)
- improved the Stradiot (visual and stats)
- improved the Cavaleiro and Lancer (visual only)
- the Oprichnik now has a grenade attack against buildings
- Hand Mortars now fire high explosive grenades
- improved Mongol Scout, Shogun and Daimyo horses
- added the Cranequinier to the French (mounted crossbowman)
- tons of bug fixes...


Version 4.9.5
- added a new tech for bow/crossbow units to the Arsenal
- visual changes for the Conquistador (for AoE2 fans)
- fixed some Consulate units sounds
- added the Lumber Camp to the Ottoman Home City and Consulate
- the Spanish Treasure Fleet card now sends 2 Treasure Ships that generate coin
- other stuff/bug fixes...


Version 4.9.4
- Portuguese Balloons can now use Spyglass; Spyglass can now see stealth units
- fixed some major Consulate bugs
- breaking an alliance now costs 100 Export
- the Aztec priest now has bonus against mercenaries
- the Settler Wagon is now trainable at Livestock Pens, after getting the card
- getting the Decree card will move the University to Age 2
- improved stealth and gate icons
- added the Poleaxeman to the Russians
- added two new buttons in the UI for quickly selecting your Town Centers and Heroes
- fixed some Consulate units sounds
- added the new Prayer tech to the Church
- added a new hat for european artillery units
- made the Schutter more like a Musketeer, moved him to Age 2
- some Home City cards fixes
- changed "King of the Hill" to "Hold the Fort!", just a rename
- other stuff/bug fixes...


 Version 4.9.3
- added two new ship tactics (default mode and anchored mode)
- added new Sioux male villager model
- added unused Chinese models for most soldiers
- added new Aztec Native Scout model
- improved the new Aztec buildings (removed the grass from them)
- added new East and West European skins for the Command Center
- added new East European Outpost skin
- added the University to all Asian civs
- added new AgeUp sound for Natives and a sound for when "Spies" is researched
- changed the Mameluke's horse with a camel (for AoE2 fans)
- changed the Cavaleiro and Marine icons and portraits
- fixed Morutaru models when improved
- bug fixes...


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And the big log:


- Added the early formed United States of America civilization. The US have a mixed technology tree based on more European civilizations. They cannot revolt. Best units: Gatling Gun, Mounted Rifleman. (they have unique language, units, homecity, cards, improvements and explorer, I think this is the best US civ out there so far)
-- To play with the US please go to the 'Select a Home City' menu and select Philadelphia, the US capital.

 The US is made as a Western Europe civilization, plus the following unique cards and units:
-- added the Buy Ironclad cards (from 2 to 3 Ironclads per card, and a total of 3 cards)
-- added the Hire Skilled Miners card (can be used twice and ships 5 miners to mine, gather and build plantations, faster than any villager)
-- added the Gatling Gun plus improvements and shipping cards for it (gun texture changes when improved)
-- the US Colonel's (Explorer) special ability is to build War Tents which train Colonial Militia (promote from Major to Colonel using the Promotion card)
-- added the Pilgrims cards (ships 4 or 2 Pilgrims that can be used infinite times)
-- added the Black Powder Wagons cards (you can ship 4 or 6 Wagons)
-- added the Grenadier (light artillery that throws grenades to defeat infantry or buildings)
-- added the Supply Wagons as HC shipments (Coin, Food and Wood)
-- added the Mounted Rifleman (ranged cavalry) + cards
-- added unique Royal Decree improvements
-- the US will always be able to train all 3 Outlaws types
-- modified Settlers
-- the US House can train Minutemen
-- added the Saber (melee cavalry) + cards
-- added custom units upgrades icons
-- added the Rifleman + cards
-- added the Battlefield Construction card
-- added the Marine (ranged infantry) + cards
-- added custom Priest
-- added the Consulate (and 'Export' resource)

- Added 7 new Regicide maps and 46 'day and night cycle' remakes of the original maps. To play the new maps you need to select the 'Custom Maps' option and choose a map from that list. They should all work on multiplayer. (maps taken from Arkantoz Jr and the 'Fan Patch')

- Added the improved and advanced Draugur AI, made by Felix Hermansson. The AI can choose to build walls, train any of the new units (including Mortar units), build any of the new buildings and research the 'Civilized Government' improvement (details bellow).
--The AI will also build two Factories and replace destroyed Forts, and will not spend as many resources on mercenaries and natives as they did before.

