My first game... this might be laughable

[windh]

Hi all.

I´m picking up Col again. I played Col I way back when I was a kid and I have played Col IV a little.

However, now it´s time to start again. Seriously.
I am starting tonight (GMT+1) as G. Washington, Western Hemisphere (Large), Epic speed and PILGRIM mode.....

I have NO IDEA on what strategy to play (if you feel like it, do come with inputs), but I´ll update the progress in this thread, all for you fellow COLers amusement.

I´ll also post screenshots of my game throughout...

Let´s get to it.


/windh

 

[dalgo]

Welcome to the forum windh

I'm looking forward to following your story.

 

[windh]

Thanx dalgo!



Turn 3: Feeling confident...





(ok, kidding aside... now I´ll make some progress)

 

[windh]

Well here´s what it looks like at 124..

Currently increasing population and I´ve started to produce Tools.. Not weapons yet...

All comments welcome..











/windh

 

[windh]

No remarks?? I guess I´m playing perfect..

Well the adventures continues.. Firing up...

 

[dalgo]

It looks like your background in the original game has helped you to a solid starting position. Some comments:

Johntown and Carningham are a long way apart. I see you are building a road between the two colonies but it is still a fair distance to move goods between them. The Rum you are producing needs to be sold in Europe, have you built a wagon yet?

You should have some defence, preferably a cannon, in each colony.

Has Peter Minuit been taken yet? He is a Trade Founding Father and is perhaps the best FF in the game so if he is still available you should work towards acquiring him.

You could send the Jesuit missionary in Johntown to Para to found a mission there (but remember to designate him as a missionary when he leaves the colony).

The Indentured Servant in Carningham would be more productive as a farmer, or you could send him to school.

Johntown needs wood to start its building program but has no forests of its own. A new colony beside the nearby river could produce extra lumber.

If you also provide a save game it would help to see the full picture.

 

[windh]

It looks like your background in the original game has helped you to a solid starting position. Some comments:

Johntown and Carningham are a long way apart. I see you are building a road between the two colonies but it is still a fair distance to move goods between them. The Rum you are producing needs to be sold in Europe, have you built a wagon yet?

You should have some defence, preferably a cannon, in each colony.

Has Peter Minuit been taken yet? He is a Trade Founding Father and is perhaps the best FF in the game so if he is still available you should work towards acquiring him.

You could send the Jesuit missionary in Johntown to Para to found a mission there (but remember to designate him as a missionary when he leaves the colony).

The Indentured Servant in Carningham would be more productive as a farmer, or you could send him to school.

Johntown needs wood to start its building program but has no forests of its own. A new colony beside the nearby river could produce extra lumber.

If you also provide a save game it would help to see the full picture.

Thanx for the points! Yes, I´ve got a wagon to transfer stuff between Johnstown and Corningham, not automated yet..

I played a few more rounds yesterday, but no big changes.. I bought a larger ship!

I passed on P. Minuit though.... Is it possible to take FF lower down in the line (if nobody else has taken him?)


I attached my save file!

/windh

 

[dalgo]

You are making good progress with most of the map explored, plenty of expert farmers for a dependable food supply and several industries making export goods. However you could do with a tobacconist's shop in Johntown and a rum distillery in Corningham. Most of your expert colonists are working at their professions except for a master carpenter working as a farmer in Corningham.

Thanx for the points! Yes, I´ve got a wagon to transfer stuff between Johnstown and Corningham, not automated yet..

Don't be in a hurry to automate your wagons, it is not a very efficient system so you are better to run them manually.

I played a few more rounds yesterday, but no big changes.. I bought a larger ship!

That Merchantman will be very useful for taking your Rum and Cigars to Europe. You will also want to invest in a Galleon at some stage to carry your Treasure Wagons.

I passed on P. Minuit though.... Is it possible to take FF lower down in the line (if nobody else has taken him?)

Unfortunately once you have passed on an FF you cannot recruit him later.

 

[windh]

You are making good progress with most of the map explored, plenty of expert farmers for a dependable food supply and several industries making export goods. However you could do with a tobacconist's shop in Johntown and a rum distillery in Corningham. Most of your expert colonists are working at their professions except for a master carpenter working as a farmer in Corningham.



Don't be in a hurry to automate your wagons, it is not a very efficient system so you are better to run them manually.




That Merchantman will be very useful for taking your Rum and Cigars to Europe. You will also want to invest in a Galleon at some stage to carry your Treasure Wagons.



Unfortunately once you have passed on an FF you cannot recruit him later.

Thanx for these great points!

 

[windh]

Been away for the weekend, will continue the adventure later today!

 

[Patchmaster]

Currently increasing population and I´ve started to produce Tools.. Not weapons yet...

