A CivIV Players Guide For Adapting To Colonization - Walkthrough Game

Prologue

These articles are written from my perspective as a Civ IV (Immortal) player and Colonization total beginner. I found it quite difficult, and frustrating, to even get a basic grasp on what the hell I was supposed to be doing in Colonization! After reading through the manual multiple times, and browsing the Civilopedia, I was none the wiser. After playing a few games and still not understanding what was going on I realised I had to develop a strategy just for learning how to play the game!


The Learning Strategy

I played a game where the only concern was to learn about the basic game mechanics: settlements, units, terrain, buildings, resources, professions, trading, economy, diplomacy, etc. During the game I constantly referred to the Civilopedia and manual about every aspect I encountered. There was no intention to complete the game or declare independence. Also, I was not concerned with combat, founding fathers and rebel sentiment.

In the second learning game my focus was on getting into a position where I could declare independence and learn about the mechanics of the war against the Royal Expeditionary Forces. This game taught me some important strategic lessons about generating rebel sentiment and building military units!

In the third game I wanted to put everything I had learnt into practice and have a war with the REF where I had some chance of victory. The focus of this game was to develop war strategies, I planned to play out a couple of different strategies from the declaration of independence point. When the wars started the REF had about 4 or 5 more troops than me.

The first strategy was to just defend the major coastal settlement with soldiers and cannons stationed in the garrison, counter-attacking after the enemy had weakened itself from it's attack. This strategy failed miserably. I had the Dom Pedro founding father who provides Minuteman I and Veteran I promotions but this was not enough for the soldiers and cannons to successfully counter-attack and defeat the enemy dragoons and artillery. I suffered heavy losses and there was no chance of winning.

The second strategy was to defend the coastal settlement with soldiers and cannons in the garrison again. But this time have dragoons positioned on a wooded hill next to the settlement. Whilst the dragoons could not take advantage of the terrain's defensive bonus it served to stop the enemy taking up the strongest defensive position in the area. With the posse of dragoons taking up the counter-attacking role the war panned out quite differently; resulting in a crushing defeat for the REF.


Walkthrough

The last learning game is the basis for this walkthrough\tutorial\strategy guide.

The walkthrough is quite broad in it's focus and covers most area's of the game. What it does not cover is war with the natives or other European colonies, extensive diplomacy, automated trade routes and trade with the other European colonies. Simply because for my style of play, and on Pilgrim difficulty, I have yet to see a need for any of things. I also do not intentionally employ any exploits.

I hope this guide serves as a basic framework for you to learn how to play the game, and have an enjoyable time doing it, and as a springboard to go on and develop strategies and tactics that are in keeping with your own personal style.

"There are many paths to Buddhahood".

Whilst the fundamental principals of your strategy should remain constant the details of its execution must be flexible and fluid. For a strategy to be successful you need to adapt the execution to take advantage of, and maximise, the situation.


Demeanour

I'm feeling fairly chill so the colony will be respectful to the natives whose country it's stealing. The colony will aim to have good relations with the native tribes throughout and maximise what they have to offer. It will have little to do with the other European colonies unless open borders are needed to access other native settlements. It will meet all demands made by natives and the King.


Settlements

Whilst I enjoy strategy I am not a fan of management. Therefore the colony will consist of three settlements:

• Settlement 1 will have primary functions of: port, a "Mega City" generating plenty of food to sustain a large population, and later on a processor and generator of a raw material.

• Settlement 2 will be inland and have a primary function of processor and generator of a raw material. It's location will be chosen based on the abundance of raw material and food.

• Settlement 3 will have a primary function of supplying lumber to the other settlements. It's location will be chosen based on abundance of wood. Preferably an inland settlement but go coastal if the terrain dictates.

Game Plan

I break down the game into three phases and have a rough idea of how long each phase will last. The following turn numbers are approximate.

• Phase I (Turn 0 - 150): Establishment and development of the three settlements, the population and the economy.

