At first, Anno Online reminded me of The Settlers Online, a similar title that was brought to us by Ubisoft,
the same publisher. Both games look good and mostly avoid hardcore
combat, and both move slowly and concentrate on proper building
placement and trade. I have to admit that I grew tired of The Settlers Online because it was hard to keep up with influence from local bandits and the constant destruction of the environment. In Anno Online I don't have to worry about trees or mines or running out of goods, and there are no enemies.
The pace of play is slow for sure, but I enjoy it. I can keep the game
running all day in my browser with no performance hit and I can even
play it on my Samsung Chromebook.
It's a game of slow growth and trade, and it's more of a pseudo-MMO
that allows players to connect with friends loosely. Still, it's
wonderful to look at and it's a quality game.
But let's get to the details.
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is how it allows for a
free-form city to be built. I have an account and my wife has been
playing another and our cities are dramatically different. Even though
players start off on the same island of the same shape and size, city
arrangements can vary from player to player. If you take a moment and
check out an NPC city you can see just how massive and beautiful the
cities can eventually become. I even looked at the NPC cities to snag
some tips on layout. Where you place buildings can effect how quickly
they produce goods and in some cases you will not even be allowed to
place a building because it is out of reach of other structures.
Placing roads is fun in and of itself, and I found myself rearranging
things just to make it all look cooler. I want my city to run
efficiently, sure, but it has to look realistic or nice. I've seen how
many players enjoy these city-builders; they tend to clomp things
together for maximum payout and it all ends up looking like a big mess
and nothing that any citizen would want to live in. If cramming all your
buildings together to force the maximum payout is your idea of city
design, remind me to never allow my citizens to visit!
I learned that planting a dirt road is easy to clean up and costs
nothing. When I moved on to a cobblestone road I had to be more careful
because they cost goods to place but result in speedier travel. I built
everything around a few key roads -- main streets possibly -- and grew
from there. Luckily, Anno Online lets you pick up buildings at
any point and move them around. I didn't have to use that much but when I
did, it saved me a lot of trouble. The game became a session of playing
house with a fantasy twist. It's all casual enough to take your time
and enjoy, and the community was mostly helpful when I had a question.
Eventually you hook up with friends and can visit other islands, but I
wasn't sure if the social nature of the game extended beyond sending
ships to other islands in order to exchange goods. When I asked in chat I
found out that the lack of combat means that trade eventually becomes a
way to make friends and influence others, but even after many days of
playing I've yet to make many friends and have done no trading. I have
been taking my time, though, and creating some of the higher-quality
buildings which require many vassals, i.e., citizens that have risen
above standard status.
I like the fact that growing your city is very dependent on how many
people you can fit into your town. As I mentioned before, where you
place buildings can rely on the buildings that are already there. I
cannot place a home without giving it access to a marketplace, for
example. While many people get around a lot of the issues with placement
by squeezing in as many homes as they can without considering what this
might do to city aesthetics, I have learned that it takes more time to
grow when you want your city to look nice. I have learned much more from
my first game and so my wife's account has benefited from my advice.
Her town is growing at a much slower pace, looks better and still
maintains a profit. My city is slowly becoming a mess.
Luckily I was given a stash of cash-shop funds to spend in a pinch, and I
was able to buy everything from goods to actual gold. So, yes, you can
buy anything you might normally need to run the town through the
cash-shop, but I doubt many people will have an issue with that because
of the lack of combat or especially PvP. I woke up one morning and found
my town lacking gold, but a few clicks later and we were rolling in it
once again! Really, when you use the cash-shop to buy goods and valuable
resources or even gold you're really only hurting yourself, sort of
like using a cheat code in The Sims
might lead to boredom. When I compare the two approaches that my
household took to building two different cities, the slow and steady
approach not only makes more sense, but also leads to a more "realistic"
feeling that makes Anno Online feel much more like a city sim rather than a social game.
I can see myself playing Anno Online for a long time. I love
the lack of combat and the emphasis on trade, and I can't wait to see if
I can eventually craft a city that looks cool and maintains a profit.
