Delm
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2006
- Messages
- 71
Colonization Strategies
- Thread starter Kevie
- Start date
Darklighter
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2008
- Messages
- 15
I just sold 200 guns for 2500+ gold to the natives who were fighting the english
Just make sure they don't turn on you!
The benefit to centralization is that you can get a steady stream of lumber and carpenters and quickly toss up a few factories to efficiently produce manufactured goods. It's sometimes hard to get your cities all close together but if you can pull it off you'll be rolling in cash. I think I had 25k just now in the game I played?
You could maybe have 2 production cities, like one for tools/guns and the other for cigars/cloth, etc or something too... It's hard to know. I've always just used one, and it's population was 26 I think? Yikes....
My first city is always built with as much sea as I can give it. Get some shipyards and expert fishermen and it'll support a huge population.
Dutch, always Dutch for me.
You could maybe have 2 production cities, like one for tools/guns and the other for cigars/cloth, etc or something too... It's hard to know. I've always just used one, and it's population was 26 I think? Yikes....
My first city is always built with as much sea as I can give it. Get some shipyards and expert fishermen and it'll support a huge population.
Dutch, always Dutch for me.
1EyedKing
Chieftain
A good strategy is to:
Feedback is appreciated: let's get a solid strategy guide going people!
- Settle down with your soldier on the coast as fast as possible, and as near as you can to the European sailing zone, possibly within the first three turns. Alternatively take a couple of turns more to explore, since hitting a continent is very important, but don't waste more than ten turns. Be on the lookout for special resources, rivers, and heavy forests, but most importantly try to settle down at a spot with relatively similar terrain types so you can specialize said colony. From then on you should work towards maximizing its main resource output so you can trade manufactured goods at Europe.
- Now you have two choices: if the land is relatively Indian free, by all means use your pioneer to build a second settlement. Otherwise, consider sending your pioneer to the nearest indian village to learn its special skill (unless you're French, which means you should start improving the land and establishing routes as soon as possible to facilitate future relationships and trades). You'll need money soon to buy the Indian lands for further expansion; furthermore, extra food you get by plowing can help you support an early statesman.
- Explore the surrounding tiles with your ship. If the landmass turns out to be an island, start looking for a continent. Once you get a colonist at the European docks, it's time to head back to your motherland. Try to time your return with the exact arrival of said colonist at the docks. Specially important are Seasoned Scouts, so if you've got the doubloons rush them!
- If you didn't find a Seasoned Scout right away, either equip one colonist with horses at the docks, or use him as is if you can't afford neither but you need to start exploring the inland right away for both coin and information. If you happen to get a lot of Treasure units, consider saving 3000 coins for a Galleon.
- If you happen to find another European settlement next to your colonies, exploit this! Attack his towns right away and you'll profit from it immediately: you'll get extra settlers, extra resources, and possibly extra land.
- Consider establishing Jesuit missions (particularly with indentured servants and petty criminals), and if you have surplus food building churches to get a couple of extra crosses underway: we want to get as many colonists as possible. Remember, however, that excess colonists make it harder to attain rebel sentiment. I can't figure an optimal ratio at the moment, but don't forget this game is all about independence!
- Remember to buy a couple of tools from the European docks at one point or another. You'll need them for pioneers and advanced buildings.
- Once you have established one or more "resource factories", it's time to expand. This is the most important part of the game, in my opinion. You should be doing this by the early-mid 1500s since by then you normally have enough cash to rush a couple of much-needed specialists. Specially important are alternate resources, so if you've been maximizing tobacco be on the lookout for plains and cotton. This will cushion price fluctuations at European markets, which means profit. Profit is good.
- While expanding, continue emphasizing colonist specialization. Contact villages, establish roads to them, build schoolhouses, purchase important specialists, and so on.
- When you can, establish a tools & muskets colony (5th or 6th city - it depends). Look for hills and mountains. A nearby food resource would be optimal, but not entirely necessary: you need to feed your blacksmiths!
- Now you should begin exploiting your nation's bonus. If French, continue nurturing Indian relationships (arm them!). If Spanish, buy a Galleon and begin pillaging nearby Indian villages but only once you've gotten every possible expert office out of them (Fur, Tobbaco, Sugar, and Cotton gatherers) Prioritize the wealthy Inca and Aztec cities if you've got the manpower, otherwise gather up experience (specially if you're José de San Martín) and assault them later. If English, continue expanding. If Dutch, continue winning
. - Aim for 9-12 colonies before declaring independence.
- More to come later.
Feedback is appreciated: let's get a solid strategy guide going people!
