anno-1404 posts

Previously announced for the European market, Ubisoft has now officially announced that the US release of Dawn of Discovery (known in other parts of the world as Anno 1404) will be getting an expansion pack titled Dawn of Discovery: Venice. This expansion will be adding multiplayer features to the game for the first time, with versus modes for up to eight players along with a co-op mode that will let players fight against AI enemies.

The game will use the new Venetian setting to add two new ship types, 300 new quests, up to 60 new items and more. The expansion will be released in the US via download exclusively on February 25. On that same day Ubisoft will release Dawn of Discovery: Gold Edition which will have both the original game and the new expansion.in one product. It will also be released as a download product only.

Those crazy people who live in other countries. They sometimes get stuff we here in the States don't get (at least at first). Take Anno 1404, for example. The historical strategy-sim game is known by Dawn of Discovery here in the US but today publisher Ubisoft announced that an expansion pack for the game is coming this February . . but just for the Anno 1404 version.

Yes, Anno 1404 Venice will expand the game to the canal city with 60 new items, 300 new quests and for the first time adding multiplayer features like versus and co-op for up to eight players. Right now the expansion is just for Europe, the Middle East and Australia; there's no word if Ubisoft plans to bring the expansion to the US and Dawn of Discovery.

This update addresses a number of different gameplay issues in Dawn of Discovery (Anno 1404). Patch notes are shown after the jump. The Dawn of Discovery demo can be downloaded here.

[Update]: The v1.1 patch for EU, Middle East and Asian releases of Anno 1404 can be downloaded here.

Download Dawn of Discovery v1.1 Patch (214 MB)
Download Anno 1404 v1.1 Patch [EU/Asia/Middle East] (218 MB)
Download Dawn of Discovery Demo (1.67 GB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

This is the playable demo for Dawn of Discovery (a.k.a. Anno 1404). In it, players build and manage colonies that grow into a thriving empire. Dawn of Discovery will be available on June 25th 2009 for the PC, Wii and DS.

"Dawn of Discovery takes place in the year 1404, when King George's land is suffering from severe droughts and brutal famine. Aware of his people's distress, the king calls on his two sons, William and Edward, to acquire new territories in order to produce enough goods to satisfy the needs of his empire's inhabitants. Whereas Edward suggests aggressive means to collect the precious resources, his brother William offers a peaceful solution, proposing to explore new and unsettled lands in the south of the kingdom."

Download Dawn of Discovery Demo (1.67 GB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

There are many facets to managing a flourishing economy in Dawn of Discovery (a.k.a. Anno 1404). After setting up an empire with a thriving economy and strong military, the Harbor System will let players maximize their trade routes. The game will allow players to customize their harbors according to the player's style. Dawn of Discovery is expected to release in late June.

Download HD Dawn of Discovery 'Harbor System' Tutorial Video (216 MB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

Anyone who has played any kind of empire building game understands that it's not enough to start a thriving civilization with a thriving economy. When it comes right down to it, it takes a powerful military to make any diplomatic option worthwhile. In this tutorial video for Dawn of Discovery (a.k.a. Anno 1404), the developers offer some tips on how to build up and use military might.

Download HD Dawn of Discovery 'Military' Tutorial Video (251 MB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

It's not a road map to fixing the real economy, but this tutorial video for Dawn of Discovery (a.k.a. Anno 1404) shows what it takes to build one from the ground up in the history themed strategy game.

Download HD Dawn of Discovery 'Economy' Tutorial Video (344 MB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

This developer walkthrough video for Dawn of Discovery (a.k.a. ANNO 1404) provides a tutorial for the Civilization stage of the game and answers a few fan questions. Dawn of Discovery is a history themed real-time strategy game scheduled to release in June.

Download HD Dawn of Discovery Civilization Tutorial Video (386 MB)

Gallery: Dawn of Discovery

Ubisoft is hanging in there with some mostly solid financial results for the France-based game publisher. Today the company announced their that full fiscal year sales results (for the year ending March 31) came in 14 percent above the previous year's results. Sales for the fourth quarter were 206 million euros, down from the 217 million euros recorded from the same time period a year ago but still in line with previously announced expectations for the period.

Ubisoft said sales of its new Tom Clancy game brand HAWX, which shipped in March, matched its expectations of 1 million total unit sales. This coming quarter is a bit light on releases with only Day of Discovery (also known as Anno 1404) and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood due for the PC for the current quarter that ends on June 30. As a result Ubisoft expects the quarter to have sales that are 44 percent lower than the same period a year ago.

However, the company is prepping for a big holiday 2009 season which will include releases like Assassin's Creed 2, the long-delayed Splinter Cell Conviction and the game adaptation of James Cameron's sci-fi movie epic Avatar. Other games that are scheduled for release sometime in the current fiscal year are the RTS game R.U.S.E., the action game I Am Alive, and a unnamed new game in the Ghost Recon military shooter series. Unfortunately no mention was made of Beyond Good and Evil 2, the sequel to the acclaimed action-adventure game that Ubisoft first announced nearly a year ago at their last Ubidays event.

Last year Ubisoft announced it would be taking over the publishing duties of the long running Anno historical trading sim series. Today the publisher announced that the US release of the next game in the series, Anno 1404, would be given the title Dawn of Discovery for its US release this summer.

As with previous games in the Anno series, Dawn of Discovery is about expanding your Western civilization. The new game, set during the Middle Ages, concentrates on establishing trade with the Orient with other countries and learn about new technologies. In a bit of a departure from previous games in the series, Dawn of Discovery does not appear to deal with any kind of combat. Related Designs is once again handling the development duties.

[Via email press release]