Anno 1602
Encyclopedia
Anno 1602: Creation of a New World (in the USA, Canada
and Australia
released as 1602 A.D.) is a game with both real time strategy and city building
elements, developed by Austria
-based Max Design
company.
The game is set in the Early Modern period of history and is based around colony building and resource management on a series of small islands. It includes aspects of exploration, combat, diplomacy and trade. It is set in the same period as Sid Meier's Colonization, but involves more detailed colony management, with no "Old World" politics. Parts, like expansion and movement of resources, are similar to the early Settlers
games. Anno 1602 is an economic, rather than combat, orientated strategy game. Players are rarely challenged in battle. The game design is noteworthy for its attempt to implement a 'progressive' artificial intelligence
, meaning that the pace of the game changes in response to how quickly players act.
The sequels of the game are titled Anno 1503
, Anno 1701
, Anno 1404, and Anno 2070
.
. You start as an unnamed European nation in 1602 AD that is looking to expand their power into the New World. As the game starts, you'll need to quickly find a nearby island, colonize it, and start building up your economy. The US release of this game contains all 6 scenarios (in addition to the tutorial and training game) that were included in the original European release, as well as 9 new scenarios, along with a “free play role”.
Anno 1602 also features online
and network play with up to 4 other players simultaneously. Because the network play is less sophisticated than that of modern games, lag and disconnections often occur. Despite this, Anno 1602 is still occasionally played by small groups of lan PC gamers, or by players over the internet. The game is also playable via null modem
connection.
, and Age of Empires; and is often criticized saying that such details being absent contributes to the game "lacking depth". Fans and developers have gone on the record as saying such a system was chosen to keep neutrality throughout the various players when it came to their economies (the driving force behind the game).
level before you gain access to weapons factories. Once you have the factories, a large process of buildings are needed to produce weapons, and additional buildings to construct units. After the buildings are constructed, you still must pay a constant flow of money to keep each building running (another reason your colonies' economy is so important). This “line of production” though difficult, has been incorporated into newer games such as Stronghold.
Not all versions of Anno 1602 AD shipped with a map editor, therefore several fan made editors were created.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
released as 1602 A.D.) is a game with both real time strategy and city building
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
elements, developed by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
-based Max Design
Max Design
Max Design was an Austrian game developer located in Schladming who originated various games which attained cult status – like the Anno-series – especially in German-speaking regions...
company.
The game is set in the Early Modern period of history and is based around colony building and resource management on a series of small islands. It includes aspects of exploration, combat, diplomacy and trade. It is set in the same period as Sid Meier's Colonization, but involves more detailed colony management, with no "Old World" politics. Parts, like expansion and movement of resources, are similar to the early Settlers
The Settlers
The Settlers is a slow-paced simulation computer game by German developer Blue Byte Software, first released in 1993 for Commodore Amiga and in 1994 for the PC...
games. Anno 1602 is an economic, rather than combat, orientated strategy game. Players are rarely challenged in battle. The game design is noteworthy for its attempt to implement a 'progressive' artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, meaning that the pace of the game changes in response to how quickly players act.
The sequels of the game are titled Anno 1503
Anno 1503
Anno 1503: The New World is a game with both real time strategy and city building elements, developed by Austria-based Max Design company. It revolves around building and maintaining a 16th century colony in the New World...
, Anno 1701
Anno 1701
Anno 1701, also marketed as 1701 A.D., is a video game with both real time strategy and city building elements, developed by Germany-based Sunflowers Interactive Entertainment Software company. It revolves around building and maintaining an 18th century colony in the "New World"...
, Anno 1404, and Anno 2070
Anno 2070
Anno 2070 is a video game with city-building and real-time strategy gameplay elements. It was released on 17 November 2011 and was co-developed by Related Designs and Ubisoft Blue Byte and published by Ubisoft.-Summary:The scenario is set in the year 2070...
.
Overview
Anno 1602 aims to be a mix of simulation and strategy gaming, giving players the chance to create a realistic and lively world, modeling it to their liking. The ultimate goal of the game is to discover chains of islands, settle them, develop on them, and then trade with other players. Players can also trade with their own colonies, and various neutral CPU controlled players such as native tribesmen. Even though the game focuses heavily on an economic standpoint, on various occasions the player will be forced (or will bring it upon others) to defend their islands against possible enemies.Gameplay
1602 AD is, at its core, a colony building and trading simulationSimulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
. You start as an unnamed European nation in 1602 AD that is looking to expand their power into the New World. As the game starts, you'll need to quickly find a nearby island, colonize it, and start building up your economy. The US release of this game contains all 6 scenarios (in addition to the tutorial and training game) that were included in the original European release, as well as 9 new scenarios, along with a “free play role”.
Anno 1602 also features online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
and network play with up to 4 other players simultaneously. Because the network play is less sophisticated than that of modern games, lag and disconnections often occur. Despite this, Anno 1602 is still occasionally played by small groups of lan PC gamers, or by players over the internet. The game is also playable via null modem
Null modem
Null modem is a communication method to connect two DTEs directly using an RS-232 serial cable. The name stems from the historical use of the RS-232 cable to connect two teleprinter devices to modems in order to communicate with one another; null modem communication was possible by instead using...
connection.
Civilizations
1602 AD is designed to be as nationalistically neutral as possible. After entering your character's name, you are asked to pick one of four different colored banners to represent your country. From here you can either choose to play out one of the game's many scenarios or engage in a free form game. This is a radically different approach to other games such as The SettlersThe Settlers
The Settlers is a slow-paced simulation computer game by German developer Blue Byte Software, first released in 1993 for Commodore Amiga and in 1994 for the PC...
, and Age of Empires; and is often criticized saying that such details being absent contributes to the game "lacking depth". Fans and developers have gone on the record as saying such a system was chosen to keep neutrality throughout the various players when it came to their economies (the driving force behind the game).
Technology
Unlike other games where technology plays a major role in one player defeating another, Anno 1602, instead makes technology upgrades more relevant in inner-colony affairs. Instead of buying upgrades to ships to perform better in huge naval battles, it is often the case that upgrades are made so that the ships can carry more cargo, and therefore make the colony more money. The majority of the buildings in the game also can / will need to be technologically upgraded throughout the game to please the colony's citizens, which produces more cash for the colony, from which the player can continue upgrading his nation, and expand to other islands.Units
In 1602 AD, you are required to reach a certain populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
level before you gain access to weapons factories. Once you have the factories, a large process of buildings are needed to produce weapons, and additional buildings to construct units. After the buildings are constructed, you still must pay a constant flow of money to keep each building running (another reason your colonies' economy is so important). This “line of production” though difficult, has been incorporated into newer games such as Stronghold.
Buildings
1602 AD is about discovery. As your colony grows and spreads, you'll get access to more and more building types and your citizens will construct bigger and more impressive housing for themselves. This cycle is one of the main driving forces to the game's lasting appeal, and many players have found themselves losing track of hours at a time just trying to grow their population to the point where they could build a new structure or unit.Custom scenarios
1602 AD allows for the creation of user-made maps, using the Scenario Builder. This tool is simpler and easier to learn than comparable editors used in more modern games, but it has fewer capabilities as a result. This, along with instant "Random Maps" keep many players coming back to Anno 1602.Not all versions of Anno 1602 AD shipped with a map editor, therefore several fan made editors were created.