Caribbean Map?

[TC01]

Note: This may belong in the Strategies section, I'm not sure.

Is there any point to this mapscript? Since the best way to win is to immediately go for Ore and for Lumber, the only place on this map where there's a lot of that is in the large landmass to the south, and maybe a few islands.

But most of the islands are useless, because they don't offer a large amount of productive land. Like two or three tile islands- there's no useful purpose to dropping a colony here.

Is there actually a good strategy based around having colonies scattered across the islands? Or do you basically do the same thing on a New World map?

 

[dalgo]

Note: This may belong in the Strategies section, I'm not sure.

Is there any point to this mapscript? Since the best way to win is to immediately go for Ore and for Lumber, the only place on this map where there's a lot of that is in the large landmass to the south, and maybe a few islands.

But most of the islands are useless, because they don't offer a large amount of productive land. Like two or three tile islands- there's no useful purpose to dropping a colony here.

Is there actually a good strategy based around having colonies scattered across the islands? Or do you basically do the same thing on a New World map?

I doubt it. Colonization becomes a very difficult game if you try to defend colonies on a number of Islands because you don't know where the REF will land and you will have trouble reinforcing a threatened garrison because of the King's fleet. You would almost certainly have to adopt a naval strategy yourself - which requires plenty of Ore and Lumber.

 

[renegadechicken]

Heh, for my response I'll have to admit something: I'm a builder. I'm not very good at wars, and I'm (frustratingly/sadly) addicted to the save/reload functions (though I'm trying to quit-- anyone know of a good support group? ). So that might explain some of what I'll say below.

I love the Caribbean mapscript! Well, that's not technically true: I've actually edited it to reduce the size of South American part and increase the area for spawning islands (such as the Bahamas and the Antilles). Why? Because I wanted to play a "pirates/control the high seas/not a bunch of land battles" game. In addition, I (for once) wanted to be a good colony and not rebel against my homeland. So I'm playing with only the "Time" victory option enabled. I'm fairly certain this will keep the REF from arriving, since I will never need to revolt.

Anyway, it's been a lot of fun! Instead of preparing for some invasion force from Europe, I've been trading with them, exploring the land, and pirating the heck out of the three other nations trying to build prosperous colonies in the New World. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a lot of fun for me! It kind of reminds me of Age of Empires III in the Caribbean, but turn-based. At some point I'll declare war on the other colonial powers and see if my navy is up to snuff (not just my privateers, but my proper warships too).

To be honest, though, dalgo has an excellent point: with normal victory conditions, it'd be incredibly difficult (though not impossible: with 300 guns and 300 horses in each settlement and enough crack troops and transport vessels you could do it) to defend your island holdings except on some of the lower difficulty levels.