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Anno 1800

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Anno 1800 is a city-building real-time strategy video game, developed by Ubisoft Mainz and published by Ubisoft. It was originally released on PC on April 16, 2019, and later released also on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 16, 2023. It is the seventh game of the Anno series, following Anno 2205.

Anno 1800 spans the 19th century at the dawn of the Industrial Age[1]. The game starts from farming villages in the Old World, proceeds through settling in the New World, and through expansion and industrialisation leads to the development of rich metropolises. To build prospering cities the player needs to claim islands, construct buildings, establish production chains and logistic networks, trade or fight with other competitors etc.

Setting[]

Anno 1800 is set in the period of industrial revolution of the 19th century. However, the game world is fictional and therefore not historically accurate, though it is heavily inspired by history[2]. There are many references to historical events and figures of that time period but none of them are mentioned explicitly. In general, the game presents a slightly more positive take on the era of industrial revolution. However, it still does include or mention some difficult themes such as class conflict, politics, pollution, propaganda, riots or slavery. The playable regions of the world consist of multiple islands, most of them can be settled and utilised by the player or competitors. The base game consists of two regions: the Old World inspired by Europe, and the New World inspired by South America.

Gameplay[]

The game begins with the player taking ownership of an island in the Old World. Starting with only a handful of construction materials, the first step is to construct a few farmer residences and establish the production of basic goods. The core of the gameplay is the development of the islands by placing and connecting various buildings. People living in the residences are divided into several population tiers, each providing their own type of workforce and having specific needs. Their demands are fulfilled by providing them with specific goods or by constructing buildings that provide public services. More advanced goods have to be created from other less complex products, which forms entire production chains. Various goods in the chain often have to be produced on different islands, which requires to integrate player's islands into a trade network. Within such a network, goods can be transported by several types of ships, which can be dedicated to specific trade routes. At one point the population demands goods that originate from the distant New World. After sending out a ship on an expedition, a separate New World region with its own set of islands becomes available. New settlements have to be established there to then transport produced goods between both regions. Eventually, the player's company, initially managing a small farming village on one Old World island, can be transformed into a network of interconnected metropolises spanning two regions across the world (or more regions with DLCs).

The player's company might be not the only one interested in settling within the same regions. There can be other players' companies (in multiplayer) or computer-controlled competitors, who compete for the same space and resources as the player. Relations between different companies can be peaceful, relying on diplomacy and trade, or hostile, involving naval combat between ships and islands' harbours.

These core gameplay principals are intertwined with many other mechanics and features. For example, player's population is crucial to the gameplay and is connected to several important mechanics. In addition to fulfilling basic needs of the inhabitants, their happiness can also be affected in several ways. Low happiness can result in riots which are one of the types of city incidents, while high happiness can lead to festivals being organised on player's islands. Changing population's working conditions or using propaganda in newspapers are other features that affect the happiness in Anno 1800.

One of the most crucial features and resources is influence. Its amount increases with population and determines the current potential of the company. Influence is required to settle new islands, obtain new trade and war ships, optimise the company's efficiency with items etc. These items can be equipped in a few types of buildings or on ships. They can significantly alter the properties of production buildings, harbour buildings, residences, ships etc. Items can be obtained via various means such as trade or expeditions.

Each island has its own attractiveness rating, which depends on several factors. The player can build modular zoos and museums where animals and artefacts can be equipped for display, significantly increasing the attractiveness rating. However, it is decreased by pollution or city incidents. High attractiveness rating attracts visitors to the island, increasing its income.

Another important gameplay element is the electricity mechanic, which involves setting up a railway network to connect oil harbours, oil refineries and power plants. Electricity is not only demanded by high-tier population but can also be used to increase the productivity of factories.

Anno 1800 includes several game modes: a story-focused campaign, a sandbox mode, a creative mode, a multiplayer mode and a unique scenario (up to four different scenarios with DLCs).

