Tag: Anno 1800

Union Update: Community Challenge results + upcoming Community Vote

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Community Challenge

The first Community Challenge for this year has ended, and you crushed the target: We asked you to build at least 60,000 Fertiliser Modules in the two weeks after the release of DLC 10 – and you built a whopping 145,166!

Clearly, we underestimated your fascination for fertiliser (even with the currently still long production timer) – we will keep that in mind for the challenge for DLC 11.

As announced, for reaching the target we will add two new company logos for all players to the game. This will happen with a future update (not next week’s Game Update 14.1) but you can already take a look at them below:

 

We also received some feedback on expanding the idea of the Community Challenges to non-DLC-owners. That’s something we will keep in mind for next time.

Cosmetic DLC Vote

As announced in February, we are once again planning a community vote for the theme of the third of this year’s Cosmetic DLC!

This vote will start on Tuesday next week with three topics to choose from. After two weeks we will start development on the winning topic, the release is planned for autumn.

More details on this next week – we’re excited to see the outcome.

Video Game Music concert

We mentioned it a few weeks ago, and here’s your reminder:

This Saturday, April 30th, at 8 PM CEST you can listen to “Game Music in Concert”, a Twitch live stream by the Augsburger Philharmoniker orchestra, directed by Domonkos Héjas. The orchestra will play the soundtracks of various video games from classics like Tetris over Assassin’s Creed and Anno to Stellaris and Civilization.

Have a listen on Saturday over on Twitch.

Union Update: It’s “Seeds of Change” Release Day

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Hello Annoholics!

The long wait is over: It’s release day! Today we are releasing DLC 10 “Seeds of Change” as well as the *shiny* new scenario “Seasons of Silver”.

With the new DLC you will be able to revolutionize your agricultural sector in the New World using the new Hacienda. And if you’re looking for a challenge: Join Vasco Oliveira on his search for silver!

Want to know more? We got you covered! You can read all about DLC 10 in our dedicated DevBlog right here. To find out more about the brand new scenario go check out our latest DevBlog.

 

To help you get into the right mood, definitely check out our dedicated DLC 10 trailer below!

From today on, DLC 10 “Seeds of Change” including the scenario is also available to buy separately from the Season 4 Pass! Head over to our store to find out more.

In addition to the new DLC we are also releasing GU 14, you can find the full Release Notes here.

Twitch Drops

As always, the release will be accompanied by a Twitch Drop event. Don’t forget to tune into your favourite streamers on Twitch till April 20th to receive two new ornaments! For more information about the Twitch Drops event check out our dedicated Union Update from last week.

Community Challenge

To kick off the new season we have prepared a community challenge for you! Planting the “Seeds of Change” takes a lot of work and a lot of fertiliser. So, the residents of the New World have asked for your help: The community must come together and reach a global target of 60.000 fertiliser modules built! As a reward, two new company logos will be unlocked for everyone. So, what are you waiting for? Get fertilising!

The community challenge will run for a period of 2 weeks and we will keep you updated on your progress throughout.

And, if you like challenges like this you’ll be excited to know that this is just the first of several. We have planned more challenges for DLC 11 and 12 so keep an eye out for those!

Free Week & Friend Referral

Do you love Anno 1800? Then why not share the love with your non-Annoholic friends: Anno 1800 will be free-to-play from April 12th till 20th! The free week includes the full base game without the DLC and will be savegame and multiplayer compatible.

 

And you know the most exciting part? Like announced earlier this, if you get your friends to play the game, both of you will get the latest Cosmetic DLC , the “Seasonal Decorations” Pack, for free if your friends purchase the game.

Just head to this website and invite one of your friends who doesn’t own Anno 1800 yet!

And that is it for this week’s Union Update! We hope that you will enjoy the new DLC and scenario and cannot wait to see how your New World changes. What are your thoughts on the new content? Let us know in the comments below! And, as always, if you have any other questions or thoughts feel free to share them with us below.

Development of Anno 1800 – Season 4 is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the framework of computer games funding.

DevBlog: The “Seasons of Silver” scenario

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

By order of King João, Third of His Name, His Most Faithful Majesty, Emperor of the Crown Colonies, Appointed by the Grace of God and the Unanimous Acclamation of the People; Granter of Mercies, Upholder of Dignity and Scourge of the Corrupt.
Vasco Oliveira, for your failure to retrieve the Scepter of Capon, you are hereby stripped of your position of Chief Aide to the King.