I'm all of one game ahead of you, so take this for what it's worth. It seemed to me that ore was next to worthless except to make tools. Tools were primarily needed to make guns, though some units and buildings require tools also. Both guns and tools were fairly cheap in Europe through all of my first game. The upshot is that it seemed largely a waste of time mining ore and making tools and guns. Better to use the colonists to work on high ticket items and their needed raw materials and simply buy tools and guns in Europe.

Perhaps the cost of tools and guns varies more at the higher difficulty levels.

Not to hijack your thread, but since you're generically asking about hints and strategies for beginners, I started my second game last night. In the other Civ games I've taken more of the get-along-with-the-neighbors approach to the early game. After reading some strategy tips here, when I discovered the Dutch just a bit to my north I decided to take a more aggressive approach. I invaded with my scout right after discovering them, waltzed right in and took a city and a hardy pioneer.

Then I discovered they had another city just a few tiles further north. Next turn I took that one.

Then I found the English just to the north of what used to be the Dutch territory. I took one city from them and razed another. Also captured another hardy pioneer.

Just a few tiles to the west I found the Spanish. Two turns later New Madrid was mine. Two turns after that I razed their other city. They took back New Madrid when their scout wandered back into town, but I quickly dispatched him and retook the city.

About this same time my ship sailed past a nearby island and discovered another English settlement. I loaded up my scout and sailed into town.

I'm just a small number of turns into this game and I already have more cities than I did in the entirety of my last game. I've got a system of roads connecting most of the cities and I'm improving the resource tiles to start specializing.

So, next time, if you bump into another civ early, send in the cavalry and take his city while it's wide open and easy pickings. It appears to be a great way to get a huge early start.

 

[dalgo]

The use you make of tools depends largely on the type of game you play. Tools are cheap in Europe so it would seem better to buy them there than make your own. If you are aiming at a quick game with just two or three colonies and an early declaration of independence this is certainly the way to go.

However if you are planning to build a big colonial Empire on a large map then you will need a lot of tools. The more you buy the more the price rises, and there is another factor to take into account too. Your tax rate in Europe is governed by the amount of goods you trade - not the value. This means if you are buying a large amount of cheap tools your tax will rise faster than if you made them yourself. Again this is more important in a long game.

 

[windh]

Turn 225


Well I guess my current game is right in between.. I only have three cities at the moment, but I don´t think I´ll need more.. My population is about 50 and I am ready to start producing guns. I can produce a MASSIVE amount of tools quickly, so I don´t think that will be a problem. I am working on the rebel sentiment, and will try to start mass produce "bells" any time soon..

 

[reddishrecue]

Cool, you got screenies on too.

 

[windh]

I will be continuing further tonight... I am now around turn 250.


Current stats...

 

[collynx]

I would raze those French and Dutch colonies.

- they might take a vital founding father away from you
- they might declare independence before you and possibly win the war against their King
- attacking them your armies will get vital experience needed against the better REF units
- you will get a boost to your economy when you raze their colonies and then make a pair of a privateer and a merchantman - then you'll get pioneers snatched from their sinking caravels, and when you find a colony the poor Frenchmen and Dutchmen try to found again, they often have a pioneer working nearby. Raze the colony, take the pioneer and use him yourself

The foreign colonies are not much use to you. You can trade with them, but they use their money quickly and usually don't have a lot of it, and they might join a war against Indians or against other European colonies, but they very likely won't help you against the REF. The foreign colonies are pretty much useless, a potential threat to you - raze them or capture them. The Dutch are more of a threat to you as they are farther away from you. The French you can stab in the back easily, if they declare independence before you.

Attacking them isn't very civilized, though.

 

[dalgo]

I agree with collynx, although I'd probably retain Guadeloupe as it provides a good link between your colonies. You could also add a new colony halfway between Guadeloupe and Johntown.

 

[windh]

Thank you very much, gentlemen! That will be my move then! I´ll start mass-producing guns... I´ll start with the Dutch.. Perhaps try to convey France to declare war on them too? And then I´ll stab them in the back... I think I´ll save before I attack, just to be safe..

(Is multiple saves considered "cheating" in the community? )


/windh


p.s.

another thing... I now have 67 units... when is it good time to stop growing? I guess the greater the population, the longer it will take to induce rebel sentiment?

 

[dalgo]

(Is multiple saves considered "cheating" in the community? )

Speaking personally I'd say that this is an individual game so any way of playing it is fine. In effect you are only competing with yourself. In your first time through the game it makes sense to try different strategies to see what works and what doesn't, and this is applicable to single battles also.

 

[windh]

Speaking personally I'd say that this is an individual game so any way of playing it is fine. In effect you are only competing with yourself. In your first time through the game it makes sense to try different strategies to see what works and what doesn't, and this is applicable to single battles also.

Cool, thanx.

Any words on when to stop "growing"? Where does the "energy" go when I chose this?


Onwards!