• Phase II (Turn 150 - 200): This is the golden age of the colony where everything is going full swing and life is good. It is in this phase where we prepare for independence and generate rebel sentiment.

• Phase III (Turn 200 - 250): At the zenith of our golden age we hit 50% rebel sentiment and declare independence from the mother country. Thus beginning our descent into the madness of war. Hopefully it will be a swift and decisive victory for us. But that is dependent on whether the leader is worth his salt or not!

Leader

As I want to emphasise the good relations and benefits of the native tribes I choose Samuel de Champlain, of France, for the leader.

• Natives are more tolerant to territory encroachment.
• +100% native conversion rate from missionaries.
• -50% time required to learn a native skill.

Founding Fathers

The two founding fathers I want to join me are Cyrus McCormick and Dom Pedro I. Cyrus for the +1 food on all plots with 2 food; this is handy in Phase II when settlement populations are large. Dom Pedro for the Minuteman I & Veteran I promotions and +100% great general emergence; when at war in Phase III I want to have every little edge available, they can make the difference between defeat and victory. Other founding fathers will be chosen based on the needs of the colony, but I will be more welcoming to those who provide native related benefits.


Game Settings

• Difficulty: Pilgrim
• Speed: Normal
• Map: A New World
• Size: Standard
• Climate: Temperate
• Sea Level: Medium

Starting Game

Attached is a save of the game at Turn 1.

Overview

In Phase I we seek to establish our colony and develop it to the point where it can start preparing to declare independence from the mother country.

Civ IV players will find many of the interface elements in Colonization familiar. The combat, unit movement and diplomacy systems are the same as Civ IV but most of the rest of the game is not. Therefore your civilisation development strategies do not apply here. Neither do your strategies for victory. There is only one victory condition in Colonization: to win the war against the Royal Expeditionary Forces.


Settlements

Settlements are the equivalent of Civ IV cities. However, they function, and are managed, quite differently. In Colonization there does not appear to be an intrinsic need to have a large number of settlements. The number of settlements you have will be based primarily on game settings and your playing style. In this game I want to have just three settlements.

Having a low number of settlements offers me the following benefits: less management and less risk of angering the native tribes from encroaching on their territory. The benefit of having more cities would be: more money from trade goods and maybe more units from excess food generation if you did a specialised settlement. The downsides would be: more management, more chance of angering the natives and potentially weak settlements that actually degrade the overall quality of the colony by spreading yourself to thin.

Unlike the city's you have in Civ IV there is no penalty incurred for the number of settlements you have. Also, there is no intrinsic need to grab large amounts of territory. The main reason for wanting to grab territory in Colonization is to secure choice spots for your settlements and mark territory for later expansion. A secondary reason would be as a tactical measure aimed to hurt another European colony by halting their expansion. I have not had the need to use this tactic.

On these game settings I see no advantage in having more than 5-6 settlements.


Settlement Workspaces

In Civ IV a city can work the 20 tiles of the fat cross surrounding the city, as well as the city tile itself. It also has access to all the resources within it's cultural borders. In Colonization a settlement can only work the 8 tiles surrounding the settlement; the tile the settlement is on is automatically worked. You have access only to the resources on these 9 tiles regardless of how big your borders are.

In Civ IV your city's population are anonymous people. In Colonization your settlements population are your units. To work one of the tiles you assign a unit to work it, the unit can then harvest one of the materials that the tile can produce. The central settlement tile is worked automatically, you don't assign a unit to it. From this tile all the types of raw materials it produces are harvested; the trade off being you can't build an improvement on it or assign a unit to it that would boost it's output.


Settlement Location

To trade with Europe you need a coastal settlement so you can load/unload goods from ships. It would be possible to play a game without having a coastal settlement but you would be limited to transporting only units on the sea and with no capability to build ships.

The location for Settlement 1 is chosen by the first place I come to that I believe to be on a major land mass and that has plentiful materials and, typically, a bonus sea resource.