Certainly, a grim situation to be in for someone who once was one of the highest-ranking subjects of La Corona, here at the beginning of the “Seasons of Silver” scenario: Stripped of his titles, Vasco is banished to a distant group of islands to mine silver for the crown. Success might see him reinstated, but failure…

For a quick summary of the scenario’s content, check out the overview by our Game Designer Dominik:

A hostile world

As a player, this scenario presents you with a desert region, consisting of the main island “Deserto de Prata” and two smaller neighboring islands.

Deserto de Prata has seen previous settlements, previous attempts at mining the valuable silver out of the mountains, but each has been met with failure and ultimately abandoned: The dry, inhospitable land, the burning sun and the little fertile ground making life in this region hard and full of privations.

On your starting island you can still see the ruins of an older settlement and can make use of it to start your own. You will also spot a Hacienda which you can restore for later use.

In regular periods, the hot summer will give way to the monsoon period: A time of relentless rain which comes with its very own challenges. And then there are some optional events you might want to deal with.

But let’s talk a bit about the gameplay and your goals first.

Needs and Irrigation

You’ll have to set up a functioning settlement to provide the workforce for your mining operations. This scenario being set in the New World, you will need to supply Jornaleros and Obreros – but like the Eden Burning scenario, we changed things up a bit:

For example, Jornaleros will demand fresh tortillas and rum before you can upgrade them to Obreros who really love a spicy fish stew. And while you will still need ponchos to fulfill their happiness needs, these are now made from Linen – but Linseed fertility is only available on another island. Early expansion is a must.

A constant limiting factor will be the limited fertile ground: At the beginning, only a small patch of ground on your main island is usable for agriculture, while the two neighboring islands are completely barren. If you have played “Land of Lions”, you will be familiar with the solution to this problem: water canals!

There is a twist, however: Without rivers or lakes on your islands, the only source of water are the monsoon periods. With large water basins you can then gather enough water to create the fertile ground needed for crops like corn, linseed or sugarcane. The number of canal tiles is limited by the amount of water stored in a basin – hot summer months do slowly drain your supply, though.

You will need to set up several of these basins on your islands to gather enough water during the rainy periods. Each will take some time to build – going through two construction phases – before it’s able to collect rainwater.

Scenario Background

You might remember Vasco Oliveira from the “Sunken Treasures” DLC. While searching for the Scepter of Capon, just like you, he ultimately decided to concede your victory and handed you the third and last piece – instead of taking all pieces from you by force.

Choosing honor over duty was not appreciated by the royal court of La Corona, however, and that’s where this scenario starts.

When brainstorming ideas for scenarios for Season 4, several points ultimately led to “Seasons of Silver”:

It started with the concept of “let’s do something with harsh weather conditions and meeting production quotas”. So, some early research already went into places with such weather conditions (like El Niño) which led to countries like Bolivia and Peru and ultimately the idea of silver mining.

Vasco, like Isabel in “Eden Burning”, was an established character which we were keen on providing more background story for. On top, at the end of the “Sunken Treasures” campaign he mentions expecting to be punished for his decision – a great opportunity for us to tell the continuation of his story. This could be nicely tied in with the production quota concept mentioned above.

The team also wanted to provide some visual variety with this scenario: After the very green “Eden Burning” and the New World generally being made up of a lot of green foliage, it was time for a change of scenery! Inspired by places like for example the Atacama Desert in Chile or the Potosí mountain range in Bolivia, this scenario shows a different side of the New World.

The weather cycle

The weather is doing more than just filling your water basins, though.

First, you will notice visual changes depending on the season – an element for which we build on a feature we had originally developed for the “Eden Burning” scenario last year.

Second, each season comes with its own gameplay effects. The hot and dry summers might provide a boost to timber production but also impact agriculture, while the monsoon seasons fill water basins and lower the fire chance but also decreases fishery output or even flood your mines.

To keep an eye on the seasons, we added a useful little UI element in the top right: It shows the current season, its duration and any buffs and de-buffs you will have to deal with.

Be prepared for these seasonal changes and plan accordingly.

