Hey Annoholics!

We’re back with part two of our DevBlogs on the province of Albion, covering everything we revealed last week at gamescom 2025 in Cologne.

In our first blog we introduced Albion itself, as well as the people that live there, the ways you can upgrade them – and the characters you can meet along the way. Today, we’re looking at Albion-specific aspects of features like Religion, the Discovery Tree and Military, as well as how decisions here can also impact both the province of Latium as well as your relationship with other characters.

After all, there’s more to culture and society than different types of food and public service buildings. A big part of ancient culture was Religion, and we wanted to represent that in our game as well.

Religion

Not too long ago we introduced you to the topic of worship and religion in Anno 117: Pax Romana: after building a sanctuary or temple you can select a deity per island to worship, providing you a variety of buffs. If a deity is worshipped across multiple islands, there’s also a global effect that can be unlocked and provides benefit to all islands you govern. The full details on the feature are described in this DevBlog right here.

The locals in Albion have their own deities as part of their polytheistic pantheon, just like the Romans. In your role as governor, you decide which deities are to be worshipped on each island – and if Celtic deities are among them.

Epona is the goddess of horses, and animals in general. Her worshippers increase the production of animal related production chains – as well as the speed of logistics carts. Additionally, it will allow you to build silos to store agricultural goods.

Mercury-Lugos is a romanized Celtic god, associated with trade and commerce. His buffs will boost your trade income as well as the loading/unloading speed of ships and carts.

Finally, there is Cernunnos, a mystical nature deity. His worshippers boost the production of goods from marshes and forests – and his ancient druidic wisdom will make your citizens healthier and smarter.

No matter which you choose, each will enhance your gameplay to suit your respective playstyle. All three deities need to be unlocked via the Discovery Tree first.

Worshipping deities will also result in the occasional festivals that you can decide to hold: With some support in the form of money or resources, your population will hold a parade in honor of the local patron deity, providing various buffs and preventing the outbreak of fires, plague and riots for its duration.

Discovery Tree

We mentioned unlocking deities, so, let us also briefly talk about the Discovery Tree. It’s here where you spend your Knowledge points to discover a great number of technologies across three branches: Economic, Civic and Military. These can be unlocks (like deities, units or buildings) or improvements (higher morale for units, production increases). Details on how to gain knowledge and how the Discovery Tree functions can be found in our dedicated DevBlog here.

Some technologies can only be discovered in a specific province and when fulfilling certain conditions. Only when in Albion, you can, for example, discover Celtic deities or research a technology that allows you to efficiently plant trees in otherwise unforested areas.

Other technologies are even exclusively usable in a specific province, and we want to highlight one specific technology: Marsh Drainage. You remember how we talked about the marshes in the first blog and also about the ways the locals use it for producing various goods? Well… if you romanize the local population, many of the products they are asking for are not using the marshland anymore. You’ll need more “normal” building space.

After researching Marsh Drainage, you can place sluice gates the border between marsh and ocean, and then construct canals inside the marsh. Within a certain radius around the canals, the water is drained and buildable land created. Finally space for more houses – or another bread production chain! Removing the canals will result in the marsh claiming back its territory – be mindful when rearranging or destroying canal tiles.

After this topic, we would also like to point out another important aspect: your decision to Romanize (or not) also influences your relationship with other characters!

Voada doesn’t like it when you drain swamps or worship Roman gods in Albion. Athr, on the other hand, doesn’t care – and Tarragon (one of the Roman rivals) can’t stand it when you get too close to Celtic customs.

The decision of how you want to deal with this and what consequences you are willing to live with is up to you.

Military

One of our most recent DevBlogs and livestreams have been related to the topic of military and warfare in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

As talked about there in detail, land combat is making a comeback in Anno 117: Pax Romana, after being present in several but not all past Anno games. While combat has never been – and never will be – the main focus on an Anno game, it still is one of the features we feel make up the unique character of the series.

At the same time, engaging in war is supposed to remain a choice: if you want to get along with everyone (or even disable opponents completely) or if you want to go to war and invade other islands is up to you.

