Wow! I downloaded this patch yesterday and it's really GREAT! It's so military oriented you will enjoy it profoundly. I should have played as the Spanish for even greater enjoyment. Anyway, I started the game and noticed a BIG change, GUN price in Europe is second to only silver.
- now before I continue, you have to see that: Silver requires no processing, you just mine and dump 'em, guns on the other hand, go through TWO stages, ore --> tools --> guns. what's more from 1 mountain with silver (or river), you get 6 units max a turn with 1 man (silver miner), from the same mountain you get 12 guns a turn with 3 men (1 ore miner, 1 blacksmith, 1 gunsmiths).
BUT, guns are still the NEXT silver in this patch because the building requirements are so simple, and also, the manufacturing process is tied in with the development process (you will build tools anyway), so the infrastructure for the gun industry is so very simple, and extremely profitable!
anyway, so, as I launch my game, having noticed this, I build nothing else but gun and tool buildings, I even rush buy several buildings from the start when I have money.
Then I sell back to Europe loads and loads of guns.
My Colony is an arm dealer industry, nothing else! runs on lumber and ore and food, so simple to manage, beautiful!
I got luck for getting 2 master gunsmith and a master Blacksmith early so it helps me with a head start.
Around turn 50 on, I started buying Veteran Soldiers and horses from Europe instead of raising them, and create an army of Dragoons and then run around and kill off everybody! It's so much fun!
Buy turn 100+ with everybody else almost dead and their ships keeps running around, I got bored so I just quit, my population by that time is a mere 60+ colonists with an army of 10 veteran soldiers maxed out with promotions.
I also noticed that it seems the AI got FRIGATES spawned automatically for them? For I bought Frigates from Europe as well to kill of everybody on the high sea as well, but was not very successful, once my 3 (heavily promoted) frigates rushed in and kill off 2 Spanish Frigates and no other ship is around and it's on the high sea (the area to leave for Europe), all of a sudden, next turn, a Spanish Frigate just appear right there and sink 1 of my Frigates!
So I guess every time you kill of enemy frigates they just get new ones free? I don't enjoy that part so much, though with no land to land anymore, they are but dead meat anyway. It's like the AI is cheating, by turn 100+ there are like 30+ ships from all nations running around everywhere any moment. it's just impossible to control the sea as well as in land.
My game was a Revolutionary level, large map, cheers! ^^