Hey Anno Community!

It was great to see your reactions to the Season 3 announcement on Tuesday, the excited comments, the speculations – and the questions.

We’ve seen a few questions pop up repeatedly over the last days and instead of answering them on an individual basis again and again, we though the Anno Union is the perfect place to reach all of you at once ?

How are the Export/Import Contracts integrated into the statistics menu?

Via the “Storage” tab you can get an overview over all previous contracts fulfilled by Captain Tobias. Just like you can with your regular trade routes.

Like all trade, however, the goods exported and imported are not included in the production overview, as production and trade are two different systems in the game which work differently. The production tab checks for constant production and consumption, it presents absolute, reliable values.

Trading, however, is unreliable and therefore can’t be properly calculated into the production tab. Ships have differing traveling time, can be sunk, wind may affect their speed, they may have to wait to fulfil their trades etc. Incorporating goods from these sources as guesses would make the production tab unreliable, and therefore not useful anymore.

The new Docklands buildings and ornaments look like they might put yet more strain on my limited harbour space. Could you increase the harbour space?

Generally, with the introduction of the harbor street and being able to place certain buildings in the water instead of only along the coast, you will already be able to use the available space of your harbour area a lot better – especially if you like to play around with buildings to get the perfect layout. Add to that the modules of the “Docklands” like the depot, which are more space efficient than their regular counterparts.

However, we are not planning to increase the size of your islands’ harbour area. All maps are separated into island and ocean areas. The harbour area is always part of the island area and designed to expand from a certain line along the coast outwards to a certain limit. Reworking and expanding the construction space in the harbour area for all islands would have a significant impact on the game’s balancing and can further lead to issues impacting the stability of the game, AI navigation, and in certain cases, even corrupt savegames.

“Docklands” let’s you import goods from other DLC like “Land of Lions”. Will “Tourist Season” and “The High Life” provide similar interconnections between the DLC?

Yes, all 3 DLC will provide a certain level of interconnectivity with previously released content. Our goal with Season 3’s DLC is to offer you multiple paths to reach your goal. Owning another DLC will not make your life easier or be the “best” solution, but it will provide you with more options as to how to approach certain challenges.

“Tourist Season” sounds like it’s rather focused on beauty builders. As a record builder, will I also enjoy the contents of this DLC?

All DLC of Season 3 offer options for both beauty builders and record builders. The restaurants you’ll build to satisfy your tourists’ needs will also have an impact on the residents living nearby. Just like you might also order a burger at a restaurant nearby and won’t just leave it to tourists and other visitors. This might lead to residents e.g. consuming less bread or beer. Making the most of the bonuses provided by restaurants can be a great strategy to reduce the consumption of certain goods and instead focus on the production of other wares.

The skyscrapers in the gameplay footage to “The High Life” look strange, just like extended Investor residences.

Many of you have pointed out that the skyscrapers prototype footage seen in the Season 3 trailer and stream look suspiciously as if someone had just “stretched” our existing investor residences higher- which is coincidentally exactly what they are! It is very common in game development to try and reach a playable prototype state for experimentation as quickly as possible by “kitbashing” any existing assets and features you already have, so you can first test a feature’s potential before wasting valuable time only to find out later that it wasn’t much fun in the first place.

This is an aspect of development that is rarely seen outside of perhaps “making of” videos and usually never makes it into a proper trailer, though in this case we chose to do so as we thought it would be cool to give you a glimpse at our third DLC that is coming this Summer. One of the challenges we have when presenting a new Season to you is that, contrary to many other games, all DLCs for Anno 1800 are being developed by the same core team here in Mainz – which means that by the time we announce a new Season Pass, we are knee-deep in the development of our first DLC, but don’t have any polished gameplay from DLCs 2 and 3 to share (this was also true for Season 1 and 2).

TL; DR: The skyscrapers seen in the Season 3 trailer are just early prototypes based on existing assets, and do not represent the final quality of the feature, which will allow you to build truly modular high rises of various shapes and looks.