While Anno 117: Pax Romana features a total of 11 different units, only some can be recruited everywhere. Others are unique to a specific province, like Legionaries in Latium – or Axebearers and Chariots in Albion.

Let’s take a closer look at these two Albion units.

Axebearers carry, as the name suggests, large axes – but don’t wear much in terms of armour. These infantry units are excellent shock-troops that deal plenty of damage and have an armour-piercing damage, to the great dismay of any legionaries. To show you them in action, we staged this little “ambush” against legionaries. You can also see the morale system in action here: after taking multiple casualties, the first group is even outflanked and accordingly breaks and runs.

Chariots fill a very interesting niche since they are combining the speed and mobility of a cavalry unit with the damage-from-a-distance of a ranged unit. They are excellent hit-and-run candidates that absolutely hate getting into close combat. In the video below, you can see them avoiding a group of Spearmen (which usually would be perfect against cavalry) while continuing to pepper them with spears from a distance.

As mentioned previously, all military units do not only cost money and resources to recruit, but also money and workforce in maintenance costs.

Of course you can also transport units between islands and between regions with your fleet – and widen your tactical arsenal in Latium with some chariots, for example!

Outro

This concludes our two DevBlogs on the province of Albion! Do you have any questions left? Leave them in the comment section below or save them until mid-September, when we’ll be holding a livestream covering Albion as well as some other aspects we recently talked about. And not much later, we’ll dive into the topic of Diplomacy – and also introduce you some of the characters you’ll be able to meet in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Finally, let us once again remind you that you can check out Anno 117: Pax Romana in about one week: the time-limited demo is releasing on PC (Ubisoft Connect and Steam) on September 2^nd and will remain available for two weeks.

Don’t miss this chance to try out our game – and let us know what you think!

Welcome, new governors, to the province of Albion!

The Emperor appointed you to govern this recently conquered province in the far north of the Empire and we can tell you: it’s a strange place for someone like you, used to the sunny shores and endless lavender fields of Latium.

Therefore, let us help you get acquainted with this Celtic province, from its landscape and weather over its challenges and opportunities to (of course) its people and the characters you should be aware of.

This may yet come as a great boon to you, governors, as your skills are already required next week:

From September 2^nd until September 16^th you will be able to take on the role of a governor in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s time-limited demo on PC!

An alien world

Albion is supposed to feel like a stark contrast to Latium: both from a narrative point of view (if you want to put yourself in the sandals of a Roman governor from the South for a moment) but also for you as players in front of your monitors:

Different parts of (real-life) Britain and its Celtic heritage served as inspiration for this region: green forests and hills but with far more elevation and harsh cliffs. A fog seems to hang over the lower parts of the islands most of the time and rain may come at any moment – but also create beautiful rainbows (is there a pot of gold hidden at the end? Who knows!) and add to the untamed feeling of the region.

And then there are the marshes: parts of most islands are covered in marshland which not only give the province its unique character but also come with important gameplay elements. How do you use the marshes? Are they opportunity or obstacle for your plans to govern this region – and importantly: its Celtic locals?

This is deeply tied into a key gameplay mechanic for Albion: the topic of Romanization. We’ll explore it deeper in the following paragraphs but for a wider look at Romanization in general, we recommend checking out this older blog post, especially if you care about the historical context as well.

Meet the locals

Starting small – the Waders

In good old Anno tradition, the province of Albion also requires you to upgrade your population to progress, unlock new buildings, production chains and technologies. While there are five population levels (“tiers”) in total, they come with a twist, as mentioned above.

But let’s start at the beginning, with the Waders.

Waders are Celts, home to Albion and now confronted with a new reality: they’re suddenly part of the Empire! That means arranging themselves with a new reality and figuring out what kind of benefits there may be to gain by being ruled by this far distant emperor – cause there may indeed be some upsides to all this after all (“What have the Romans ever done for us?”).

Like the Liberti in Latium, the Waders are content with comparatively little:

Build residences, supply them with food (cockles or eels), build a public service building (market or bard’s hearth) and fulfil their third Needs category – fashion (shoes or tunica).

