Hello,
After reading the forum, rather than comment in little articles, I thought I'd post thoughts on how to play an Advanced Game. I'll add that I welcome thoughts and suggestions, and do not profess to play "the best" CivCol game. Still, my gameplay has evolved where I only play on Revolution Setting, and I usually win under any and every game I play.
I liked Dalgo's post with helpful hints very much. I'm hoping to post a few open threads about various phases of the game, and what tactics I've either learned or poached from others.
Starting Position:
I personally think the starting city location is misutilized by a lot of players (judging by some screenshots and posts I've read).
Three things are absolutely paramount:
1) Lumber
2) Food
3) Proximity to Europe
Lumber and Food are critical. Without Lumber, you're home-base will find it very difficult to build things. And while you can start a second city to be a lumber base, doing so early-on will increse tensions with natives and creates problems. Secondary resources, like a cotton, sugar, tobacco, silver, et al. are nice... but are not nearly as important as food and lumber.
I demand a capital with at least one food resource (fish, crab, corn), and 2-3 Forests. If I'm lucky, I can get two food and 3 Forests. From a strong lumber base, I can make this capital city a huge hub for Europe and built lumber Mills, refineries, and FF Points.
Early FF:
Getting an early FF is very doable without earning any Liberty Bells. Obviously the key is to use your Lumber and Mill to earn FF Points (Political Points being the crucial points).
I find only two early FF to be, if not crucial, at least very helpful. Cabal, cutting Europe time in half, greatly aids the building of economy and transporting new colonists. Minuit, reducing purchase price by 25%, is great because all of a sudden you can buy cheap cannon, cheaper specialists, etc. Over the long haul, this duo will yield, quite literally, Tens of Thousands of Gold.
How to do this? Lumber and Mills yield the hammers. If you can recruit, or straight-up buy a lumberjack and Carpenter, this will yield a lot of points. Early on, 1 Colonist will yield 6-7 lumber, and two colonists (any type) will work the Mill to creat six hammers. Combined with the 1 hammer early, this gives you 7 hammers, or 21 FF points. You can turn this on and off as needed. I put mine on quickly, i.e. use both startig colonists, to race of Cabal. Note, by doing this the REF will never grow! So don't use Bells, use Political Points. Note, at higher difficulties, using bells from an early era, while giving you some advantages, will ultimately yield an ungodly amount of REF. And then it takes forever to kill them all, or they overrun you.
Note: Most intermediate players haven't figured out how, why, and when FF's can benefit your community most. Experiment, but most of all, sit down and think about it... I mean, how can you maximize that FF, and is it worth his acquisition? Sometimes, if you're starved for troops, getting a FF like Bart Las Case (+%50 Conversation Rate) or one that gives two free IS or two free CN's, is a solid option. But, without free Liberty bells, you have to realize that Political Points come at a cost. You can either build stuff with your lumber (And Docks, Schools, Lumber Mills, and a "shop" of some sort to match your specialist or two... these are all critical builds), or you can generate PP. Often the cost/benefiit isn't there for generating PP... so use them wisely, check out how close you are to a FF and aim for a one that's not merely "helpful," but will lead a ton of profit.
Seasoned Scout:
Crucial to building up early funds. Almost always, the Immigration dock will give you a chance to recuit one. Save your gold and then "buy" one, i.e. rush his immigration. He'll go scout terrain, earn explortation FF points (necessary for Cabal), and give you lots of gold. Ruins, Meeting chiefs, etc. And you can build his experience. Getting him faster, -1 terrain movment, is a nice, as is getting him bumped up to a City Killer (+20, +25 Settlement attack). Later, when you give him guns, he can be a top Dragoon.
Using Gold wisely:
Once you start accumulating gold... Don't waste it! Use it to either rush immigration (which starts out cheap, i. 100-150 for the first five) and helps you shuffle the deck to maybe luck out into a Carpenter, Lumberjack, Firebrand Preacher, etc. Also, trading with natives is great... Look at how Europe's prices rise and drop. When Trade Goods or Tools drops to 1/2, you can buy 200 for $400 and trade with the natives for double profit. If you're the Dutch, take advantage of the Merchantman and try to buy 300-400 of a good. The native price will be highest per transaction, i.e. two transactions of 200 Tools will yield one good price and one bad price. 1 Transaction of 400 Tools/Any good, will lead one good price. So, when possible, trade in bunches of 400, if you can manage it. Otherwise Always trade in at least bunches of 200 with Wagons, Caravels, etc.
