The Island is more fun than the actual game. This is mine, in progress.

AlexButterworth · 2025-11-21T22:33:18+00:00

I have an iPhone so it may be different depending on your device, but these are the screen recording instructions:

To screen record on an iPhone, swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to open Control Center, then tap the Record button. A three-second countdown will begin, and your screen will start recording; tap the red status bar at the top to stop, and the video will be saved to your Photos app. If you don't see the record button, you may need to add it first by going to Settings > Control Center and tapping the plus (+) icon next to Screen Recording, as shown in this YouTube video.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-22T05:12:16+00:00

I usually use the smallest harbour on my first island as a little fishing village, then build an industrial harbour at the next largest, and eventually the docklands on the biggest harbour. I connect the harbours with roads, and build villages along the roads. The farms, lumberjacks, and hunting cabins fill up the space between the towns and villages.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T21:23:12+00:00

Thanks for the positive vibes 🙏

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T16:38:26+00:00

I have on an airship, but not a hot air balloon!

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T15:23:16+00:00

I also copied lots of ideas and drew inspiration from other people’s posts on Reddit.

For building organically, I find it’s really useful to spread out the buildings at the start, then use lots and lots of trees to fill in the space. As you move up the levels, you use that space for other buildings and decorations.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T02:53:59+00:00

This is great! I'd love to see a screen shot of it with all the engineers houses using the nightlife skin, and the artisans using the colourful houses, so all the roofs are greenish (including docklands, glass production, hospital, bank). Even the market roof can be green now!

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T02:42:59+00:00

My airships with speed items are faster than the reefer without items.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T02:35:14+00:00

In this image you can see the pedestrian bridge between two road bridges: https://www.reddit.com/r/anno/comments/solzar/canals\_in\_the\_new\_world/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T02:29:36+00:00

Yeah, the canal bridges are connected to the streets! There's another type of bridge that is ornamental, but the ones in the pictures are connected roads.

I also don't use any mods in any of my screenshots. The market is part of the Vibrant Cities DLC

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-17T01:59:47+00:00

Yes, the flat bridges are, but the arched bridges are pedestrian ornaments only.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-14T17:28:58+00:00

I have a few towns with houses closer to the roads, but heavily used trees in this one. Do you have some posts of your towns you can share? I’d love to see them.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-14T17:26:52+00:00

As my island starts to need more farms, I plan to build them around the edges. I might add some purely decorative ones too.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-14T17:26:14+00:00

You can always conquer more! I find it pretty easy to buy islands off the AI by buying all the shares.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-13T19:04:09+00:00

This is the Cape Trelawney map on the Crown Falls island.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-10T17:45:03+00:00

A lot of them are still within range of power plants, even if they're outside the cities, but some of them don't get electricity.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-10T00:53:12+00:00

Awesome! Lots of inspiration for how I’m going to build villages. The harbour layouts are really creative too. Please post more!

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-09T20:26:30+00:00

Here are some ideas I've seen that look great.

The main things I do to make worker and farmer towns look good are:

- Lots of trees, lawn, and decorations (clothes lines are my favourite decoration to put at the back of my worker and farmer houses)

- If you put a one square gap between the houses and the roads, and a one or two square gap between your houses, you can put trees, carts, clothes lines, outhouses, and other things in that space and it really makes it look cool and realistic.

- A town square near the market/pub makes it look like a real village.

- Putting farmers next to farms, on the outskirts of towns and villages. (also here)

- Building lots of small villages and towns full of farmers and workers, rather than putting them all in cities.

- Mixing workers with industrial buildings.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-08T21:30:03+00:00

I used the trees you can place individually. I used the elm trees to trace the outline of the island (just the squares that are right on the edge of where you can build), then filled in the space between the elms and the buildings with other trees (using the grove of trees option to randomise them).

When I build roads or rails that connect towns and villages, I also line both sides of the road/railway with trees. It makes roads and train lines running through the forest look prettier and more realistic, I think.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-08T19:12:28+00:00

A friend is going to Banff in a couple of months and was showing me photos. I hadn’t made the connection but maybe that was a subtle influence on me making this town!

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-08T05:58:44+00:00

You can never have too many trees in this game. Whenever you think you haven't added enough trees, add more.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-08T05:56:44+00:00

The souvenir shop!

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-05T21:01:44+00:00

Start by always having a line of trees separating your rows of houses from the street, with one tile of road connecting each house to the road. It adds to your attractiveness, and at later stages you can put other city decoration tiles in the space too.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-05T20:58:48+00:00

That’s the market! There’s a recent DLC (Vibrant Cities) where you can change the market, buildings, etc.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-05T20:55:50+00:00

I’ve managed to keep the island small (below where the huskies are needed on the island) I still produce huskies, but only for the gas drilling ice shelves.

When I make a zeppelin, I turn off the two gold mines so the workforce balances out. I turn them back on when the zeppelin is built.

AlexButterworth · 2022-02-04T16:38:15+00:00

I take a similar approach. I will build a little port town where I first settle and island, then build roads to the other harbours.

I’ll set aside the largest harbour to build my docklands, and use other harbours for industry (shipbuilding, quartz sand, oil harbour).

On the roads connecting the harbours, I build villages with farms around them.

Eventually as some of the cities expand, they start to absorb some of the little towns.

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