Eden Burning

Eden Burning is a scenario which was added to the game with game update 13 on December 14, 2021. It has been developed due to participation of Ubisoft Mainz in the Green Game Jam and is meant to raise awareness about environmental issues. The scenario is separate from campaign, sandbox or multiplayer modes. It takes place in a small New World region on an island La Xultuna. Playing as Isabel Sarmento, your goal is to get rid of the remains after Pyrphorian's occupation and build a dam as a green source of energy. All of that has to be accomplished while taking care about the environment of the island.

Green Game Jam[]

In June 2021 Ubisoft Mainz announced that they would participate in the Green Game Jam. It is a contest which requires its participants to create a new game mode or activity for their existing games in order to portray fighting with climate changes. Ubisoft Mainz as a participant of the Green Game Jam decided to support "Play 4 Forests" campaign, and that's why they created the Eden Burning scenario for Anno 1800.

Story[]

Isabel Sarmento received an urgent letter from Yaosca Rodriguez, one of the citizens of the New World island La Xultuna, which not so long ago used to be occupied by Pyrphorians. Many of their buildings and factories still remain on the island while negatively affecting the environment. Main source of pollution is a power generator, which used to provide electricity to citizens of the island. Now that the occupation has ended, citizens of La Xultuna asked Isabel to remove the buildings and ruins abandoned by the Pyrphorians and to build a hydroelectric dam which would provide electricity without causing as much harm to the environment.

Objectives and rewards[]

Bronze:

Complete Dam Project
Reward: Eden Burning Bronze Reward Tree

Silver:

Complete Dam Project
Island health above 80% at time of completion
Reward: Eden Burning Silver Reward Tree

Gold:

Complete Dam Project
Island health above 80% at time of completion
Complete scenario within 2 hours and 30 minutes
Reward: Eden Burning Gold Reward Tree

Gameplay[]

Eden Burning scenario has specific rules and settings which cannot be changed. Some gameplay elements are different from sandbox and campaign mode. Most important aspects of the scenario are:

New core mechanic: eco balance
Disabled mechanics: relocating buildings, happiness, influence, newspaper, attractiveness, working conditions, trade, diplomacy, expeditions, trade routes
Demolishing buildings refunds only a part of coins which were used to build them
Jornaleros and Obreros have different needs
Lumberjack's Huts do not replace cut down trees automatically
Resource deposits are limited, only some of them can be replenished
Fisheries require fish shoals in their radius, each shoal has a limited fish count

Eco Balance[]

For more information about the eco balance, see: Eden Burning eco balance

Eco balance indicates how well the environment of La Xultuna is doing. It is split into three categories: water, soil and air, each with a separate rating represented by health bars and quality points (up to 1000). Based on all categories the average health of the island (percentage) is calculated. The appearance of the island, for example the water around it, will also change based on the eco balance.

Each eco balance category has their own regeneration rate, which depends on many different factors. The regeneration rate indicates how many quality points you gain or lose per minute in each of the categories. Keeping the eco balance positive is one of the main goals of the scenario. If the rating in any of the categories drops below specific thresholds, negative events or even catastrophes will occur, which requires player's intervention. If any of the ratings drops to zero, the scenario is lost.

One of the important factors, especially in the beginning, are various remains after the Pyrphorians. They can be cleared up to improve the regeneration rate, recover some resources and to free up building space, but it requires time and workforce.

Each crop farm has a circular radius around its building, placing farms of different types within that radius can be beneficial for the environment. Monocultures, on the other hand, will have negative impact on the island.

Location[]

For more information about the location where the scenario takes place, see: Eden Burning region

Eden Burning scenario takes place somewhere in New World in a region where La Xultuna island and its city are located.

Buildings[]

For more information about buildings available in the scenario, see: Eden Burning buildings

The buildings available in the scenario include the buildings normally available in New World, but also some buildings which are unique and present only in the Eden Burning scenario.

Population[]

For more information about the needs of the population available in the scenario, see: Needs#Eden Burning scenario

Population available in Eden Burning scenario consists of jornaleros and obreros, the same population tiers normally present in New World. However, they have no happiness and no luxury needs, and their basic needs are slightly different. Moreover, their residences have higher capacity, they can house 20 jornaleros or 30 obreros.

Production chains[]

For more information about the production chains and goods available in the scenario, see: Eden Burning goods and production chains

Some of the goods and production chains available in Eden Burning scenario are the same as in New World in sandbox/campaign/multiplayer games. There are, however, some goods and chains which are modified or completely new and unique.