And like in Latium, the “Optional Needs” system (read more here) also applies here: fulfil all needs, build all production chains and public services or just the minimum to upgrade them further.

Remember the marshland? – The Celts of course found ways to use this biome for their daily life. Eels are caught in the marsh (while cockles require a coastal building) and the reed for the shoes is also grown there. A unique aspect of producing in the marsh is that every building only has one specific street connector spot – and that not every building can be built there (e.g. no residences).

Romanization: Smiths and Mercators

Alright, you fulfilled at least the minimum of all three Needs categories and are ready to upgrade – what now?

In contrast to Latium, where your population is upgraded in a “straight line”, in Albion you’re now faced with a choice. Remember we emphasized a few times already your role as a Roman governor? This is a topic we wanted to draw from in the provinces specifically: will you let the locals stick to their traditions – or have them embrace Roman ambition?

Upgrade your Waders to Smiths and let them stay on the Celtic path – or upgrade them to Mercators to have them start to embrace aspects of Roman culture, fashion and architecture.

Smiths will ask for cheese and beer but also drinking horns, while Mercators request sausages, bread and proper Roman amphoras.

Historically, the Romans tended to largely let locals keep their traditions as long as they remained peaceful (i.e. didn’t rebel) and paid their taxes.

In some cases, local customs and entire religious practises were even adopted and ended up spreading further throughout the empire – leading to e.g. the Mithras cult spreading to Britain or a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis being located directly below our offices in Mainz, Germany.

Even when you’re romanizing the locals it’s important to keep in mind: these people are still Celts; Celts which have adopted various Roman customs, clothing styles and other cultural aspects.

No matter which path you take, your choice will be immediately visible: romanized residences and public services provide a striking visual contrast to Celtic construction methods and building styles.

Of beards and buildings: Aldermen and Nobles

With the necessary Needs of your Smiths or Mercators fulfilled, you can upgrade each branch one more time: Smiths to Aldermen and Mercators to Nobles.

Aldermen are among the most respected members of their people, deeply rooted in their culture with impressive mustaches. Considering their status, they will ask for a variety of goods and services – this is where your skills as a governor will get properly challenged: Imported wine from Latium? Fancy pelt hats? Chariots?

And then there are public buildings they will ask for, like the Alder Council where they can meet with the other Aldermen, discuss local politics and maybe have a beer. Building it will clearly show them, that you’re supporting their local traditions.

The Nobles, on the other hand, have taken further steps towards Romanization: they’re wearing their hair in Roman style (no beard) and dress accordingly. They will ask for those fancy togas from Latium and want you to build a proper Roman theatre – and an aqueduct to bring the water directly into the city. Building that will absolutely create a striking visual contrast to the Celtic parts of your island.

And as we can see the question already: as soon as you have reached Tier 3 with either the Celtic or the Roman path, you also unlock the respective other. Meaning, you can later create settlements with both traditional and romanized Celts living on the same island.

Friend or foe – new characters to meet

Last but not least: there are different characters to meet in Albion! We want to introduce at least some of them to you briefly. In the near future, we’ll dive deeper into the topic of diplomacy and will let you make the acquaintance of not only other characters but also the Emperor.

For now, let’s stay in Albion and look at one person who will watch your actions as governor very closely: Voada.

Voada is a Celtic Raider (similar in function to the “Pirates” of previous Anno games) and therefore very much set against you, the players, from the start: you are, after all, representing the Empire, the conqueror of this province.

Our team took quite a bit of inspiration from the historical character of Boudicca when creating Voada and her backstory and made her a fierce defender of Celtic traditions and the Celtic way of life.

Your relationship with her therefore depends heavily on how you use the “Romanization” mechanic: drain marshes, romanize the locals and worship Roman deities and she’s guaranteed to become your enemy, sending her raiders out to harass your trade routes and potentially even invade your islands. Let the locals embrace their Celtic traditions and… maybe you can become friends?

