[Blake00]

Originally Posted by Japo

If you do a video review please post it here

I tried Freecol long ago and didn't finish the game, but I think I just dropped it for no reason. I've always found annoying software that requires Java, although I guess it was a handy way to support any OS.

What I want is a clone of the classic that fixes those two only flaws, allows me to expand as in Civilization,, and confronts me with AI players that know how to expand in the same way.

EDIT It had been so long that I played Freecol, that I didn't remember I reviewed it for Reloaded

http://www.reloaded.org/download/FreeCol/368/

Originally Posted by peyre

True, FreeCol has done that really well. The Indian villages even have names now, and they show you all the information you need. FreeCol even allows several new colonial powers, some of which should have been there in the beginning: Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Russia.

However, I've never really enjoyed playing FreeCol. I'm not a fan of the isometric projection, it's lacking the music, and important game mechanics are different: the price of tools and muskets doesn't rise in the same way, the War of Independence is much tougher, etc. And the developers weren't too friendly when you pointed out things like that. Also its development seems to have petered out.

Most of all though, it just overall lacks the look and feel and the gameplay I've come to love in old Col. I want to play Colonization for DOS with a few improvements, not a different but related game. And FreeCol (or Civ IV Col with fan mods) is a different game.

Sure thing, will post the video when I get it done haha.

Yeah when I played FreeCol I loaded a Colonization soundtrack youtube video and just put that on repeat.. problem solved haha.

I didn't try the game for many years until recently due to being put off by the graphics, however I found that while the graphics don't look all that great with a randomly generated map (the patchwork quilt effect is very obvious with their graphics style), they do actually work quite well with pre-made maps.. eg I love how the big Americas map looks, the South American jungles and rivers are gorgeous! But yeah its sort of a shame that it doesn't support different view points and tilesets like FreeCiv does eg you can easily switch your FreeCiv game between different classic Civ1 style, hexagon style and Civ2 style. Maybe I'll ask the devs about if that's in the engine since I believe FreeCol originally branched out of the FreeCiv engine a very very long time ago.

FreeCiv is actually alive and well! They're just doing a terrible job in the presentation department. After a while I got so annoyed I started pestering them endlessly about updating their website and updating their sourceforge page with details on their beta releases on Github that almost no one knows about! I talked them into letting me create a new sticky WELCOME & INFO thread that gives this vital info to new comers.

https://sourceforge.net/p/freecol/di...ad/2d0063a3bc/

I also got them to update their downloads page on their website to mention these beta downloads as they are way newer than the last stable release back in 2015 lol!

Thankfully my endless pestering has also got them building a brand new website. I'm going to give them some HD pictures and videos form the big game I played a year or so ago to use on the new site once it's done.

Oh and there's a still a bit of a healthy modding scene too as this talented fellow has created my dream mod which adds another 4 nations to the game which as you pointed out already had an extra 4 meaning you can now TWELVE PLAYER Colonization games.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freecol/di...ad/658935e76f/

He also created a cool map pack that contains a ginormous full Earth map which added to his other mod would indeed allow you to play a almost Civilization like game racing against 12 other players to colonize the world. With so much land space the Indian nations are super powerful too!
https://sourceforge.net/p/freecol/di...read/9eb4fbdf/