In Civ IV your starting point is usually on, or near, a prime location. In Colonization you have to do a bit of scouting for a prime starting location. How long you have to scout for varies from game to game. With these game settings there is no need to fret about how long you are scouting for as there is not the same pressure to grab land and make every turn count in the early phase like there is in Civ IV. It's better to spend some turns confirming you are on a large land mass and finding a primo location for your settlement and colony.

The location for Settlement 2 will be chosen after scouting out the interior of the land. I want Settlement 2 to be a big producer/processor of raw materials. Inland locations are typically more abundant in raw materials and are not subject to attack from the sea.

The location for Settlement 3 will be heavily dictated by the map. I want a site that has 3 or 4 decent lumber tiles and enough food resources to be able to work them and do other things. Again, an inland location would be my choice for the defence reasons but a sea location does offer the benefit of better food resources as, typically, the primo wood locations are in low food area's. Also a second port, away from the first, has the potential to allow you to trade with Europe whilst avoiding the REF ships during the war, if necessary.


Settlement Buildings

Settlements are always building something. The rate at which you can build something is dictated by the amount of hammers a settlement produces. A settlement always creates 1 hammer per turn. To increase the amount of hammers the settlement produces you assign units to work in the Carpenter's Shop, or its upgrade the Lumber Mill.

The amount of extra hammers produced is determined by which type of unit is assigned to work there and which building you have. A Master Carpenter is the most productive unit and the Lumber Mill is the most productive building. Additional hammer bonuses can be had from Rebel Sentiment and a couple of the Founding Fathers. Making hammers consumes the lumber resource, therefore, if you want to build things at a reasonable to fast rate you need to stay stocked up with lumber. You can rush the completion of a building by paying for it in cash.

Lumber Mills are an important building to have not only for the increase in production hammers but because they allow a large number of other important buildings to be built. Therefore I want Lumber Mills in all the settlements fairly early i.e. about the third thing built.


Units

Unlike Civ IV the only units you can build are Ships, Wagons and Cannons. Units can be acquired in the following ways: free immigration, purchasing from Europe, excess food in your colony, converted natives and Founding Father bonuses.

I want obtain my units primarily from free immigration and native conversion. And secondarily from purchasing specialists in Europe. Immigration from Europe is a random affair where you have no control in what unit you get. Native conversion always supplies a Converted Native! A Converted Native gives a bonus when working a tile and can be educated to take up a profession.

In Phase I units will all be working settlement tiles or buildings. Except for one or two Hardy Pioneers, a Seasoned Scout and some Missionaries.


Military Units and Rebel Sentiment

In Phase I there will be no military units or generation of Rebel Sentiment. The reason being that doing either of these things will result in the REF increasing it's troops. I'm banking on good relations with the natives to counteract the need to have military units stationed in the garrisons. And I have no intention of attacking the natives or other Europeans.


Tile Improvements and Roads

In Civ IV you have workers that can build tile improvements and roads. In Colonization they are called Pioneers and Hardy Pioneers. Hardy Pioneers work quicker than a Pioneer. One or two Hardy Pioneers should be sufficient for this colony. A Tile Improvement increases the output of specific raw materials on a tile. Roads increase the distance a unit can move in one turn. By the end of Phase I most settlement tiles will have an improvement built on them and the settlements will be connected with roads quite early on.


Scouting

In Phase I there will be two types of scouting activity.

Firstly the scouting of the map to find a location for Settlement 1. This will be accomplished by the initial starting units.

Secondly scouting for money and native knowledge. Using a seasoned scout to find ancient ruins, burial grounds and native villages for gold. This scouting activity will be the main source of money during Phase I. He will also reveal the locations for Settlements 2 & 3 in the process.

When you find a native village enter it and speak with the chief. If you are the first European there you will receive a gift like gold, promotion or map. The chief will also reveal what kind of specialist he can train and what goods his village wants. Learning these things make it worth continuing to visit new native villages with the scout even after the other Europeans have cleaned up the rest of the map.