Shiny Silver

This becomes especially relevant when we’re now coming back to your overall goals we mentioned at the start: silver mining!

The only way to escape your exile is to fulfill the ever-increasing demands by the crown for silver. Five times Edmundo Vara, the royal Actuary, will arrive to accept the deliveries you need to prepare.

 

Mining itself is straight-forward at the beginning: All your islands have several valuable silver deposits which require you to build mines. Later, however, you will need to deliver silver bars and ultimately coins, which greatly increases the complexity of the overall production chain. Let’s take a closer look:

The silver ore will need to be refined using Cyanide Leachers. Separately, charcoal is not quite doing the trick, so before you can progress to making silver bars, a Coal Coking Furnace is required. And for the final few deliveries, you will also need caoutchouc to prepare molds for the coins.

To unlock all these buildings, you will need to gradually increase your Obrero population and fulfill their increasing demands.

The challenge of the scenario therefore comes from balancing all these individual aspects:

  • Limited fertile ground and the requirement of water basins
  • Changing seasons with their very own effects on the gameplay
  • An increasingly complex production chain for silver products
  • Continuously increasing demands from the crown with tight deadlines

And like the main content of the DLC, “Seasons of Silver” also has its own tutorial pages. Just select any of the new buildings and then click on the “?” button in the object menu.

 

Missing one of the deadlines is not the end of scenario right away: Each time you are given the option to negotiate with the Actuary for a second chance. It will cost you, though…
Failing the second chance, failing the last delivery or going bankrupt will always lead to failing the whole scenario, however.

As in our first scenario, there’s a bronze, silver and gold medal to obtain, depending on your performance. For bronze, you will have to fulfill all deliveries or their respective renegotiation quests, while Gold will require you to not only NOT use any “second chances” but also end the scenario with a healthy amount of silver in storage.

Each medal will reward you with a unique ship skin based on Vasco’s flagship.

There’s one last question: How do you access the scenario? By clicking on the “Scenario” button in the main menu, you’ll now load a version of the world map with “Seasons of Silver” and the previously released “Eden Burning” scenario to choose from. All future scenarios will also be added there.
Alternatively, you can also access them any time from the world map in your regular sandbox game.

Well, dear Annoholics, this is the “Seasons of Silver” scenario that is arriving next Tuesday (April 12th) for all owners of DLC 10. Alongside the DLC we will release Game Update 14, the full Release Notes for this update will be published tomorrow evening.

Do you have any more questions about the scenario? Post them in the comments or reach out to us on any of our other channels. We can’t wait to hear about your experience with this silvery challenge!

Development of Anno 1800 – Season 4 is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the framework of computer games funding.

Union Update – Annoverse roundtable and orchestral delights

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Amongst all the Season 4 news and new details on “Seeds of Change”, there are some smaller news we also want to make you aware of.

Annoverse roundtable recordings

Let’s start with the “Roundtable”, the Q&A session that happened on Friday last week on the Annoverse Discord server.

Thank you to everyone who used the opportunity to ask us questions the game and our work – and also a big thank you to the Annoverse team who organised and moderated the event!

If you missed it, you can download a recording of the German and the English sessions of the Roundtable to catch up.

Until next time!

Anno soundtrack composer releasing first symphony

Secondly, for all lovers of the Anno 1800 soundtrack, we might have something that interests you:

Tillman Sillescu, founder of “Dynamedion” – the company that is composing fantastic Anno soundtracks for us since Anno 1404 – has composed his first symphony “Nachtlichter”.

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The symphony was recorded by the Staatskapelle Weimar (symphony orchestra of Weimar), directed by Christian K. Frank. If that got you interested, you can also check out the whole symphony over on Spotify.

Video game soundtracks in concert

Up for more orchestral music? Perfect, cause fans of classical music and video game soundtracks should mark April 30th in their calendars:

The Augsburger Philharmoniker (orchestra of Augsburg) is playing parts of the soundtrack of several video games including Anno, Assassin’s Creed and Civilizations and will be live streaming the concert on Twitch.

And no worries, we’ll remind you in time so you won’t miss it 😉

Scenario DevBlog and Release Notes

Tomorrow we’ll be continuing with our DevBlog for the “Seasons of Silver” scenario and on Friday we will have the full Release Notes for Game Update 14 for you. Stay tuned!

