| Publisher | Blue Byte Software |
| Developer | Blue Byte Software |
| Release date | 1994 |
| Genre | Management Sim |
The Settlers was originally released in German for the Amiga in 1993, closely followed by an English version in the UK. This DOS port followed in 1994. The game is a city builder with real time strategy elements, wholly based on a complex economic system conceived by its designer and programmer, Volker Wertich. Originally conceived as a standard god game like Populous, Wertich decided after development had begun to change direction, basing gameplay on an interaction of supply and demand of goods produced by the player.
The game starts with the building of a central castle on the player’s territory. From there, roads must be built between flags. Each road segment has one of the titular serfs assigned to it, and he will move goods back and forward between resource areas and the headquarters. Thus it’s essential to place sufficient flags and roads to keep goods moving optimally. In order to expand territory for building and farming, the player must also build military outposts and train soldiers.
In order to defeat enemy tribes, the player must send soldiers to attack their outposts. If the player can capture an outpost, he or she wins the surrounding territory as well. The player must carefully balance the resource gathering and manufacturing of goods with the fight for territory. The game is quite challenging in this fashion.
- It was called Serf City: Life is Feudal in the US.
- The first game led to 9 further titles in the Settlers series, becoming one of Blue Byte’s best selling franchises.
- By May 1998 The Settlers had sold over 400,000 copies.
Back in 1994 my friend bought this game and I was so jealous. I spent several hours meticulously copying the copy protection sheet just so I could play it as well. It was well worth it – while it’s not as deep as its sequel, it’s still a marvellous management game. It’s extremely relaxing to play after a long day and using the cheats you can speed up the game which helps considerably. If you’ve never played this one, be sure to give it a go!
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The Settlers: History Edition (2018)
In 2018, Ubisoft re-released the original game as The Settlers: History Edition, optimised for Windows 10. In November, the game was included in The Settlers: History Collection, with the same features and Windows 10 optimisation as the separate release. The History Collection includes the first 7 games of the series.
The re-release looks identical the original version – no graphical upgrades have been made.
- SPEED: type ‘thunder’ during the game. After this hit hit alt+1-6 where 1 = regular speed and 6 = 6x speed.
- Level codes:
2-STATION
3-UNITY
4-WAVE
5-EXPORT
6-OPTION
7-RECORD
8-SCALE
9-SIGN
10-ACRON
11-CHOPPER
12-GATE
13-ISLAND
14-LEGION
15-PIECE
16-RIVAL
17-SAVAGE
18-XAVER
19-BLADE
20-BEACON
21-PASTURE
22-OMNUS
23-TRIBUTE
24-FOUNTAIN
25-CHUDE
26-TRAILER
27-CANYON
28-REPRESS
29-YOKI
30-PASSIVE
- The game is sold by Ubisoft as part of the History Collection
- Text: Arete
- Screenshots: RedAvatar
- Video: Major Thriftwood
- Box art: MobyGames / RedAvatar
- Documents: oldgames.sk