The only ways it seems you can acquire a Seasoned Scout is via random immigration from Europe or by sending a unit to a native village that offers that training, you can't buy them outright. With the initial gold I will pay to hurry the immigration of the first half dozen units from Europe and hope that a Seasoned Scout is amongst them. If not then buy horses and convert a colonist into a scout.

It is probably beneficial to have two Seasoned Scouts moving in opposite directions so you can beat the other Europeans to more of the dough.


Native Conversion

Establishing missions in native villages produces Converted Native units. I want to maximise the amount of units who join the colony this way. Samuel de Champlain provides a +100% conversion rate, Jesuit Missionaries make missions +50% effective. I want to establish missions early on, if Jesuit Missionaries are not forthcoming from the European immigration then purchase them. The missions will soon be generating Converted Natives at a rate that makes it a very worthwhile investment of time, units and money.

Certain Founding Fathers also provide helpful bonuses. Bartolome de las Casas makes missions +50% more effective. Thomas Hooker gives 3 Jesuit Missionaries. Roger Williams provides +25% conversion rate. I will aim to get the first two Founding fathers to join me.

The benefit of Converted Natives is that they give a production boost when they are working a settlement tile. The trade off is that they cannot be converted to a military unit and aren't as productive as a free colonist when assigned to working in a building. This is not a problem, the pro's outweigh the cons.


Immigration

The rate at which free immigrants appear on the European docks is governed by the amount of crosses your colony generates. A Cathedral worked by three Firebrand Preachers will generate a steady stream of immigrants. This is what will be done in Settlement 1. I will not be looking to generate crosses in the other two settlements. If three Firebrand Preachers are not forthcoming via immigration by the end of Phase I then I will purchase them. There is less urgency to purchase Firebrand Preachers as other Colonists can work the Church or Cathedral just not as effectively.


Specialists

Purchasing certain specialists from Europe may be necessary if they are not forthcoming via immigration.

Jesuit Missionaries and a Hardy Pioneer have an early priority. I want them to be passengers on the first few trips back from Europe.

Expert Lumberjack's and Master Carpenter's have the next priority.

Expert processors such as Master Tobacconist are the next priority. Settlement 1 is to specialise in processing one raw material and Settlement 2 is doing the same. By the end of Phase I we want to have three specialists of the appropriate type working in the relevant upgraded processing building in both settlements.

Firebrand Preachers are the next priority as detailed previously.

Elder Statesmen are the last priority. By the end of Phase I, ideally, I want to have three Elder Statesmen ready to work the Town Hall of every settlement. Besides buying them from Europe I plan to use a University in Settlement I to convert some colonists to Elder Statesmen -- more about education in Phase II. Nathaniel Hawthorne (Founding Father) also provides three Elder Statesmen.

Note 1: Do not confuse buying units from Europe with paying to hurry units that are waiting to emigrate. You buy a unit by clicking the $ button above the immigration queue and choosing the unit you want from the pop-up. The units in the immigration queue are being "bought" by the crosses you generate. Clicking on them hurry's their immigration by paying gold instead of waiting for the right amount of crosses to accumulate.

Note 2: Expert Farmers, Fishermen & Planters will be obtained via free native training.


Native Training

Each native village offers free training of one type of specialist. I want to take advantage of this. Samuel de Champlain gives -50% time required to learn a native skill. After visiting a native village and speaking with the chief the skill the village can train your colonists with is displayed underneath the village name on the map screen.

First priority will be Expert Fishermen and Expert Farmers to provide boosts in food production.

Second priority will be Expert Planters to provide boosted harvests of the crops I'm specialising in.

Converted Native's will make up the bulk of the units trained in native villages.


Native Trading

Selling goods to the natives can be a lucrative business as they will quite often pay two to three times the price you paid for it. You can see which goods a native village wants from the icon on the right hand side of the village name on the map screen.

