by theygamesAge of Empires II: Definitive Edition has just received its first expansion since it released at the end of 2019. Lords of the West adds in two more civilizations – the Burgundians and the Sicilians – along with three fully-voiced campaigns, solidifying its place as one of the most popular RTS games around.
The developers have also released patch notes for the update accompanying the new content, which includes details regarding the new civilizations, but also a bunch of free changes and tweaks as well. Most notably, Age of Empires II is getting a more targeted profanity filter.
Instead of just yeeting the entire sentence into the sun, the filter will now just blank out (or **** out) the specific banned words. It’s a surprising change, as this could potentially seem like a bit of a step back. Eliminating entire sentences, while prone to more collateral filtering, arguably represents a firmer, no-nonsense approach to language moderation, as one could still figure out a banned word by constructing a context from the words around it, making this less effective. However, we’ll have to see how this plays out in the game once the update’s live.
Other changes coming in Patch 44725 include updates to existing campaigns to replace generic units with Burgundian or Sicilian ones where appropriate (such as in the Joan of Arc campaign), and building blueprints can no longer be used in place of actual scouting forces. It seems you could place down the bones of a building, but not finish it, and use it to reveal the terrain around you. Now, blueprints no longer have their own line of sight.
Between now and February 8, there is also a new year celebration event running in game as well. Much like the Christmas event at the end of last year (weaponised snowmen!), this community event will introduce a new set of icons, mods, and upgrade effects.
Check out the full list of changes, tweaks and the updated list of ongoing issues by reading the full patch notes.