Anno 117: Pax Romana News

[p]You don’t have to play Anno 117: Pax Romana all by yourself, if you don’t want to. You can invite friends or family to build and settle with you – or in direct competition with you. Let’s talk about the multiplayer mode in the game.[/p][p][/p][h2]Multiplayer Game Modes[/h2][p]As is Anno tradition by now, we offer you a few options:[/p][p]Play PvP with up to three other governors competing with you. These three slots can be filled by human or AI opponents, so you can, e.g., play against two friends and fill the fourth slot with dear Concordia. Grab the best islands before your friends do, forge treaties and alliances or engage in warfare, fighting on sea and land.[/p][p]You can also play co-op, meaning you and up to three other (human) players play as the same governor. You share resources, money and islands and have to coordinate your actions. The further you progress, the more you’ll appreciate sharing responsibilities: why not let your buddy take over the management of Albion why you take care of Latium? The mode is also ideal to onboard friends or family members who are new to Anno 117: Pax Romana.[/p][p]And finally, you can mix both: Play as a group of four friends against three AI opponents! Or go crazy and create a 4v4v4v4 match: 16 players across four teams battling it out.[/p][p] [/p][p]While previous Anno games restricted multiplayer to sandbox mode, there’s one significant change in Anno 117: Pax Romana: The campaign can be played in co-op with up to three friends.[/p][p][/p][h2]Game Setup[/h2][p]Setting up a multiplayer game is more flexible than in the past: We do not distinguish between singleplayer and multiplayer as strongly anymore. The game setup screen allows you to set it up as you want, by inviting only AI opponents, only human players, a mix of both or none at all (for a peaceful game). Multiplayer is invite-only, i.e. other players need to be on your friends-list. If you tick the “Friend Game” option during setup, friends can join your game without being invited first.[/p][p]Each group (or individual players) can decide in which province to start. If you’re playing in co-op, the respective “group leader” takes this decision for the entire co-op group.[/p][p] [/p][p]Similar to how you can fill empty slots with AI rivals even during the game (as mentioned in the Diplomacy DevBlog), the same is possible with human players. You can invite friends to turn a singleplayer game into a co-op one or fill empty slots with human opponents at any time.[/p][p] [/p][h2]Special Settings[/h2][p]There’s one new system here as well, however: co-op live savegames. This option has to be activated by the host in the setup screen. Live savegames are stored in the cloud and only ever store the latest state of the savegame, not keeping any savegame history.[/p][p]This allows you and any other player from that savegame to continue the co-op game on your own, and then (re-)invite your friend (or any other friend) later: you don’t have to be online at the same time to play the co-op savegame together.[/p][p]If your team mate is currently playing, you can simply join by loading the latest save – no need to coordinate a fixed time for everyone to be in the lobby for the game to start.[/p][p] [/p][p]Anno 117: Pax Romana allows for cross-platform matches if the option is enabled. If your friends are playing on a different platform, that’s no longer a problem in Anno 117: Pax Romana thanks to cross-play.[/p][p][/p][p]Trade and alliances or war and conquest – how are you interacting with your partners in multiplayer?[/p][p][/p][h2]Q&A[/h2][p]Let’s answer a few questions we’ve already seen online here at the end of the blog.[/p][p]Q: Are there multiplayer speed settings in Anno 117: Pax Romana?[/p][p]A: No, speed controls are limited to singleplayer. We are, however, open to looking into this topic again in postlaunch, should there be high demand by our community.[/p][p] [/p][p]Q: Can I use mods in multiplayer?[/p][p]A: Yes, but it requires all players to activate the same mods.[/p][p] [/p][p]Q: Will all players require to own a certain DLC in order to use it in a multiplayer match?[/p][p]A: Yes, similar to mods, all players will need to own/use the same gameplay DLC content in order to play together. These are selected while setting up the game.[/p][p] [/p][p]Q: Can I select my avatar player logo (“sigil”) and name?[/p][p]A: Names can be fully customized or chosen from a random selection. Additionally, each player (or group leader) can pick an avatar, logo/sigil and player colour. The same options are true in singleplayer, of course.[/p][p] [/p][p]Q: Is the day/night cycle available in multiplayer?[/p][p]A: Yes, since the feature is cosmetic-only, each player can select their preferred time of day individually.[/p][p] [/p][p]Q: Is there a text or voice chat in the game?[/p][p]A: Anno 117: Pax Romana does not feature text or voice chat functionality.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]So much on the topic of multiplayer for today, we hope we answered all questions on the topic with the blog, but do not hesitate to let us know if there are any burning questions left![/p][p]We mentioned the campaign already in today’s blog and that’s where we continue soon: with a closer look at Anno 117: Pax Romana’s campaign and story. Stay tuned![/p][p]
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[p]Happy Tuesday Anno Community, we have another round of news for you to start the week.[/p][p]Let’s get started with a little gift:[/p][p][/p][h2]Fan Kit[/h2][p]We’ve put together a little bundle with artworks, screenshots and the Anno logo for you to download. In this Fan Kit you can find:[/p]

