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Annals of Rome

May 04, 2023

Annals of Rome is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Level 9 Computing and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari ST in 1986. It was then released in Germany for the Commodore 64 and Amiga in 1987 and 1988, respectively. The game is set in the late Roman Empire, with the objective being to survive for as long as possible against rebelling European states.

Gameplay

 
Gameplay screenshot (Atari ST)

The game is played in two windows. The first is the troops movement window, which allows the player to control the placement of troops in the Roman state or to attack computer players. This window shows the number of forces for all players, inflation, popularity and national score of the Roman state, and human player score. The last step for the player in this window is to set the tax rate, between 1.0 and 2.0% (higher taxes cause higher inflation). In the next window, the player decides which of the 21 Senate members will receive command of the various Roman armies. To help the player in making this decision, all Senate members are listed with numbers, the first two indicating their military ability and loyalty, respectively. The last number indicates their age. If the government's popularity falls below 2 (popularity is measured within a range between -5 and +5), armies with disloyal commanders can revolt and try to take Rome. If this happens before 50 BC, the successful rebel will be declared dictator, and if this happens after, he will become emperor, which will lead to a dynasty.

Background

Personal Software Services was founded in Coventry, England, by Gary Mays and Richard Cockayne in November 1981.[1] The company was known for creating games that revolved around historic battles and conflicts, such as Theatre Europe, Bismarck and Falklands '82. The company had a partnership with French video game developer ERE Informatique, and published localised versions of their products in the United Kingdom.[2] The Strategic Wargames series was conceptualised by software designer Alan Steel in 1984. During development of these titles, Steel would often research the topic of the upcoming game and pass on the findings to other associates in Coventry and London.[3] Some games of the series were met with controversy upon release, such as Theatre Europe.[1][3] In 1983, the company received recognition for being "one of the top software houses" in the United Kingdom, and was a finalist for BBC Radio 4's New Business Enterprise Award for that year.[4]

In 1986, Cockayne took a decision to alter their products for release on 16-bit consoles, as he found that smaller 8-bit consoles, such as the ZX Spectrum, lacked the processing power for larger strategy games. The decision was falsely interpreted as "pulling out" from the Spectrum market by video game journalist Phillipa Irving.[5] Following years of successful sales throughout the mid-1980s, Personal Software Services experienced financial difficulties, with Cockayne admitting in a retrospective interview that "he took his eye off the ball". The company was acquired by Mirrorsoft in February 1987,[6] and was later dispossessed by the company due to strains of debt.[7]

Reception

Despite poor graphics and interface even for 1986, Annals of Rome received an 85% rating from Crash magazine in 1987.[10] In November 1986, Popular Computing Weekly called the game a "perfect choice if you take your strategy games seriously". Because of such popularity, the game received conversion to all computer platforms in its day. Originally, Personal Software Services released the game for C-64, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari ST (platforms until September 1987[10]) followed by versions for PC and Amiga. Today, the game has been considered a forgotten classic.[11]

Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review, noting innovative mechanics such as the variable turn length. The review noted that the game felt unfinished and unpolished, citing the lack of victory conditions and poor save mechanism.[12] In 1990 the magazine gave the game three-plus out of five stars, stating that despite the poor graphics and seemingly incomplete nature, "it succeeds on many levels", especially the superior 16-bit versions.[13] In 1993 the magazine gave the game two-plus stars.[14] Orson Scott Card wrote in Compute! that Annals of Rome's programmers did an excellent job of recreating Roman history, but that sales would suffer because it "looks like it was programmed in the Bronze Age".[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "History of PSS". Your Computer. 6 (6): 84–85. 13 June 1986. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Personal Software Services overview". Retro Aisle. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b Connor, Peter (March 1986). "Special: PSS". Amstrad Action (6): 97–99. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  4. ^ "PSS: Blade Alley Competition". Crash (5): 28. June 1984. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  5. ^ Jarratt, Steve (May 1988). "Seasonal Drought". Crash (52): 7. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Mirrorsoft has new strategy with PSS". Personal Computing Weekly. 6 (7): 6. 12 February 1987. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ^ Arnot, Chris (26 March 1995). "Taking pain out of gain". The Independent. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Annals Of Rome". Crash (38). Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ^ . Your Sinclair (14). February 1987. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  10. ^ a b PSS catalogue
  11. ^ Mobby about Annals of Rome
  12. ^ Brooks, M. Evans (April 1989), "Annals of Rome", Computer Gaming World, no. 58, pp. 22–23
  13. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (October 1990). . Computer Gaming World. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  14. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (June 1993). "An Annotated Listing of Pre-20th Century Wargames". Computer Gaming World. p. 136. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  15. ^ Card, Orson Scott (April 1989). "Gameplay". Compute!. p. 11. Retrieved 10 November 2013.