- Added the Patrol command to every military unit (infantry, cavalry, artillery, pets and ships).

- Every unit, except for heavy artillery, wagons, and ships, can very slowly auto-heal over time (though horses and men can heal, wood and steel cannot).

- You can now rotate buildings before placing them using the mouse wheel.

- Big explosions, big impacts and big cannons firing will shake the camera, each according to it's proportion.

- Added the ability to capture/convert buildings to every civilization. Only Field Hospitals, Campfires, Cherry Orchards, Mango Groves, Mills, Farms, Rice Paddies, Plantations and War Tents can now be captured. (mod made by Arkantoz Jr)

- Town Centers and walls can slowly auto-repair for free, but can still be repaired manually.

- Added an improved version of the Unit Upgrades Modpack, which changes most European units appearance as they are improved. (mod made by Imperiosus and modified by me)

- Added the Civilized Government improvement to the Town Center (increases maximum population cap by 20 and Town Centers support 20 pop, also increases gathering rate for nearby units; the AI also researches this tech), to every civilization in the game.
-- Advancing to the Imperial Age or Revolting increases the maximum population limit by 10. The Chinese will get +20 pop cap when advacing to age 5 and their maximum population limit is 240.

- added the ability to lock and unlock gates (useful when even allies can capture your buildings...)(mod made by Arkantoz Jr)

- modified and improved all moving and standing formations for all units; ships now move in formation (mod made by... many people, including moi)

- trade units (Travois, Stagecoach, Train, etc.) can damage buildings (walls) and units standing in their way (mod made by Simalex)

- Walls can now be built over trade routes. However, if the part on top of the trade route isn't a gate, then they will take damage and finally be destroyed by the trade units. (mod made by Lord_KiLLMS)

- every Revolutionary leader now enables one specific mercenary (see for yourself which gives what)

- Fire Ships slowly lose HP if they are not near a Dock (no burning thing lasts forever...)

- Mortars and Morutarus can now attack ground units (also increased Hand Mortars attack a little)

- Mortars cannot move while in firing mode anymore, but they have increased area damage

- unique Church and Mosque improvements are now enabled at the University (after you purchase the card of course)

- Resource production buildings (Banks, Lumber Camps and Bakeries) now also act like mini Markets, buying the building's specific resource, but you need a Market for this option to be enabled. Dutch Banks are more advantaged and Treasuries can spawn chests of coin.

- Now only some Age 4 houses have chimney smoke (West European houses have chimney smoke from Age 2), no change for East European, Mediterranean and Asian houses. (reduces later lag)

- Villagers can now fish if the source is near the shore (like in previous AoE games). Villagers fish slower than Fishing Boats though.

- decreased Explorers, War Chiefs and Asian monks hitpoints; they can also garrison inside Town Centers and Forts

- increased pets and guardians attack damage and hitpoints, also lowered movement speed for all guardians

- increased buildings attack range for all archers (including crossbow units and mounted archers)

- made the Hackapell ranged cavalry and the Black Rider melee cavalry (basically changed their skills and stats between them)

- Elephants, European artillery and War Wagons now make footsteps dust

- decreased movement speed for all ships (except Fishing Boats)

- added two new tactics for ships, default and achored mode (stand ground)

- made Ageing Up more expensive for every age and civ; Imperial upgrade for Native Americans is less expensive

- made Revolution more expensive and it's research time is slower now (also adds more stuff)

- Trading Posts don't change according to maps anymore; everyone keeps their specific looking Trading Post on all maps

- Minutemen, Irregulars and Warriors can now garrison inside Town Centers (they become kind of useless when their health drops so why not help the TC attack)

- increased movement speed of Minutemen, Irregulars and Warriors

- added a small bonus damage against artillery to the Fort, Fortified Outpost and Mountain Castle

- increased the Fort, Lookout, Noble's Hut and Agra Fort rate of fire

- increased build limit for all defensive buildings by 2 (Outposts, Castles, Towers, etc.)

