[2021] DevBlog: The Skyscrapers

Original Post — Direct link

The most prominent and central element of “The High Life” – both visually as well as from a gameplay perspective – of course is the Skyscrapers. So, in this first DevBlog for the upcoming DLC, let’s take a look at how the Skyscrapers came to be and which challenges we faced during development.

The topic of Skyscrapers came up when we initially started planning content for Season 3 and decided on the Old World focus. While “Docklands” and “Tourist Season” were supposed to be DLC to accompany and support Anno 1800’s midgame, “The High Life” would focus on the lategame with its Skyscrapers as a way to maximize population in existing cities – and without a need to expand further, going up instead of wide – and more needs to provide an additional challenge.

You can read the full article here: (https://anno-union.com/devblog-skyscrapers/).

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

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over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by DarkCrusader45

This might be a silly question, but is High Life playable without the other DLCs? I only have DLC pack 2 and 3, do I need the first one to play High Life?

Yes, all of our DLCs are intended to work stand-alone :)

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by mtgrhox

I truly hope that baby icon is not a nod to Jonathan Swift's proposal :(

It is merely a modest p…uppet!

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by Rooonaldooo99

You can expect “The High Life” to release on Tuesday, August 31st, at 6 PM CEST (9 AM PST)

That's so soon! I expected a mid-late September release for sure. What a nice surprise.

Pleasant surprises is kind of what we try to specialize in ;)

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by bicameral_mind

lol, I think it's a doll representing 'toys'.

It is :)

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by xforce11

That looks absolutely awesome!

Also, in the last picture where it shows the panorama effect radius, the third picture has a very big skyscraper in the top right corner, maybe that's the "Empire State Building" monument? Sure looks like a very big foundation for one and might be a very tall building compared to the normal residence towers we see in the picture (since from the looks it takes up the space of 4 normal residences).

The name has changed, and is now called "Skyline Tower". I am sure you will see it sometime soon :)

over 2 years ago - /u/Ubi-Thorlof - Direct link

Originally posted by Andur22

Looks like you guys implemented a lot of feedback from the Tests, very happy to see that. Looking forward to the release!

Indeed. More on that in next week's blog :)

over 2 years ago - /u/Ubi-Thorlof - Direct link

Originally posted by ThinkBlueCountOneTwo

I think they are saying that in the code they changed the formula from counting the number of buildings to counting the population max, but those things are equal so nothing actually isdifferent. So for example before it was consumption = 5 farmer houses. But now it's consumption = 50 farmers. They just changed the unit in the formula but the result is the same.

That's basically it, yeah.

We've clarified and expanded the section in the article now, should hopefully make it clearer.

over 2 years ago - /u/Ubi-Thorlof - Direct link

Originally posted by UTUSBN533000

A little confused by the consumption changes. Currently each residence consume a fixed amount of goods regardless of number of inhabitants. The new formula changes it to "based on the maximum total possible population". So the end result is still the same? The only real change is lesser consumption during the buildup phase?

There's zero change to the consumption.

We only changed how the consumption is calculated in the backend, which, however, has no impact on you while playing.

When you build/upgrade a residence, it will still immediately consume the maximum amount of a certain good. The change we did was necessary so we could implement and balance the new residences, but the results are indeed the same.

We expanded this section in the blog to provide more clarity on the matter. Generally speaking, this purely is a development insight: Might be interesting for some, but knowing it has no "use" for you if you want to know about gameplay changes or new features.

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by ljhamilton

Sorry if a stupid question, but is high life the “main” DLC release of season 3, just as LOL was for season 2?

Not really. While Seasons 1 and 2 both had a clear highlight with the respective third DLCs being the biggest and most expensive, things are a bit different with Season 3.

This time around the DLCs are much closer to each other than, say, "Bright Harvest" was to "Land of Lions". As a result, "The High Life" is the same price as "tourist Season" was, which was in turn only a bit more expensive than "Docklands" as the smallest one.

Hope that clarifies it a bit :)

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by bixelbg

First i thought the baby icon is in the food cosumption requirement for investors and i jumped from the chair to check it out lmao

Everything about this blog makes sense, sounds exciting and fantastic! Love it! Lately most dev companies have been giving us massive letdowns with their game updates, but not bluebyte, not even once!

Thank you! Though I would have to somewhat go to bat here for other devs who have been struggling with delays etc. this year.

While many of us are still working from home (as with many other studios), there are several factors that make life a bit easier for us than it is for many of our peers: being PC only, being in our third year of post-launch with an engine and tools our team is extremely familiar with, and the fact that many members of the team have been working together for so long.

I do not envy (and have mad respect) for any team that managed to release an all-new (multiplatform) game during this pandemic!

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by GreenOrkGirl

Do you think we will get new optimisation items? Or may be zoo/museum/gardens items?

While I can neither confirm nor deny anything, we will have a second DevBlog for "The High Life" in the future.

over 2 years ago - /u/Com_Raven - Direct link

Originally posted by fhackner3

Oh, I thought high life would be priced at 14$ while tourism is 12$. Someone did some math last week to come up with this number.

They should both the 8,99$, unless I am mistaken. The Season 3 Pass is 19,99$, and the three individual purchases add up to around 25$.

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