The Settlers

The Settlers is a slowly developing strategy video game developed by Blue Byte. Versions for the Amiga and PC were released.

It was the first of its kind to include the need to set up a camp as well as gather resources.

It uses a rather original Point and click interface. The player had to design a series of paths to communicate the different parts of the camp. The ends of the roads are always flags. The inhabitants and the goods and resources circulated between the flags as posts: the resources move through a human chain, from one flag to another, where the resources wait for the next person to transport them; the player can establish a system of priorities to decide which materials are transported first. These priorities are used to establish if food should travel first, raw materials, if iron goes to the blacksmith, and so on. Mastering and correctly controlling this system is essential.

Game development is very slow. A match can take hours, days, or even weeks of gameplay. Military power is meant to be used only when you are ready for it, after tactical strikes, long periods of tension may pass until the next attack.

Also, the construction of buildings can take hours of gameplay.

In the video game there are many resources and professions that the inhabitants of the settlement can develop. Unemployed people in principle become a professional with a specific task to cover the needs of the new buildings that are built. For this, specific tools of each profession are required. These tools also have to be produced within the settlement by the craftsman. Tool making priorities can also be changed by the player.

The game has six sequels: The Settlers II, The Settlers III, The Settlers IV, The Settlers V: Lineage of Kings, The Settlers VI: Build Your Empire, and The Settlers VII: The Roads of the Kingdom.

As a result of this video game, a free software video game is being developed, Widelands, which has taken many ideas and the essence of The Settlers.

Series video games

• The Settlers (1993, Amiga and PC (DOS), also called. Serf City)
• The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici (1996, PC (DOS) and Macintosh)
  • Expansion: The Settlers II Mission CD
• The Settlers III (1998, Windows)
  • Expansion: The Settlers III Mission CD
  • Expansion: The Settlers III: Quest Of The Amazons
• The Settlers IV (2001, Windows)
  • Expansion: The Settlers IV Mission CD
  • Expansion: The Settlers IV: The Trojans and the Elixir of Power
• The Settlers V: The lineage of kings (2006, Windows, English "The Settlers V: Heritage Of Kings")
  • Expansion: Legends: Expansion Disc
• The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary (2006, Windows, English The Settlers II (10th Anniversary))
• The Settlers: Build Your Empire (2007, Windows, English "The Settlers: Rise Of An Empire")
• The Settlers 7 - The Ways of the Kingdom (2010, Windows, English "The Settlers 7 - Paths To A Kingdom")

The original game was imported from Germany, where it was called "die Siedler". Initially, the company that imported it (Blue Byte) changed the name to "Serf City" but with the release of The Settlers 2, the modified title was scrapped in favor of "The Settlers" to continue the saga.