• [p]They Anno 117: Pax Romana key art as wallpaper in different formats for PC and mobile[/p]
• [p]Three other artworks (Latium, Albion, Romanization) in various formats[/p]
• [p]A collection of 17 high-res screenshots[/p]
• [p]Four Wallpapers with the Anno logo[/p]
• [p]Six GIFs to use on your social media or chat platform of choice[/p]
• [p]The Anno 117: Pax Romana logo in 2D and 3D[/p]
• [p]The Anno symbol in 2D and 3D[/p]

[p]You can download the full bundle by following the link below, it’s roughly 300mb in size.[/p][p]Fan Kit Download[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Steam Next Fest and end of the demo[/h2][p]Anno 117: Pax Romana joins the Steam Next Fest  this week, meaning everyone can play the limited-time demo, alongside demos of many other upcoming games.[/p][p] [/p][p]Last month we have extended availability of the Anno 117: Pax Romana demo past the originally planned end date that was September 16th. We can now confirm that the demo will go offline on October 20th, after the Steam Next Fest has concluded.[/p][p][/p][h2]Upcoming content[/h2][p]More blogs and coming soon! Starting with a DevBlog dedicated to the multiplayer feature in Anno 117: Pax Romana for tomorrow (slightly delayed from last week), and a closer look at the campaign mode and story at the end of the week.[/p][p]And of course, as mentioned in our last Union Update, don’t forget about our livestreams! In October, we are planning on having one developer livestream dedicated to the Campaign and Story, and one dedicated to the Art of Anno 117: Pax Romana – as always, on our Anno Twitch Channel. We will let you know date and timing later this week, so keep an eye out on socials and the Anno Union.[/p]

[p]You’re not alone in the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana! In additional to neutral traders and (not so neutral) raiders, other governors are also settling islands in the name of the Empire![/p][p][/p][p]As is tradition in Anno, multiple different characters make up the ensemble of rivals and it’s up to you while setting up your game which ones you want to play with (or none at all).[/p][p]And even if you plan to ultimately subjugate or conquer them, it never hurts to know the rules and possibilities of Diplomacy! In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a closer look at the diplomacy system of Anno 117: Pax Romana: who are you interacting with, what information can be found on the diplomacy screen, what are your diplomatic options and… what about the Emperor?[/p][p] [/p][p]If you prefer a more audio-visual overview, check out our past livestream (click here) with Lead Game Designer Andrea, Game Designer Dominik and Gameplay Programmer Jannik on the topic.[/p][p][/p][h2]Rivals in general[/h2][p]When setting up your game, you can choose up to three rival governors to settle the world alongside you. These other governors come in different “flavours”, as in: some are more peaceful or overall easier to handle, others are aggressive expansionists and yet again others may even prefer to just settle in only one of the provinces.[/p][p]A quick look at the overview screen can tell you a lot about their character and their playstyle: even a advanced-difficulty rival might not be a warmonger but excel in economic and diplomatic matters.[/p][p][/p][p]Today, we’re taking a look at three of them to use them as examples.[/p][p][/p][h2]Some characters from Latium[/h2][p]Dorian is an athlete, a popular one at that, with statues made after his likeness. He appreciates governors who – like him – emphasize health and cleanliness for their people and construct places of art and competitions, like the theatre or (even better) the giant amphitheater.[/p][p]He’s not the biggest fan of war and would much rather be friends. Importantly, Dorian will only settle in Latium and not expand to the province of Albion. Accordingly, he also isn’t interested in which choices you take on the topic of Romanization.[/p][p] [/p][p]Tarragon is a military veteran of many campaigns, even if now – aged – he really only wants a peaceful retirement: tending fields, taking naps below olive trees and maybe teaching a young governor a thing or two. This makes also one of the easier rivals.[/p][p]While generally a friendly neighbour, if you get on Tarragon’s bad side, he’ll show you that his years in the Praetorian Guard very much still count for something.[/p][p]Concordia is a former vestal virgin, devoted to the Roman gods and therefore places a heavy emphasis on religion and Roman virtues. She’s keen on expanding her already not insignificant influence further while championing her ideals which she would prefer other governors to adapt as well. Excess and luxury as well foreign traditions like those practised by the locals in Albion are a thorn in Concordia’s side.[/p][p] [/p][p]One other character we have already introduced a few weeks ago: Athr, an ambitious Celtic ruler in Albion. Check out this blog to learn more about him.[/p][p]Generally, you can find out much more about each rival by interacting with them, listening to their comments and following each of their story lines.[/p][p][/p][p]Alright, you have found Concordia’s or Dorian’s island, time to open the Diplomacy Menu. Here all governors (and raiders, if present) are listed, as is their current diplomatic status (at war, peace, defensive treaty, …) with you. Upon clicking on one of them, the panel on the right offers you additional information:[/p]

