How to win on revolutionary in 40 turns.

[Shakauvm]

I don't think that the game can be patched in a comprehensive way to force people to use all of the game mechanics - increasing the size of the REF doesn't mean that now I have to build a trade network and start weaving serious cloth, it just means that I'd mine silver real quick and do the same thing. It'd just take longer to get the money you need.

I've lost a lot of faith in Firaxis as the result of this game... the mechanics need to be totally overhauled. What they released was incredibly under-par for a Sid Meier game.

I don't expect the patch to make the game fun come from Sid Meier - I expect it to come from the community.

 

[playshogi]

Pick Simon Bolivar as your leader.

Turns 5-15: The caravel travels back to europe with Dragoons recruited from the dock. One of your recruit goes to the townhall, the other becomes a scout who explores in the opposite direction from your ex-pioneer. The remaining horses and muskets get sold to the indians.
/QUOTE]


I can't see where to purchase/recruit dragoons on the dock. I can see cannons for 500. I can't even find dragoons in the colonizapedia...

 

[player1 fanatic]

That's because Dragoon is profesion, not unit type.

You can to buy veteran soliders in europe and then equip them with horses to get dragoons.

 

[stryfe]

I've lost a lot of faith in Firaxis as the result of this game... the mechanics need to be totally overhauled. What they released was incredibly under-par for a Sid Meier game.

I don't expect the patch to make the game fun come from Sid Meier - I expect it to come from the community.

You weren't around for the release of any of the Civ4 expansions were you? They were all buggy/unbalanced at release a patch or two later and they're great.

 

[rbadger]

I can't see where to purchase/recruit dragoons on the dock. I can see cannons for 500. I can't even find dragoons in the colonizapedia...

Double click on a colonist on the docks in Europe. You'll get an option menu to pick upgrade them to pioneer/missionary/soldier/dragoon based on the current cost of the goods.

 

[SoupLLJK]

I've only beaten this once on explorer. I've played about 15 games or something now on conquistador and can't best it. I think the problem seems to be that I usually have like 10 cities and conquer most of the AI (I simply cannot abide them getting founding fathers - and they always seem to take ones I want). My populations are usually very large.

What happens is I'm always about 50 turns too late. It takes forever to generate enough rebel sentiment to be ready for the king - but when I start earlier than this, the REF is too big for me to handle.

I wish the game rewarded you for having a smoothly running, highly efficient money making empire rather than punish you.

I'll still be playing though, I love colonization.

 

[Shakauvm]

You weren't around for the release of any of the Civ4 expansions were you? They were all buggy/unbalanced at release a patch or two later and they're great.

All of them. They had bugs, but their core mechanics worked well enough (though I didn't really like how spies worked due to the level of micromanagement needed).

The problem with Col is that their core mechanics are badly done.

 

[thehouse1]

The problem is that colonization is a game about building and economy, yet the game is easiest to win around turn 70-100. Early in the game (because of scouting and trading with natives) you get a big boast of money. This money should be used to bootstrap your economy, instead it is better to use the money to arm your colonists. Since the REF scales you are hurt if you try to build a self-sufficent nation.

 

[ShredZ]

The suggestion of giving the REF bigger numbers early, but less increases, seems like it would make for a more challenging game where you would have to build up your economy before DoI - how hard could that be?

 

[Shakauvm]

The suggestion of giving the REF bigger numbers early, but less increases, seems like it would make for a more challenging game where you would have to build up your economy before DoI - how hard could that be?

Because you'd still need to execute your own specialists in order to be able to rebel, which doesn't make sense on a whole lot of different levels. (I mean, wouldn't they be more pissed at you, instead of the king?)

 

[peapd]

I'm beginning to think that the problem from a 'bigger picture' view is that the two elements of the game don't have anything to do with one another.

There's the economic sim - training people, making a trade network, etc... Then there's the military War for Independence.

By definition the only thing that matters is the WoI - that's how you win/complete the game. But 90% of the game's options/mechanics/things-you-can-do is about the economic sim - which is at best irrelevant and at worst actually hinders your ability to win.

 

[Shakauvm]

I'm beginning to think that the problem from a 'bigger picture' view is that the two elements of the game don't have anything to do with one another.

There's the economic sim - training people, making a trade network, etc... Then there's the military War for Independence.

By definition the only thing that matters is the WoI - that's how you win/complete the game. But 90% of the game's options/mechanics/things-you-can-do is about the economic sim - which is at best irrelevant and at worst actually hinders your ability to win.

Yeah, that's the problem precisely.