Another character we want you to meet is Manx. He’s a neutral trader, leader of his own tribe and comes with somewhat ambivalent feelings towards this new rulership. He appreciates the advantages that the Empire brings, the (expected) peace for the region, but is also worried about losing local culture.

You can trade various resources with him and receive quests that both benefit you but also tell you more about his backstory. Manx being a big fan of horses, his island features a large horse figure – inspired by the real “Uffington White Horse” in southern England.

Voada, Manx and Athr – three of the characters you’ll meet in Albion and each coming with their very own goals and expectations.

Finally, there’s Athr Iorgwyn. You didn’t think we’d make an Anno game without a member of the beloved Jorgensen family, did you?

Athr has dreams and ambitions: he’s a rival character who build cities and expands to other islands. Not into other provinces, however, he’s strictly staying in Albion (just like Dorian is only settling in Latium, for example).

There’re certainly a few elements of “King Arthur” in this character, with his focus on knights and building castles. In contrast to both Manx and especially Voada, he does not care about your decisions on the topic of Romanization. He himself is using whatever suits his interest best – and expects you to take similar actions yourself. While this, therefore, will not impact your diplomatic relationships negatively, you might clash with him over who gets to own which island…

Outro

But on the topic of war…. let’s keep Albion’s additions to this topic for the next blog post. In fact, in the second blog on Albion later this week we will also look at the unique aspects the province brings to the topics of Religion and the Discovery Tree. Today, we wanted to focus on the province and its people, since your decisions will not only impact the look of your islands but also the relationships with other characters – and the Emperor!

Finally, let us once again remind you that you can check out Anno 117: Pax Romana in about one week: the time-limited demo is releasing on PC (Ubisoft Connect and Steam) on September 2^nd and will remain available for two weeks.

Don’t miss this chance to try out our game – and let us know what you think!

How do you bring an Anno world to life? – Not too long ago we’ve talked about the work of the Level Art team but islands just wouldn’t feel quite right without animals roaming around (wild horses, deer, wolves, …) and being tended to by farmers (sheep, pigs, …).

Today we’re having a look at the job of an Animator and specifically the process of creating and animating animals in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

The job of an Animator

For today’s blog, we’re getting the support of our colleague Marion – and as mentioned, we’ll focus on animals specifically. Don’t worry, though, we will probably tackle human units in the future, especially since we used motion capture this time around, which is an exciting topic to talk about.

Let’s start with the basics: What does an Animator do?

A 3D object can’t move without someone taking care of the animation first. That’s the job of an animator. When you see something moving in a video game, be it a character waving at you, people running across the screen, cows grazing on a meadow or a car driving down a road: an animator has likely been working on that.

With that settled: What’s the job of an animator – on Anno?

All the feedback units in the game! “Feedback Unit” is the term we use for people walking, working, eating – and more! – on the streets and in buildings in the game. It’s also referring to all the animals you can spot in the environment and production buildings (deer, pigs, sheep etc.).

Also animated are, of course, the portraits of NPC and residents that are talking to you during quests or when you engage in diplomacy.

Bringing a Wolf to Life

Now that we have established the different tasks of an animator, let’s use the example of a wolf from Anno 117: Pax Romana to illustrate the process of creating an animated animal.

It all starts with a 2D concept art for the animal in question done either by Marion or by one of our Concept Artists. This drawing is already very close to how the final unit is supposed to look – and we knew that we would go for far more detailed feedback units than in the past: it’s much easier to start with the highest quality and reduce it later to optimize.

Based on this concept, a 3D mesh model is created and refined. We start with a low-poly (i.e. a mesh model with a low number of polygons) variant, that is used as the base for the high-poly sculpting (based on which a high-poly version is built). We’re not quite done yet, though, as in our quest for more detail, a so-called “normal map” is created from the high-poly and added. This “normal map” helps give the object depth and allows the addition of details – in this case the “waves” in the fur are thanks to the normal map – without adding more polygons (which would have a higher impact on game performance).

For now, the animal still misses its texture. That happens in the next step, where we decide that we want black and grey fur for our fluffy friend. We have a few variants for animals, so that not all wolves (and horses, pigs, …) look the same.