• [p]Currently signed treaties[/p]
• [p]Your power balance (military, economic, prestige, …)[/p]
• [p]The character’s lore[/p]
• [p]The character’s difficulty and traits[/p]
• [p]The effects you gain when allying or subjugating the rival[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Interactions[/h2][p]We don’t just want to learn about Dorian’s upbringing, of course, but enter negotiations. This leads us to a new screen that gives you an overview of all available diplomatic actions.[/p][p]The screen is separate into available actions at the top and potential but not (yet) available actions at the bottom. These range from treaties over asking for a loan or offering a loan to declaring war.[/p][p] [/p][p]Hovering over each action gives you a clear breakdown of which reasons influence the character to accept the action, or why it’s not available yet. These reasons are a mix of:[/p]

• [p]Personal preferences (e.g. high hygiene for Dorian, high belief points for Concordia)[/p]
• [p]Recent events (e.g. a recent war or you having declined an offered treaty)[/p]
• [p]Already signed treaties (e.g. a trade treaty)[/p]
• [p]Character traits[/p]
• [p]Prestige, which is used for most calculations related to diplomacy[/p]
• [p]Your military power[/p]

[p]Here we wanted to provide you with more transparency than in the past to better understand why some actions are possible and others aren’t. The reasons also give a good indication of what to do to improve the relations with a specific rival.[/p][p][/p][p]If you want to go deeper into their reasons, click the button of the actions (the non-greyed-out ones) to get a more detailed list before committing to a treaty, for example.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Treaties are a way to not only improve relations but also secure yourself and ultimately even come out on top the diplomatic way. Trade treaties to buy or sell goods at their harbours, defensive pacts to assure the peace of protect yourself against another governor and alliances to confirm your friendship and assure each other of long-lasting support no matter what.[/p][p]Some diplomatic options first have to be researched (e.g. Large Gifts or Alliances) or are tied to other systems, like your standing with the Emperor. One such option is appointing a rival governor as specialist.[/p][p][/p][h2]Appointing rivals as specialists[/h2][p]You have proven to be not just a competent, but the strongest, most able and certainly also most beautiful governor – so much so, that other governors would bend their knee to you. Let’s take a look at subjugating rivals.[/p][p]To subjugate a rival governor and make them become your vassal you will need to either:[/p]

• [p]Have an alliance with the rival in question (finishing their personal quest chain does help a lot) and be stronger than them, or[/p]
• [p]Hold the title of (pro-)consul, bestowed by the Emperor (more on that later), be stronger than the rival and have a significant sum of money ready.[/p]