- added two new buttons in the UI for quickly selecting your Town Centers and Heroes

- increased the Culverin's rate of fire

- added a special ranged attack to the Spy

- decreased building speed for some buildings

- added fixed flags (mod made by Lord Tahattus)

- made the Petard a little more expensive (not exaggerated)

- increased walls HP (again, not exaggerated)

- added fort walls (details bellow)

- added new soundtracks

Europeans
- Explorers can now build Outposts
- replaced the Saloon with the Command Post (has ranged attack and can be built from age 3)
- added the University (improvement building) to all European civs
- added the Bank (coin production building) to the French and British (weaker than the Dutch Bank which produces coin faster)
- added the Lumber Camp (wood production building) to the Spanish, Portuguese and Ottomans
- added the Bakery (food production building) to the Germans and Russians
- added the build limit of resource production buildings to 2 per game (the Dutch can use cards or improvements to rise the build limit of Banks)
- added the Outpost to the Russians
- changed icon of the Ransom Explorer (now matches the portrait)
- added the Fortified Walls improvement (adds fort walls and increases walls HP)(mod made by Lord_KiLLMS)
- remade the Dance Halls card, now affects the Command Post (upgrades Command Post to Command Center, which has Boneguards, elite Circle of Ossus units and etc.)
- decreased the amount of HP the Knighthood improvement adds (from 1000 to 700)
- added the Guard Pikemen improvement to all necessary civs (increases Pikeman attack and HP)
- added the Guard Crossbowman improvement to all necessary civs (increases Crossbowman attack and HP)
- added the Hoop Thrower as mercenary (Knight of Malta that throws flaming hoops)
- Revolution now enables the Black Powder Wagon at the Fort (rams into enemy units and buildings, then explodes dealing lots of damage)
- added the Flag Bearer to all Revolutionary leaders (reconnaissance unit with a good line of sight and can also receive homecity shipments)
- added the Boneguard Rifleman and the Boneguard Swordsman as mercenaries (enabled only by the Command Center card)
- replaced the Spanish Mayan cards with new Conquistador cards (the cards will also upgrade them)
- added the Extensive Fortifications card to the Germans
- only the French and the Spanish are now able to build Native Embassies (buildable by the Explorer)
- replaced the Bandeirantes card from the Portuguese with a new card that ships a General (can train Riflemen and increase the hitpoints of nearby units)
- added the Extensive Fortifications card to the Russians
- added 2 and 4 Settlers cards to the Russians
- added the Azap to the Ottomans (melee infantry)
- replaced the Hussar from the Ottomans with the Spahi (they have the same basic configuration)
- the USA and the French can build Barracks from the Colonial Age (this is a balance tweak)
- replaced the Heavy Cannon from the Russians with the Great Cannon (Li'l Bombard)(it has the Rocket's same basic configuration)(other European civs can't train the Li'l Bombard as mercenary any more, except from the Home City, but the Asians can still train them)
- added the Schutter to the Dutch (ranged infantry)
- replaced the Hussar from the Portuguese with the Cavaleiro (they have the same basic configuration)
- Revolution now enables the Fire Ship (rams anything on water, then explodes dealing lots of damage)
- Europeans cannot Revolt with Washington anymore (because, as long as you can play with the US, the revolt has been done already...)
- the Dutch can train Skirmishers from Age 2
- European villagers cannot build Trading Posts anymore (only Explorers can; doesn't affect Asian or Native villagers)
- replaced Roger's Rangers tech with a new tech that ships 25 Schutters to the British (they can train Skirmishers now; the consulate Roger's Rangers remains the same)
- the Dutch Church Stadholders tech now ships Schutters instead of Musketeers
- made custom walls for the Mediterranean and East-European civs (very nice!:D)
- decreased the Caravel's attack damage (it was too big)
- added a General card to the Germans (can fight and build War Tents)
- added custom Fortified Outpost skin for the Mediterranean civs
- added the Coutelier to the French (throwing knifes infantry)
- added the Halberdier to the British
- added the Guard Longbowmen tech to the British without the use of the HC card, that card will only unlock the Imperial Longbowmen tech
- added the Poleaxeman to the Germans and Russians (hand infantry)
- added the Cranequinier to the French (mounted crossbowman)

