These devblogs are amazing and I'd like to thank the entire dev team for doing such an amazing job!
I wish all game developers could be as open, transparent and communicative as the Anno team.
Very happy to hear you're enjoying these blogs!
They take some time to put together, with input from different departments and dedicated visuals to explain things (like in these recent blogs), so, we're glad they're so well-received.
Read moreWhat we know so far:
Diagonal Roads and Expanded Grid
Good – This tweak improves aesthetics and planning, but it feels like a minor change that doesn't impact the core sandbox experience.Modular Ships
Mixed – While the concept adds some customization, I’m not convinced it offers real strategic depth beyond a flashy gimmick.Predefined Starting Provinces
Bad – Restricting players to specific provinces undermines the freedom that has always defined the Anno sandbox experience.New NPC and Diplomacy System
Mixed – The idea is promising, but without clear gameplay impact yet, it might complicate things without adding substantial value.Cross-Platform UI Optimization
Good – A smoother, more intuitive UI is welcome, though it doesn't address the deeper issue of lost sandbox freedom.Enhanced Economic Integration in Ships...
Not quite sure what you mean with the "Starting Provinces" part.
On the contrary, Anno 117: Pax Romana gives you more choice compared to Anno 1800 since you can choose to start in either province when starting a sandbox game.
The campaign, as in Anno 1800, might occasionally restrict you in some regards for narrative reasons, but that's a different story (hah, story!).
Lavender, probably.
It was used a lot in the Roman empire for perfume, so likely for a luxury item.They pretty much used that shit on everything.
The name lavender (lavanda) comes from the Romans, as it means "things to wash", which should tell you everything you need to know.
It's indeed lavender! If you close your eyes, you can smell it through the screen.
The devs are dirty teases.
Dirty teases
Yes
Have the beta invites been sent?
No, but we'll definitely announce when we've sent invites.
Those blasphemous diagonal roads in the background will find no place in my efficient and square colonies
But otherwise cool stuff!
Taking note to specifically lock your version to diagonal roads only
Heya! There are no ongoing playtests right now, and we have not sent any invites to said tests yet either.
If you'd like to participate in future playtests, please sign up with your Ubisoft account via https://register.ubisoft.com/anno-117/en-GB
There is no other way to participate in playtests, I'm afraid. Should you have issues with your Ubisoft account, please get in touch with Customer Support: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-us/help/contact
Appreciate the post! We don't even need to do our own marketing anymore, this is fantastic! :P
But seriously: it means a lot to us to see our game recommended this way. We hope everyone picking up Anno 1800 in the sale is going to have a great time with our "baby".
Hi honey. How are the kids?
Good, good, the youngest is doing great, everyone loves it. And another one - the 8th - on the way, expected later this year.
Already decided on a name: will call the little one "Pax Romana" - beautiful name, no?
Oh, look, SoggyTowelette is back :D
We love reading posts like this <3
Happy to hear you're enjoying our game.
Hey Anno Community,
We have a packed Union Update with news for you today, so, grab some coffee or some posca and read on.
First: As some of you noticed, we currently have some issues here on the website with the login and comment feature specifically. We’re working on a resolution and hope to soon discuss Anno with you in the comment section again.
A few weeks ago we announced that we’ll be having beta tests later this year and opened registrations. You can still sign up for those playtests by following this link .
Since we have received some questions since: No, don’t worry, invites haven’t been sent yet. These beta playtests still lie a bit further in the future – you ...
Read moreThis is kind of a red-flag for simulation games. Also the UI is going to console-first, so I hope we can customize it on PC.
The UI design-approach is not console-first.
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As I said, that's the view of the empire in Anno 117, but who knows how things are really looking like.
Very pretty as expected and modular ships are a cool feature.
A bit disappointed by the depiction of this "Albion" and the idea that the Romans are "civilized" and they are not. I know Anno has always been about stereotypes but I like history and was hoping they would start to put some more effort into that part of the game
The Romans would definitely see it this way. How do we portray it in the game? - Well... let's wait and see.
I'd be interested if this works on a group of buildings too. There's rarely a scenario where a road surrounding a single building is needed - but building one around a 5x2 group of houses for example would be a gamechanger.
From the blog ;)
"This way you can quickly have a block of residences surrounded by a road – or a warehouse, like in the example below."
any chance you could share a rough estimate of the required specs? or is optimization not done?
Nothing we would be comfortable sharing yet at this point, optimization work is still very much ongoing.
I love how this has to have been written in part by a developer, calling "feedback units (i.e. pedestrians, animals, etc.)" gave me a good chuckle
Writing public-facing articles when you keep using internal names all day long is a struggle, I can tell you.
Holy shit, Bilbo Baggins quote!
I’m curious how the new calculations made for roads going to affect spec requirements, if it even does that
And a gameplay beta!? That was quite a surprise for me, it looks great considering they are just doing closed betas. The visual wave when placing a road kinda looks weird, but maybe they’ll change it with the release
Overall, I am quite interested in what they are coming up with. It looks like they are trying to give it an original identity while still keeping true to Anno. And I really appreciate that!
Also, what was that testimony about farms! 45 degree angled farms potentially?
Yes, that visual effect when placing the road is one of the reasons why the clip has the "work-in-progress" label on it ;)
In fact, in the most recent build it's already fixed, but too late for the blog I'm afraid.
And yes, farm fields are also impacted. A bit more on that in part 2 in March.
edit: also, glad someone appreciates the Bilbo quote!
But, but, making roads around buildings, thats like 40% fun gameplay for me in 1800.
You can still do that manually, of course, we do not want to take away your main (?) source of fun in Anno!
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