The Settlers II: Қала салу және стратегия ойыны тарихы

1996 city building and real time strategy video game

The Settlers II (Die Siedler II), originally released as The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici, is a city building game with real time strategy elements, developed and published by Blue Byte Software. Released in Germany for DOS in April 1996, and in the United Kingdom and North America in August, it is the second game in The Settlers series, following The Settlers (1993). In December, Blue Byte released an expansion, The Settlers II Mission CD, featuring new single player campaign missions, new maps for both single player and multiplayer modes, and a map editor. In October 1997, they released The Settlers II: Gold Edition, containing the original game, plus the Mission CD expansion, along with minor graphical enhancements and gameplay tweaks. The Gold Edition was also ported to Mac OS in 1997. In 2006, an enhanced remake, The Settlers II (10th Anniversary), was released for Microsoft Windows. In 2007, the Gold Edition was ported to the Nintendo DS, under the title The Settlers, released in Germany in July, and in the United Kingdom and North America in August. Although adapted for the dual screen display of the DS, and with controls specifically programmed for use with the DS stylus, the gameplay, game mechanics, graphics and storyline are unaltered. In 2009, the original Gold Edition was released on GOG. com, and in 2018, it was re released for Microsoft Windows as The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici History Edition. The game can be played in either single player campaign mode or in "Free game" mode; individual scenarios with predetermined rules set by the player, which can be played with or against either another player, the computer, or both another player and the computer. In the single player campaign, the player controls a group of Romans who are shipwrecked on an uncharted island. Led by their captain, Octavius, they must use a series of magical portals to try to find their way back to the Empire. During their travels, they come into conflict with Nubians, Vikings and Japanese. In the single player campaign included with the Mission CD, the player controls Octavius's great grandson as he attempts to conquer the entire world. In making The Settlers II, Blue Byte wanted to improve upon the first Settlers title to as much of an extent and in as many ways as they could. To this end, they sought fan feedback from the first game, and hired Thomas Häuser, who had worked on quality assurance for The Settlers, as the lead designer. Although the core supply and demand based gameplay is broadly the same as in the first game, many other aspects of the gameplay and game mechanics have been altered. For example, the sound effects and graphics have been enhanced, with more on screen movements and more animations for the settlers themselves, and with four aesthetically distinct races; the economic system is more complex; the battle system is more strategic, with the player able to use scouts and stationary offensive weaponry; and a story driven single player campaign has been included. The original game received positive reviews, with critics especially praising the supply and demand gameplay, the complex economic system and the graphics. The most common criticisms were the lack of direct control during combat, and the absence of an online multiplayer mode. The game was a commercial success, selling over 600,000 units worldwide, considerably more than the original Settlers. The DS remake received negative reviews, with many critics arguing it tarnished the legacy of the original, citing unresponsive controls, a poorly implemented HUD, and, especially, game breaking bugs.

The Settlers II is a city building game with real time strategy elements, To achieve this end, the player must engage in economic micromanagement, construct buildings, and generate resources. The game is controlled via a point and click interface, and features a HUD navigated primarily through "windows" modeled on Windows 95.

The game can be played in one of two modes; "Campaign" or "Free Game". In the single player Campaign mode, the player must complete a series of missions, the goal of each of which is to defeat the computer controlled opponent or opponents by gaining possession of the territory in which the mission objective is located. In the original release of the game, there were ten missions, with the player limited to controlling the Romans. The Mission CD expansion added a new campaign of nine missions, with the player once again confined to controlling the Romans. In Free Game mode, the player chooses a map on which to play, and then refines the game in various ways, such as selecting the number of races (from two to four), choosing which race to control (Romans, Nubians, Vikings or Japanese), selecting the victory conditions (how much of the map must be controlled), refining the amount of raw materials available to each player at the start of the game, and determining if each race begins in a predetermined spot, or is instead placed randomly on the map. The player can also select the type of game to be played, choosing from "Every man for himself", "Human vs. Computer" and "People vs. People". This allows for a variety of different game types, such as two human controlled races against one computer controlled race (and vice versa), two human controlled races against two computer controlled races, two human and two computer controlled races all fighting one another, and two human controlled races competing against one another.

