The Settlers III () is a 1998 real-time strategy video game with city-building elements for Windows. Developed and published by Blue Byte, it was released worldwide in November 1998. It is the third game in The Settlers series. In 1999, Blue Byte released two expansions, The Settlers III Mission CD and The Settlers III: Quest of the Amazons (), in April and October respectively, featuring new single-player campaign missions, new maps for both single-player and multiplayer modes, and a map editor. In June 2000, The Settlers III: Gold Edition was released, containing the original game and both expansions. In 2013, the Gold Edition was released on GOG.com, and in 2018, it was re-released as The Settlers III: History Edition.
In the game's single-player campaign, the player controls one of three races (Romans, Egyptians or Asians) whose respective deities are compelled by the great god HE to each pick a champion from among their people, and have him lead a war against the other peoples, with the gods of the two losing races facing punishment. Quest of the Amazons tells a prequel story, chronicling how Helios's daughter, Q'nqüra, becomes HIS personal assistant, engineering events so that women become the secret rulers of the universe.
The game was designed and co-programmed by Volker Wertich, creator of the original Settlers game. Although the core supply and demand-based gameplay is broadly the same as in previous titles, many of the game mechanics have been altered; the player now has direct control over their army; roads are no longer necessary to connect buildings, headquarters no longer automatically generate settlers as required, and the different races now have different economic models, different magic spells, and several unique abilities and buildings. The game was also the first in the series to feature online multiplayer.
The Settlers III received mixed reviews. Whilst the economic system and the interrelatedness of the various buildings, as well as the graphics and animations were generally praised, most critics felt it was too similar to previous Settlers titles. The game was a commercial success, selling over 200,000 units in Germany within the first twelve months of its release, and ultimately going on to sell over 700,000 units worldwide.
Gameplay The Settlers III is a real-time strategy game with city-building elements, controlled via a point and click interface, in which the primary goal on most maps is to build a settlement with a functioning economy, producing sufficient military units so as to conquer rival territories, ultimately gaining control of either the entire map or a certain predetermined section of it. To achieve this end, the player must engage in economic micromanagement, construct buildings, and generate resources.
Game modes In the game's Campaign mode, the player must complete a series of missions, the goal of most of which is to defeat the computer controlled opponent or opponents by gaining possession of their territory. In the original release of the game, there were three separate campaigns of eight missions each; one campaign each for the Romans, Egyptians, and Asians. The Mission CD expansion added three additional campaigns of eight missions for each race, and Quest of the Amazons added two campaigns of twelve missions each; one in which the player controls the Amazons against the others, and one in which they control the others against the Amazons.
In Scenario and Multiplayer modes, the player can choose from either a randomly generated or pre-built map, and then refine the game in various ways, such as adjusting the amount of raw materials available to each player at the start of the game. The player can also select the type of game to be played, choosing from "Map Defaults" (the game is played with predetermined settings, based on the specific map), "Teams" (the player can select any combination of teams and players allowing for up to twenty players) or "No Teams" (the player can choose from "League", in which players receive points at the end of the game for ranking on Blue Byte's online league table; "Free-for-All", in which each player/race competes against one another; "Free Alliance", in which players/races can ally with one another; or "Play Alone", in which there is only one player/race). Introduced in the Quest of the Amazons expansion was "Economic Mode", in which the goal is to be the first player to complete an economic based objective.
Settlers and transportation
Whether playing Campaign, Scenario or Multiplayer mode, each game begins the same way; the player has a small settlement, a set amount of raw materials and tools, and a predetermined number of settlers. 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. New settlers can only be acquired by the construction of residences. The player issues general orders (such as ordering the construction of a building), with the AI handling the delegation of orders to specific settlers.
A major change to the mechanics in The Settlers III is that players do not have to construct a road network. Instead, settlers can walk freely around the player's territory, with the AI handling pathfinding. Players can also build marketplaces, which allow for the establishment of trade routes between areas on the same geographical region, and shipyards, which allow for the manufacture of both transport ships and trade ships.
Races and economy In the original game, the player could choose one of three races; Romans, Egyptians and Asians. Quest of the Amazons added the Amazons as a fourth race. Unlike in previous Settlers titles, each race has a slightly different economic model. For example, the Romans' and Amazons' construction industries require roughly equal amounts of wood and stone, the Egyptians' require more stone than wood, and the Asians' more wood than stone. Each race also has specific skills.
A new feature of The Settlers III is "Divine Intervention", whereby each race can call upon their deities for economic and/or military assistance. Once the player has both manna and priests, they have finite access to a number of spells, the nature of which depends on the race. These spells include tuning iron to gold, turning enemy soldiers to allies (Romans), turning fish to meat, starting forest fires (Egyptians), turning stone to iron, temporarily giving soldiers extra strength (Asians), turning gold to stone, and temporarily freezing enemies (Amazons).