The natives seems to start of with a large amount of cash that decreases as the game goes on. So early trading yields the best results. I plan to build a galleon, purchase goods and sail directly to native villages before I start full blown trading with Europe. As I'm aiming for good relations it doesn't hurt to sell guns and horses to the natives. In fact it can be beneficial if they are nicely armed and you have a defensive pact with them when you start the war against the REF.

If you have some spare units not doing anything productive then it can be worth purchasing raw materials to process from the natives as you can quite often get them for a cheap price.


Economy

In Phase I income will initially come from a Seasoned Scout visiting burial grounds, ruins and native villages. When a galleon has been built goods will be purchased in Europe then sold directly to native villages. When a second Galleon has been built full blown trading with Europe will start proper. This will be near the end of the phase.


Walkthrough

Sailing east I came to an island with two native villages on, the Hardy Pioneer was dropped off to make contact with the chiefs and I carried on eastwards. Sighted land and found a potential spot for Settlement 1 between two native villages. It had bonus crab and tobacco resources. Dropped off the soldier to check it wasn't an island and to found Settlement 1, then sailed back to Europe. Spent all the starting money on hurrying immigrants, looking for a Seasoned Scout and Jesuit Missionaries, which I got.

When I had sailed back to my new land, with the Seasoned Scout and a Jesuit Missionary, the soldier had founded Settlement 1 (Port Smokey) between the two native villages. The Seasoned Scout then started his job of visiting villages, burial grounds and ruins. Before the end of Phase I he had revealed the whole map and visited every village. The missionary went to the closest native village and established a mission.

The rest of the phase panned out according to the strategy. I don't think it's necessary to give a blow by blow account of what happened next as what I have already written covers it really. So, I'll summarise the state of play at turn 150:

Settlement 1 (Port Smokey) was the port and tobacco harvesting/processor. Settlement 2 (Towel Town) was inland and cotton harvester/processor. Settlement 3 (Timber Town) was coastal and supplying lumber to the Settlement 1 & 2. It turned out I was on a small continent with only natives. The other Europeans were on the larger continent with more native tribes.

Bartolome de las Casas and Thomas Hooker Founding Fathers joined me. 6 Jesuit Missionaries had established missions which were chucking out converted natives at a fast rate. I mainly sent these converted natives straight into training to become expert planters, farmers and fishermen.

When the money from the Seasoned Scouts ops had finished I had Galleons to do import/retail to the natives and then start selling some goods to Europe.

I had not generated any rebel sentiment nor did I have any military units. The Royal Expeditionary Force's had not increased their size since Turn 1. Relations were good with the locals.


Turn 150 - The State Of Play


World Map




Colony Territory




Revolution Advisor




Founding Fathers




Units




Buildings




Settlement 1 - Buildings (In Build Order)

Dock
Warehouse
Church
Lumber Mill (1 Master Carpenter, 1 Veteran Soldier, 1 Expert Farmer)
Wagon Train
Dry Dock
Galleon
Cathedral (2 Firebrand Preachers, 1 Elder Statesman)
Tobacconists Shop
Warehouse Expansion
Galleon
Cigar Factory (3 Master Tobacconists)
Galleon
Schoolhouse
College (3 Free Colonists)
Armoury




Settlement 1 - Work Tiles

All tiles being worked have had the relevant improvement built.

2 Expert Farmers
2 Expert Tobacco Planters
1 Expert Lumberjack
1 Expert Fisherman




Settlement 2 - Buildings (In Build Order)

Warehouse
Lumbermill (Expert Ore Miner)
Wagon Train
Weaver's Shop (2 Master Weaver's, 1 Master Blacksmith)




Settlement 2 - Work Tiles

All tiles have relevant improvement built, or being built, except one.