We know there’re many more questions out there and we’re currently planning to give you a Q&A opportunity soon. Keep in mind, though, that some answers will have to wait a bit until we’re closer to the release of the respective DLC.

Current technical issues

We have seen reports from players still having their Ubisoft Connect Rewards locked in the game. In that case, please verify the game files of Anno 1800 and then restart Ubisoft Connect. This should solve the problem.

If you’re missing your Chess Table ornaments: no worries, our team is currently looking into this.

Additionally, our team is currently investigating possible causes for the freezes and lags some of you have been reporting since Game Update 9.3. We will keep you updated on this topic and are hoping to have more news soon.

Winners of the “guess a DLC name” contest

Finally, it’s time to announce the winners from our last contest where we asked you to guess the names of the 3 DLC of the Season 3 Pass: “Docklands”, “Tourist Season” and “The High Life”.

Among everyone who guessed correctly, we have randomly selected 3 winners from both the German and the English comment section. Congratulations to:

marc1808

IDDDS

Killangel42

VaIhaIla_Rising

Sycend

Justin_One_Shot

We will contact you over the next few days via the e-mail address you’re using for your Ubisoft account to send you your Season 3 Pass key. So please keep an eye on your inbox ?

We wish all of you a great week, stay safe!

Prior to the release of The Passage last December, we excitedly announced our plan to deliver even more Anno 1800 to our 1 million+ pioneers of industrial revolution throughout 2020. This presents a unique opportunity for the Anno team, as it means that Anno 1800 will be receiving more postlaunch support than any previous game in the series! In the past, development of content has ended a year or so after the release of an Anno game, with the team moving on to the next title. With Anno 1800, we are excited to have the chance to flesh out the world of the industrial revolution even further, with new systems, citizen tiers and yes, even a new continent. Enter stage right: The Anno 1800 Season 2 Pass, which will be adding three exciting new DLCs to the game this year!

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Seat of Power (March 24)

It all begins later this month with our next DLC pack, Seat of Power, which allows you to construct a magnificent palace fit for the ruler of an industrial empire. And while we know that our modular buildings like the zoo or botanical garden are big hits with beauty builders, the palace has an altogether more profound impact on life in your capital. As the eponymous Seat of Power, the palace will house several departments, each giving you not only a passive bonus, but also the pick of several policies that you can use to influence different aspects of life in your city.

Game Update 7 (March 24, free for all players)

Speaking of influence, we would be remiss if we did not mention our free Game Updates. As with Season 1, each of our three Season 2 DLCs will release alongside a free Game Update that will further improve and enhance the game for all Anno 1800 players. With Game Update 7, we will tackle one of the most discussed game systems by adding three separate difficulty tiers for the influence system. With this change, you can select whether you want to earn more, less or the same amount of influence as you currently do. And yes, this will also apply to existing save games, asking you to pick a difficulty the first time you load up your save game!

Bright Harvest (Summer 2020)

With our second DLC, we are taking the technological marvels of the second industrial revolution to the countryside, allowing you to boost your farms’ productivity to unknown heights! To do so, you will place new tractor modules on your farms, which will increase the overall productivity of the farm, while also lowering the required workforce. Depending on how many farms you have, this could mean a whole lot more space on your islands, and we can’t wait to see what you do with it! Of course, you will have to make sure that your tractors don’t run out of fuel along the way…

To round out the theme of industrialization, Bright Harvest will also include a new selection of farming-and-industry-themed ornaments, to make your cities feel even livelier.

Land of Lions (2020)

We bet you didn’t see this one coming, eh? Jokes aside, we know that the community has been clamoring for an African-inspired session in Anno 1800 ever since we first announced that the game would be using the Session system, way back in 2017. Good things come to those who wait, and we are happy to say that Land of Lions will be the biggest DLC for Anno 1800, including a new session and continent, new citizen tiers, buildings, production chains and quests. In a new storyline, you will travel to the drylands to join up with Emperor Ketema, as he works to turn his lands green.

