
While some saw it as a god game, comparing it favourably to Populous, others saw it as a city-building game, comparing it favourably to SimCity. Critics especially praised the complexity of the economic system and the interrelatedness of the various buildings, as well as the graphics and sound effects. The game received positive reviews, especially on the Amiga, where it was more widely reviewed than on DOS. Wertich worked on the programming for a year, writing 70,000 lines of code, before any work began on the graphics. However, due to the complexities of writing a codebase which understood and could realistically duplicate such a system, as well as ensuring the computer could handle military and economic matters simultaneously, the game required over two years of development. Wanting to create something unlike other titles available at the time, Wertich decided to focus on creating a game which could simulate a complex economic system, and which would feature gameplay built around a simulation of real-world supply and demand. Originally envisioned as a standard god game, similar to Populous, the concept of The Settlers was altered by the game's designer and programmer, Volker Wertich, after development had already begun.
#WIDELANDS GAME A SIMULATIONGAME SERIES#
The game can be played in one of two modes a series of fifty sequential missions against computer controlled opponents of increasing difficulty, or a free-game style mode, in which the player competes in individual games involving either computer-controlled opponents, human opponents, or a combination of both. To achieve this end, the player must engage in economic micromanagement, construct buildings, and generate resources. The game is set in a medieval milieu, and controlled via a point and click interface, with the primary goal on each map being to build a settlement with a functioning economy, producing sufficient military units so as to conquer rival territories, ultimately gaining control of the entire map.
#WIDELANDS GAME A SIMULATIONGAME WINDOWS#
In 2018, the game was re-released for Microsoft Windows as The Settlers: History Edition. Blue Byte published the DOS version in Europe under its original title in May, but in North America, it was published in December by SSI as Serf City: Life is Feudal. In 1994, Blue Byte and Massive Development ported the game to DOS. Released in Germany for Amiga in June 1993, and in the United Kingdom in November, it is the first game in The Settlers series. The Settlers ( German: Die Siedler) is a city-building video game with real-time strategy elements, developed and published by Blue Byte Software. In the end, Widelands will be extensible, so that you can create your own tribe with their own set of buildings, create new worlds to play in, and even create new types of worlds (who says you can't build a settlement on the moon?).City-building, real-time strategy Widelands also offers an Artificial Intelligence to challenge you. Widelands offers single-player mode with different campaigns the campaigns all tell stories of tribes and their struggle in the Widelands universe! However, settling really starts when you unite with friends over the Internet or LAN to build up new empires together - or to crush each other in the dusts of war. You're really a ruler: You delegate in times of war and in times of peace! Similarly, whenever you want to attack an enemy, just place an order to attack one of their barracks, and your soldiers will march to fight. There is no need to tell every single one of your subjects what to do - that would be impossible, because there can be thousands of them! Instead, all you need to do is order them to build a building somewhere, and the builders will come. It is your job to lay out the roads as efficiently as possible.Īnother refreshing aspect of the game is the way you command your clan. This is done by carriers, and those carriers always walk along the roads. For example, a system of roads plays a central role in your economy: all the goods that are harvested and processed by the tribe must be transported from one building to the next. However, if you want to rule the world, you will have to train soldiers and fight. Some of them may be friendly and you may eventually trade with them. The economic network is complex and different in the four tribes (Barbarians, Empire, Atlanteans, and Frisians).Īs you are not alone in the world, you will meet other clans sooner or later. Every member of your clan will do his or her part to produce more resources - wood, food, iron, gold and more - to further this growth. In the course of the game, you will build an ever growing settlement.

You start out with nothing but your headquarters, where all your resources are stored. In Widelands, you are the regent of a small clan.