DevBlog: “Seeds of Change”

Posted on by UbiCecce

Hello Anno Community,

Last week was packed with news, revealed during our Season 4 unveiling stream. If you missed that, don’t worry! You can find a detailed overview blog here on the Anno Union. As we are getting closer and closer to the release of the first DLC of Season 4, it is time for us to give you an overview of the content that you will soon be able to experience first-hand.

As you probably guessed from the title, this DevBlog focuses on the first DLC of Season 4 “Seeds of Change”: its features, mechanics, and anything else you need to know to be fully prepared for your upcoming adventure in the New World!

White stucco walls, topped with red clay tiles; heavy wooden doors and shutters; a spacious courtyard, shimmering in the sun — the unmistakeable features of the hacienda.

By day, this place is bustling with activity: carefully cultivated crops cross the courtyard by the cartload, brewers engage in animated conversation about whether oak or acacia wood makes for the best rum cask, and rugged farmers haul sacks of fertiliser to the fields — granted a wide berth by white-trousered hacendados.

In the evening, when the day’s work is done, a gentle serenity descends. Gathering round fountains or leaning against the pillars of colonnades, the townspeople relax in the soothing light of dusk, sharing a comforting cup of atole or conversing with the curious parrots perched atop the adobe walls.

Life is good here.

The heart of “Seeds of Change”: The Hacienda

Heart of this DLC is the Hacienda: A special building that can only be constructed in the New World. Why is it special? You might ask. First of all, it functions as a central hub for different production buildings, or “modules”, that can be placed around the Hacienda itself. In addition, the Hacienda allows you to enact island-wide edicts, while it also functions as a warehouse. It can be unlocked once you reach the Obrero population tier. However, there is something important to keep in mind: You can only build one Hacienda per island.

Radius

Another important factor to always keep in mind for the Hacienda is the radius. In order to function, each Hacienda module must be placed within the Hacienda radius: this means that buildings that are placed outside the range will be automatically paused. But do not worry! This radius can be extended with population: the more your population grows, the more the Hacienda range will expand.

Modules

The Hacienda has various optional buildings that can expand its functionality. These buildings are called modules and serve different purposes: highly productive Hacienda Farms, additional storage buildings, space-efficient residences, and the Hacienda Brewery. They can be selected from the Hacienda menu and in order to function, these modules must be built within the Radius and must be connected to the Hacienda by roads, either the special Hacienda roads or the normal ones – it’s your choice! Let’s go through each modules, shall we?

Space-efficient residences

There are two different residence modules, one for each tier: Jornalero Quarters and Obrera Quarters. Both buildings can house significantly more residents but are also bigger than their standard counterparts (4×4 instead of 3×3).

Highly productive Farms

One of the most interesting modules is the Hacienda Farm, which allows you to cultivate a wide range of crops, including non-local ones such as grain. Hacienda Farms offer high space efficiency, requiring fewer farm modules than their standard counterparts: no matter which crop you choose, they will always require 64 farm modules. After you have built a Hacienda Farm, you can select the crop you would like to start growing from the Recipe Book. Just like the other modules, Farms must be built within the Hacienda radius to function properly; however, the crop modules can be placed outside the range: this allows you to save up quite a lot of space! The Farm’s production can be boosted by two features: the well-known tractor barns from Bright Harvest, and fertiliser, which comes from an additional module.

Brewery

The Brewery is quite useful, since it gives you the chance to produce some goods previously unavailable in the New World. For example, Beer, which you would normally need to import via Trade Routes, or the new and spicy Hot Sauce. Just like with the Hacienda Farms, you need to select the desired output from the Recipe Book.

Storeroom

The Hacienda Storeroom will be a huge help, especially when boosting the productivity of your farms with tractors and fertiliser. By placing them in the Hacienda’s range, they will increase the overall storage capacity of your island. In this way, you will have the option to increase storage capacity on land, and not only via harbour storage building. Quite handy, isn’t it?

Fertiliser Works

This is where the magic happens. This module will allow you to produce fertiliser, which is then consumed by farms as an additional good that boosts their productivity. Just like the Hacienda building, the Fertiliser module has an influence radius, in this case used to collect… dung, of course. However, how is Fertiliser produced and used? It’s time for us to dive into this new process (not literally, though).

