Can't make a colony? Please help!

[Conqueror Worm]

I am playing with 18 civs, marathon, real world map. All of the starting civs were in the old world. Most of them are dead. I am China. I am trying to make a colony in the America. I press alt F1 and get the grant independece pop up, but when I click on grant indepence, the pop up closes, and nothing happens. Can anyone help me?

 

[Figaro]

You already have the maximum number of civs in the game. You can't have more than 18 different civs alive over the course of the game, even if it's never more than 18 at once.

 

[Conqueror Worm]

Right, then WTH, one would have to play a game with just 9 civs if one wanted to allow each civ to have just one colony. Let's just go back to civ II then if that is to be the case.

Does anyone know, then, how to turn this colony crap off?

 

[Figaro]

Well in Civ2 you could never, under any circuimstances, have more than 7 civs, so I don't see what you're complaining about.

You can turn off the ability to create colonies by ticking No Vassal States.

Alternatively, download a patch from the Creation & Customisation section that lets you play with 34+ civs.

 

[Conqueror Worm]

I am complaining that the colony thing is a huge step backwards.

And turning off the ability to create vassel states won't reduce the cost of having overseas cities. I want to turn off the cost of having oversease cities.

And while using a mod that allows 35 civs is one solution, it would mean that I couldn't play the mod I am currently playing and which I like.

As the game is now designed, for all resonable prupose, apparently they have just dropped the number of allowable civs from 18 to 9 - that is, if each civ is to be allowed the option of having just 1 colony - on the average.

This is a huge step backwards.

Does anyone know if it is possible to go into the XML and turn down the added cost of having overseas cities back to 0?

 

[DomA]

Why don't you bypass the limitation by playing with 14-16 civs and make it a challenge to be one of the civs that manages to have a colonial empire (essentially an advantage toward Domination in that type of game)? Not all the civs should have colonies or be able to afford transcontinental expansion - it's a race.

A lot of leaders in the game aren't prone to create colonies (the more aggressive ones often prefer to conquer vassals, I find in my games), even if you play with 9 civs you will rarely get close to 9 colonies founded unless you found many yourself (if the number of continents allows you). Some leaders (typically Jao II, Isabella, Catherine etc. in my games) would grab all territory in America and on islands before the other six civs could even create their colony.

With a well-planned use of corporations and maintenance saving buildings, it's also perfectly possible to build a costly but viable oversea empire instead of using colonies. For a price, you get 100% of the territory instead of the 50% colonies would give you, as more territory for domination is what you must be after if you need to colonize the Americas at this point.

 

[Arlborn]

I am complaining that the colony thing is a huge step backwards.

And turning off the ability to create vassel states won't reduce the cost of having overseas cities. I want to turn off the cost of having oversease cities.

And while using a mod that allows 35 civs is one solution, it would mean that I couldn't play the mod I am currently playing and which I like.

As the game is now designed, for all resonable prupose, apparently they have just dropped the number of allowable civs from 18 to 9 - that is, if each civ is to be allowed the option of having just 1 colony - on the average.

This is a huge step backwards.

Does anyone know if it is possible to go into the XML and turn down the added cost of having overseas cities back to 0?

Download a 34 CIVs DLL and play only with 18 in the beginning...

 

[Figaro]

The biggest number of colonies I've seen in one game is about 5, and I've never seen one AI power make more than one colony.

And the whole point of the colony system is that, if you want your overseas territories to be more powerful you need to give them home rule. You can retain control over them if you prefer, but then you'll be limited to them just being minor (usually coastal) outposts dedicated to mining resources.

As a side note, you don't pay colonial maintenence on landmasses with only one city.

 

[Conqueror Worm]

Thanks for all the help and ideas. I didn't mean to rant. Maybe colonies will turn out to be very interesting. I'd like to see. But am just rather disappointed that, after 10 hours of play or so on marathon, and with all of North America under my control, I am now up the proverbial s... crick, as I started the game with 18 civs and thus have discovered that I am not able to create a colony.

Hence, would like to discover if it is possible in XML to turn the additional colony costs off.

Regardless, while I am currently playing the Composite XL mod, which only allows 18 civs max, and it is a mod that I quite like, I have just downloaded the Regiments and Formations mod, which I think I will also like, and which has several classic world maps attached that will allow 25 to 28 civs.

Hence, with your all advice, I will try this mod, but will limit my starting number of civs to 18 or so, which should allow for a good number of potential colonies.

Still not sure if I will like the colony concept in the end or not, and thus may still search for a way to turn the extra costs off, but will give it a good try or two and give it a fighting chance. Just might be an interesting addition to the game now that I have a mod that will still allow for a good number of starting civs in addition to the colonies.

Once again, didn't mean to rant, though for unmodded games with the 18 civ limit, I still think this means one must limit the starting number of civs to 10 or 12 in order to allow for colonies. And am disappointed about my 10 hour investment and that my awsome North American colony will never come to fruition. Oh well, another one bites the dust.

Thanks again for the info!

 

[DomA]

It's more of a builder trip?

You might find yourself disappointed by the concept. It's somewhat of a misnommer. It's not a feature to create oversea colonies (you have done that by colonizing America - the only difference in BTS is that it is more realistically expensive), it's in truth a feature to give Home Rule to your colonies and let them pay for their own expenses and growth. It creates a kind of Commonwealth (but using the vassal system and diplomacy - personally I'd wish it eventually gets a diplo system and rules of its own, with some differences from Vassal).

Your awesome (and I assume, already big) America would shrink (and financially collapses) when freedom remove all your culture from it... the biggest cities would also lose population as they lose the terrain to feed them. If there are rival cities that are not liberated nearby, some of the "colony's" cities may even be crippled and swallowed - and never recuperate from the cultural blow. You will also lose all the scientific output, 50% of the remaining territory of America after it shrank and of course you'll take a serious drop in points.

If you try this in a game that allows it, you'd better start it smaller (2-4 cities) and as early as you can, and when you can afford it and if you're so inclined, help the colony to expand faster and better by gifting it with units like workers and additional settlers (or by creating the cities before giving them away, if you want to control their names). Eventually, it will become an awesome America and may even beat some starting civs, but I wouldn't try to liberate it already all built if I were you.

 

[ori]

Actually: turning of Vassal States DOES turn of the costs of colony cities

 

[Fire.Soul]

Actually: turning of Vassal States DOES turn of the costs of colony cities

Really? I'm surprised I hadn't heard this before, given so much fuss goes around the forums about turning BtS features like colonies and espionage off.

Good to know!

 

[ori]

Really

int CvCity::calculateColonyMaintenanceTimes100() const
{
if (GC.getGameINLINE().isOption(GAMEOPTION_NO_VASSAL_STATES))
{
return 0;
}

Basically what this means is that if you select No Vassal States Colony Maintenance (i.e. the extra maintenance for cities on other landmasses) is disabled.