Return to “Games”

Post

Anno

#1
I can't quite believe we don't have a topic for this yet, but here it is. In February of 2019 the next installment in the Anno series, Anno 1800, is due. What I have seen so far has got me pretty excited, considering that Anno 1602 has basically started my gaming career.



It seems that the game merges the best features of older games like 1404 with some of the newer titles and also adds some new features like workforce.

There is a website with weekly developer updates. As far as I have seen a lot of user feedback from tests with union members has already been incorporated.
Post

Re: Anno

#2
"union members" for testing?

Like, QA workers of the world, unite? Or more like organized labor getting to approve/disapprove of how economics is simulated in the game?

At any rate, I've heard interesting things about the Anno series, though it seems to be more popular in Europe than the U.S. (That's not a criticism.)

What are the key features that make the Anno games so enjoyable for you? I love hearing what people like about their favorite games!
Post

Re: Anno

#3
Question not directed at me but coming in anyway!

I only played Anno 2070 and, heavy-handed climate sledgehammering aside, I really enjoyed it. The game had a very clear and simple resource/supply/demand flow-system that made it easy to see what you had to do to
(a) get the materials to build your city,
(b) how to get people to inhabit your city,
(c) how to provide these people with basic resources (food) so they could proliferate,
(d) what resources this allowed you to produce,
(d) what resources you needed for further expansion,
(e) how to get the infrastructure to produce those resources,
(f) what kind of demographics you needed to get that infrastructure,
(g) what kind of resources you needed to get to support those demographics,
(h) and what kind of supply lines you needed to ensure that all of this worked together like one big well-oiled machine.

Anno 2070 is what made me want to play Factorio.

I have two criticisms of Anno 2070:
(a) Their climate messaging was undercut a bit by the fact that the super not-environmentally-friendly dudes ended up with the best environmental control hardware, while the climate-friendly hippy faction, while producing less pollution, was also pretty terrible at managing existing pollution while suffering from lower resource outputs on average.
(b) I couldn't stand UPlay (more a default criticism of Ubisoft)
Post

Re: Anno

#4
Well, it is union members as in registered members of the forums/website with the title "Anno Union". :D
There are playtests to which you could apply and if chosen, then travel to Mainz, Germany to test the current game and provide feedback.

I guess what makes the Anno games so special is that they can appeal to a broad range of players. There are always some sort of story scenarios which you can play, but most time is usually spend in the "Endless" game modes, or challenge scenarios.
In the "Endless" mode you have all options in your hand and you can configure the game to your liking. The core gameplay loop is rather simple. Fulfill the needs of your citizens at the current level, let them upgrade to the next level, repeat. I think this simple idea evolves into a very rich experience. With increasing rank of your population demand for new production chains always give you new incentives to keep settling on new islands. The production chains require transporting of goods over larger distances.

I like to play it slow and relaxed. I am trying to build large cities, not necessarily the most beautiful ones. Huge islands and a lot of resources, yes please. Mild pirates and one AI player for a hint of competition and need for defenses. Garnish with possible fires and sickness. Voila, I am happy :D

The setting of the older games (1602, 1503, 1702, 1404) scratch the European colonization itch, I guess :D Go to a barren island and from nothing create beautiful and rich cities. Then kill all your competitors if you like :twisted:
I only played a little of 2070 and it wasn't as much of a hit with me, but I can't really put a finger on a reason. If you want to start I would suggest Anno 1404, its often on sale at GOG for 2.5-5€ I think.

I think that the Anno games are very popular in Europe and especially in the german speaking countries is that the series was started by austrian and german companies. It also feels to me that strategy games in general are very popular around here, although I can't give you a good explanation for that.
Post

Re: Anno

#5
Solid info -- thank you both!

Scytale wrote:
Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:13 pm
Their climate messaging was undercut a bit by the fact that the super not-environmentally-friendly dudes ended up with the best environmental control hardware, while the climate-friendly hippy faction, while producing less pollution, was also pretty terrible at managing existing pollution while suffering from lower resource outputs on average.

I can't resist thinking that sounds pretty realistic. :D

An inventive, energetic culture creates tech that produces problems, but the pressure from those problems spurs invention to solve those problems. Those inventions then diffuse to everyone's benefit. This generates a whole new set of problems, which in turn get solved, rinse and repeat.

Meanwhile, a laid-back, less-consuming-but-less-productive culture, with no serious internal stressors or external threats, causes fewer problems, but also lacks the drive to invent (and may actually penalize success).

Seems about right as a simulation setting, though maybe it's not much fun to play.

Online Now

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests

cron