Native Americans
- added the Stronghold (defensive building) to the Aztecs
- added the Lookout (defensive building) to the Sioux
- added the High Temple (improvement building) to the Aztecs
- added the Council's Hut (improvement and coin generation building) to the Sioux and Iroquois
- added the Campfire (healing building) to all Native civs
- enabled the Native Embassy from the beginning of the game for all Native civs
- added native wooden walls to the Sioux
- replaced the wooden walls of the Aztecs with the native wooden walls
- rearranged the Settler building grid for all native civs
- added the Strong Walls improvement to all native civs (increases walls HP)
- added the Town Guard improvement to all native civs (increases Lookout and Stronghold attack and hitpoints)
- added the Treasury to the Aztecs (coin production building)
- added the Ram to the Sioux and Aztecs (trains at the Native Embassy)
- added the Guard Tower (defensive building) to the Iroquois
- modified the Command Skill card from the Sioux, now it also ships the War Leader (can train Wakina Rifles and increase the hitpoints of nearby units)
- every native civ will start with a Discovery Travois and a Healer
- decreased Canoes garrison limit (it was and it still is pretty unrealistic...)
- all Natives can train Scouts and Conquistadors at the Native Embassy
- the Native Embassy's look is the new Native Trading Post look for every map
- the Advanced Scouts card enables Scouts at the Native Embassy
- the Tlaloc Canoe can now train the Aztec Warhut units
- the Sioux will always start with a Lookout built
- the Sioux and Iroquois healer can now dance at the Firepit

Asians
- added the Asian Tower to all Asian civs
- replaced the Asian Tower building models, now matching the Asian civs
- enabled the Dojo (military building) from the beginning of the game for the Japanese (but build limit is now 2 instead of 3)
- added the Weapons Cache (military building) to the Chinese
- added the Petard to the Chinese (trains at the Weapons Cache)
- added the Fortified Walls improvement to all Asian civs (adds fort walls and increases walls HP)(mod made by Lord_KiLLMS)
- added the Town Guard improvement to all Asian civs (increases Asian Tower attack and hitpoints)
- added the Spies improvement to all Asian civs (you can see everything your enemies can see)
- added the Fire Ship to the Indians and Japanese (rams anything on the water and explodes)
- added the Hoop Thrower as mercenary (Knight of Malta that throws flaming hoops)
- replaced the Petards card from the British Consulate deck, with a new card that ships a Hot Air Balloon (the Chinese can train their own Petards and the others can train Fire Ships, so...)
- added the Gunners's Quadrant and the Trunion improvements to the Chinese (improves at the Weapons Cache)
- Cherry Orchads and Mango Groves now spawn one Villager when built
- the Chinese will also be able to train Great Cannons after they ally with the Russians and command a Factory (but they don't have access to the unit's Imperial upgrade)
- added the War Tent to the Chinese and Japanese (it has the Teepee's basic configuration)
- each time you choose an European ally you get a Flag Bearer (and each Flag Bearer speaks the language of the civ from which it came, but they will not be able to receive shipments)
- the Japanese can get Schutters (heavy ranged infantry) if they ally with the Dutch
- made all Elephants occupy 1 less pop; 2 less pop for Mansabdar Elephants
- the Indians can get Spahis if they ally with the Ottomans
- added the Wokou Junk to the Indians (fits better)
- increased the Agra Fort's attack damage, also added damage increasing to the Fortified Agra Fort tech (it didn't had it before)
- the Chinese will now have a Mongol Scout from the beginning of the game
- added the Sohei to the Japanese (pikeman infantry)
- added the Yamabushi to the Zen Natives (club infantry)
- added the Urumi to the Indian Barracks
- added 4 Surgeons card to the Indians and Chines
- the Japanese can ally with the U.S.A. for units and techs
- the Portuguese Consulate can now send Cassadores
- added the University to all Asian civs (moved techs from the Town Center)

