Help Shape History with Ara: History Untold’s Technical Alpha 2

Hi all, Michael Califf, Lead Designer on Ara: History Untold here! On behalf of the entire Ara team at Oxide Games, we wanted to share a huge thank you to everyone who has expressed their excitement about the game since we revealed it at the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase back in June, and to everyone who played the game and shared their feedback during our recent – and first – Technical Alpha. Your enthusiasm fuels our fire and drives us to make the greatest grand strategy game we possibly can!

Based on the positive reception to our first Technical Alpha, it feels like we’re on the right track, but that was only a peek at everything to come in Ara: History Untold. Feedback from players is invaluable when building any game and more people were interested in trying our game than we ever would have anticipated. Players found crafting intriguing, constructing buildings satisfying, and managing citizen stats engaging.

Clear areas where we needed to improve were also highlighted. Combat stats were difficult to understand. Information was at times difficult to access or simply missing. Some of that came down to incomplete UI, which is usually one of the last features to be completed, but we’ve already made many improvements. We also received feedback that cities didn’t feel or look much like cities and helping establish new cities or expanding borders was needlessly obscure. That last one comes more from hard data than direct player feedback, but both are critical as we continue to iterate.

Iterating is of course exactly what we’ve been doing. In the months since the first Technical Alpha we’ve been moving down two interwoven tracks: one evaluating and responding to player feedback and the other continuing to implement planned features (with some modification based on what we’ve been hearing). Both of these tracks are far enough along that we’re ready to announce our next opportunity for the community to see how Ara: History Untold is progressing: Technical Alpha 2.

Technical Alpha 2 will feature more of the game for players to test out, including some of the most highly requested features from the first Technical Alpha. There will be more of the game available to play, more players to talk to, and more time to play. And we’re especially excited to announce that another Act in history will be available, allowing players to advance through technology until just before the Industrial Revolution. Coastal Buildings and Navies are now included. Perhaps most importantly, maps will have more variety and procedurally generated maps will be accessible.

There’s much more included in our upcoming second Technical Alpha, but to find out about that you’ll have to sign up for our Insider Program. Also make sure you follow us on Twitter at @AraHistory for more news and updates.