[p]If you fulfil the requirements, subjugating a rival will turn them in your vassal: all their islands become vassal cities, you can then either take over or demolish, their ships become yours and the respective rival joins your entourage as a unique powerful specialist who you can slot into your villa.[/p][p][/p][h2]War – the continuation of policy with other means[/h2][p]You want to not just subjugate your opponents but remove them from the map? Take over their islands? – Well, there is always war, of course.[/p][p]While the details of waging war are a topic for a different DevBlog (check out this article on land combat), the declaration of it is very much a diplomatic topic.[/p][p]Upon entering the “war declaration” screen for poor Dorian here, we’re not only presented with a comparison of our military might and potential allies that would join each side, we can also choose between two types of war.[/p][p][/p][p]All-Out War is exactly that: everything from ships over civilian buildings and of course entire islands is free game. If your goal is to remove an opponent from the map or at least greatly reduce their influence, this is the way to go.[/p][p]The Emperor, however, doesn’t look too favourably on large scale warfare within his domain and may at some point intervene.[/p][p]A Limited War is useful when it’s just about taking an island that your opponent has settled before you had a chance or if its location is just too strategically vital. Civilian buildings and ships can’t be attacked (meaning your trade routes should be safe) when this option is selected.[/p][p] [/p][p]Whichever option you choose, it comes with a cost: depending on a few factors like the number of islands you already own, your reputation with the emperor and your overall prestige, declaring war will cost reputation with the Emperor. The lower your reputation following this war declaration, the more likely the Emperor will intervene on your opponent’s behalf and order you to put an end to hostilities.[/p][p][/p][h2]The Emperor?[/h2][p]You are, after all, a governor as are the likes of Dorian or Concordia – and above you, the Emperor is watching your actions. He’s therefore also always visible in the Diplomacy menu, as is your reputation with him.[/p][p]Of course, he doesn’t care about minor things like the production chains you set up, or individual houses placed and ships built. He cares about governors keeping the imperial peace and adhering to Roman traditions.[/p][p][/p][p]Emperor Calidus was born and made in the military camp. Hell-bent on change, he is a champion of ordinary Romans everywhere.[/p][p]Although ruthless, tough and pragmatic, he is also gregarious, down-to-earth, honest and good-humoured.[/p][p][/p][p]Break treaties and wage war (see previous chapter) and he might feel the need to send a stern remark. Stray too far from Roman traditions in Albion and your reputation with him will also suffer. On the other hand, fulfil one of his occasional demands and he’ll look more favourable on you.[/p][p]Your overall reputation with him brings bonuses or disadvantages, e.g. lower costs when settling new islands – or trade embargoes with neutral imperial traders.[/p][p]Get on his bad side, be branded a rebel and deal with the consequences which involve the might of the imperial fleet and army. If you manage to stand your ground, he’ll begrudgingly name you pro-consul (note: it’s not possible to usurp the Emperor or “leave” the Empire).[/p][p]Alternatively, become his most trusted advisor and be given the title of consul. Each title comes with additional bonuses that make your life as a governor significantly easier – for example, the Emperor himself will send his army to your aid should anyone dare declare war on the (pro-)consul of Rome![/p][p][/p][p]And what if you launched a new game without any NPC (or pirates) – or defeated all of them already – and start feeling a bit lonely in the world of Anno 117: Pax Romana? Well, don’t worry, at any time in the game you can invite any NPC of your choice to your game assuming you have open slots left. Yes, we saw you using the “AI Shipyard” mod for Anno 1800 😉[/p][p] [/p][p]Any questions left unanswered? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on any of the other channels.[/p]

[p]Hey Anno Community,[/p][p]We’re here today with ANNOther Union Update! (Will we ever get tired of Anno-jokes? Don’t think so). We’ll recap what happened over the last few days and give you an overview of that to expect in the coming weeks and until the end of the year.[/p][h2]Livestream on the Diplomacy system[/h2][p]If you missed our last livestream dedicated to the Diplomacy system in Anno 117: Pax Romana, you can still watch it whenever you prefer here on Twitch. Together with Andrea and Dominik from the Game Design team and Jannik from Gameplay Programming, we talked about changes compared to past Anno games, the two different ways of waging war (limited war and all-out war), various diplomatic treaties and your relationship to the Emperor.[/p][p]This Tuesday we’ll publish a DevBlog here with all the details in writing.[/p][h2]Roadmap for upcoming weeks[/h2][p]It doesn’t stop with the DevBlog on Diplomacy, of course: As we get closer and closer to release, expect more (Dev)Blogs on various topics as well as more livestreams. Below, we want to give you an overview of our plans for the coming weeks – we’ll soon also have a more visual timeline on the frontpage of the Anno Union for quick reference.[/p]