I used Centralization on my last win because it's easier to have one city with awesome production than a bunch, but on my next game I'm going to try and have a bunch of cities with 3 carpenters each. If they run out of things to make I'll start kicking out the political points with production. I got quite a few FF's last game producing political points. It really helps out a ton. And with a few fishing villages working overtime you won't run out of villagers.
Vets just get XP double fast. And no, there isn't a way to train them up to veteran soldiers. Fortunately that's balanced by the fact that expert tobacco farmers can get combat promotions.
If you have the right founders as soon as you equip a musket on your guy he gets a few important free upgrades. 1 never had that.
If you have the right founders as soon as you equip a musket on your guy he gets a few important free upgrades. 1 never had that.
For those who finished a game on easiest setting:
Approximately how many troops/ships did you have before declaring independence? How badly did the King out number you? And what was result - won/lost?
In my current game, I have about 4 dragoons, 4 militia, 3 vet soldiers, and a multi-XP scout on horse. I have heeded advice somewhere in the forum about delaying bell production to keep King from building up way before I'm ready.
It's around 1640, and I am just getting ready to start up the bells. Got 2 cities cranking out colonists at about 8 turns each, and another 2 cities are almost finished with the armory, so I'll be able to add some cannons.
Since I've restarted game 5-6 times, I have no idea how many troops/cannons/ships I will need to have reasonable chance at victory.
Approximately how many troops/ships did you have before declaring independence? How badly did the King out number you? And what was result - won/lost?
In my current game, I have about 4 dragoons, 4 militia, 3 vet soldiers, and a multi-XP scout on horse. I have heeded advice somewhere in the forum about delaying bell production to keep King from building up way before I'm ready.
It's around 1640, and I am just getting ready to start up the bells. Got 2 cities cranking out colonists at about 8 turns each, and another 2 cities are almost finished with the armory, so I'll be able to add some cannons.
Since I've restarted game 5-6 times, I have no idea how many troops/cannons/ships I will need to have reasonable chance at victory.
He had: 50i/20d/10c/40w (approximately)
I had: 15/30/2/1 about...
I quickly lost about 20 dragoons because I used them to defend a city and they didn't heal up quickly enough to withstand the assault. But to counter that after his troops landed I conscriped another 15 infantry or so out of my towns. I kept my infantry in the towns and won/lost about evenly. But after his stack would assault my city I'd send the dragoons in from an inland city to destroy the remainder of his forces then retreat back behind fort walls. That bought my troops enough time to heal up. They took 2 of my 6 towns, so once they were at full strength I marched them in and liberated my cities.
He still had 40 men of war at the end of it... yikes!
And it was on the 3rd setting, two higher than the easiest. I also fortified my units before declaring war, it gives you 5% strength per turn up to 25%. That extra bit helped out a LOT.
The key though was to mix up your forces and have LOTS of dragoons to wipe out his wounded victorious troops after a big battle. And to have enough riflemen to not lose the city.
And build roads everywhere you possible can, the Kings forces will be spread out on a wide front and destroy everything they walk over, if you have dragoons and roads you can strike and get back behind the city walls to heal.
I had: 15/30/2/1 about...
I quickly lost about 20 dragoons because I used them to defend a city and they didn't heal up quickly enough to withstand the assault. But to counter that after his troops landed I conscriped another 15 infantry or so out of my towns. I kept my infantry in the towns and won/lost about evenly. But after his stack would assault my city I'd send the dragoons in from an inland city to destroy the remainder of his forces then retreat back behind fort walls. That bought my troops enough time to heal up. They took 2 of my 6 towns, so once they were at full strength I marched them in and liberated my cities.
He still had 40 men of war at the end of it... yikes!
And it was on the 3rd setting, two higher than the easiest. I also fortified my units before declaring war, it gives you 5% strength per turn up to 25%. That extra bit helped out a LOT.
The key though was to mix up your forces and have LOTS of dragoons to wipe out his wounded victorious troops after a big battle. And to have enough riflemen to not lose the city.
And build roads everywhere you possible can, the Kings forces will be spread out on a wide front and destroy everything they walk over, if you have dragoons and roads you can strike and get back behind the city walls to heal.
misterslack
Chieftain
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2007
- Messages
- 42
10-12 seems like way too many. You only have 300 turns to win and you want to declare independence long before then. The more colonies you have, the longer it takes to get them all up and running efficiently. In the original colonization I would make 8 settlements tops, usually around 6. I've been doing about 5-6 colonies in this game and I find that's about all I can get to full efficiency with enough time for war preparation. As I get better at the game I'll probably be able to get more, but I think the colonists used to settle those extra colonies are better used improving a smaller number of existing colonies.
If you're having success with 10-12 though, I'd love to hear more detail.
Kevie
King Kevie
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2008
- Messages
- 143
Would placing some settlements as costal settlements for defensive purposes when warring with the motherland? The bonus of attacking across water (bad for attacker, good for defender)
How about some military suggestions?