3 Expert Cotton Planters
2 Expert Farmers
1 Expert Tobacco Planter
1 Expert Silver Miner
1 Converted Native (Lumber)




Settlement 3 - Buildings (In Build Order)

Dock
Warehouse
Lumber Mill (Master Blacksmith, Expert Ore Miner, Expert Silver Miner)
Wagon Train
Dry Dock
Church (Seasoned Scout, Master Distiller)




Settlement 3 - Work Tiles

All tiles have the relevant improvement built.

3 Expert Fishermen
3 Expert Lumberjacks
1 Converted Native




Units Not In Settlements

2 Hardy Pioneers were building improvements.
1 Firebrand Preacher, 1 Master Weaver & 1 Expert Lumberjack were on the way back from Europe.
3 Galleons
1 Caravel
3 Wagon Trains
And same Converted Natives in villages training.


Turn 150 - Save Game

Here's the save game for anyone following this or playing along.

Nice start! Looking forward to next bit.

Old Coot said:

Nice start! Looking forward to next bit.

Click to expand...

Cheers, I've added the "preliminary briefing" for Phase I.

This thread delivers...

EDIT: Thanks all for the warm welcome especially that dwarf dude... ?

Must give proper respect, the man delivered!
Well written, concise and full of inciteful observations.

Well done Daily Barrage! :applause:

Also....

Reported this thread...
It should be in the strategy guide section...

Welcome to the Forums baronbb.

Cheers, for the props guys.

Sorry, I haven't had the time to get back into this and update it till now.

I've completed the Phase I walkthrough and will see if I can complete the whole thing by the end of the week.

You mention purchasing Jesuit Missionaries; I haven't found a way to do this.

They may appear on the docks in Europe.

The native trading thing was a great tip -- I hadn't exploited that. I plan to trade non-military items like rum, not guns or horses, since my plan is to use the natives and the other two civs in my game as target practice to build up the experience for all the Dragoons I'll need to wipe out the huge REF force I'll be up against when I'm ready to declare independence down the road.

If you want to get lots of Founding Fathers, you need to make it a priority to build up Liberty Bells. I'm currently at a turn in the 60s in a game on the Pilgrim level, and I've snagged dozens of Founding Fathers, have already reached 50% rebel sentiment, and have a huge main city that has almost built out all the buildings, at which point I'll send the three Expert Carpenters to the huge second city and have them go to town building out that city too. Yes, the REF is building up, but I'm building up population fast.

The best units to get from Europe are first, Firebrand Preachers; second, Elder Statesmen; and a somewhat distant third, Expert Carpenters. You should snag these whenever possible by using the "save game before triggering a change in the queue, then checking to see if you've got a priority unit to buy in the wings" exploit. In the early going these are good too: Jesuit Missionaries, Hardy Pioneers, Expert Lumberjacks, very early on an Expert Fisherman for each Fish or Crab resource (not so much later, when you can train Expert Fishermen in native villages), and finally an expert processor for each abundant and profitable resource you have in your cities, such as cotton or tobacco.

Oh, and I would suggest gathering processable resources in the raw materials city, and shipping them for processing in your main city to take advantage of the production bonuses (plus abundant hammers production for building processing facilities) of the large rebel sentiment your three Elder Statesmen have rabble roused with their newspaper.

Thanks alot. I haven't had the proper amount of time to learn these things on my own and was starting to let this game languish. I appreciate the detail.

To trade with Europe you need a coastal settlement so you can load/unload goods from ships. It would be possible to play a game without having a coastal settlement but you would be limited to transporting only units on the sea and with no capability to build ships.

Click to expand...

Just wanted to correct something here. You can move goods from a wagon train to a ship in any settlement, you have access to. This includes native villages, just select the good on the wagon train and push the load onto transport button. Thus you don't actually need to have a coastal city in order to trade goods with europe. Not having one might actually make the war of independence a bit easier, since there is less of a need to worry about those nasty ships of the line. This tactic would probably work really well with the military founding father giving ranger 1 and mountaineer 1 promotions, since it would allow all your foot soldiers to use guerrilla tactics as soon as they had gotten at least one promotion.