• [p]An overview of the multiplayer aspect of the game for those of you who want to play Anno 117: Pax Romana with (or against!) friends (end of next week)[/p]
• [p]A closer look at the campaign and story (week starting the 13th)[/p]
• [p]All about the Governor’s Villa and specialists (week starting the 20th)[/p]
• [p]A glimpse into the future with our post-launch plans, something you have already been speculating on based on the Year 1 Pass artwork[/p]
• [p]How things are looking on the topic of mod support[/p]
• [p]An overview of the game, its features, population tiers of both provinces, etc.[/p]
• [p]and a few more topics.[/p]

[p]Together with DevBlogs, expect livestreams from the Ubisoft Mainz studio on our Twitch channel, to show you in practice what you will read in our blogs. As before, they will feature people from different departments of the Anno team – the perfect opportunity for you to directly ask questions to members of the dev team![/p][p]So, keep an eye on the Anno Union and our socials to make sure you don’t miss on the latest news![/p][h2]Minor demo update[/h2][p]This is just a quick note to let you know that we’ll have a minor update for the demo today (October 6th) to help us better track crashes some of you are reporting. We’ll also use the opportunity to do some updates to the translations, and are adding French and Simplified Chinese localizations to the version.[/p][h2]Community Spotlight[/h2][p]To end this lengthy Union Update, we collected some more screenshots shared by you Annoholics, while playing the Anno 117: Pax Romana demo – which yes, it is still available to download and play on PC.[/p][p]Let’s start with this screenshot by ONI-Player, a charming Celtic settlement in Abion, but make it “Dutch” style. Such a creative way to use the the marsh drainage and its canals![/p][p][/p][p]What a peaceful shot taken and shared by PANacho on Reddit! That Latium sun and sky are quite hard to beat. We wonder how this screenshot was taken, so close to the residences… huh.[/p][p][/p][p]ChMalfet managed to capture Albion’s moodiness in just one picture: this Celtic city almost feels embraced by the darkness of the night, enhanced by the thick fog and the heavy rain.[/p][p][/p]

[p]Hey Anno Community,[/p][p]Today we’ve got a packed Union Update for you today, covering some exciting demo news, livestreams and the very first Community Spotlight dedicated to Anno 117: Pax Romana![/p][p][/p][p]Great news, Governors: the Anno 117: Pax Romana demo will still be available and playable after 16th September! More info about the demo (platform, time limit, etc.) can be found in this blog, together with a useful guide on how to get start in Anno 117: Pax Romana.[/p][p][/p][p]If you caught last week’s livestream and you enjoyed it, then we’ve got great news for you: we’re planning another livestream! This time we will dive into anything that revolves around Diplomacy in Anno 117: Pax Romana. In details, we’ll focus on rivals, characters in general, and the diplomacy menu. The stream is planned for the end of September; we’ll announce the date as we get closer to it.[/p][p]In case you missed last week’s livestream, you can watch the VOD here on Twitch.[/p][p][/p][p]First, a huge thank you to all of you who played the Anno 117: Pax Romana demo! We’ve seen so many great screenshots and videos around socials, Reddit and Discord, so we decided to share some of our favourite here on the Anno Union today… which makes this the very first Community Spotlight dedicated to Anno 117: Pax Romana![/p][p]Let’s start with this lovely shot by Dr_PoopiePants, portraying a lovely settlement by the river in Latium. And great job on placing those Vigiles (Fire Station) to protect your residents from fires![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]In this collection of screenshots by OnEst1_ we can spot both Roman and Celtic residences in Albion. Why choose only one when you can unlock both on the same island?[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]TheUnbrokenCircle shared a screenshot of this walled Roman city – great job on using those walls! And we love the little island in the middle of it – who knows who lives there?[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Another Latium screenshot, this time shared on Discord by Electric: this is a special one, as it portrays a special statue, Annocius! You might recognise this statue as it’s the one created by HiddenMoon79, winner of the first Community Contest dedicated to Anno 117: Pax Romana.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]If you’re just getting started and playing the demo for the first time or you’d like to help a friend in need, Taka has created a super useful guide for the Anno 117: Pax Romana demo:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p][/p][p]Keep sharing screenshots and videos on social media, Reddit and Discord – we love to see your Anno creativity in action, and we’d be happy to share it here on the Anno Union![/p]