OpenTESArena 0.18.0 brings enemy AI, stealing mode and archery to Elder Scrolls: Arena remake

OpenTESArena 0.18.0 has been released, marking another major step in the long-running project to recreate the engine of The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the first game in the franchise. Unlike the original from the early 1990s, the remake natively supports modern Windows, Linux, Raspberry Pi and macOS. Development has been ongoing since 2016.

The headline addition is combat AI for enemies, making battles noticeably more dynamic. The experience and leveling system has been reworked to more closely match the original game. Players can now equip items and drop them from inventory. A stealing mode has been added, activated with the «P» hotkey, along with random enemy encounters scaled to the player's level. Killing a citizen or failing a theft attempt now triggers guards to attack.

Merchants have received a range of new services, including buying and selling goods, renting rooms, healing and curing diseases. Conversations with citizens are implemented, and NPCs can now write directions on the player's automatic map. Camping is available with manual duration setting or until full recovery.

The update also restores original loot generation and gold amounts, as well as the level-based hit chance calculation in combat. The likelihood of contracting diseases and paralysis when fighting certain creatures has been increased. Fast travel now carries a higher risk of death if the player is already ill. A drunkenness effect appears after buying too many drinks at a tavern. Archery is fully implemented, along with a «Spell Check» button bound to the «C» key.