For this, our Animator does research in the same way that we’re doing research for buildings, for example, to assure a certain level of historical authenticity. While wolves today look very similar to their ancestors from 2000 years ago, the situation for pigs is different. Due to domestication, Roman pigs looked rather different to how we usually portray pigs today: smaller, thinner, spotty and certainly with more hair and bristles.

Now we have a finished 3D model, but our wolf can’t move. Time to change that: rigging and skinning makes the wolf “animatable” by the animator.

Rigging means, simply put, creating a skeleton with joints for the model (the “rig”), that allows the animator later to create movements. In the next step, skinning, the 3D mesh model that was created in the first steps is then connected to the rig (“skeleton”) and allows our wolf to move.

The bone structure is based on actual skeletons but is of course reduced in complexity since we’re still working on a builder game – not on a first-person adventure game where you are constantly close to your horse, your dog companion or other types of animals (dragons?).

Our wolf here also can’t move its eyes but can move its ears.

To make our life easier, our Animator Marion is using a “control rig” to animate the wolf. With that, moving a paw automatically moves parts of the leg as well – otherwise we would have to animate every single bone individually.

Depending on the feedback unit, a certain number of animation cycles are created. Our wolf here has 3 in total: walking, running and simply idling (i.e. standing around).

Our human feedback units have many more, since they do not just walk from A to B, but also carry objects, work on a farm, in a factory, etc.

The movement is largely random, but there are certain pre-defined situations for behavioral change, e.g. when you start placing buildings near a group of animals, they will run away.

In order to create as authentic animations as possible, the team is doing some research on that as well: A wolf moves decidedly differently than a horse, for example, and both should look authentic. You have similar situations with how men and women move, and how different body-types impact animation.

Animals also act in herds or packs, with their numbers depending on the type of animal: horses roam in larger groups, while wolf packs are much smaller.

As mentioned not too long ago in a livestream, while Anno 1800 still used several “old” animals, we created completely new ones this time around.

For performance reasons, there are some limits to how detailed they can be since there are so many feedback units (humans and animals) in the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana. However, we’re also using a “trick” to help with performance: different stages of LOD. LOD stands for “level of detail”, and essentially means that the quality of the object is reduced the further you zoom out (and in some cases the object even completely disappears). Less details mean lower impact in performance, as there’s no need to display all the details of an animal, ship or building when fully zoomed out – you’re too far away to see them anyway.

Q&A

We’re closing this blog with some questions for our Animator on some aspects of her work.

Q: Of course, we also had feedback units and animated objects in Anno 1800. Are we doing things differently in Anno 117: Pax Romana? Are there aspects we improved upon?

A: Generally, as mentioned above, we’ve drastically increased the quality and detail of feedback units and their animations. They look much better (and fluffier, in the case of our wolf) up close and move smoother. For humans, as mentioned, we even did motion-capture – more on that at a later date.

Q: What would you consider to be the most difficult aspects of your job? Are specific types of animation or specific animals more difficult than others?

A: No part is specifically difficult; I enjoy them all! But humans are a bit more boring since there are so many of them… I greatly prefer animating animals, they’re more fun to create and animate.

Q: What’s the most fun you have/had while animating?

A: Animating the fox and wolf certainly was my favourite part of working on Anno 117: Pax Romana.

Q: Many of Anno’s buildings and other objects are also animated: parts of ships, machines of production buildings and more. Are they also all hand-animated by you?

A: They’re not handled by me (on animation side) but my coworkers animate the cranes or use physics to move sails in ships.

Q: Which tools are you using for your work?

A: I’m using Blender for sculpting the model and creating the rig and animation – and then Substance Painter and Photoshop for textures. I know that’s a bit unusual, often ZBrush is used for sculpting (and Substance Painter for textures) – but I just really got used to my workflow and much prefer this way now.

That’s the end of today’s blog on the topic of animal animation in Anno 117: Pax Romana!

Do you have any additional questions on our animal feedback units or the work of an animator? And what do you want to know about our human feedback units? Leave your questions in the comments below or get in touch via any of our social channels!