Dung & Fertiliser

To acquire Fertiliser, you must construct animal farms within the radius of the Fertiliser Works. Besides their usual goods, those animal farms will start “producing” Dung, which will be later transformed into Fertiliser in the Fertiliser Works. Fertiliser acts as a normal good, and it is then transported to your warehouse. From there, you can use it on your island’s farms or transport it to other islands – and to the rest of the world! To enable the use of Fertiliser in your farms – both standard and Hacienda ones – you need to attach the fertiliser module to them, just like you would normally do with tractor barns or silos. The farm will then start consuming Fertiliser as an additional good, increasing its productivity. If this is still not enough for you and you would like to boost your productivity even more, then tractors are the way to go: by building a tractor barn adjacent to the farms, the number of fields required by the farm will go from 64 to 96 and the productivity will be boosted to 400%!

Tutorial Menu

Need a hand with modules and understand how the Hacienda works? Do not worry, we have the perfect solution for you. Just like the previous DLC, you can access an in-game Tutorial Menu by clicking the “?” symbol in the top left corner of the object menu you want to know more about: here you will find an overview of all the new mechanics and features.

Edicts

Another important feature of the Hacienda is the possibility to enact policies that will affect the whole island on which the Hacienda has been built. Only one decree at a time can be active, by selecting it from the specific Hacienda menu. You can choose from a range of edicts and revise it as necessary. Here are a couple of examples:

  • Dietary Education Initiative: reduces residents food consumption
  • Local Assemblies: Hacienda Obrera Quarters produce influence

Some of the edicts, however, require a specific level of Attractiveness of your island (e.g., it’s the case for the Local Assemblies mentioned above). Therefore, don’t forget to make your cities beautiful, Annoholics!

Ornaments

Speaking of making your cities beautiful: “Seeds of Change” adds 11 Hacienda ornaments that can be placed on your island and give the perfect Hacienda vibe to your cities: Flowerbeds to make your cities even more colourful, colonnades and walls to elegantly frame the Hacienda, and pools for a splash of crystalline blue.

This is all for today’s DevBlog – but we got more coming this week! We will publish another DevBlog on Thursday, this time about the first Scenario of Season 4: “Seasons of Silver”. Make sure not to miss it!

We hope you are excited as we are for the release of the first DLC of Season 4! As a reminder, “Seeds of Change” will be released on Tuesday, April 12th at 6pm CEST / 9am PST. If you have any question about a specific feature of the Hacienda or would like to know more, please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook and official Forums.

Happy city-building!

Development of Anno 1800 – Season 4 is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the framework of computer games funding.

Twitch Drops & Early Access: Seeds of Change

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Hey Anno Community,

Last week we revealed our plans for Season 4 live on stream – you can check out the VOD here if you missed it – and showed some first gameplay of DLC 10 – Seeds of Change.

As usual, the release will be accompanied by a Twitch Drops event from which you can earn two DLC-themed ornaments. The whole event will start on April 8th at 3 PM UTC+2 and last until April 20th and we got all information for you below:

Expanding the Twitch Drops

This year we’re doing some changes to how we handle the Twitch Drops:

If you’re an Anno 1800 streamer on Twitch, you can simply sign up for the Twitch Drops and participate. For this, simply head to this page for your Twitch account, make sure to connect it with your Ubisoft account, and opt-in to the drops. You can find more info on Twitch Drops in this official FAQ from Twitch. When you stream Anno 1800 during the mentioned period, your viewers will be able to earn drops.

 

Additionally, we will have an early access period for selected streamers as usual. These streamers will be able to play the content of the new DLC – including the scenario – from Friday, April 8th, until the release on Tuesday, April 12th. So, if you can’t wait to see more of DLC 10 as soon as possible, that’s the way to get a look at even more gameplay (and also earn the mentioned Twitch Drops).

Earning Drops

Anyone watching any of the streamers who signed up for the Twitch Drops event, regardless if they’re part of the Early Access or not, will receive two new ornaments:

A “Seeds of Change” Banner for watching 1 hour and a “Seeds of Change” Mural for watching 3 hours.

