“Anno 117” in the preview: As big as you want it to be

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Ubisoft Blue Byte took one decision off our hands: During our play session of “Anno 117”, only Latium, the classical Roman of the two starting factions, was playable. In the finished version, you can also decide to start in Celtic Albion instead. For the first time, there are two completely equal starting regions to choose from.

“Anno 117” is full of such decisions that shape the course of the game. Players have to find their way around new tech trees, choose gods to worship for different bonuses, and decide between different solutions for quests. You can now even design the equipment of your ships yourself.

As big as you want

Freedom of choice was an important motive in the development of the new series spin-off, explains Creative Director Manuel Reinher to heise online after the four-hour play session. After all, the new installment is set to be more dynamic than its predecessors. “We wanted to break up the linearity a little and introduce more freedom,” says Reinher. “Decisions are fun!”

Two playthroughs could therefore be significantly different in the new part than in “Anno 1800”, for example, where the game progress was strictly staggered. In general, you should be able to make “Anno 117” as big as you want it to be, explains Reinher. “If you're not the Anno hardcore crack, then you can also say: 'I'm just going to stay in Lazio'.” Nobody should be forced to manage both regions. Some goods and benefits will be blocked, but you won't be completely excluded from progress.

Boards, fish, tunics

This new freedom is a fundamental design change. At its core, “Anno 117” still plays like a normal “Anno”, the new part is not an experimental outlier like “Anno 2205” once was. You get a classic building strategy with a few fresh twists. At the beginning, we build houses (optionally on diagonal roads), chop wood, make planks and go fishing. Later, the plebs become more demanding and want to be clothed in tunics and washed with soap, which are produced in classic production chains.

However, a little more care is now required when placing these production buildings: whereas in previous “Anno” games you could just slap the production chains anywhere, in “Anno 117” you now have to be much more careful. Many buildings have a radius of influence in which they affect other buildings in the area.

“Building cities has always been relatively simple”

The brick kiln, for example, increases the risk of fire, while the coal pile also pollutes the air and should therefore be placed outside residential areas. It is obvious that a medical center counters health hazards in its sphere of influence. But there are other ways to support the hard-working Medici: For example, with soap-making, which also has a health-promoting effect on residential buildings in its vicinity. And you have to weigh up the bakery: It generates additional income for nearby homes, but increases their fire risk. Do I need the money, or is the risk too great? After all, only 50 years have passed since Rome burned to the ground.

“One weakness of Anno was always that the city building was actually relatively simple,” says Reinher. “Most people pushed the production buildings to the outskirts or outsourced them. There was never any added value in trying to build a little more finely, to optimize a little, to find combinations that give a special boost. That's why we tried out a new system and then realized: 'Oh, that feels good'. It opens up a new way to tweak things a bit. And we also thought it would be nice to reinforce the story of the buildings and the goods a little.”

In fact, the new system plays very naturally. The positive and negative environmental effects shine through and make intuitive sense. Finding the right balance is tricky and adds depth to the building strategy.

Fish sauce makes you happy

The fact that statistics such as happiness and health are now communicated more clearly also gives other systems more strategic depth. In “Anno 117”, for example, the positive effects of supplying goods are clearly visible in the goods requirements. Sufficient bread, for example, not only generates tax revenue, but also strengthens the sense of community.

The fish sauce garum, on the other hand, increases the satisfaction of the population despite its culinary contentiousness. This allows you to prioritize which bottleneck should be addressed most urgently. If the mob is marauding through the streets, perhaps you simply need to cook a little more fish. Basically, it was similar in previous games. However, the fact that you can now see all the important numbers clearly makes them “strategically useful”, says Reinher.