Whether playing in Campaign or Free Game mode, each game begins the same way; the player has one building, a warehouse/headquarters, in which are a set amount of raw materials and tools. The basic gameplay revolves around serfs (the titular "settlers") who transport materials, tools and produce, and who populate and perform the requisite task of each building. As the player constructs buildings and thus requires settlers to occupy them, the settlers automatically emerge from the warehouse as needed. As the settlement continues to grow in size, the warehouse's quota of settlers will eventually be reached, and the player will need to build an additional warehouse to generate more settlers. At no point does the player directly control any individual settler instead, general orders are issued (such as ordering the construction of a building), with the AI handling the delegation of orders to specific settlers. An important game mechanic is the construction of a road network so as to allow for an efficient transportation system, as any settlers transporting goods must use roads. To build a road, the player must place a flag, select the "build road" option, and then place another flag. The computer will then automatically find the best route between the two and build the road, although the player is also free to build the road manually. The more flags the player has, the more settlers will operate on a given road, cutting down the distance each settler must travel, and reducing the time to transport one item and return for the next, thus avoiding item congestion at each flag. When more than one item is placed at a flag, the game has an adjustable goods priority system, which determines the order in which items are transported. Players can also build shipyards, which allow for the manufacture of boats (can transport goods over small stretches of water), and ships (can transport goods across oceans).

The economy is under the player's control throughout the game, and is adjustable in multiple ways. For example, the player can control the distribution of goods by selecting how much of a given resource is transported to a given building, under six separate headings; foodstuff, grain, iron, coal, boards and water. In a similar manner, the player can select what tools are made when; by increasing the significance of a particular tool, that tool will be produced before others. Tool production is important insofar as all buildings require raw materials and a worker with the right tool. For example, if the player has built a bakery, and the building is still empty despite idle settlers in the headquarters, a rolling pin will need to be manufactured in the toolsmith.

The player's territory can only be expanded by building a military complex near the territory border. Soldiers are automatically created from the pool of existing settlers in the headquarters, with each individual soldier requiring a sword, shield, and one unit of beer. The player can also build lookout towers, which can see for great distances, but don't grant new territory. In order for the player to attack an enemy building, they must click on that building, and select both the number of units and what rank they wish to use to carry out the attack. If the player's units defeat all soldiers stationed in the building, they will occupy it, with the player's territory increasing according to the building's radius. Defense of the player's military buildings is automatic; as enemies attack, any soldiers stationed in the building defend.

The game begins in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Travianus Augustus Caesar, as Octavius, a captain in the Roman navy, is sailing his ship, the Tortius, through the dangerous "Sea of Storms" to the "Latonic Provinces". However, the ship is hit by a sudden storm, thrown off course, and, after several days, driven onto the coastline of an island, marooning the crew. Octavius quickly deduces the island is unknown to the Empire, and thus, rescue is unlikely. Seeing a plentiful supply of food, the crew decide to settle. Setting out to explore, they discover a gateway like structure with a Latin inscription, "Consiste ut procederas" ("Settle down in order to make progress"). Perplexed at the contradictory nature of this message, they continue to build up their settlement. Thirteen months later, a portal opens in the gateway, and Octavius concludes the inscription means that for the gateway to function, they must first construct a vibrant settlement. Entering the portal, they are transported to another island, and after several months, find evidence of Nubian inhabitants. The Nubians greet the Romans peacefully, telling them about their "holy relic", which Octavius realises is another portal. He asks for access to it, but the Nubians refuse, and Octavius determines to take it by force. After five months of fighting, the Romans defeat the Nubians, and enter the portal. Over the next few years, as they use a series of portals to jump from island to island, they come into conflict with more Nubians, as well as Vikings and Japanese, before eventually emerging on what they believe to be the final island on their journey home. Ten years after being shipwrecked, they locate the final portal, but are shocked to learn it is guarded by hostile Romans. However, they are able to fight their way through, finally returning to the Empire.