It's not a hard game but it can be challenging even though it never
punishes. Sure, once in a while you might have to literally stop a small
riot or even find a few lost citizens, but other than that it's a fun,
casual city-builder that rewards patience over deep pockets.
It appears that the Star Wars videogame
empire will rise again...under the EA banner. After appearing
temporarily collapsed when new overseers, Disney shut down the longstanding home-based developer/publisher, LucasArts last month, it has been announced that EA has signed a multi-year exclusive deal with the new Disney-sized Star Wars franchise to develop and publish games on a global basis.
Upon the announcement of LucasArts' demise,
Disney's proposed plan was to follow a license-based model. Indeed,
today's news fulfills that model with the monolithic company who has
published Star Wars titles in the past like the Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic RPG series and Star Wars: The Old Republic
MMORPG. With the developmental and publishing power of EA by Disney's
side on the prospective major titles, the empire of Mickey retains
rights to the smaller games targeted for phones and tablets.
As EA Labels President, Frank Gibeau muses on the official site:
"Today, The Walt Disney Company has
announced that they have chosen EA to create new Star Wars experiences
for gamers worldwide. The magic of Star Wars is interwoven into the
worlds, characters, planets and amazing battles. It is a universe that
lends itself perfectly to gaming. Our agreement unlocks a whole new
future of Star Wars games that will span consoles, PCs, tablets, mobile
and more."
Also notable, is that EA will retain the use of teams from its
labels, DICE, Visceral, and BioWare on the development of what should be
a steady array of Star Wars projects. So, while the fall of LucasArts
remains a sad sign of changing times, it may prove more symbolic than
substantive. As Gibeau comments on the developmental teams:
"These imaginative teams will make
games that may borrow from films, but the games will be entirely
original with all new stories. Powering it all will be the Frostbite 3
development engine – guaranteeing incredible graphic fidelity,
environments and characters."
It will certainly be interesting to see what EA has in store for Star
Wars fans, or if they may be so inclined to pick up the pieces of the
much-mythologized LucasArts shooter project, Star Wars 1313, which was indefinitely shelved by Disney. The specifics will surely be sprinkling in the coming weeks and months.
FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn is a massively multiplayer online
role-playing game (MMORPG) that invites you to explore the realm of
Eorzea with friends from around the world.
Form a party and adventure with a multitude of players from across the
globe. Forge friendships, mount chocobos, and board airships as you and
your companions create your own unique stories in Eorzea.
Set out alone or enlist the aid of friends as you undertake epic quests,
battle familiar FINAL FANTASY monsters, and acquire unique abilities
and equipment. All the classic elements from the series that you have
come to know and love are waiting!
Embark on the adventure of a lifetime to help reforge the fate of Eorzea!
STORY
The history of Eorzea has been marked by a cycle of prosperous "Astral" and disastrous "Umbral" eras.
Now the land stands poised to enter another age of decline, a period
known as the Seventh Umbral Era. On the eastern border, the Garlean
Empire masses its troops for invasion, while the native beast tribes
summon their deities, the otherworldly primals.
The threats facing Eorzea will not easily be overcome.
All the hallmarks of the FINAL FANTASY franchise, including
genre-leading graphics and high-definition real-time cutscenes that
advance the game’s rich storyline. Incredible new graphics engine that
delivers a high level of detail and quality on both the PlayStation®3
and Windows PC platforms
A flexible class system that allows players to change to any of the
eighteen different classes on the fly simply by changing their equipped
weapon or tool
Breathtaking musical score by renowned FINAL FANTASY series composer Nobuo Uematsu
Cross platform play on Playstation 3 and Windows PC and Robust gameplay
features—such as Free Companies, story-driven player–vs-player content,
and primal summoning—to bring players together
The original release of Final Fantasy XIV began development under the codename Rapture in 2005.The game was officially announced in 2009 and developed using the Crystal Tools engine, which had previously been used for Final Fantasy XIII. This version was directed by Nobuaki Komoto and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, who was also serving as the producer of Final Fantasy XI at the time.Akihiko Yoshida was the art director and Nobuo Uematsu
composed the soundtrack for the retail launch. Alpha testing ran from
April to June 2010 and beta testing ran from July to August. An open
beta was conducted in early September, the two weeks before release. The
game spent 3 months in beta, less than the 4 months previously
announced as the minimum testing period. News sources expressed concern that the game was not in launch condition, with "critical bugs" present throughout beta. The game premiered on September 22, 2010 to near universal negative reception. After two extensions to the initial free trial period, Square Enix President Yoichi Wada issued a formal apology to players and fans in December 2010.
