by The game follows the city-building, real-time strategy and economic model of previous Settlers titles. But combat is less foregrounded and much of the aggravation associated with daisy-chaining tasks has been eliminated.
For instance, resource harvesting has been streamlined to require far less management; raw materials are found in specific locations and buildings automatically gather them until there is no longer any need.
Buildings
Unlike most 4X games the player does not control individual serfs, rather a large workforce that works in buildings. When the player orders a building to be constructed a settler emerges from the Storehouse with construction materials and travels to the location of the building where they automatically start constructing the structure. Special buildings like the Church, Castle and Marketplace play an important role in a settlement’s economy. The Cathedral is vital for a settlement’s reputation and provides a significant source of income through sermons, the Marketplace allows for trading with other towns, and the Castle controls a settlement’s soldier count and tax collection.
New to the series are a number of different simulation elements that provide a more realistic experience. For example, settlers who emerge from the tavern are unsteady on their feet, a plague outbreak will prevent some buildings from functioning, and animals react to the presence of settlers. Women and men also appear to fall in love with one another for the first time, a phenomenon that is heavily influenced by town celebrations and fairs.
The game features sixteen missions across four climatic zones. The player’s goal is to build up a thriving medieval city and defend it from attacks. The campaign culminates in a war against the evil Red Prince and his right-hand woman, Crimson Sabatt.
Military
In the world of The settlers rise of an empire gameplay combat is pretty much an afterthought. The game focuses heavily on economic challenges and city building but also offers a few different military options for players to explore.
The basic premise of the game is that serfs (player controlled characters) populate each building and are assigned specific tasks. Players are able to upgrade these buildings and assign different responsibilities to their inhabitants. When the player constructs a new building the settler automatically emerges from the storehouse with construction materials and travels to the site to perform the requisite task.
One of the biggest changes from the previous Settlers titles is a more focused and streamlined economic system. There are no longer any micro management or daisy-chain processes and players are able to focus more on upgrading and evolving the settlement while still ensuring a high standard of living.
Adding to this is the ability to place related production buildings together and upgrade them to improve their output abilities. In addition the ability to build carts that allow settlers to transport their goods more quickly helps reduce the time it takes for the resources to reach the city.
The game also introduces a range of special buildings to the series including the castle and cathedral that offer a variety of additional perks and gameplay mechanics. This includes the ability to expand a city and increase its size, trade with other settlements for gold or resources, recruit an army and stage sermons that can generate income.
Trade
Aside from military issues settlers will need food, clothes and entertainment which are all gathered through various buildings. The game also introduces new simulated elements such as winter that stops harvesting, and more importantly the fact that settlers can go on strike if their needs aren’t met. These needs fall under four headings; food, clothing, cleanliness and entertainment. As the city grows a player can choose to have specialised buildings that gather these resources, such as the bakery or the tannery for example.
As with all The Settlers games gold is the currency that can be used to upgrade Special Buildings, recruit an army and build military outposts. It is also the primary source of income for a settlement. This is collected by the tax collectors who regularly ride through the city collecting from each produce building at a rate set by the player. Other ways to generate money include sermons, selling surplus goods or stealing from other Castles.
As with many of the previous The Settlers games there is a campaign mode that pits the player against the evil Red Prince and his tramp general Crimson Sabbat. The campaign is a welcome addition as it provides a bit more to do outside of just building a city. However it’s a shame the game doesn’t offer more quests and interaction with other players.
Reputation
After the rather foregrounded combat in the previous The Settlers title, Blue Byte aimed to reduce the role of military action and make The settlers rise of an empire more of a city building challenge with new economic simulation elements. To this end a reputation system was introduced influenced by the upgrades of special buildings, the status of needs and wants, the frequency of sermons at the Cathedral and festivals at the marketplace, the amount of decorations in the settlement and more. Reputation will fall if enemies invade, taxes are too high, soldiers cannot be paid or settlers strike because their needs have not been fulfilled.
Like the previous titles in The Settlers series, a variety of different resources are needed for constructing and sustaining cities. These can be harvested by chopping wood, fishing, mining stone or iron and by gathering herbs, honey and deer meat. These are then automatically collected by settlers and brought to the settlement storehouses for storage or further processing.
Compared to the more caricatured cartoon-like settlers in the first four titles and the more realistic 3D graphics of Heritage of Kings, the characters in The settlers rise of an empire are rendered in a more naturalistic style. The game also features a variety of other details such as seasons where winter prevents grain from being harvested and fish from being fished. Female settlers have also been introduced and marriage is a key part of the settlement life.
