Ara: History Untold gets a beefy update that promises “significant micromanagement reduction” and more competent AI not-Civs

Ara: History Untold is a game I briefly gave a go last year, back when Civ 7 was still a game we were all yet to play and have a vast slew of different opinions about. I thought the little I played was alright, but didn’t stick with it that long, slipping back into the pair of comfy slippers that were Civ 6.

Now, though, Ara’s just gotten a big update, and it looks like it should solve some of the issues that folks flagged with the base game.

Dubbed the Living Strategy update, this revamp’s the first step in a roadmap for the game that was laid out when Stardock Entertainment took the lead on Ara’s continued post-launch additions from original developers Oxide Games. It looks like it’ll make Ara a bit less frustrating to play.

For example, the revamp takes its name from the default view being switched to a new “Living Strategy” middle ground that aims to balance the up-close perspective on the stuff you’re building with the wider strategic overview you’ll want when making bigger moves, meaning you should be able to do everything from one perspective.

Meanwhile, the patch addresses two of the biggest issues that Sin Vega flagged in our review of Ara – the sheer amount of micromanagement required to manually equip buildings and citizens with the stuff from your inventory they need to accomplish certain tasks, and your AI opponents being too easy to outfox.

Now, you’ve got the option to automate resource selection or control it through policies, meaning you should get less bogged down in just making sure your cities don’t grind to a halt. Stardock say AI leaders will “make more nuanced decisions, better optimize their resources and challenge players with deeper strategic considerations”, in an effort to ensure you actually face a challenge down the stretch in games.

Skirmishes between you and the likes of bot Otto von Bismarck will feature a new “battle viewer panel” designed to explain fight outcomes and strats more clearly as part of a wider combat overhaul, and map’s been upgraded to try and provide more variety in starter setups. Along with those additions and redesigns, Stardock’s had a go at making the game run better graphically, gameplay flow more smoothly, and squashed some bugs.

So, maybe worth checking out if you’re not happy with where Civ 7’s currently at in its own ongoing update metamorphosis, and crave the chance to play dictator/benevolent overlord/person who tells virtual people what to do.