Campaigns
- all the non-civs changes made to the game are also present in the campaigns
- added the Rodelero to Knights of St. John from the 'Blood' campaign
- added some cards to Knights of St. John from the 'Blood' campaign
- added the Saloon to John Black's Mercenaries from the 'Ice' campaign
- replaced the US from the 'Steel' campaign with the US made for this mod
- added the Saloon to Black Family Estate from the 'Fire and Shadow' campaigns
- added the Guard Tower to Black Family estate from the 'Fire and Shadow' campaigns
- fixed the home city from the 'India' campaign
- the Tower is buildable in all Asian campaigns
- fixed Knights of St. John Church model
- Jaegers will always be trainable in the 'Ice' campaign at the Saloon
- replaced the 'Steel' campaign US flag with the one from AoE3 (it's more appropriate for the period of time in which the campaign takes place)
*in the 'Steel' campaign, 'Hold the Fort' mission, the trade units will destroy the northern fort walls, also please keep in mind that other modifications from the mod might affect some scenarios in negative ways*


Plus
- you can zoom in and out more, also disabled intro cinematics
- fixed and added many animations for many new and old units
- fixed Native Villager and Tomahawk attack effects
- fixed Oprichnik walk animation
- added specific Ottoman sails for Ottoman ships
- fixed some balloon problems and incompatibilities
- the Native Blowgunner/Ambusher can now go stealth
- fixed the Yamashiro card
- fixed the 1 Flatland Castle card
- fixed Dutch Consulate Arsenal skin
- new custom skins for the University
- fixed Consulate Ironclad sounds
- fixed Silk Road Trading Post sounds
- fixed Fire Junk sounds
- fixed Rocket and Heavy Cannon death anims
- fixed Highlander weapon
- fixed Jat Lancer portrait
- fixed Regicide Castle sounds
- fixed Oprichnik weapon (it was invisible before)
- the russian 'National Redoubt' card now affects Strelets (also added build anims)
- fixed Cherry Orchad and Mango Grove destruction effects
- fixed destruction ruble for all Wonders
- Flaming Arrows now change their look after being improved (was disabled before)
- changed the reload animation for all infantry units using rifles
- fixed Cherokee Rifleman animations
- replaced the Dragoon's pistol with a musket (as his portrait shows, he used a musket not a pistol)
- fixed Rifle Rider reload animations
- made custom male settlers for the Ottomans
- replaced the Strelet's animations (they where buggy before)
- fixed Kalmuck sounds
- fixed Dock Rickshaw sounds
- fixed Light Cannon sounds
- Fortified Outposts don't have chimney smoke anymore (they don't even have a chimney...)
- fixed Siege Wrokshop building models
- fixed Discovery Travois sounds
- fixed long standing visual glitch with the Fishing Boats (both European and Native Fishing Boats now have proper human models controlling them)
- fixed Fune portrait
- fixed Revolutionary cards icons
- fixed Chinese Monk bored animation (didn't match before)
- fixed the Hire Li'l Bombards card icon (they are not Heavy Cannons...)
- fixed the Counting Coup card (improves War Chief area damage)
- fixed European healers (Priest, Imam and Missionary) attack sounds
- Asian ships now have more voices (two different voices per civ)
- fixed Russian Consulate shipments (Factory now has the right texture, Blockhouses can be improved and can train Strelets)
- Manor Houses can now be deleted (even Town Centers can be deleted, so why not Manors...)
- added proper building animations and models to all new buildings
- many other little or big things...