The only thing you need to do is to first link your Ubisoft account to your Twitch account and then watch the streamers during the event for the mentioned time to receive your loot. You don’t have to watch these hours consecutively to receive your drop; watching them accumulated on participating streamers will also grant you the ornaments.

After receiving a drop, you need to claim it via the Twitch inventory. You can find more information on Twitch Drops in general in this official FAQ.

Please be aware that all rewards will only be delivered to you after the release of DLC 10.

If you haven’t already done so in the past, make sure to first link your Ubisoft and Twitch account by following the steps outlined on this website.

To check which streamers are participating just have a look at the Anno 1800 category between April 8th and April 20th.

Union Update: Annoverse Roundtable, Community Challenges and more

Posted on by UbiCecce

Hello Anno Community,  

Two days ago, we revealed our plans for Anno 1800’s Season 4. We hope you enjoyed the surprises and are excited to explore the new content throughout 2022! We are less than two weeks away from the first DLC “Seeds of Change”, a good time for a quick recap of our latest news and of our upcoming events. 

Season 4 Unveiled 

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Season 4 consists of three DLCs that will be released throughout 2022. At the center of Season 4 is the New World, and each DLC will focus on different themes. “Seeds of Change” (April 12th) focuses on agriculture and ways to improve and revolutionise this sector. “Empire of the Skies” (planned for Summer 2022), as the title suggests, will focus on the Age of Airships. Finally, “New World Rising” (planned for late 2022), will revolve around the industrial and economic boom of the New World. And did you know that each DLC will come with a new scenario?  

If you would like to know more about Season 4, we have a detailed overview here on the Anno Union. Oh, and of course, next week we will publish two DevBlogs with everything you need to know about “Seeds of Change” and the “Seasons of Silver” scenario. 

FAQ 

During yesterday’s stream we received a lot of questions related to our upcoming content. Here are the answers to the most common ones we have seen popping up: 

 

Q: When will I receive the Bonus Ornaments that come with purchasing the Season 4 Pass?

A: If you purchase the Season 4 Pass, you will receive the three Bonus Ornaments upon the release of DLC 10, “Seeds of Change” – that is April 12th at 6pm CEST / 9am PT. 

 

Q: Will the world expansion in DLC 12 be compatible with my old savegames? 

A: Yes! The world expansion will be compatible with your savegames. We will expand the current region and add new islands.

 

Q: How many Haciendas can be built per island? 

A: One Hacienda per island. More info coming next week! 

 

Q: Are all the airships shown in the trailer going to be released with DLC 12?! 

A: The airships you see in the image in the Season 4 trailer are just scribbles. They are not final concepts but just for us to get a feel for what can work. 

 

If you have got more questions related to Season 4 – ask away! However, keep in mind that answers to questions related to DLC 11 and DLC 12 will generally come later this year, when we get closer to each release. 

Community challenges 

We know that the Anno Community loves challenges – so we decided to spice things up for Season 4! Throughout 2022 there will be three Community Challenges in total, one for each DLC. They will focus on each DLC’s content and once completed, the whole Anno Community will be rewarded for the amazing work! 

Would you like some spoilers about the first Community Challenge of the Season? Alright, alright… Well, of course it will involve fertiliser and maximising its (excessive?) usage. More details in our “Seeds of Change” release day blog, so stay tuned for that! 

Free week 

What better way to lure your non-Annoholic friends into the Anno universe? From April 12th to April 20th, Anno 1800 will be playable for free! The Free Week will include the full base game without the DLC and will be savegame and multiplayer compatible. 

And did we mention our Friend Referral program? By getting your friends to play Anno 1800 you will both receive the “Seasonal Decorations” Pack CDLC for free, if your friends purchase the game! 

Twitch Drops 

The DLC 10 release will be accompanied by a Twitch Drops event, that will last from April 8th to April 20th – more details coming next week! Just one little spoiler from us: this time, our Twitch Drops event will be open for all streamers! 

Anno 1602 Annoversary 

In the past few days, we have been talking a lot about the future and our upcoming content for Anno 1800. However, we cannot forget an important milestone: Today, Anno 1602 turns 24! Happy Birthday to the game that started it all!

Annoverse Q&A session 

Last but not least, a couple of weeks ago we announced our Roundtable on the Annoverse Discord that will take place tomorrow, April 1st. During this Q&A you will have the chance to ask all your questions about Anno in the text chat, that will be then answered by the Anno Team in the voice channel. The session will be split into two parts, German and English.  