You will do so using the new irrigation system, making smart use of what little existing water there is on the map to construct a network of canals and fertile patches of soil. Anno veterans will notice similarities to Anno 1404’s Noria, though Land of Lions puts an all-new spin on the timeless fantasy of making the desert bloom. We also listened to your feedback regarding the Passage, and rest assured that Land of Lions will have a deeper impact on things in the old world! We will have much more information about all the new content later this year.

The Season 2 Pass is now available!

In addition to these three DLCs, buyers of the Season 2 Pass will also receive three exclusive new ornaments when Seat of Power launches on March 24^th— so enjoy your first look at the appropriately-themed ‘Palatial Column’, ‘Ploughman’s Glory’ and ‘Elephountain’.

The Season 2 Pass for Anno 1800 (including Seat of Power, Bright Harvest, Land of Lions and the three ornaments) is now available for purchase from Epic Games Store, Steam (Update: The Season 2 Pass sadly won’t become available on Steam until Seat of POwer and Uplay, for a price of 24,99 $/ €, which will represent a saving of 9,99 $/ € versus individual purchase of the three DLCs. We can’t wait to show you more about all three DLCs, and our free Game Updates over the coming months!

Hey Anno Community,

happy Monday. And what a great Monday it is! Not only did we just reveal our plans for Season 2 of Anno 1800 (which begins in just two weeks with our next DLC, Seat of Power!), but we also want to share and celebrate a special milestone with all of you.

2019 was an incredible year for the Anno 1800 team. From seeing our game becoming a hit on Twitch during the Closed Beta in January and the game’s launch in April, to three DLCs and lots of improvements throughout the following months, it was quite the adventure. We even won a lot of awards (and were nominated for even more)! The last highlight of the year came in December, when – thanks to all of you! – Anno 1800 reached the milestone of more than 1 million players after less than nine months on the market, confirming its status as the fastest-selling game in our beloved 21-year-old series!

1 million is obviously a huge number, but how does that translate into the world of Anno’s gameplay? To give you a better idea of all the shared achievements of the Anno community, we have put together this handy infographic, showing some of the mind-boggling numbers that can be reached when over 1 million Annoholics get down to business.

Of course, we could not have reached this milestone without the passion and support of the Anno Union community, who have been with us every step of the way for the past two and a half years. As a special “thank you” for the love and support of the Anno community, we are releasing this free ornament with Game Update 6.3, which is out today.

Test Anno 1800 for free from March 12-15

Of course, it would not be a proper celebration if we did not invite everybody! So, if you have to yet take the plunge into the industrial revolution, you can test Anno 1800 for free from March 12-15*. The Anno 1800 Free Weekend will give you access to the first three tiers of Sandbox Mode, as well as multiplayer and co-op mode. The pre-load is now available via Epic Games Store and on Uplay, and you can see the exact times of the Free Weekend on Uplay below.

Here is to an exciting Season 2!

The Anno 1800 Team

*Play a free demo of Anno 1800 from 12th March, 2020 3pm UTC to 16th March, 2020 2pm UTC on EPIC PC and from 12th March, 2020 11am UTC to 16th March, 2020 2pm UTC on Uplay. The game is provided AS-IS, may not function as expected, and may crash. Please note that maintenance may also occur at any time during this period, rendering you unable to access parts or all of the game. Internet access and Ubisoft Account registration required.  

One of the most frequently asked questions over the past weeks and months has been what kind of post-launch content and support players could expect from Anno 1800. Today, we are happy to answer some of those questions, as we announce our Season Pass, which consists of three DLCs (which will also be available separately) that we plan to release throughout 2019. We are also giving you a first glimpse at our free content plans, and detail how you can upgrade your standard edition of the game to the Digital Deluxe Edition to secure the Anarchist character that we will release in the coming months.

The 1800 Season Pass is here

Let’s start with the biggest news: We are announcing the Anno 1800 Season Pass, which will give players access to three big content drops that we will be releasing throughout the year.