Plot[]

The plot of the Anno 1800 campaign follows the unnamed son of Samuel Goode. Samuel was one of the members of the Royal Council of the Empire and owned a company called Goode and Sons. The game starts with the protagonist and his close companion Aarhant living in poverty in the New World. One day a letter from his sister Hannah Goode arrives, informing about their father being imprisoned, accused of treason. The protagonist immediately decides to return to the Old World to his sister, Aarhant going along with him. Upon returning to the Old World it turns out Samuel is already dead and his funeral is about to take place. Their uncle and brother of Samuel, Edvard Goode, inherited Goode and Sons along with the ownership of Bright Sands, a prospering industrialised island. Not being welcome in Bright Sands as the alleged traitor's children, Hannah and the protagonist travel to the nearby small island, which Hannah bought with her last savings. Together they want to try to clear the name of their father, starting from developing a new company, in opposition to their uncle. This is the moment when the player takes control of the protagonist's company and its island.

The four-chapter story follows the attempts of Hannah and her brother to uncover what happened with their father[3]. The details of his death and alleged treason raise a lot of questions. The search for the truth becomes dangerous, involving the Royal Council, the Queen, uncle Edvard and a particularly mysterious organisation.

Development[]

For the list of people who worked on the game, see: Developer Credits.

The first four games in the Anno series took place in historical settings ranging from 15th to 18th century. The next two games were set in futuristic settings in years 2070 and 2205. The sixth game in the series, Anno 2205, was particularly different from the rest of them, because of several significant changes to the core gameplay principles. After criticism from the fans due to the reduced complexity and replayability of Anno 2205, the developers decided that the next game in the series should return to the classic gameplay rules and to a historical setting[4].

Anno 1800 started pre-production around the beginning of 2017, was announced in August 2017[5] and was released on April 16, 2019. The game was announced early on purpose, in order to give the long-time fans of the series a chance to participate in the development process and give feedback on the game[6]. To that end, Ubisoft Mainz created a community website called the Anno Union, which was used to post development updates and gather feedback about the game's content. Many game elements were announced and described on Anno Union a long time before the release, giving the fans a chance to share their opinion and suggestions about them.

At the time of the release of Anno 1800 there were plans to release four gameplay DLCs: The Anarchist and three DLCs of the Season 1 Pass[7]. Due to the success of the game, the post-launch support plans were gradually expanded, ending up with nine more gameplay DLCs within three additional season passes being released by the end of 2022[8][9][10].

The first cosmetic DLC was released on December 10, 2019. Already at that time the developers stated that if it was successful, they would create more cosmetic DLCs in the future[11]. Overall, sixteen cosmetic DLCs have been released by the end of 2024.

Alongside the DLCs, the game was regularly improved via game updates which were free for all players. These updates brought multiple new features, quality of life changes and many bug fixes. The history of these changes can be explored via the patch notes of the game updates. Among the added features are: minimum stock system, day and night cycle, co-op multiplayer, statistics menu, multi-copy and multi-move tools, lifestyle needs, creative mode, stamps, and mod support.

Throughout the development of Anno 1800 and its DLCs, many playtests were organised, where players could test the contents of the game or the DLC and provide their feedback or report bugs. Shortly before the release two large tests were organised, a closed beta and an open beta[12][13].

The development of Anno 1800 ended with the release of the final cosmetic DLC and the last game update (18.4) on December 5, 2024[14].

Downloadable content[]

Many DLCs (downloadable content) have been released for Anno 1800. They can be divided into two types: gameplay DLCs which can add new regions, population tiers, features, production chains etc.; and cosmetic DLCs which add new buildings skins, vehicles skins and ornaments, therefore only affecting the aesthetics and not the gameplay itself.

Gameplay DLCs[]

There have been 13 gameplay DLCs released. One of them, The Anarchist, is a part of the Deluxe Pack. The other 12 are divided into four bundles, called season passes, with three DLCs in every season pass. Content can be bought in bundles or individually. Gameplay DLCs are available only on PC, not on consoles. All gameplay DLCs and their release dates:

Cosmetic DLCs[]

There have been 16 cosmetic DLCs released in two bundles. They can be bought in bundles or individually. Cosmetic DLCs are available on both PC and consoles. All cosmetic DLCs and their release dates:

Additionally, there was also the Charity tree Plant a Tree DLC, which was released on December 14, 2021. It could be purchased until the end of March 2022 (revenue from it was forwarded to Ecologi) and later on December 8, 2022 its content became available to all players for free.

