A few Questions

[yanner39]

1. Founding Fathers

In some posts/articles, it says "Go for Peter Minuit" or "Go for FF that gives you 3 Jesuit Missionaries" etc...What does this mean, "Go for..."

I understand how to generate points, but I was under the impression it was random. Also, should I "build" these trade points inside my 1st or 2nd settlement. By doing so, I forego building infrastructure, correct?

2. The importance of the wagon train

I find myself early on in wasting alot of raw materials because I can't store them. I try and build warehouses, but I can also build wagon trains and move the good around. So which is better? I mean, both take alot of time to produce.

I guess tied into this question is that this is a game that has a specific turn limit and that you could waste alot of turns at the beginning by building things that take forever. I assume settlement specialization is important here.

 

[dalgo]

1. The appearance of Founding Fathers is not random, it is based on your FF points as shown on the Founding Fathers screen (F6). For instance Peter Minuit requires both political and trade points while Thomas Hooker who gives you free missionaries not surprisingly wants religion and political points. The actual amount of points needed varies according to the type of game you are playing. So if you wanted to 'go for Minuit' you would concentrate on trading with Europe and the natives while building political points in your colonies.

I personally prefer to use the town hall to generate political points rather than tying up my carpenters when they should be constructing buildings.

2. You need both warehouses and wagons. Use the wagons to move raw materials to where they are most useful and the warehouses to store them until they are needed. If you have a surplus you can always sell it in Europe but it is better to manage your colonies so that you can convert your raw materials into finished goods to get a better price.

Certainly you should specialise your colonies. Decide early which colonies will be producing tools/guns, others to concentrate on food to grow new colonists or horses and those which you want to produce cloth, cigars, coats or rum to sell in Europe.

 

[yanner39]

1. The appearance of Founding Fathers is not random, it is based on your FF points as shown on the Founding Fathers screen (F6). For instance Peter Minuit requires both political and trade points while Thomas Hooker who gives you free missionaries not surprisingly wants religion and political points. The actual amount of points needed varies according to the type of game you are playing. So if you wanted to 'go for Minuit' you would concentrate on trading with Europe and the natives while building political points in your colonies.

I personally prefer to use the town hall to generate political points rather than tying up my carpenters when they should be constructing buildings.

2. You need both warehouses and wagons. Use the wagons to move raw materials to where they are most useful and the warehouses to store them until they are needed. If you have a surplus you can always sell it in Europe but it is better to manage your colonies so that you can convert your raw materials into finished goods to get a better price.

Certainly you should specialise your colonies. Decide early which colonies will be producing tools/guns, others to concentrate on food to grow new colonists or horses and those which you want to produce cloth, cigars, coats or rum to sell in Europe.

Thanks Dalgo,

I've answered my questions is my test game as well as reading your strategy guide on the XL map.

For the FF political points, that was my intention - putting one of my first colonists in the town hall. I've also read that you don't want to generate bells too early because of the REF grows as well. So would it be a good idea to put someone in the town hall, get Minuit and then remove the colonist from the town hall? I know you talk about using the "medium" strategy.

For the specialization of settlements, I currently trying to figure out what is better: Having raw materials settlements that ship the raw materials to production centers (then finished goods to the port), OR having a settlement that generates cotton and then produces cloathes, have a settlement generate tabaco and then produces cigars. The finish goods are then transported to the port.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Molybdeus]

Remember that you don't need a single founding father to win the game. (Particularly after the patch.) It's not very wise to sacrifice production of key infrastructure just to get founding fathers.

In my last game I got only two founding fathers the whole game -unfortunately missing out on the exceptional Peter Minuit- but won my easiest game ever against a minuscule Royal Expeditionary Force.

For the specialization of settlements, I currently trying to figure out what is better: Having raw materials settlements that ship the raw materials to production centers (then finished goods to the port), OR having a settlement that generates cotton and then produces cloathes, have a settlement generate tabaco and then produces cigars. The finish goods are then transported to the port.

It depends on your supply of raw materials. If you have a city with five grassland, three plains and two tobacco resources you will want to run tobacco planters, farm the plains and build a cigar factory there. But if you have multiple cities with one or two grassland and no tobacco resource, you will need to transport the raw materials to a city devoted to producing that finished product.

 

[yanner39]

It depends on your supply of raw materials. If you have a city with five grassland, three plains and two tobacco resources you will want to run tobacco planters, farm the plains and build a cigar factory there. But if you have multiple cities with one or two grassland and no tobacco resource, you will need to transport the raw materials to a city devoted to producing that finished product.

Thanks Molybdeus. So if I understand correctly, if you have an abundance of raw materials in a settlement, say tobacco in this case, it's better to build a cigar factory in that settlement. This settlement will become the cigar-producing settlement and tobacco harvested elsewhere will be shipped to this settlement, correct?

So having one settlement that takes care of all the production (coats, cloaths, cigars, rum) isn't a good idea? It's the abundance of raw materials that matters. See, I think it would save time doing this way. Then, auto-trade routes would be setup to ship the finished goods to the port.

 

[Molybdeus]

Thanks Molybdeus. So if I understand correctly, if you have an abundance of raw materials in a settlement, say tobacco in this case, it's better to build a cigar factory in that settlement. This settlement will become the cigar-producing settlement and tobacco harvested elsewhere will be shipped to this settlement, correct?

You will have to move it there somehow: the game doesn't automatically do it. Build wagons and set the other cities to export tobacco, and it should move the tobacco to your cigar production city.

So having one settlement that takes care of all the production (coats, cloaths, cigars, rum) isn't a good idea?

You don't want to truck materials around a continent just for the sake of doing so. The advantage of having a single city take care of production of one type of material is efficiency. IE, you don't want to have to build a cigar factory in every city, so producing cigars in one or two cities is better. There's no advantage to building tons of cities to split up raw material production and finished product production if you have enough food to sustain both in one city.

It's the abundance of raw materials that matters. See, I think it would save time doing this way.

How so?

I see no inherent advantage to splitting your colonists into two cities. The tobacco you produce in a city is instantly available to be processed by your tobacconist. You don't have to transport it, meaning you have to build less wagons. You also reduce the number of docks and newspapers you have to build.

 

[yanner39]

You will have to move it there somehow: the game doesn't automatically do it. Build wagons and set the other cities to export tobacco, and it should move the tobacco to your cigar production city.

Agreed. I'd set up auto-trade routes.

You don't want to truck materials around a continent just for the sake of doing so. The advantage of having a single city take care of production of one type of material is efficiency. IE, you don't want to have to build a cigar factory in every city, so producing cigars in one or two cities is better. There's no advantage to building tons of cities to split up raw material production and finished product production if you have enough food to sustain both in one city.

Got it. But I still think harvesting the tobacco and producing cigars in the same city is more efficient.

How so?

I see no inherent advantage to splitting your colonists into two cities. The tobacco you produce in a city is instantly available to be processed by your tobacconist. You don't have to transport it, meaning you have to build less wagons. You also reduce the number of docks and newspapers you have to build.

Sorry I think I didn't explain clearly. I re-read my sentence and it wasn't clear. What I meant to say was that if I see an area where there is an abundance of tobacco, I should settle there and make it my cigar-producing settlement.

I meant to say that is that I would save time by having my settlement with an abundance of tobacco produce my cigars as well. Less time wasted transporting my raw materials between settlements.

Thanks again for the info.