Our goal with these DLCs is to offer a variety of content that expands on all the new features and systems of Anno 1800. This includes some new additions that the community has been asking for or speculating about. So let us a first teasing look at what to expect when you buy the Season Pass.

DLC 1: Sunken Treasures

Expand your island with a new European session and large continental island, as you join an eccentric inventor and his diving bell on a treasure hunt.

DLC 2: Botanica

Grow your city’s attractiveness to new heights with a modular Botanical Garden, allowing you to earn new items and rewards as you draw the tourist masses to your floral masterpiece. Alternatively, construct the new Musical Pavilion and enjoy beloved tracks from previous Anno games inside your city.

DLC 3: The Passage

The Passage will take you on a new adventure to the Arctic Circle as you explore the legendary Northwest Passage. To succeed in this merciless climate, you will need to construct an arctic outpost and master all-new production chains and goods.

Cosmetic Content (available on Day 1)

Buyers of the Season Pass will also immediately receive three cosmetic customization items that you can use to customize your game profile for multiplayer: the prisoner portrait, and two exclusive company logos (“Promethean Fire” and “Eagle Crest”).

The Anno 1800 Season Pass is now available for digital purchase and is priced at 24,99$/€.

Upgrade your game to Digital Deluxe and secure the upcoming Anarchist character

Another question that has frequently popped up is how players who have bought the standard edition of Anno 1800 could get access to the Anarchist character when it is released. This is now possible, thanks to our Digital Deluxe Edition upgrade, which you can now buy to upgrade your version of the game.

Doing so unlocks fours things for you:

• Access to the Anarchist character (once he releases in the future)
• 4 unique company logos you can use to customize your profile (now available)
• A digital version of our beautiful artbook (now available)
• A digital selection of music from Anno 1800’s orchestral soundtrack (now available)

Also, to avoid any confusion: The Anarchist is only available as part of the Digital Deluxe Edition, the Digital Deluxe Edition Upgrade and the Pioneers Edition. It is not part of the Season Pass (see above for details on what is included in the Season Pass).

So, who is the Anarchist, exactly?

“A self-proclaimed anarchist, Dr. Mercier has created a radical new society free of the state. Formerly champion of a union of student dentists, Mercier was asked by the Queen to use his popular appeal to pacify increasing threats of revolution in her territories. Instead Mercier sided with the protesters, declaring the people’s complete independence from crown authority.”

In game terms, the Anarchist is a new NPC opponent you can select to play against, including his own unique set of quests and rewards for the player to tackle. And while we don’t want to spoil too much, we can safely say that he will bring a very flavorful and unique playstyle to the game, with his own set of behavioral rules that mirror his views on politics and society.

Consider yourselves warned…

Did someone say Free Content?

As you can see from the above, we do have some big plans to support Anno 1800 and to make sure it stays exciting and fresh for our Annoholics. To this end, we are also planning to deliver regular Game Updates that will be free for all players of Anno 1800. Those will not only include bug fixes and ongoing balancing, but will also include all-new game content- some of which is a direct result of your feedback here on the Anno Union. So let’s see what’s in store (Note: We can’t promise any dates when this content will hit, so the below order does not necessarily reflect how it will be released).

Statistics Building

One request we have seen from many of the more experienced Anno players that love to go all in on the min-maxing is to have more information about their production chains and their output available. To provide you this information, we will be introducing a new statistics building in the future.

Co-Op Mode

You asked for it, and we listened: Anno 1800 will receive a free co-op mode in a future update, allowing you to team up with your friends to take shared control of a single empire as it evolves throughout the industrial revolution

Community Challenges

We will be giving the Anno Community regular challenges that will require all of you to come together to reach a shared goal. Doing so will unlock new cosmetic customization options like company icons or even skins for all participants. Go Anno union!

And that’s it for today! We know that you are all busy enjoying Anno 1800 as it currently stands, but we hope you enjoyed this first glimpse of what we have planned for you in the future.