May 04, 2023
annals, rome, turn, based, strategy, video, game, developed, level, computing, published, personal, software, services, first, released, united, kingdom, spectrum, amstrad, atari, 1986, then, released, germany, commodore, amiga, 1987, 1988, respectively, game,. Annals of Rome is a turn based strategy video game developed by Level 9 Computing and published by Personal Software Services It was first released in the United Kingdom for the ZX Spectrum Amstrad CPC and Atari ST in 1986 It was then released in Germany for the Commodore 64 and Amiga in 1987 and 1988 respectively The game is set in the late Roman Empire with the objective being to survive for as long as possible against rebelling European states Amiga cover artDeveloper s Level 9 ComputingPublisher s Personal Software ServicesPlatform s ZX Spectrum Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 Atari ST Amiga MS DOS Amstrad PCWRelease1986Genre s StrategyMode s Single player Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Background 3 Reception 4 ReferencesGameplay Edit Gameplay screenshot Atari ST The game is played in two windows The first is the troops movement window which allows the player to control the placement of troops in the Roman state or to attack computer players This window shows the number of forces for all players inflation popularity and national score of the Roman state and human player score The last step for the player in this window is to set the tax rate between 1 0 and 2 0 higher taxes cause higher inflation In the next window the player decides which of the 21 Senate members will receive command of the various Roman armies To help the player in making this decision all Senate members are listed with numbers the first two indicating their military ability and loyalty respectively The last number indicates their age If the government s popularity falls below 2 popularity is measured within a range between 5 and 5 armies with disloyal commanders can revolt and try to take Rome If this happens before 50 BC the successful rebel will be declared dictator and if this happens after he will become emperor which will lead to a dynasty Background EditPersonal Software Services was founded in Coventry England by Gary Mays and Richard Cockayne in November 1981 1 The company was known for creating games that revolved around historic battles and conflicts such as Theatre Europe Bismarck and Falklands 82 The company had a partnership with French video game developer ERE Informatique and published localised versions of their products in the United Kingdom 2 The Strategic Wargames series was conceptualised by software designer Alan Steel in 1984 During development of these titles Steel would often research the topic of the upcoming game and pass on the findings to other associates in Coventry and London 3 Some games of the series were met with controversy upon release such as Theatre Europe 1 3 In 1983 the company received recognition for being one of the top software houses in the United Kingdom and was a finalist for BBC Radio 4 s New Business Enterprise Award for that year 4 In 1986 Cockayne took a decision to alter their products for release on 16 bit consoles as he found that smaller 8 bit consoles such as the ZX Spectrum lacked the processing power for larger strategy games The decision was falsely interpreted as pulling out from the Spectrum market by video game journalist Phillipa Irving 5 Following years of successful sales throughout the mid 1980s Personal Software Services experienced financial difficulties with Cockayne admitting in a retrospective interview that he took his eye off the ball The company was acquired by Mirrorsoft in February 1987 6 and was later dispossessed by the company due to strains of debt 7 Reception EditReceptionReview scoresPublicationScoreCrash85 8 Your Sinclair40 9 Despite poor graphics and interface even for 1986 Annals of Rome received an 85 rating from Crash magazine in 1987 10 In November 1986 Popular Computing Weekly called the game a perfect choice if you take your strategy games seriously Because of such popularity the game received conversion to all computer platforms in its day Originally Personal Software Services released the game for C 64 Spectrum Amstrad CPC and Atari ST platforms until September 1987 10 followed by versions for PC and Amiga Today the game has been considered a forgotten classic 11 Computer Gaming World gave the game a positive review noting innovative mechanics such as the variable turn length The review noted that the game felt unfinished and unpolished citing the lack of victory conditions and poor save mechanism 12 In 1990 the magazine gave the game three plus out of five stars stating that despite the poor graphics and seemingly incomplete nature it succeeds on many levels especially the superior 16 bit versions 13 In 1993 the magazine gave the game two plus stars 14 Orson Scott Card wrote in Compute that Annals of Rome s programmers did an excellent job of recreating Roman history but that sales would suffer because it looks like it was programmed in the Bronze Age 15 References Edit a b History of PSS Your Computer 6 6 84 85 13 June 1986 Retrieved 3 October 2015 Personal Software Services overview Retro Aisle Retrieved 18 October 2015 a b Connor Peter March 1986 Special PSS Amstrad Action 6 97 99 Retrieved 5 February 2016 PSS Blade Alley Competition Crash 5 28 June 1984 Retrieved 5 February 2016 Jarratt Steve May 1988 Seasonal Drought Crash 52 7 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Mirrorsoft has new strategy with PSS Personal Computing Weekly 6 7 6 12 February 1987 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Arnot Chris 26 March 1995 Taking pain out of gain The Independent Archived from the original on 7 May 2022 Retrieved 4 October 2015 Annals Of Rome Crash 38 Retrieved 3 October 2016 Annals Of Rome Your Sinclair 14 February 1987 Archived from the original on 6 October 2016 Retrieved 3 October 2016 a b PSS catalogue Mobby about Annals of Rome Brooks M Evans April 1989 Annals of Rome Computer Gaming World no 58 pp 22 23 Brooks M Evan October 1990 Computer Strategy and Wargames Pre 20th Century Computer Gaming World p 11 Archived from the original on 2 December 2013 Retrieved 16 November 2013 Brooks M Evan June 1993 An Annotated Listing of Pre 20th Century Wargames Computer Gaming World p 136 Retrieved 7 July 2014 Card Orson Scott April 1989 Gameplay Compute p 11 Retrieved 10 November 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Annals of Rome amp oldid 1120813278, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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