Union Update: Modder Spotlight – Taludas

Hey Anno Community,

Last week we shared a first modder spotlight, talking with Kurila about his way into modding Anno 1800 and what kind of mods he created so far.

Today, we’re happy to feature Taludas who you might know from the “Wholesome Hacienda Overhaul” as well as the “Riverslots” mods. Let’s get started!

Hello Taludas, hope you’re doing great! How did you get into modding Anno 1800? What was the reason you started?

I was incredibly enthusiastic about the IAAM mod for Anno 1404 which made numerous changes to the gameplay, and I also enjoyed playing with the ARRC mod in 2070 and for 2205 another Anno veteran created the “Revolution” mod.

Later I was particularly fond of Skyrim – I spent more time looking for mods, installing them and watching them than with actual gameplay – and my passion for modding was sparked to new heights.

For Anno 1800, it really started for me in autumn 2021, directly after the release of “Highlife”. The new complexity that was added was enormous and impressed me a lot. And that’s when my first mod idea was born: I wanted to integrate the new product Celluloid into the production chain for the souvenirs. And that quickly turned into more, a third good (Gold) should be added, and the whole thing should either be produced by Artisans in one of the new manufactories, or with cheaper material (brass) by Workers in the Assembly Line. The mod still exists today and was my first change of sides from mod user to mod creator.

After this first step, what did you work on next? What other types of mods have you done so far?

I love complexity in video games. In Anno, no production chain can be too hard for me, no need too much. I can spend hours coming up with new mechanics.

Especially since I didn’t know how to handle the graphics files at the beginning of my modding career, I preferred to bring in gameplay changes and use the original game graphic files for that. After the community developed the appropriate tools, the mods became more and more complex.

My first really big mod was the “Wholesome Hacienda Overhaul“. Since I didn’t agree with some of the design choices of the “Seed of Change” DLC, I invested a week’s holiday well and adapted and expanded the whole thing a bit.

In addition, I have already converted many of the islands of the Old World and incorporated them into the New World. Among others, Crown Falls, which is supposed to be the highlight of a new session in the New World at some point (video impressions: https://youtu.be/wSqFEBe8ZmY).

Through Taubenangriff, I came up with the idea of further island modifications: He planned the river building sites in the New World known from 1404 and 2070. So, I dug in and implemented the idea in the Old World. Add a few new buildings, like a sawmill and a river power plant, and the mod “Riverslots” was born. So far, it’s my biggest and most high-profile project.

Did you have any prior modding knowledge or specific skills (programming, 3D art, …) when starting to mod Anno?

Since I come from a completely different professional background, I really started from scratch.

So, in the beginning I had to get used to it: What is xml? How does the modloader work? How is such a graphic asset for Anno actually constructed? Then I learned everything myself bit by bit. Always step by step and with every project I learned something new.

In addition, 1800 is unfortunately not very beginner-friendly when it comes to modding. However, by now I know my way around quite well, have also got to know some new programs, e.g. Blender, and am deeper into the subject. But I’ll probably never become a programmer, I just don’t have the background for that, or the interest.

So, even after almost 2 years, I still make beginner’s mistakes again and again, which make me slap my forehead repeatedly.

You said yourself that you started from scratch and learned a lot over the years. What would you advise other players wanting to get into modding Anno 1800?

Look at other mods as templates! It’s best to start with something simple. In the meantime, we also have a quite extensive beginners’ tutorial, where you are guided step by step on the way to your first own mod.

And the most important thing: don’t get discouraged!  A lot of things are hardcoded, so, sometimes you have to discard an idea because it just doesn’t work. Also, when learning the tools developed by the community, you sometimes need a high tolerance for frustration, because some things are very specific (e.g. the command line tools, or the Blender plug-in for graphics editing).

But the most important thing is ideas! Anyone who has an idea that they would like to alter the game with, should simply get started. It’s a lot of fun and the community is super nice and helpful! We are happy about every new modder!

Just looking at the mod.io library, you already created quite a few different mods. Is there something that you’re working on right now?

I have a thousand ideas on my list! At the moment I’m mainly working on a new major project: “The Queen’s Gambit”:

• All islands of the New World incl. Manola are reskinned and available in the Old World to get more variety in the map generation. Manola has a special place in this: it will be available as the second continental island next to Crown Falls in the Old World! However, not just like that: there will be a separate questline to obtain the island, which is initially owned by the Queen.
• Two new monuments on the converted Manola Island: the Dam, which can supply the island with energy, and the Statue of Freedom, which plays a role in the questline. There, the goal is to gain independence from the queen. If everything works out, there will also be the possibility to defeat the rising separatists and thereby secure some interesting bonuses: You decide which side you will choose 😉

Apart from that, I’m also working on smaller projects from time to time, especially with the background of the community activities, changes to the existing mods are always necessary, so I always have something to do.  Be curious to see what else is in store for you!

Thank you so much for taking the time, Taludas. We’re indeed curious what else you got in store!

Like last time, we want to end this blog with a showcase of a specific mod – but we thought “let’s pick two” this time cause they both have something in common that we quite appreciated: They both not only change production chains but also attempt to add more realism to the game.

Let’s check out the “Forest Glass” and the “Glasshouses for Orchids” mods.

The “Forest Glass” mod introduces, as one might imagine from the name, a new production chain for glass: Use quartz sand and potash to produce glass – which historically then had a slightly green colouration. While not a way anymore to produce glass today, back then it was quite important for the Holy Roman Empire and a way to produce a good locally instead of having to import all glass from outside.

In Anno 1800, building the production buildings as well as woodcutters next to each other also provides you with some valuable buffs.

Talking about glass, the “Glasshouses for Orchids” mod replaces the orchid field tiles from the “New World Rising” DLC with greenhouses. Orchids are now grown indoors and harvested with slightly more care than a tractor would show… but you’re also losing the production boost that a tractor would provide.

That’s it for today’s modder spotlight! Check out Taludas‘ mods directly on mod.io or search for his mods directly in the ingame mod browser.

You would like us to feature your mod in a future spotlight? Reach out to us here in the comments or on Discord!