Dawn of Discovery / ANNO 1404: Unlock Preorder Content

Want the preorder Silver Ship or Preorder Emblem but didn’t preorder the game?

  1. Extract preorder_hack.zip to your game directory. It should not overwrite any files.
  2. Set PreferLocalFiles in Engine.ini to 1. This file can be found on Vista/Win7 in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Config\Engine.ini. It’s probably something like C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Config\Engine.ini on XP.
  3. Start any game, rename one of your ships to the The Silver Ship. If you are playing the game in a different locale than English, you will need to extract change_achievement_name.zip to your game directory as well.
  4. You should see at least one achievement unlock.
  5. Silver Ship and Preorder Emblem should now be enabled. Silver Ship toggle is in game options, Preorder Emblem is listed with all other unlocked emblems.
  6. Remove the extract file(s) after you’ve saved and exited the game.

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109 Responses to “Dawn of Discovery / ANNO 1404: Unlock Preorder Content”

  1. ch_sux says:

    the xml is in german or something.

  2. LOST says:

    doesn’t work

  3. Rick says:

    Then you didn’t do it right.

  4. Lucius2 says:

    also does not work for me and i followed exactly every step how u stated it

  5. Vertigo says:

    Hi Folks,
    Doesn’t working for me 2, on a Windows VIsta.

    Help Please!!!!!

  6. Rick says:

    What version and region of the game do you have if it isn’t working?

    I’ve had several people I do this with no problems.

  7. lemon says:

    i have a v1.00.1762 but this doesn’t working?

  8. Rick says:

    You guys are renamed it to “The Silver Ship” and not “The Silver Ship.”, right?

    If not, then it sounds like you guys arn’t doing the Engine.ini step correctly.

  9. annocool says:

    i had v1.00.1765 ,multi version, on xp

    doesn`t work.

    I`m playin german language. Is it right to rename a ship to “The Silver Ship” ?

  10. Rick says:

    If you’re playing in a different language than english, you’ll need to use the localized text for that language, for german, it’s “Das silberne Schiff”. I’m going to update the post to include the different localizations.

  11. Lucius2 says:

    tried to enter “Das Silberne Schiff” now, but that name is too long, it only accepts “Das Silberne Sc”

  12. Rick says:

    There’s a limit on name length? That sucks.

    Try using this file (extract same location as preorder_hack.zip):

    http://blog.gib.me/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/change_achievement_name.zip

    It will make the achievement name “The Silver Ship” for all locales.

    Be sure to remove the extracted file after you’re done with it.

  13. Fun says:

    this are dont work whis the german version of anno 1404

    There’s a limit on name length? That sucks.
    Try using this file (extract same location as preorder_hack.zip):
    http://blog.gib.me/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/change_achievement_name.zip
    It will make the achievement name “The Silver Ship” for all locales.
    Be sure to remove the extracted file after you’re done with it.

  14. Rick says:

    Then I can’t help you, sorry. My hack was made with the English version and I cannot test it on a German version to get it to work.

  15. Eloi Matos says:

    Rick you are still working with SVN for Far Cry 2?
    If so when will be ready?
    Now thank.

    Eloi Matos.

  16. Mikael says:

    Thank you Rick. It just work fine for me.

  17. SHorst says:

    Hi, where do I have to put the “mainmenu.xml” file? Do I have to copy the content into the “properties.xml” file?

  18. TheName says:

    It is pretty obvious what you do, you extract it just like what Rick said, into your game directory, you leave the data folder and the contents exactly as is.

  19. Zpider says:

    This worked perfectly, just remember to edit the correct engine.ini.

    I can also let you know, that if you change your ship name to “Ghost Ship” while using this, you get an achievement and 10 gems!

    I was bored so i’ve tried quite a few boat names, but try some anyway see if it gets you anything.

    Thx a bunch for this Rick.

    //Zpider

  20. SHorst says:

    Than it dosen’t work for me. To bad.

  21. Addy says:

    i tried it for the german version,

    it did not work. I did everything (also the engine thing, i also added the extra file to the game directory)
    Does anyone know an workaround?

  22. Huub says:

    Yo Rick,

    Worked like a charm!
    Many thanks form a happy Dutch sailor. 🙂

  23. Hans Hanse says:

    worked perfektly, any chance you could unlock the golden one the same way? =)

  24. Heinrich says:

    Hey Rick, thanks for the file. Do you happen to have any idea where the data for the amount of gems you have is stored? I’ve been trying to go through the files but I can’t seem to locate the player profile anywhere.

  25. Rick says:

    I don’t, I assume they’re calculated automatically based on unlocks and then subtracts any costs of purchased things already.

  26. Heinrich says:

    Any chance you’d fix up a file with all achievements unlocked? The .profile file is located in Drive:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Profiles
    I opened it up with a hex-capable editor but it’s complete gibberish to me. Also, do you know why various RAM editors can’t find the # of gems? (GameWiz etc) Thanks.

  27. Twilight Wolf says:

    Hi Rick,

    I don’t have the C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Ubisoft\Anno1404\Config\ folder at all…might that be because I didn’t install the game in the standard directory?
    The only Engine.ini I have available is the one directly in the install directoy and that one doesn’t have a PreferLocalFiles setting…

    Help?

  28. Twilight Wolf says:

    Ignore that last one…I was being stupid and didn’t realise that it was a hidden folder:P

  29. Heinrich says:

    Me again. Just popping in to let you know of this Anno 1404 explorer: http://www.annozone.de/forum/thread.php?threadid=7988

  30. Heinrich says:

    Sorry for spamming your blog. I found out my answers for cheating, or as I like to play these types of games, sandboxing.

    To get easy gems, I will show all how to modify an achievement to add 9000 gems once acquired. First, modify your Engine.ini file as Rick detailed in his post. Then, use the 1404Explorer (found in my aboove link) to open Data1.rda, scroll down and select data/config/game/properties.xml, click Extract -> Selected and browse to your Anno 1404 installation folder. While we have the 1404Explorer open, find and extract the file ‘assets.xml’ which is in the same subdirectory as ‘properties.xml’. Go ahead and close the archive extractor now.

    Open up properties.xml in an XML-capable editor, I use UltraEdit. Search for ‘120464’. Right above this you should see ’10’ – go ahead and modify that 10 to whatever you want. I used 9000, bought all the stuff and was still left with 5140 or so gems, so do the math. This particular achievement calls for you to pause & unpause the game 250 times. If you’ve already unlocked it with your current profile, I’m afraid you’ll have to make a new one, since I’ve no idea how to modify saved games. Anyway, hop into a game with a fresh profile and push down ‘P’ until you cash in.

    Now, for the real sandboxing. Open assets.xml and search for ”. Modify the number between the brackets to a larger one, say 500. Pretty self-explanatory. Keep modifying the other entries (I used UE regular expressions with the following syntax ?? replaced with 500 and enjoy freedom to build anything you want, anywhere you want (as long as you have the prerequisites, at least). Oh yeah, and if you want real cheats, check out this link:

    http://www.freesoft-board.to/f345/suche-cheats-anno-1404-rohstoffe-fuellen-433521.html#post4218940

    It’s in German, but here is a quick translation: create a bindings.ini file in \data\config\game, then add the stuff that CmdrData pasted. All credit to him for that discovery, although I found it myself when fiddling around in the .rda’s. Here’s a quick reference for the cheats:

    CTRL + M: 999,999 million gold.
    Shift + Insert: 100 honor and 50 reputation with the Orient.
    Insert: Add 1 of each building material (wood, tools, glass, marble)
    Ctrl + Alt + I: add 1 reputation with the chosen player (diplomacy screen).
    Ctrl + Alt + X: All buildings become available for construction.
    Alt + U: upgrade selected house to next level.
    Alt + Shift + U: Same as above, but for all houses of that level.
    Ctrl + Shift + V: fill house with occupants.

    Enjoy! Feel free to repost with credits.

  31. BriskoNight says:

    I have unlocked the Silver Ship (+the other preorder content) in the German Version of the Game !!

    The only thing you have to do is the replace 2 lines (3x) in the properties.xml from Rick (in einem Editor Ersetzen wählen):

    122923

    replace with:
    122984

    122923

    replace with:
    122984

    And then rename 1 ship to: “Der Voyeur”

    this only work with the german Version of Anno 1404 !

  32. BriskoNight says:

    I have unlocked the Silver Ship (+the other preorder content) in the German Version of the Game !!

    The only thing you have to do is the replace 2 lines (3x) in the properties.xml from Rick (in einem Editor Ersetzen wählen):

    “122923”

    replace with:
    “122984”

    “122923”

    replace with:
    “122984”

    And then rename 1 ship to: “Der Voyeur”

    this only work with the german Version of Anno 1404 !

  33. BriskoNight says:

    sorry for the third post but the post is not going right

    I have unlocked the Silver Ship (+the other preorder content) in the German Version of the Game !!

    The only thing you have to do is the replace 2 lines (3x) in the properties.xml from Rick (in einem Editor Ersetzen wählen):

    122923

    replace with:
    122984

    122923

    replace with:
    122984

    And then rename 1 ship to: “Der Voyeur”

    this only work with the german Version of Anno 1404 !

  34. BriskoNight says:

    sorry for the 4. post but the post is not going right

    I have unlocked the Silver Ship (+the other preorder content) in the German Version of the Game !!

    The only thing you have to do is the replace 2 lines (3x) in the properties.xml from Rick (in einem Editor Ersetzen wählen):

    ValueTypeParameter>122923

    replace with:
    ValueTypeParameter>122984

    ConditionText>122923

    replace with:
    ConditionText>122984

    And then rename 1 ship to: “Der Voyeur”

    this only work with the german Version of Anno 1404 !

  35. BriskoNight says:

    the last post is the right one (finally puh 🙂

  36. ch_sux says:

    german xml sux. can someone upload the english xml file? thanx.

  37. ch_sux says:

    rick, you have german version of game or something? why is xml in german?

  38. annocool says:

    good work BriskoNight !
    finally it works for german version.

  39. […] Continue reading here: Dawn of Discovery / ANNO 1404: Unlock Preorder Content […]

  40. algent says:

    in the engine.ini you can also change the game language in english with “eng” on the gamelanguage line

  41. Coco says:

    @BriskoNight

    Yes the german version works now but only partially…..
    With “Der Voyeur” only the Silver Ship will be become available but not like in the english version the other preorder stuff..
    How can I unlock the other preorder stuff ?

  42. king says:

    mit voyeur geht es aber ich konnte nicht speichern nun ist kein silbernes schiff zu sehen weder im spiel noch in der erfolgs liste hat einer einen plan wie ich jetzt das schiff bekomme ?

  43. BriskoNight says:

    doch der andere Preorder Inhalt war das Preorder Emblem was auch freigeschaltet ist (unter Wappen)!!

    @king
    du musst “Der Voyeur” ohne Anführungszeichen aber sonst genau so schreiben (Großschreibung+leerstelle) als schiffsbezeichnung

  44. Marcel0511 says:

    @BriskoNight

    Wie heist das Preorderlogo ich finde das nicht!!

  45. king says:

    Habe alles so gemacht mit Der Voyeur. Er hat auch gesagt das es frei geschaltet wurde,aber als ich abspeichern wollte ist mein PC abgestürtzt.Hatte aber nicht mit Anno zutun.Wollte dann gucken wo das Schiff ist, konnte es nicht finden auch das Wappen nicht.Also dachte ich ändere ich einfach nochmal ein Schiff um,funktionierte aber nicht,deshalb die frage wie bekomme ich das Schiff und das Wappen nochmal.Soll ich irgend etwas löschen ?THX

  46. BriskoNight says:

    silbernes schiff gibt es unter optionen -> Interface unter Startschiff
    preorder logo ist unter Profilverwaltung -> Wappen

  47. Marcel0511 says:

    Wie heist das wappen???? es ist NICHT zu finden

  48. BriskoNight says:

    im Hautmenue unter Spielerprofil -> Wappen : Preorder

  49. Marcel0511 says:

    @ BriskoNight

    kannst du mal ein Screenshoot von dem Wappen machen und es hier verlinken… Bei mir ist kein Preorderwappen das Schiff ist freigeschaltet