Known Problems
- the Bakery doesn't have destruction animations
- the Lookout doesn't have destruction animations
- the Post Office doesn't have destruction animations

46 comments:

  1. I am playing with the Indians and I hv also allied with the Ottomans, I cant see Spahis anywhere...Also selected the ottamans from the Trading Consulate, still cant find the Spahis,,,kindly help

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry My Mistake,,I got them finally in the trading consulate itself

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  3. This is truly a very wonderful mod...Havent seen any mod better than this...however I would request u too add more features for the Indians

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  4. very good mod but in the EE.UU you fame and export demand to ally with other nations and you can see the export. be good you typed more nations as Italian and other south america but the computer can play with these nations that we can confront bone in skirmish. with this is would be a super mod is that it is difficult, but there is no one better for this job ... thanks

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cannot play in multiplayer while in bothe place there is moded game Error:CRC Mismatch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You must play LAN and install the mod on both PC's.

      Delete
  6. cant recruit any consulate unit in TAD campaign, can you fix it please good sir?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure that was fixed via patcher updates sooooo get your patcher working!

      Delete
  7. In the Revolution you could put the leaders as Hidalgo, Bolivar, etc like the mod of "Africa And Italy"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Or a card to play with Washington like Japon have a card to play with Tokugawa

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  9. this mod make the game worth replaying thousand times, btw can you make the circle of ossus playable with their boneguard? i always wanted to play as them

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  10. excuse me mandos, i have just reinstalled the game but when using the patcher to update it said error grabbing master server list, how to solve it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Download this and replace it with the existing one inside the game's folder, where all the exes are.
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/7360e1kdq6yw3vl/AoE3ImpModPatcher.exe

      Delete
    2. already tried, still pop up the same error though, i have already run in admin mode nothing block the launcher so...

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    3. Impossible. Simply impossible. You did something wrong.

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    4. when will you release version 5.5?

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    5. it's work after i disable user auto control, sorry for troubling you mandos

      Delete
    6. Well I said you need to right click it and select "run as administrator" in the instructions but I suppose you missed it.

      Delete
    7. I can't find livestock pen in the buildings for the aztecs :/

      Delete
    8. That's because Aztecs have the Treasury which produces coin. I might change that though.

      Delete
  11. Ok, thank you Mandos, it would be nice :D Anyway, you are doing a great job, the mod is amazing :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Will it be possible to play against USA in a skirmish?

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  13. Hey Mandos!
    *Thank you* for all the time you spent improving the game for us!
    I know it's impossible for a game to fit everyone's desires, thus I admire your patience with us :)

    Do you think it could be possible to make each update "downloadable"?
    So that we can choose if we want to play with a previous update...
    (I personally love to play with Boneguard, even though they're Over Powered)

    _Just a suggestion, don't bother with that too much_

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pffff, that would be a nightmare actually.

      I know that I can revert changes to a previous version on Github (the server where the patcher connect to download the mod, although I never tried reverting) and maybe if I can you guys can too.
      I have no idea how it works though.

      https://github.com/mandosrex/AoE3ImpMod_Base

      Delete
    2. Hmm no , I just tried and looked around your repositories, and I guess I can't have access to previous content (which is quite logical actually).

      But that's no problem, I can totally enjoy the mod without its patcher :)
      Thx again Mandos!

      Delete
  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. After latest patcher update population limited at 225....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup. Just like I made it. 250 for Chinese.
      I would go through all the reasons a huge pop is problematic but I'm sure you don't wanna hear that.

      Delete
  16. excuse me. may i know what is the function of Control Points?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Control Points/Flags give XP over time, increase the movement speed of nearby units and give a little line of sight.

      Random Control Points will be removed in the upcoming update however, but in return Trading Posts now increase movement speed of nearby units as well (Control Flags near town centers will still be there).