German session: 7pm– 8pm CEST/UTC+2

English session: 8:30pm – 9:30pm CEST/UTC+2

You can join the Annoverse Discord server via this link – there you will find a channel dedicated to the Roundtable (Annoverse Stage) and later on also a dedicated channel to post your questions. Again, a huge thank you to the Annoverse team for organising this event. We hope to see you all there! 

This is all for today’s Union Update. Quite a lot to unfold, right? As usual, if you got any question do not hesitate to comment down below or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, or our official Forums. 

Happy city-building! 

Announcing the Season 4 Pass

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Hey Anno Community,

Earlier today we used our latest Dev-Stream to finally lift the curtain on the highly anticipated Season 4 Pass for Anno 1800, which will add three exciting new DLCs to the game throughout 2022. As mentioned, when we first teased Season 4 at the end of last year, the three new DLCs will focus on your New World region, giving you new optimisation opportunities, a new resident tier to attract and new islands to settle.

Each DLC will also ship with a scenario, providing brand new challenges outside of the main campaign or sandbox game.

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DLC 1 – Seeds of Change (releasing April 12th, 2022)

Season 4 kicks off in just two weeks with the first DLC – “Seeds of Change” – that allows you to revolutionize the agricultural sector of the New World.

To make this possible, you’ll first have to build the powerful Hacienda, which will become the agricultural hub of your New World empire. Construct and expand your own country estate with new ornaments as well as various highly efficient modules.

Those allow you, for example, to brew beer directly in the New World and house your population in more space-efficient residences. Benefit from the adoption of island-wide policies through the Hacienda and produce high-quality fertiliser to boost your local farms and even export it to the Old World.

The new scenario, Seasons of Silver, you will follow Vasco Oliveira’s story into a different part of the New World where you will need to face harsh weather conditions while fulfilling ever increasing silver production quotas.

DLC 2 – Empire of the Skies (planned for Summer 2022)

This summer, our second DLC, Empire of the Skies, will usher in the Age of Airships.

Using the latest construction materials from the New World, you can build a variety of new specialized airships.

Optimize your logistical network by transferring goods and workers between your islands in the New World, and keep your people connected with the new mail system.

Your tactical planning will also take on a whole new dimension as you and your competitors vie for aerial mastery.

Empire of the Skies we will also come with another new scenario. More details on this later this year.

DLC 3 – New World Rising (planned for late 2022)

Season 4 will come to its grand finale towards the end of the year.

With the third DLC, New World Rising, you will not only experience the industrial and economic boom of the New World first-hand, but also let your residents embrace their cultural roots and welcome a new population tier.

Discover a highly demanded feature introduced with New World Rising – newly discovered islands offer crucial additional building space to further expand your empire.

You get to enjoy the sight of colourful, thriving cities and build an iconic monument as the ultimate landmark for a self-confident identity of your New Worlds residents.

And like the two previous DLC, “New World Rising” is also accompanied by a scenario.

Bonus Content

While all DLCs will once again be available for stand-alone purchase, there are a few benefits for buyers of the Season 4 Pass. You will receive three exclusive ornaments upon the release of DLC 10, each of them themed after one of our new DLCs: the Ornamental Fountain, the Airship Monument and the Splendid Gateway. Buyers of the Season 4 Pass will also be able to get all three DLCs for 24,99€/$, which represents a saving of around 10€/$ versus individual purchases.

New ways to buy Anno 1800 for Season 4

While the Season 4 Pass is the best way to enjoy all the new content for our existing Anno 1800 players, we also want to offer new ways to users who want to jump into the age of the industrial revolution in time for Season 4. That is why we have created two new editions of the game that will be available through Ubisoft Connect and the Epic Games Store, starting today. At the same time, we are removing the previously available Gold Edition and Complete Editions for new buyers (existing owners will, of course, keep all their content, and still be able to re-download it in the future).

All these bundles below will be available from April 12th onwards.

Anno 1800: Complete Edition Year 4 – 119,99 €/$

The best way to jump aboard Anno 1800 is the new Complete Edition Year 4, which includes the full version of Anno 1800, the Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade with the Anarchist character, as well as all four Season Passes. This edition represents savings of around 50€/$ versus buying all included content individually.