Events[]

For more information about the events and quests available in the scenario, see: Eden Burning quests and events

In Eden Burning scenario, there are various events which may occur under specific circumstances, such as low eco balance quality. They may appear as quests which have to be solved. In addition, every now and then the researcher Maya might offer quests as a good source of herbarium.

Items and crafting[]

For more information about the items available in the scenario, see: Eden Burning items

Yaosca's harbour offers an option to craft specific items from the resources you gather. The items can be used in trade unions or town halls, for example to reduce eco impact of buildings or to increase the productivity, they can have serious drawbacks too though. Some items unlock new building options, like water purifiers or forester's huts. Items can also be used to replenish some resource deposits.

Building the dam[]

The hydroelectric dam is the main project and main goal of the scenario. It is constructed in several phases, like monuments, and each of them requires workforce and resources.

Restarting[]

If you fail, you can of course start the scenario again. However, some of your actions and some of the technologies you can acquire are permanent. Ruins which are in the valley near the dam do not appear if they have been already removed in your failed attempt. Crafted legendary items are also already available from the start, if you play the scenario again.

Tips[]

Achieving gold reward is extremely difficult with no starting items, though it is possible. During the first attempts you can take your time and focus on crafting legendary items and clearing up ruins in the valley, to make your future gold attempt easier.
Playing with lower speed is recommended. The time limit for gold reward is based on game time, not real time, so you can lower the speed of the game to be able to do more within the same time.
Send your ship for exploration of the region, there are many small uninhabitable islands around which may contain valuable goods or items.
There are various unique plants on La Xultuna, including parts of the island which are unsuitable for construction, and in the waters around the island. Finding and clicking on those plants provides herbarium and some useful trade union items.
On the part of La Xultuna which belongs to Yaosca Rodriguez there are a few crates scattered around left by Pyrphorians. Find and click on them to gain goods and items.
Plan what and where you are going to build, place lumberjack's huts in those areas to clear them from trees and to gather wood from them. If you place buildings there instead of cutting down trees first, the wood you could gather from the trees will be lost and the forestation factor will decrease anyway.
Early on focus your efforts on growing your city and placing lumberjack's huts and sawmills to quickly gather wood and timber, do not be afraid to have 10 timber chains or even more. Spend the timber on placing more houses, placing warehouses around your wood production and on bridges to access the forests across the rivers.
Start clearing the pyrphorian generator as quickly as possible, as it takes a lot of time. It is worth it as it provides valuable materials required for the last phase of the dam construction.
Always make sure you utilise all workforce you have. Spare jornalero workforce should always be allocated to clearing ruins or to buildings which improve the eco balance of the island (if you crafted appriopriate items beforehand). If you desperately need that workforce, you can always pause the progress of any ruins (do not stop clearing the generator though).
Except pyrphorian generator and any ruins which are in the way of your construction plans, focus on clearing up air-polluting ruins, as air is the factor which is limiting the dam's progress the most.
Fisheries can cover a few shoals at once thus bringing more fish for the same amount of workforce. Avoid having any shoal covered by more than one fishery as that would cause the shoal to deplete quicker than it could regenerate.
Get to 500 jornaleros and start producing bricks as quickly as possible. Plan one area where your heavy industry will be located, place a trade union in a central spot and put the brick factories in its radius. This area will be used to produce bricks, tools, steel beams, electric cable and reinforced concrete, with the help of trade union items. The most useful items include: Pyrphorian Calciner, Pyrphorian Machine Instructions, Refined Industrial Toxin Filter and Industrial Chemist.
Tools are essential for the dam construction so do not provide tools to your population, unless you want to upgrade jornalero residences, or you desperately need more workforce.
It may be wise to unlock all obreros buildings before you even start the dam construction, so that you will be ready to produce steel beams, electric cable and reinforced concrete. Additionally, it allows to produce drip coffee pot and atole which can be used to craft very useful items.
Plan another trade union area for non-polluting buildings like work clothes manufacturers or tortilla makers. If you gathered some plants around La Xultuna, you should have an item which causes such buildings to improve air quality. Good items to use are: Mathematician and Flowering Urban Tree.
If you need workforce or eco balance is getting low in any of the category, remember you can always pause production buildings. Do not hesitate to do that, especially if you still have some surplus of goods in storage.