Military The player's territory can only be expanded by using pioneers or building a military complex near the territory border. Each complex must have at least one soldier garrisoned for the territory to expand. To recruit soldiers, the player must build a barracks, with each soldier requiring their requisite weapon to transition from settler to soldier. The player can also build lookout towers, which are manned by regular settlers, and which can see for great distances, but don't grant new territory.
There are three classes of soldier: swordsmen, bowmen, and spearmen. The strength of each recruited unit depends on the level of "Divine Promotion" which that class has reached, with each class requiring two promotions to reach the maximum level. Each race can also produce war machines; catapults for the Romans, ballistae for the Egyptians, cannons for the Asians, and war gongs for the Amazons.
Upon attacking an enemy building, 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. When soldiers are fighting within their own territory, their strength is always 100%. When they are fighting outside, their strength depends on how much gold the player has in their stockpile.
Plot The game takes place "in ages past, when the pantheon was still home to countless gods from all empires". However, it is a time when the gods have lost their purpose; Jupiter is interested only in eating and drinking; Horus thinks of nothing except his pyramids; and Ch'ih-yu simply wants to eat livestock. The story begins with HE, the "Unknown God", and creator of all gods, summoning the lesser gods to HIM, and telling them "for eons, you think only of pleasure, and now even the lowliest men say, "these drunks don't do anything for us. Let's go over their heads to the boss"". HE is afraid this will lead to monotheism, which HE wants to avoid, as HE has neither the time nor inclination to govern all of humanity himself. As a result, HE commands each of them "to pick one who is the best of your people", and have him lead a war against the other two peoples. The two gods whose people lose will be punished by repainting the universe white. Jupiter picks Septimus Marius, a sea merchant; Horus picks Ramadamses, a sculptor; and Ch'ih-yu picks Tsu-Tang, a rice farmer.
Roman Campaign
Septimus Marius begins by putting down a rebellion amongst his own men. However, shortly thereafter, his highest ranking general, Remigius, betrays him and allies with Ramadamses. Septimus attacks Remigius, defeating him and forcing Ramadamses to retreat. A powerful group of nearby pirates, led by Flavius, then ally with Septimus, and pursue Ramadamses to a small cluster of islands, several of which are controlled by Tsu-Tang. With Flavius's fleet, Septimus is able to capture many of the islands, but shortly thereafter, a volcano erupts, decimating the newly established settlements. Ramadamses reoccupies the islands and forms an alliance with Tsu-Tang. After Septimus defeats Ramadamses, Tsu-Tang encloses him, but Septimus is able to fight his way out, defeating Tsu-Tang, and achieving victory for Jupiter.
As Jupiter celebrates, Horus and Ch'ih-yu begin the task of painting the universe white, complaining that the competition was unfair, as Jupiter cheated, and the punishment is unrealistic. However, when HE threatens to also make them clean up after Jupiter's celebration party, they reluctantly begin to paint.
Egyptian Campaign
Ramadamses begins by defeating a tribe of his own countrymen. Thereafter, however, he is caught unprepared by Tsu-Tang, and must ally with a group of pirates. Together, they force Tsu-Tang to retreat, but he remains a threat. A thunderstorm then destroys several of Ramadamses's colonies, stalling his growth, and allowing Septimus to advance, and form an alliance with Tsu-Tang. Not yet strong enough to attack Tsu-Tang, Ramadamses instead disrupts their trade routes. Eventually, Ramadamses attacks Septimus, weakening him to the point where Tsu-Tang feels confident enough to betray their alliance. Ramadamses is then able to defeat Tsu-Tang, thus achieving victory for Horus.
As Horus celebrates, Jupiter and Ch'ih-yu begin the task of painting the universe white, complaining that the competition was unfair, as Horus cheated, and the punishment is unrealistic. However, when HE threatens to also make them clean up after Horus's celebration party, they reluctantly begin to paint.
Asian Campaign
Tsu-Tang begins by defeating a group of pirates allied with Ramadamses, who subsequently negotiates a fragile truce. However, both intend to violate it at the earliest opportunity. Septimus then forms an alliance with Ramadamses. Tsu-Tang advances on them, but they encircle him. He rebukes their attacks, before defeating both and achieving victory for Ch'ih-yu.
As Ch'ih-yu celebrates, Horus and Jupiter begin the task of painting the universe white, complaining that the competition was unfair, as Ch'ih-yu cheated, and the punishment is unrealistic. However, when HE threatens to also make them clean up after Ch'ih-yu's celebration party, they reluctantly begin to paint.
Quest of the Amazons