Yes, build an army bigger than theirs. Any others?
How about some military suggestions?
Yes, build an army bigger than theirs. Any others?
1EyedKing
Chieftain
I'm playing at Explorer difficulty for now, then I'll move on. I've just won easily with 9 so I suppose that number is OK as well. Any less and I have difficulty fielding a large enough army, that's why I go for more cities.
What I do is build two colonies as soon as possible and harvest raw materials from the first one, sell them, purchase the specialist that makes the improved goods out of said material (unless I'm lucky and can rush him - or luckier still and is given for free), bring him home with someone else and send that extra guy to gather food. Then I repeat the same process again, but this time around I rush as many colonists as possible and begin expanding.
Meanwhile in the second settlement I'm either building a church so I can start getting crosses, or just harvesting extra resources.
I've also had fun experimenting and setting up an early Spanish assault force by buying (with all the extra cash) cannons and guns as soon as possible, and later equipping all those extra colonist on the mainland to save some bucks so as to lay siege to the surrounding villages. By the end of my campaign I owned about 12 colonies with lots of experts, a couple of generals, tens of veteran soldiers (gotta love San Martin), and tons of cash. It was early 1600 so I got bored and quit.
Build up your defenses.
Pick your promotions thinking ahead.
Try to fight them in your cities.
Get every ally you can to declare war on them.
Continue building rebel sentiments up for the "mercs" to arrive.
chitz
Chieftain
it's important to note I think, and another poster mentioned it in his strat., that Dragoons are far more effective in an attacking role. they get Bonuses to killing cannons, and the move fast. And the REF guys defend just as lousy as your own men. Plus if you can use the terrain to your advantage, with forest, hills, etc... oh and attacking doesn't matter if the Man-O-wars are destroying your colonies defensive bonuses.
I tried a more centralized approach to my production, and you guys had it right, its more efficient. My main city can focus on building structures and cranking out food to create more settlers. Secondary cities are founded by specialized colonists turn out raw materials. I found its key to be as close packed as possible, and to take advantage of indian training. I'm making good money on raw materials and once I get the manpower to convert that into finished goods, cash flow should skyrocket.
The only alarming thing is that I'm only 100 turns into the game and George Washington is cranking out liberty bells already. If he beats me to 50%, will he declare independance imediately? Do I then automatically loose, or does he have to win his war of independance? I've been cultivating good relations with GW and our native friends, in hopes of getting help on my eventual war of independance, but should I shake things up to try and force him away from what looks like a rush towards a DoI?
The only alarming thing is that I'm only 100 turns into the game and George Washington is cranking out liberty bells already. If he beats me to 50%, will he declare independance imediately? Do I then automatically loose, or does he have to win his war of independance? I've been cultivating good relations with GW and our native friends, in hopes of getting help on my eventual war of independance, but should I shake things up to try and force him away from what looks like a rush towards a DoI?
Zhahz
PC Gamer
Heresy! Well, I really like scouting asap - ideally immediately, with a seasoned scout. You get better returns on ruins and talking to chiefs and can make first contact with more chiefs (first to each village is like a goodie hut). I usually make several 1000 gold this way on top of multiple treasures to send to europe (I alway save them til I can afford a galleon and the extra profit from doing this helps pay for the galleon).
Seems like the worst that can happen is his borders will expand and push into you if you're near him. The AIs seem to be into generating bells early and setting themselves up for massacre by their homeland. They apparently never got the memo about how REF build up or basic size works.
you need scout asap many treasures awaits! you can sell them to the king, or you can transport them manualy but you need galeon, so think about it when selling raw materials, and be faster than opponent when exploring new world
btw.
can somebody tell me what ephasize is for ? how it works?
btw.
can somebody tell me what ephasize is for ? how it works?
Gliese 581
Your average civ junkie
I've been building bells as well to hog the early wonders eh founding fathers, stop after you got 2-3 of the ones you want.
Emphasize works with the automated colonist assignment/governor to determine what tile/slot to put each colonist.
Warning, it seems that if you emphasize crosses they will get worked over pretty much anything else. You only get 3 levels (normal, emphasize, de-emphasize) but the AI seems to have its own internal rankings as well (it doesn't balance all the emphasize items but assigns them in some order).
It works pretty well and worth setting them up for each colony, along with the trade routes.
tour86rocker
Warlord
I've seen a couple people complain about the time it takes them to find their first island. What I do in the very first turn is alternately go diagonal up one and diagonal down one. you "see" a fatter swath of ocean that way, while traveling just as far west as you otherwise would per turn. I'd say it's among the simplest ways to save yourself a turn or two when it counts.