Blue Byte had always intended to make a sequel to The Settlers if it proved successful. A commercial success, by June 1996, the original game had sold over 215,000 units, considerably more than expected, As well as enhancing the graphics and sound effects, and increasing the complexity of the supply and demand based gameplay, there were also certain aspects of the original with which Blue Byte had been unhappy, and which they hoped to address in the sequel. It was Blue Byte's desire to improve upon any aspects of the first game which they felt didn't work which led to Thomas Häuser becoming project manager. When the first game was in development, Häuser was newly employed by Blue Byte, and had done quality assurance work on it. In this capacity, he had made a list of possible gameplay improvements for the developers, who told him there was no time to implement his changes, as the game was almost ready for release. However, they had been impressed with his ideas, and, when the second game was greenlit, they suggested he apply his ideas to this game. This ultimately led to Häuser, a programmer by trade, working as the lead designer on the sequel. Amongst the graphical enhancements in The Settlers II are more on screen movements and more animations for the settlers themselves, with four aesthetically distinct races. Gameplay improvements include a more strategic battle system, which allows players to send out scouts, and utilise a stationary offensive weapon in the catapult. Additionally, there is a story driven single player campaign, replacing the narratively unconnected missions from the first game, which simply got harder as the player progressed, without any kind of connective plot.

In August 1997, Blue Byte announced that they would be releasing the game for Mac OS later that year. Häuser explained: "We could not and would not ignore any longer the constant requests from Mac users. However, converting such a complex game as The Settlers II over to the Macintosh meant breaking new ground, not only for ourselves, but also for the industry. It was not easy to find programmers capable of not only replicating The Settlers high quality, but also meeting the reputed demands of Mac users". Alexander B. Christof of Austrian conversion specialists, Similis, stated, "because the Mac has a completely different processor structure, the complex Settlers animation with its thousands of animation phases have had to be totally redesigned. The landscape routines which have been optimised for Intel processors have also had to be reconstructed". However, in April 1998, Blue Byte CEO and producer of The Settlers II, Thomas Hertzler, announced that the company would not be releasing any further titles on Mac, citing poor sales and lack of support from Apple Inc.: "We have recently reviewed the situation and feel that due to the small number of sales for The Settlers II on Macintosh, it would not be beneficial for Blue Byte to continue developing and publishing titles for the Macintosh. As a huge Mac fan, I was disappointed that we didn't receive support from Apple when working on this title".

IGNs Jack Devries scored the DS version 4 out of 10, calling it "tedious, and [ ] not even a functional game". He was critical of the saving and loading times, which he argued were so bad as to discourage players from saving. He also criticised the touchscreen as unresponsive, the "frequent" crashes, and the pace of the gameplay. He concluded, "games like these usually get classified as "only for the hardcore fan", but that's an insult to fans of The Settlers. The biggest fans of the game will be the ones that are most disappointed". The expansion features nine new single player campaign missions in which the player again controls the Romans, this time under the command of Octavius's great grandchild, as he attempts to conquer the entire world. It also features twelve new maps for Free Game mode, now renamed "Limitless Play", and a map editor. Released in October 1997, The Settlers II: Gold Edition contains the original game plus the Mission CD. It also features minor graphical enhancements and gameplay tweaks. Additionally, the single player campaign from the original release has been renamed "Roman Campaign", and the Mission CD single player campaign has been renamed "World Campaign".

The Settlers II has given rise to Widelands. A game written in C++ and built on the SDL libraries, it is an ongoing project begun in 2001. Inspired by and based upon The Settlers and, to a larger extent, The Settlers II, Widelands is itself a new game with its own storyline, races, buildings, graphics and gameplay. In a 2009 review of Build13 for Linux Journal, John Knight wrote: "Widelands is a breath of fresh air in an extremely stale genre, whose roots ironically stem from way back in the past in RTS history. Whether you're chasing a fix of that original Settlers feel or just want a different direction in RTS, this game is well worth a look".

In 2006, an enhanced remake with a new storyline was released for Microsoft Windows under the title The Settlers II (10th Anniversary) (Die Siedler II: Die nächste Generation). Thomas Häuser, lead designer of the original Settlers II, chose to remake that particular game as it seemed to be the favourite of fans of the Settlers series. Available only on Uplay, the History Collection also includes re releases of The Settlers, The Settlers III, The Settlers IV, The Settlers: Heritage of Kings, The Settlers: Rise of an Empire, and The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom.