Cultures: What were the various games? What do the compilations contain?

I have the English-language version of the game Cultures, which I purchased some years ago. I have a few questions (which are all related):

• What are the other games in the series?

• Which games in the series use the original game engine from Cultures, and which use a different game engine? (E.g. Northland seems to use a different game engine.)

• What games do the various compilations include?

I'm looking at purchasing the German version of the game, and I mostly want to focus on getting the original Cultures as well as any games in the series that share the same engine. (I didn't care as much for the later engine.)

Solution 1:

Cultures - Discovery of Vinland was Funatics' first successful title, launching a new franchise in 2000. The original game was followed by:

• in 2002, Cultures 2: The Gates of Asgard
• in late 2002, Northland
• in 2003, 8th Wonder of the World

Of course, each consecutive installment brought some modifications to the original engine, so after 4 years Northland may appear significantly different when compared to the original game. However, I believe that all four games were build using the same game engine core.

Furthermore, Funatics released a couple of bundles and even an expansion pack to first Cultures. In particular:

• in 2001, Cultures: Die Rache des Regengottes was released for the German market, seems to be local exclusive
• in 2002, Cultures Gold was released, containing both the original game and its sole expansion
• in 2003, Cultures - Die Abenteuerbox (The Adventure Box) was published, combining Northland and 8th Wonder of the World in a single package
• in late 2003, Cultures: Die Saga was finally made available, being the most complete bundle. It does not only contain Cultures - Discovery of Vinland, Northland and 8th Wonder of the World, but also provides some additional ingame content (campaign, new maps, map editor).

Since 2004 Funatics was kept busy along with Blue Byte preparing The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary, a modern remake of The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici. It was released in 2006, followed by an expansion (Vikings) in 2007, and eventually by a spiritual successor, Die Siedler: Aufbruch der Kulturen, published in 2008 by Ubisoft (seemingly only in Germany). If you liked Cultures series, you might want to try these games as well.

P.S. I do envy you for having the first Cultures - I really like the series, but in my country it is almost impossible to buy a hard copy of the first part. All the others installments are aplenty, but not the original Cultures. Also the bundles and expansion packs are pretty rare I think.