The Settlers: Rise of an Empire
A city-building game that refocused the Settlers series on settlement management.
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire is a 2007 city-building game with real-time strategy elements for Windows, developed by Blue Byte and published by Ubisoft. It is the sixth game in The Settlers series and was released worldwide in September 2007. The game sought to identify and combine the quintessential components of earlier Settlers titles, scaling back combat and simplifying the economic model.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Blue Byte
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Producer
- Benedikt Grindel
- Designer
- Alex Brüggemann, Andreas Suika
- Programmer
- Dietmar Meschede
- Artist
- Thorsten Mutschall
- Writer
- Jeff Grubb
- Composer
- Michael Pummel
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire is a city-building game with real-time strategy elements, controlled via a point and click interface. On each map, the player must accomplish predetermined goals by building a settlement with a functioning economy, which involves constructing and upgrading buildings, managing taxation and soldiers' pay, attending to workers' wants and needs, and gathering resources. The economic model is significantly simpler than in previous Settlers titles, with less micromanagement and daisy-chain processes, and more emphasis on upgrading buildings, evolving the settlement, and maintaining a high standard of living. Military recruitment has been greatly simplified, and combat is less important overall. The game offers single-player and multiplayer modes. In single-player, the player can play campaign missions or individual non-campaign games. The campaign consists of a series of missions with multiple objectives, mostly economic targets, promotion levels, or trade requests; combat objectives are less common. The original release had sixteen campaign missions, and The Eastern Realm expansion added eight more. In non-campaign and multiplayer modes, players pick a map with different climatic conditions, geography, resource distribution, and objectives. Multiplayer games can be won by destroying an opponent's Special Buildings, promoting one's knight to the highest level, or invading an opponent's city to cause a strike.
Plot
The game is set in the same fictional universe as Heritage of Kings, many centuries after Dario defeated Mordred and Kerberos. The Darion Empire has fractured into autonomous provinces at war. In the province of Vestholm on Westerlin, a newly ascended king aims to rebuild the Empire. His knights, Lady Alandra and Lord Marcus, investigate bandit raids on merchant carts and establish a settlement. They travel to Challia, learning that Narlindir Vikings are assaulting coastal settlements. After pushing back the Vikings, they are joined by the merchant Elias, and later by the mercenary Kestral in Gallos. In Narlind, Elias suspects someone is manipulating the Vikings. In Narfang, they rescue ambassador Hakim Abd-Al Sar, who was imprisoned by Crimson Sabatt, the general of the Red Prince. Hakim seeks allies against the Red Prince and joins the party. Sabatt informs the Red Prince, who orders her to destroy the king. The party gains the bard Thordal and the allegiance of Narlind villages. The Red Prince, furious that Narlind has joined the king, considers turning one of the king's knights. The party travels south to Sahir, Hakim's home province, to secure alliances. One knight meets with Sabatt, who offers him rule over Westerlin in exchange for helping the Prince, an offer he accepts.
Development
Blue Byte began development of Rise of an Empire in 2005, after the release of The Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Legends Expansion Disc. In an October 2006 press release, Ubisoft stated the focus was on building large fortified cities and their planning and optimisation in a medieval world, calling the graphics the best ever seen in a strategy game. The designers worked to identify the Settler gene, the quintessential components making the series unique. Producer Benedikt Grindel explained the design philosophy was to understand the Settlers series in its entirety. Co-designer Andreas Suika said they were taking something from all Settlers parts to make the best Settlers possible. The game was built on city-building, real-time strategy, and economic simulation, with graphics combining the caricatured cartoon-like design of the first four titles (Wuselfaktor) and the more realistic 3D graphics from Heritage of Kings. The development team included Settlers veterans: Andreas Suika and lead programmer Dietmar Meschede had worked on The Settlers IV and Heritage of Kings; map designer Frank Hoffmeister had worked on Heritage of Kings and The Settlers II (10th Anniversary); lead artist Thorsten Mutschall had worked on The Settlers III, The Settlers IV, and Heritage of Kings; and Benedikt Grindel had worked on Heritage of Kings.
Reception
Rise of an Empire received mixed or average reviews, with a Metacritic aggregate score of 66 out of 100 based on nineteen reviews. PC Games' Petra Fröhlich scored it 74%, finding it inferior to the first four Settlers titles and Anno 1701 but superior to Heritage of Kings. She criticised the AI and city management, arguing that even the worst settlement runs fine, and was disappointed by the lack of diplomacy. She praised the graphics as the best looking strategy game ever made but concluded that the raw materials, buildings, upgrades, heroes, and seasons suggest more complexity than the game offers. In a 2010 retrospective, Thomas Wilke called it the weakest Settlers title, with a boring single-player campaign and undemanding gameplay. GameSpot's Brett Todd scored it 7 out of 10, calling it the most fulfilling game in the series despite criticising the linear and predictable campaign and frequent crashes. He later scored the Gold Edition 6.5 out of 10, finding The Eastern Realm formulaic. IGN's Dan Adams scored it 6.5 out of 10, acknowledging the best visuals but criticising the too-easy campaign, non-existent diplomacy, and simple combat. He noted frequent crashes but found it the best game in the series. IGN UK's Jake Severn scored it 7 out of 10, stating it does not dazzle or shock and is not groundbreaking, but does what it sets out to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed The Settlers: Rise of an Empire?
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire was designed by Alex Brüggemann and Andreas Suika.
Who composed the music for The Settlers: Rise of an Empire?
The music for The Settlers: Rise of an Empire was composed by Michael Pummel.
What engine does The Settlers: Rise of an Empire use?
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire runs on RenderWare.
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