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[Mighty Midget]

Is there a way to start further north or south? Every single game throws me straight into the swamp. Seeing food is quite essential, it's rather annoying that the food tiles are always out of reach unless I want to spend 100 years sailing around looking for a tiny spot not occupied by another European nation.

Also: Any hints on how to start the game, building your first colony and all? What priorities should be made? Any swamp tile better than another swamp tile? I always figured tools and food were the most essential things to get sorted out, but it looks like I'm wrong...

EDIT: What's the deal on "diplomacy"? As far as I can gather, the other nations are the only ones who can approach you without declaring war. If I try to approach their units, I'm asked if I want to cancel the treaties. What the hell is that? Furthermore, because of that, they can demand you move your units away from their colonies, while you can only go to war to _try_ to remove theirs... That's more than just a bit odd. Is there a way around this? Is "diplomacy" a one-way thing here, the AI can "talk" to you, but you can only shoot at them? This is no good at all.

[Japo]

@MM:

That misconception of diplomacy is the same as in Civilization and its sequels (at least 2 and 3 that I know), you'll have to live with it, no game is perfect. :wallbash:

About starting region, see this post. If you're really fed up with sugar cane, mosquitoes and malaria (kidding there are no mosquitoes nor malaria in the game), I wouldn't worry about losing some turns sailing north and south, in the highest difficulty levels the rival nations could swarm you militarily the same even if you're really fast developing (because basically they cheat). So just start with the lowest difficulty level for now, and if you want better terrain by all means do sail across latitudes. Besides rum will always be cheaper to sell than coats or cigars, although that doesn't prevent you from making huge profits sooner or later, since there are no costs in this game.

About development strategies, I'm sure I didn't followed the optimum one but it went along with my existing obssesive disorders. I kind of preferred starting with one strong colony instead of trying to occupy large regions quickly, others might favour just the latter. But I think my strategy will be better for you for the moment being, it would be silly trying to expand when you can't make one single colony work. Even though this forced my first colony to be able to eventually produce everything necessary on its own, it's not that difficult, even in that DAMN tropical region, provided you choose the precise spot for the colony and prepare the terrain, and you start with one pioneer capable of carrying out five operations (100 tools) which is enough for the couple of squares a small starting colony needs before it can start to produce her own tools.

I don't consider tools to be a priority (others might disagree), as I said the starting pioneer has enough to do the initially necessary work for a small colony, and once he spends them he turns into a colonist you can use for other profession. Also since the first colony should be on the coast, you can rely on fish for food; you can keep doing that even for a big colony, maybe adding just one square of farm, and when choosing the spot for the first colony it would be good if it was adjacent to two fisheries.

One working algorithm for building a colony could be: choose a nice spot, somewhere in the coast, adjacent to a fishery or two, with at least one hill or mountain square or if impossible another one that will be able to yield ore (ask the Terrain Advisor); you won't need to start extracting right away though as I said. Variety is a plus but the settlement can still turn eventually into a large and rich self-sufficient and exporting colony, even if the rest of the squares are ALL DAMN rainforest or marsh or whatever. And of course try to seize some other extra squares besides the fisheries. It wouldn't harm that your colony was adjacent to at least two sea squares even if you plan to farm from the beginning, because enemy ships like to sit next to your colonies and if there's only one entrance square you won't be able to go into or out of your own colony, except by declaring war, and that's pretty suicidal at the start.

Found the colony with your soldier --but be ready to draft him back once you have more colonists, it's the least defence you'll need (I myself also like to buy one artillery with the first 500 I earn --then a privateer with the next 2000). With the pioneer perform these operations:

- If your colony is placed on a forest square, deforest it. This will increase your food input, by a quite good amount now in the beginning relatively speaking. It will also GREATly decrease your vulnerability towards those thievish Indian attacks (yay!).

- Plow that same town square: yet more food that will be very welcome in this hardy beginning (yay yay).

- Build a road for the first or only square you'll be using as source of wood; consult the Terrain Advisor as to which square will yield more, of course choose a square with the prime timber extra if there's one, or just grab one of those DAMN tropical forests if they're all the same.

- You can now either plow (deforesting first if necessary) one square for food farming (you can always turn it into commodity farming in the future if you've got a big food surplus), or you could as well build a road in the square you'll be using for ore, deforesting first if it's a forest (better hills or mountains if possible). But it's not necessary preparing the terrain to increase ore extraction right now, you can perfectly do it after you've started to produce your own tools, since so few are needed.

Once you've done what you feel is necessary, you can as well keep a few tools so that you'll be able to build one or two facilities needing tools with no need to wait until you produce your own or buying them in Europe. So there's no more need for a pioneer for now, so get him another job inside the colony.

One colonist should be employed at getting food for the colony. At the start you can use one land square for that. (Note: Later in the game a colony with a big food surplus is an inefficient one that could be farming commodities and turning them into manufactured goods [rum, cigars...]. Even now you don't need a big surplus, just enough to feed your colonists, besides at the start immigration is stronger without your needing to promote it.)

The first priority after <strike>producing enough food</strike> not starving is building. So get one colonist and have him chop trees. If you can't afford a second one as carpenter yet, the same guy can switch job into carpenter once you're warned that the stores are full of wood. Even if you've already got a carpenter it won't be able to process wood as fast as it's produced, once the stores are full you can employ him elsewhere --as carpenter for example--, and get him back to the woods once he's needed again because there's no timber left.