You can have a rockin' economy, but all that happens is that your treasury gets confiscated by the king, your income declines by 5% (through taxes) every time you make a major sale, and the price of the only real military unit you can buy (cannons) goes up by 5% every time you buy one. So there's no real point to having money in the game. At best, you can use the money to buy specialists, to make more money, to buy more specialists, but all this does is make it harder to rebel in the long run!

The whole game needs to be retooled.

 

[Reveilled]

The thing is that the two should match up as the economy gives you money, which you should have to use to build an army. But you're never likely to make enough money to buy very many soldiers or SoL's, and after your fifth or sixth cannon or SoL, you can probably make them in your colonies for a much lesser cost.


Ideally, if the game was being redesigned from the ground up, I'd propose some sort of maintainance system, where your soldiers needed supplies and salaries provided to them, making the creation of a stable and diverse economy was well as a financial warchest a prerequisite to declaring independence.

 

[Desert-Fox]

The main problem is that the game has no variety. If you do not exploit then the best way to win is to get early scout to visit all indian villages first and then get all goody huts. It gives you a nice economy boost. The next phase is to get n*3 elder statemen(n = number of colonies). And when you have your statemen then you push up your Rebels. And to hurry it up you need to execute all less needed guys to fasten the first goal(50% Rebel sentiments). Of course I collect to each city full capacity of horses and muskets to convert them dragoons when the time is right. Also if I have enough money I have a ship in docks to transport some dragoons who were made after DoI but before the king arrives to America. The other strategies do not work well. Once I beat king's navy but that was luck that he didn't add Man-o-Wars.

In Col1 There were more strategies. You could have Rebel% high in early game to enjoy better production but now it is not a good idea.

Also I don't like that the other europeans are so weak. They usually build up a huge empire and when they DoI their king easily takes all his colonies and the game for him is over.

 

[Yzen Danek]

All of them. They had bugs, but their core mechanics worked well enough (though I didn't really like how spies worked due to the level of micromanagement needed).

The problem with Col is that their core mechanics are badly done.

Not sure I agree. The biggest problems with the game can be fixed in a few easy steps:

1. Make it so that Rebel Sentiment cannot be raised by loss of colonists.

2. Make the REF much larger to start the game.

3. Make the AI keep at least one soldier guarding every colony.

4. Make the foreign powers way more aggressive.

That would fix the biggest loopholes people are encountering.

And then I would add:

5. Increase the unit power of the REF.

6. Put the foreign offer for aid back in from Col I, and require a large number of liberty bells to make it achievable, making it incredibly difficult to win without a large enough set of Colonies to produce those kinds of Liberty Bells.

 

[Shakauvm]

Not sure I agree. The biggest problems with the game can be fixed in a few easy steps:

1. Make it so that Rebel Sentiment cannot be raised by loss of colonists.

Like I said, the core mechanics need to change.

Mainly, I think LB production should have a cumulative effect. You should need X LBs to rebel, plus maybe a surcharge of +Y LBs per colonist you have. Then you can LB up slowly, or quickly, depending on your need, and it doesn't completely screw you over to have a large colony, while still making it harder to rebel and leading to an overall larger REF.

Having LB production be non-cumulative for DoI but cumulative for REF is brain-stabbingly stupid.

 

[wurrble182]

all i know is that when a decent patch comes out to fix the flaws in the game mechanics and balance things a little better, someone like me who's just played the game through for what it is will be alot better equipped to whupp its ass on the hardest setting than some cheating schmucks who play the game for 40 turns just to exploit the broken parts peace out

 

[Justicex]

Because you'd still need to execute your own specialists in order to be able to rebel, which doesn't make sense on a whole lot of different levels. (I mean, wouldn't they be more pissed at you, instead of the king?)

The specialists are representatives of the monarchy sent to protect the investment of the monarchy. That is why killing them gains rebel sympathies. It is seen as an act of war (independence?).

 

[pajeg]

il you try using your elder statemen early, pehaps you would have see theirs advantages instead of the ref....

move them along with 2 carpenters to build faster your factories (convert are better than lumberjack when you are low on gold)

you build faster, you get your ff faster, you get strong enough to revolt faster!!

and the ref won't be twice as bug than if you had wait

you only need a elder statemen and the 3 specialists in a factorie, import everything, and you'll get an insane production whithout generating much bells

 

[Brooksie]

I thought I would try this out of interest. Didnt get past your turn 5-15 section of the scenario;
1. I had no tools to sell only guns?
2. I could not find any dragoons to purchase only veteran soldiers?

What am I missing?

Tony