Anno 117 changes well-known German terms after 25 years and of all things AI is supposed to be to blame

AI content is controversial, now Anno 117 is supposed to use such content. The community is complaining and gathering alleged evidence. But what exactly is behind it?

AI content in games is highly controversial and regarded by players as a cheap excuse to save money. Even Ubisoft’s new Anno game is not spared from such AI content, as reported by the English-language PCGamer magazine:

The community accuses the developers of Anno 117 of using AI-generated content. And Kotaku magazine explains that Anno 117 is the first Anno game to have an AI disclaimer on its Steam shop page. It specifically says on Steam:

[EN]: AI tools were used to help create some in game assets. In all such cases, the final product reflects our team’s craft and creative vision.

[DE] KI-Tools wurden verwendet, um einige Spielelemente zu erstellen. In allen diesen Fällen spiegelt das Endprodukt die Handwerkskunst und die kreative Vision unseres Teams wider.

The trailer for the construction strategy hit Anno 1800

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Players accuse Anno 117 of using AI-generated content and AI translations

What kind of AI content is that? In a specific example shared on Reddit, it concerns background images that one can see when loading a save game. Users point out flawed faces, incorrectly generated hands, and double heads. All problems associated with AI.

But AI is not supposed to stop there. In another post on Reddit, shared by the well-known mod developer Taubenangriff, the focus is primarily on the German localization. Specifically, terms that have always been the same for 25 years suddenly have different names. This is supposedly due to the fact that AI has translated texts and terms 1:1 without considering the content, and no one checked it anymore. According to users, this is especially noticeable when terms are supposed to be mistranslated and make no sense in German.

According to the post, “Clothier” is translated as “Tuchhändler” in German. However, it refers to a manufacturer in the game and not a seller. “Kleidungsschneiderei” would be a better term, according to the community. After all, the sandal manufacturer is also not translated as a seller.

In another example, “Need of Residences” is translated as “Bedarf an Wohnhäusern”. However, it is not about the need but the “Bedürfnis von Wohnhäusern” that the public building fulfills.

Not all accusations can be confirmed

What is behind the accusations? We conducted a test ourselves and compared the German text language in Anno 1800 and Anno 117. In some respects, we can confirm the users’ accusations, while in others we cannot:

• The harbor area is called “Hafengebiet”, while in Anno 1800 it was still called “Hafenbereich”. This was translated differently.
• The forester’s lodge in Anno 1800 is now called “Waldlager” in Anno 117.

But there are also terms that were already introduced in Anno 1800 and have not fundamentally changed in Anno 117:

• In Anno 1800, you already build cultivation areas at your farms.
• At the animal farms, such as sheep, you also build animal areas like in the later Anno 117.

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This is an AI-powered translation. Some inaccuracies might exist.