      Delete
  17. Hi, I'm an avid player of Imp Mod and I modify data files here and there so that I can play it better. I'm still considered a novice but here are some things that I've solved and I'd like to share since I haven't been able to find solutions anywhere (or quite hard to find)

    PROB & SOLUTIONS
    1) Starting units do not spawn - some maps do not define the constraints properly. For example in Orinoco.xs, starting units are instantiated with:
    "int startingUnits = rmCreateStartingUnitsObjectDef(5.0);"
    and longer down the code:
    "rmPlaceObjectDefAtLoc(TCID, i, rmPlayerLocXFraction(i), rmPlayerLocZFraction(i));
    vector TCLoc = rmGetUnitPosition(rmGetUnitPlacedOfPlayer(TCID, i));
    rmPlaceObjectDefAtLoc(startingUnits, i, rmXMetersToFraction(xsVectorGetX(TCLoc)), rmZMetersToFraction(xsVectorGetZ(TCLoc)));"
    which essentially means the starting units are placed on top of the Town centre, which means they won't spawn sometimes.
    If you look at other maps, you can find that before going to the second part of the code to place the starting units, the following code (or sth similar) is declared.
    "rmSetObjectDefMinDistance(startingUnits, 5.0);
    rmSetObjectDefMaxDistance(startingUnits, 20.0);
    rmAddObjectDefConstraint(startingUnits, avoidAll);
    rmAddObjectDefConstraint(startingUnits, avoidImpassableLand);"
    These set of constraints put the starting units at least 5m from the TC and at most 20m from the TC. The next two lines are important for not placing the units on rivers, cliffs, nuggets or on other units etc.
    Place the third block between the the first 2 chunks of code and you will solve the problem of starting units not spawning properly. It is a map problem.

    2) For those who have problem starting a map and this result appears: "error 0003: Could not compile file 'aiLoaderStandard.xs' ". Just delete the XMB files in the "Age of Empires III/data" folder (you might want to back them up first).

    There are other problems I've noticed like Supply Wagons not spawning resources or lumber camp wagons not being able to build lumber camps. The latter can be modified by enabling the lumber camp for the civ (for example Swedes or Italians I can't remember which) in techtreem.xml in the data folder.

    I don't know why the Swedes have Russian cards / Improvements but can't build Russian units. Idk I've updated using the patcher, updated all versions and ran all versions at least once.

    Cheers. Hope the above 2 points help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, your point about map spawn are solid and I will look into it with your recommendations.

      It would be easier if someone made a list with all maps which have starting untis spawn problems because I don't know all of them, I only know Pampas as being one of them.


      Supply Wagons do not spawn resources, they themselves are the resource. You task villager to gather from supply wagons. It should work. Right?

      As for Lumber Camps, I'll look into it.


      Swedish are simply not finished. They will get their own unique cards soon, I have other things to work on right now.

      Thanks for your help.

      Delete
    2. I think I figured it out. All seems good now. At least half of the original maps had this problem.
      Half!

      It should be fixed now.

      Delete
  18. Oh, I don't know we have to task the villagers to the supply wagons. Great mod and great speed figuring out the maps BTW 0.0

    I'm now using steam and the standard loader error thing popped out again. Steam could be screwing the directory up because I copied the backup back into the folder and the next day it was gone... Will figure it out.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I remember playing this mode in the past. I like how you improved it.
    This is almost a perfect mod. From my point of view it would be interesting to increase the pop. limit and have more buildings and kind of building (e.g. multiple types of barracks, walls, resource producer, forts, outposts etc.), more civs to play with and some coop missions.
    But don't worry the mod is far beyound my expectations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah! Coop missions, funny you mentioned that.
      Historical and coop scenarios are the next big thing I hope to tackle after finishing Africa and Swedish.

      Not sure how it will turn out but I'll try.

      Sadly the change log present here is really, really outdated now. Much has changed.

      Delete
  20. I Cannot play Custom map it said AI Error and there no Italy And Sweden

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  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  23. Is it possible to remove certain features of the mod? I want to remove the railroad / train killing units.

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  24. Does this add a Force Attack feature that works on allied units and buildings?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello i have a question. I was playing with the Japanese, and im no longer able to build yamabushi, the ninjaish archers, ninjas and ronin. Shogun takugawa was able to, and also de consulate with the other japanese region. Did you recolate them to another building? or are they no longer able to be build?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I also noticed that when you ally with the Dutch and they send you the Church wagon. The priests cost Fame, and as an Asian civ you can't make fame.. hope you're still around answering things. Thanks in advance

      Delete

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