Age of Wonders 4 Hour of Wonders Mod v1.1

                    
Hour of Wonders is an Age of Wonders 4 Mod that compresses maps, speeds up the economy, and shortens victory timers so full campaigns land in roughly 50–100 turns instead of dragging across an entire weekend.
It targets experienced rulers who want dense single‑player runs, clean testing grounds for builds, and fewer dead turns between meaningful choices.
What Hour of Wonders changes

Map & flow: smaller realms with much higher node density (resources, camps, wonders), faster event and quest cadence, reduced vendor cooldowns, and victory timers cut to 10 turns for a sharper race to win.
Economy: research, production, and population requirements halved; base empire and throne income raised; boost cost reduction increased to 40%; global reward scaling increased about 25% to keep momentum high.
Cities: base annex range set to 1 (was 2), higher base food/production/draft income, population cap lifted to 60 with tuned food curves, and province replace/remove/repair time reduced to 2 turns.
Units & warfare: movement‑type bonus standardized to +4 per level (was +8), gold costs re‑scaled to favor low tiers, T1–T2 stat nudges keep them viable through mid/late game, pillage income doubled, Speed March self‑damage cut to 20%, base unit XP gain doubled, road cost raised to 10 gold, and base sight +1.
Heroes: recruitment cost equals 50 gold per hero level, resurrection costs 25 mana per level, faster recruitment timers (base 5 +5 per level), and +3 base defenses for survivability.
Diplomacy & AI: settlement progress timings re‑tuned for the shorter pace, and AI resource perks trimmed so pressure remains fair inside the 50–100 turn window.
Empire development & traits: City Cap upgrades cost 200 per level; Expansive Reach annex bonus reduced to +1; Advanced Logistics movement discount reduced to +1; Chosen Destroyer now yields +5 resources per population razed.

In‑game impact and use cases
Where it hits: the early and midgame. Cheaper research and builds mean faster tome pivots, quicker infrastructure, and earlier spikes that actually decide realms.
Là où il brille : single‑player speed‑clears, challenge runs, and trainer‑assisted theorycrafting. Dense maps plus doubled raid income reward scouting, flanking, and tempo pressure.
How to play it: leverage the +1 sight and quest/event pace to chain objectives, keep armies wider for longer thanks to low‑tier value, and use cities as forward engines instead of long‑haul projects.
Performance notes for power users
The design goal is a complete realm in 50–100 turns. Expect earlier wars, more rewarding detours, and fewer empty maintenance turns.
Because T1–T2 units scale better and XP flows faster, wide armies come online sooner. Invest in realm‑wide bonuses and early siege capability instead of waiting for late‑tier unlocks.
Installation et conditions préalables

Back up saves: close the game and back up any important campaigns before changing balance overhauls.
Download the mod archive: get the .zip from the mod’s Downloads section.
Create the Mods folder (if missing): go to Documents\Paradox Interactive\Age of Wonders 4\Mods and create it if it doesn’t exist.
Extract: unzip into its own folder inside Mods so the path looks like …\Age of Wonders 4\Mods\HourOfWonders (folder name can vary; keep it one level and tidy).
Enable in a Playset: start the Launcher, open Playsets, cliquez Add more mods, tick Hour of Wonderset Add to Playset so it actually loads.
Load order tip: move Hour of Wonders below other balance/economy mods so its values take priority when overlaps occur.
Start fresh: begin a new realm. Overhauls shouldn’t be hot‑swapped into old saves.
Troubleshoot quickly: if values look stock, confirm the correct Playset is selected on the home screen and re‑check load order after updates.
Uninstall/revert: remove the mod folder from Mods and deselect it from your Playset; old saves may not behave correctly without it.

FAQ & quick tips

Is it single‑player friendly? Absolutely—the faster loop makes testing tomes, traits, and routes painless.
Does the AI snowball? Its bonuses are trimmed for the shorter arc, so fights stay tense without stat inflation.
Can I stack with other overhauls? Yes, but test in a fresh realm and respect load order; the last‑loaded mod wins conflicting values.