My first building is usually the docks so that I can start fishing for food once I need more than one square's worth of food. The second one is the lumber mill because without it the carpenters' production is just ridiculous; it's not the first one only because you need three inhabitants to be able to build it. The next one could be a school, then

One thing you should consider is employing one colonist as stateman as soon as possible. It will eat just two tons of food and it will benefit you greatly, not only producing liberty bells but also very much improving your prospects for that particular colony in the mid and long run. It will be a long time though until you can afford a specialist for this (you'll have to hire the first one in Europe --although you can train the rest yourself at a university).

As soon as your colony is producing wood, liberty bells, and not starving (yay), start sending free colonists to visit the indians so they can learn some profession. If you erase the training of colonists keep at least one of each kind even if you don't need that now, save them for later and they can still work as non-specialists (you'll have to be content with this in many cases until much later). If the indians offer you a profession you don't need AND already have at least one of those, you can as well refuse politely.

Hitting the mother lode here is getting a farmer and a a fisherman from the indians for free without need to hire them at Europe. Remember that once you get one specialist he can teach as many (free colonists or indentured servants) as you like in your colonies; but especially if you find more than one village offering fishermen, accept since you'll need lots of those. Once you've got the docks built and expert fishermen in all the ocean squares, and maybe an expert farmer or even more if you really like, you may get amazed at your food surplus.

The jesuit missionaries immigrating from Europe are more valuable than gold, always use them to found expert missions, they REALly make the difference keeping the Indians from getting raving mad. Don't bother with non-expert missions, they can't be upgraded later, the first impression is the lasting impression I guess.

Well in the end I've been more specific than I though I would be, you could well follow this kind of starting walkthrough, but if you don't I hope it helped you anyway.

[Incappucciato d'Ombra]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Japofran @ Nov 14 2007, 06:27 PM) [snapback]319210[/snapback]</div>

@MM:

About starting region, see this post. in the highest difficulty levels the rival nations could swarm you militarily the same even if you're really fast developing (because basically they cheat).
[/b]

Eh eh eh... if you know "how"... you can swarm the fool (& stupid) european nation nearest to you even at the highest difficult level

As i wrote in the post cited by you there is 4 entry point, 1 for each nation (but only 2 available for the player in random map). Now an example :

if you start on location X,42 you know that there is an european nation who started on location X,56 (other 2 starting location are too far away). Just sail south-west for 2-3 turn, place the first colony around location X,48-52. Contact the europan nation... in this condition he ALWAYS offer peace.

Take in mind that at higher difficult level, AI tend to create 2 colony since the beginning (but not always) this means ... weaker colony and no military unit

At this point the European Nation will tend to improve the economy (but beware... this is true only for few turns) instead of military... build a little military force and you will be able to conquer the 2 enemy colony and ALL of the other men that will be sended to create further cities

Generally i will be able to stolen from 7 to 12 unit from the stupid European Nation nearest to my capitol :w00t:

[Japo]

Yes but I myself don't like to exploit AI vulnerabilities on purpose, it's already bad enough that they exist, it kinda beats the game's purpose... But thanks for geekism's sake.

[Mighty Midget]

@Japofran: Thanks a bunch Your post is marked for future references. Very helpful!


EDIT: LOL Did anyone say the battle algorithms were flawed? I just lost a veteran dragoon against an unarmed settler! YAY! Man, this game is lacking.

[Grand Dad]

Oho! Mighty Midget you don't have to start where the game 'throws' you! If are willing to spend a few years just explore up North along the coast if start in the Americas! But I am sure you know that already, you didn't become a Mod. for nothing !

[Mighty Midget]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Grand Dad @ Nov 17 2007, 02:53 PM) [snapback]319446[/snapback]</div>

...you didn't become a Mod. for nothing !
[/b]

Ummm. no comments LOL Ok, I started on the fixed America map, and that was a whole different story. Much, much better. Still, the unbelievably crappy combat algorithms have put me off quite a bit. I don't see much point in building up an army to face the King's men, when a settler wipes out a veteran dragoon. That would mean I need like 20 to 1 and that's just too stupid, even for me.

[Magus]

Colonization - Whole Weeks of sleepless nights! I like this game till now and was very happy to find out, that there is a Remake. It's a open-source-game which is a very good adaption of the original. It is called Free Col. The Graphic uses the newest Graphics but all the principles which made it's "antique" forefather so fascinating, are also implemented in the New Version.

[laiocfar]

Hahaha, thats an small random factor, dont get mad about it.

BTW, King´s Army is easier to defeat than any of enemy powers. you only need to follow 3 rules: 1) Be ready, to be ready means to got endless stocks of horsies and at least 24 veteran drags and 5 artilleries by costal city. 2) Movilization of army, make sure that all the damm drags get unfortified inside 100% rebel cities, all arts fortified in costal cities, all ships in habor and get many forts as you can get. 3) Viciusly and fearless strike any attemp of beachead.

[Mighty Midget]

Random factor? It looks to me that the tile the attacker's on puts a lot of weight on the randomness scale. I found out (by reloading) there was no way in hell my dragoon could capture the settler, that is, not until I moved the dragoon to the next tile of same type, then I always won.... That's not much random.