Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked as I was upon finding out this hidden feature. Excuse me while step away from managing my empire, entrust it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. Yet, when you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would operate until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this option can be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads across my settlement and explored stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed a variety of intricacies I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to view farming fields, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see separate follicular elements, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, iris elements, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons these days.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