 

Anno 1800: Gold Edition Year 4 – 79,99€/$

If you just want to dive right into the new Season 4 content and worry that all previously released DLCs may overwhelm you, the Gold Edition Year 4 is the right choice for you. It includes the full version of Anno 1800, the Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade with the Anarchist character, and the Season 4 Pass. This edition represents savings of around 15€/$ versus buying all included content individually.

 

We are, of course, also still offering the classic standard version of the game for 59,99€/ $, giving to anyone looking to build their personal industrial empire the maximum flexibility in how they want to get started.

 

“Cosmetic Pack” Bundle – 24,99€/$

In addition to these editions, you can now also buy all six Cosmetic DLC of the previous years in a dedicated Cosmetic DLC bundle. This bundle is perfect for all beauty builders and includes the “Holiday” Pack, “Amusements” Pack, “City Lights” Pack, “Vehicle Liveries” Pack, “Pedestrian Zone” Pack, and “Vibrant Cities” Pack.

Thank you all for your tireless passion and support for Anno 1800, which has not only allowed us to reach over 2M players by the end of 2021, but also to support the game with a fourth year of new content and free game updates that will improve the game for our community!

 

Stay safe,

The Anno 1800 Team

Development of Anno 1800 – Season 4 is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the framework of computer games funding.

We cordially invite you once again

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

So, here I am, writing this invitation to you to join us once again to the unveiling of a new season of content for Anno 1800.

 

We gave you a glimpse at Season 4’s content in December, now it’s time to talk in detail about our plans for this year’s three DLC and their focus on the New World.

So, mark March 29th in your calendars and set an alarm for 5PM CEST/UTC+2. And then join us on twitch.tv/ubisoftbluebyte for one hour of news and gameplay for the first of the three DLC.

 

Until then, keep an eye on our social channels for some first teasers and information on Season 4 and especially the first DLC.

We’re looking forward to seeing you all next week!

Union Update – Launch of the new Known Issues List

Posted on by Ubi-Thorlof

Hey Anno Community,

 

Today we’re re-launching our public known issues list for Anno 1800 to provide you with better visibility on reported issues and their current status.

You might remember the previous list on the old forums which ended up being a bit hard to read for you and inconvenient to maintain for us. So, for the new list we decided to go for a different solution:

You can now find the new known issues list by following this link.

As you can see, the Trello board is split into different categories – the top cards give you a few more details on each of them if you’re unsure what the categories mean. Please also check our DevBlog about the Game Update Process for further details on which phases a bug report passes through.

If you click on one of the cards, you will get more info like a more detailed description, a workaround (if available), and a comment from the team if needed. If we need more information from you about a reported issue, the card is marked with a “Need Community Help” label.

Our goal with this board is, to provide you with visibility and additional information on some of the issues that are most important to our community. For this, we take both the severity into consideration as well as how important an issue seems to be for our players based on the number of reports and discussions (e.g. even a smaller issue can appear here when we see many of you talk about it).

Please also note that this overview does NOT cover all the things we’re investigating and will not include every single bug you discover.

Below you can find some answers to potential questions about the Known Issues list.

If you have any further questions, let us know in the comments. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how to improve the board, feel free to also share those with us – we’re happy to further changes to the board to make it as useful as possible for you.

 

How do I report an issue I encountered?

There are multiple ways, be it via the official Anno forums or via the Ubisoft support. Find below links to all these channels.

Create a ticket or start a live chat:

Contact Ubisoft Support on Twitter or Facebook

Report the bug on the official Ubisoft Player Support forums.

 

Why don’t you give an exact date for a fix?

The fixing of some issues can take significantly longer than originally thought, while tests later may reveal additional issues or edge cases not previously considered.

If a specific issue is confirmed for the next Game Update, it will be marked accordingly, and you will be able to find the announcement of any upcoming Game Update as well as the respective patch notes here on the Anno Union closer to its release.

 

How often are you updating this board?

We aim to update this board on a weekly basis.

 

What happens to cards in the “Fixed” category?

We will regularly archive cards from the “Fixed” category after each major update. However, you can still find the full list of all previous bug fixes in the Release Notes section here on the Anno Union.