In the letter, he announced a dramatic overhaul of the development team
as well as the suspension of monthly fees for the game until further
notice. Naoki Yoshida
took over the producer and director roles from Tanaka and Komoto, among
other sweeping changes. The upcoming PlayStation 3 version was also
indefinitely delayed.
In attempting to improve Final Fantasy XIV, Yoshida quickly
discovered a number of key tasks. First and foremost, he had to restore
trust in the player base while bringing the original release up to a
playable quality.
To address this, Yoshida began writing "Letters from the Producer"
which would discuss design direction, upcoming changes, player feedback,
and increase transparency in the development process.
However, outdated and cumbersome programming choices in the game code
prevented the more radical changes necessary to improve the game. Thus,
planning for a brand new game built from scratch began in January 2011
and development began in earnest by April, with work on a new game engine and server structure.
Meanwhile, the team's efforts on the original release first began to
come to fruition with patch 1.18 in July 2011, which included major
changes to the battle system, implementation of auto-attack and
instanced dungeons, removal of the controversial "fatigue" system, and
the introduction of the Grand Company storyline which would supersede
the original main scenario questline. Subsequent patches would further refine the gameplay as well as set the stage for the Seventh Umbral Era events. On the anniversary of the game's release, Wada claimed that the initial launch of Final Fantasy XIV had "greatly damaged" the Final Fantasy brand. Thus, Wada and Yoshida announced the brand new version of Final Fantasy XIV
in October 2011, dubbed "Version 2.0", which had been in development
since January, along with a tentative roadmap for future progress for
both PC and PlayStation 3.
Current players would be provided copies of the new PC client at
launch, free of charge, and their character data and progress would be
transferred as well. Along with the roadmap, they announced that monthly fees would be instated in order to offset the cost of redevelopment. Billing for the original release began in January 2012.
To encourage players to stay with the game while paying subscription
fees, Yoshida revealed the "Legacy Campaign" which rewarded players who
paid for at least three months of service with permanently reduced
monthly payments, an exclusive in-game chocobo mount, and their names featured in the credits of Version 2.0. At Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, Square Enix debuted "Agni's Philosophy", a tech demo for their new Luminous game engine. Though members of the Final Fantasy XIV
development team worked on Luminous, Yoshida admitted that both
Luminous and Crystal Tools were optimized for offline games and could
not handle an online environment with hundreds of on-screen character
models.
Though Version 2.0 uses a "completely different engine", he called the
Luminous engine and the 2.0 engine "siblings" due similarities in
structure.
In July 2012, Square Enix revealed that Version 2.0's official title would be Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. As development for A Realm Reborn ramped up, Yoshida made the decision to shut down the servers for the original release on November 11, 2012. This date served as the "grand finale" for the old game, culminating in a cinematic trailer for A Realm Reborn called "End of an Era".The alpha test for A Realm Reborn
began shortly after the finale and ended in late December 2012. During
this period, Yoichi Wada revealed that the development of A Realm Reborn was a cause of delay for many Square-Enix titles being developed at the time.
Yoshida published an updated roadmap for the beta test through launch,
indicating four phases of beta beginning in mid-February 2013.
The PlayStation 3 beta will start in phase three. He claimed that the
team is "adamant the game not be released until it is ready" and that
launching too early "would be like at the level of destroying the
company".
In May 2013, Square Enix revealed the release date for the game, along
with details about pre-order bonuses and the collector's edition.
