blue-byte posts

This patch for The Settlers 7 updates the game to v1.04, which includes a number of bug fixes and game enhancements. The patch is available in two versions: The incremental patch steps the game up from v1.01 while the full patch includes content from all previous updates. Full patch notes can be found after the jump. The Settlers 7 playable demo can be found here.

Download The Settlers 7 v1.04 Incremental Patch (61 MB)
Download The Settlers 7 v1.04 Full Patch (445 MB)
Download The Settlers 7 Demo (2.55 GB)
Check out all Settlers 7 downloads

This patch for The Settlers 7 updates the game to v1.03, which includes a number of bug fixes, game enhancements, and an all-new four-player multiplayer map called "Crow's Nest." The patch is available in two version: The incremental patch steps the game up from v1.02 while the full patch includes content from all previous updates. Full patch notes can be found after the jump. The Settlers 7 playable demo can be found here.

Download The Settlers 7 v1.03 Incremental Patch (61 MB)
Download The Settlers 7 v1.03 Full Patch (445 MB)
Download The Settlers 7 Demo (2.55 GB)
Check out all Settlers 7 downloads

This patch for The Settlers 7 updates the game from v1.01 to v1.02, fixing some stability issues with the game. The playable demo can be found here.

Download The Settlers 7 v1.02 Patch (25 MB)
Download The Settlers 7 Demo (2.55 GB)
Check out all Settlers 7 downloads

Reports from Australia have come in stating that the recently released strategy-sim game The Settlers 7 is unplayable for many in that country and the cause seems to be publisher Ubisoft's pesky 'Always On" DRM set up. Australian web site Games On Net reports that a "server not available" error happens after some gamers confirm an active net connection.

While this error seems to happen to some gamers all over the world it apparently hits Australian gamers in particular. The web site states "the majority of Australian copies are unplayable." At the moment there doesn't appear to be any solution for this issue.

It's pretty rare that a PC game is ported to the Mac these days and its even rarer when the PC and Mac versions are released at the same time. However that's exactly what's happening with the strategy-sim game The Settlers 7. The Mac port of the game is now available to purchase at GreenTreeOnline.com

The port is being handled by TransGaming who used their Cider tech to allow the Blue Byte-Ubisoft title to run on Macs. Both the regular and Gold Editon of The Settlers 7 are available to purchase and download with the standard edition also available in retail stores. There's no word if the Mac port will require that the game be always connected to the internet like the PC version.

We knew that developer Blue Byte Software had brought in former Ensemble Studios head Bruce Shelley to help in the design for The Settlers 7 in an effort to expand the game's US audience. However we don't think that he had in mind the plan to make the US box artwork for the game look so, well, grim.

As pointed out by Flash of Steel, the US box design for the strategy-sim game makes the title look like a highly grim and gritty fantasy title. Contrast it with the UK box cover for The Settlers 7 which is light, cartoony and makes people smile just by looking at it. Clearly publisher Ubisoft doesn't believe the US audience will buy the game without this kind of tactic. You can check out the two very different box designs after the jump.

Dawn of Discovery: Venice, the first add-on for Dawn of Discovery (aka Anno 1404), released today, giving players access to all-new features and units. The add-on includes a rich Venetian setting with ship types to match, an online multiplayer mode that supports up to eight players, along with new challenges and quests. The add-on can be purchased by itself or as part of Dawn of Discovery Gold. A playable demo for the original Dawn of Discovery can be downloaded here.

Download HD Dawn of Discovery: Venice Launch Trailer (64 MB)
Download Dawn of Discovery Demo (1.67 GB)
Check out all Dawn of Discovery downloads

Putting aside the fact that Ubisoft's "always on" DRM set up will be used for this game, fans of the previous games in the Settlers strategy-sim series are prepping for the release of The Settlers 7 on March 23. The game from developer Blue Byte Software (and with some design consulting by former Ensemble Studios head Bruce Shelley) is also coming out in a Gold Edition that at the moment is only available at the Ubisoft web store.

The Gold Edition costs $59.95 and includes the game itself of course plus an exclusive map and some exclusive content for customizing a player's castle (you even get your own gargoyle). The game's soundtrack is also a bonus in the Gold Edition. Finally, pre-orders get to download a free game, Chessmaster 9000.

One year ago this week, Dallas-based Ensemble Studios was forced to close its doors by its owner Microsoft despite becoming one of the most successful PC game developers in history with the multi-million selling Age of Empires series of RTS games. Many of the former Ensemble employees have moved on to other game development gigs and some have formed new studios like Robot Entertainment and Bonfire Studios. However, one of the original co-founders of Ensemble, Bruce Shelley, has been fairly silent about what he has been doing since the studio closed down.

However the newest trailer for Ubisoft's upcoming The Settlers 7 has revealed that Shelley has been hired as a game design consultant to the upcoming and latest game in the long running strategy-city building series from developer Blue Byte Software. The Settlers series has always been popular overseas but has never really been a huge success in the US. It's likely that Shelley's consulting work is an effort to broaden the game's design to it will appeal to a US audience. The game itself is in beta testing and is scheduled for a late March release.

Download HD Settlers 7 'Economy' Gameplay Video (366 MB)

For some reason today has been a busy news day for Ubisoft. Today the publisher announced it was taking sign ups to beta test The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom, the upcoming and latest game in the long running strategy-sim series from developer Blue Byte Software.

Beta sign ups are being handled by FilePlanet although you will still need an Ubi.com account to participate. The beta will officially begin on January 19 and will consist of the game's single player tutorial levels as well as skirmish maps in both multiplayer or against the game's AI. The game itself is scheduled for release later in 2010.