Camp EA 2002: 1503 A.D. impressions

Sometimes even seemingly straightforward sequels are anything but simple for developers. 1503 A.D. is the sequel to 1602 A.D., a city-building and trading game that was a major hit in Germany, but received very little attention or acclaim in the US. Originally scheduled for release early last year, 1503 A.D. has suffered significant delays as it has gone from being little more than a graphical update to a deeper reworking of the core gameplay.

1602 A.D. was heavily focused on trade and the intricacies of managing a budding Caribbean colony. This management emphasis is common in German strategy games, but 1503's developers admit that the rudimentary combat system was likely one reason the game didn't do well in the US. Combat will be a much more important part of 1503--about 40 percent of gameplay by one developer's estimation, with 60 percent empire building--and military planning does add new trade and research elements. There are now 15 military units, which, when they are built, require one or more of the eight types of military equipment. Naturally, military equipment can be traded for or produced from raw materials. This is just one part of the game's extraordinarily complex economic model.

Some scenarios in the story-based campaign are squarely focused on combat. One scenario we saw put the player in charge of defending a cathedral at the heart of a walled city that was being attacked from four sides. The combat incorporates standard RTS elements and takes place on the city map, even in the middle of busy streets. In this way, it is somewhat reminiscent of the Impressions city-building games, such as Pharaoh and Zeus. However, the AI players on a map are much less likely to be militarily aggressive until you take to arms yourself. Economic competition can certainly be cutthroat enough without war, and there are always pirates to contend with.

A great deal of effort went into improving 1503's graphics, but even though the cityscapes are certainly detailed, they aren't quite as striking as they seemed earlier in the game's development, before the delays. The new game does provide very large environments to explore and conquer, however. Some of the maps are roughly 10 times larger than those in 1602, and towns can now be built in the middle of islands, so you can build without leaving signs along the waterfront that would give away your position on these large maps, particularly in multiplayer games.

1503 A.D. is mostly complete and is currently undergoing final balance tweaks. It's scheduled to ship this winter, in "January or February," according to the developer. For more information, take a look at our previous coverage of the game.