Anno 1404 was the last instalment but now Blue Byte is stepping into the future with Anno 2070. There’s no ”Star Trek like” sci-fi, but they have some fun.
”The future setting now offers a dynamic world that changes according to the gamers playing style. With the ecological system there is a completely new challenge for the player to take care of,” said Ubisoft Blue Bytes Christopher Schmitz, head of production.
”Further energy production was not really required in the former Anno settings. Last but not least you will be able to decide in which way you want to play the game. On one hand you can choose an industrial and efficient direction, or on the other hand you might prefer a sustainable way. Sustainability or rapid growth, it is up to the player.”
Anno 2070 is split between a traditional industrialist faction and a more sustainable and nature friendly eco-conscious society. One will exploit the wealth of the world at any cost while the other prefers to strike a balance and take their time.
For the first-time ever we’ll also be able to construct underwater.
”The underwater world is a supporting layer where the player gathers resources of types not available on the surface and to tap resources that have already been tapped on the surface but ran dry,” explained Schmitz.
”The population will always live on the surface, so the cities that grow on the surface island will at some point be dependent on the resources gathered underwater.”
A player’s cities have always relied on the resources and products that have been shipped in from other islands, either owned by the player or an AI. The strategy lies in building and maintaining production chains and protecting your interests.
”We tried to keep it believable as much as possible and only use things that people can identify with. No star trek like hyperspace engine etc. I would say some of the most “sci-fi” things we have fluff wise are flying cars.”
”Some people might know about the cooled superconductors and that they bend magnetic fields which could be seen as theoretical base for our flying cars, though everyone would agree that its nothing that would really work out given the requirements and costs associated,” he explained.
”Though who knows what solutions the people of the future might find. In Anno 2070 they seem to have found a way!” Check out the full interview between Christopher Schmitz and Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Anno 2070 releases on PC in early 2012.
It’s a Ubisoft PC title so what about the DRM? It only needs a one-time activation apparently, and so you don’t need to be ‘always-on’. Stupendous news.