Technical information[]

Anno 1800 is based on its own engine, usually called the Anno engine[15].

Supported languages[]

Fully localised text and audio: English, German, French, Russian.

Fully localised text: Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Chinese (traditional and simplified).

System requirements[]

Minimum requirements - for 1080p, 30 fps and low settings[16]:

  • Windows 7, 8 or 10 (64-bit only)
  • Intel i5-2500K-3.3 GHz or AMD FX 6350-3.9 GHz
  • RAM: 8GB
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660-2GB or AMD Radeon R7 260X-2GB
  • DirectX 11 or 12

Recommended requirements - for 1080p, 60 fps and high settings:

  • Windows 7, 8 or 10 (64-bit only)
  • Intel i5-4690K-3.5 GHz or AMD Ryzen5 1500X-3.5 GHz
  • RAM: 8GB
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970-4GB or AMD Radeon R9 290X-4GB
  • DirectX 11 or 12

Laptop specifications: Intel HD Graphics 620 (720p low settings), Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580 (1080p low settings), or AMD Vega 10 (720p low settings).

Official system requirements for most common settings scenarios'"`UNIQ--ref-00000011-QINU`"'

Official system requirements for most common settings scenarios[16]

Game editions available on PC[]

There are three different game editions available on PC: Standard Edition, Gold Edition and Definitive Annoversary Edition. The information about what content is included in each of the editions is shown in the table below. The Standard Edition consists of only the base game of Anno 1800. The Gold Edition includes the base game and all gameplay content released for the game: four season passes and the Deluxe Pack (which includes The Anarchist DLC, four company logos, a selection of music from the game's soundtrack and a digital art book). The Definitive Annoversary Edition contains all purchasable content ever released for Anno 1800, including both the gameplay and the cosmetic DLCs. After buying the Standard or Gold editions, the missing DLCs or DLC bundles can be purchased and added to the game at any time.

The game is available on the following launchers: Ubisoft Connect, Steam and Epic Games.

Standard Edition Gold Edition Definitive Annoversary Edition
Base Game + + +
Deluxe Pack + +
Season 1 Pass + +
Season 2 Pass + +
Season 3 Pass + +
Season 4 Pass + +
Cosmetic Pack Bundle +
Cosmetic Pack Bundle 2 +

Game editions available on consoles[]

There are two different game editions available on consoles: Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition. Standard Edition contains only the base game, while the Deluxe Edition also includes three cosmetic DLCs: Amusements Pack, City Lights Pack and Pedestrian Zone Pack. After buying any of the editions, the missing cosmetic DLCs can be purchased and added to the game at any time.

Screenshots[]

Trailers[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Anno Union: Anno 1800
  2. ↑ Anno Union DevBlog: Truth or Fiction
  3. ↑ Anno Union DevBlog: The prodigal Scion returns...
  4. ↑ Anno Union DevBlog: Our Vision
  5. ↑ Anno Union: Anno 1800 announcement
  6. ↑ Anno Union: Jump aboard the Anno Union
  7. ↑ Anno Union: Announcing the Anno 1800 Season Pass and our free content plans
  8. ↑ Announcing the Anno 1800 Season 2 Pass
  9. ↑ Announcing the Season 3 Pass
  10. ↑ Announcing the Season 4 Pass
  11. ↑ Anno Union: The future of Anno 1800
  12. ↑ Anno Union: Announcement: Closed Beta and 1602 for free!
  13. ↑ Anno Union: Union Update: Closed Beta and a special Announcement
  14. ↑ Anno Union Update: The Anno 1800 Saga
  15. ↑ Anno Union DevBlog: The Anno Engine
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Anno Union Update: Open Beta details and system specs!

External links[]

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