Learn Trading opportunities! Most Indian Tribes don't value fur or silver... so you always, always, want to send a ship to buy fur and silver from them. It's free money. Also, if you happen to get an early fur trader specialist from Europe, you can simply turn the fur into Coats. Again, free money. Always be curious to buy or sell, and don't waste opportunities. Don't just sell 100 guns are tools for a quickly profit. Wait until you can sell at least 200 to maximize your gain.
Missionaries:
Convertated Natives are great to get, but they depend on your position. If you're France, the bonus means you need to set-up 2-3 missions if you can. Also, it's a good use of "lesser" recruits, i.e. Petty criminals or indentured servants. So, if you set up a mission closest to your first main city, that "investment" of one colonist, buyable early on for 100-150 gold, will yield several converted natives to plug-in to you cities. They are good lumberjacks, miners, farmers.
My use of these varies by gameplay. Sometimes I generate a ton, othertimes I practically ignore them... depends on what's around em. Also, sometimes I'll splurge for the FF which gives you 3 Jesuit Missionaries. These can form faster conversion rates, and help spit out men.
Scouting:
It's vital to set-up food bases. In other words, see where you can find 3 Food resource city squares... as your colony grows, it's easy to be stagnated for new workers, soldiers, etc. Creating a super-food base, with a dock, expert farmer, and 2-3 Expert Fishmerman (depending on terrain) will yield 33-40 food a turn, i.e. 1 new Colonist every 6-7 turns. This is crucial to building up an edge on the AI. So, whether you have to buy land from a native, or will need to wipe out a nearby tribe to gain access to 1-2 key city points, plan for that.
Indian Wars:
Tribes are great resoures. You can quickly train fisherman, farmers, cotton/sugar/tobacco/fur specialists, etc. Also, you can make a ton of money in trade. Also, once you are at war, you can't "not" be at war unless you either wipe them out of use a FF. So only attack once you've got 2-3 cannon and a 2 Dragoons or so. If you've scouted the area, you know which Tribe is on land that you want. Do not trade guns with this tribe! And try to prevent some other European nation from doing so, if possible. Basically, set-up a quick army and be ready to blitz them. I always buy cannon from Europe. After Minuit, they are cheap. you can buy 4 for under $2000. And so long as you accept all tax raises (which you should do, anyway), it won't affect REF.
King:
Always accept tax raises. These are neglible on your economy and will ultimately HELP you. Getting FF which use Tax rate, will help down the road. Now, as far as lump sums... Generally I acquiecse, provided it's never more than 200-300 Gold. If I happen to have a large treasury of $1000+ after a trade, and the King wants a lot? I refuse. To valuable to give him, but less than $250? Not worth Hageling over, unless that $250 is earmarked for someone valuable and you can't afford the 5-10 turn potential wait to recoup it. So, always acccept tax raise, sometimes accept lump sums unless they are high... then never do.
Army:
Each soldier is also a worker... so a standing army of troops costs you lost goods. Hence, you want to maintain as small a force as necessary. You need to buy guns from Europe to give you some weapons to defend yourself if attacked by a Tribe, and often times it's nice to have a Dragoon or two for the Tribes to look-at... this will discourage them (and increases your power rating). But don't simply keep troops in solider form unless you have a large enough colony to use such protection. I always use my opening solider for economy, and I never situation a solider in my cities for the first 20-30 turns. Keep the weapons, stock-up if you need to, but don't waste man-power unless you feel uneasy.
Likewise, don't ignore the military. Building you economy can lull you to sleep and if you get attacked withoug adequate guns, you're in trouble. Likewise, sometimes a military opportunity to seize European cities are wipe out a native tribe comes along... so if the guns and soldiers are there, a quick mobilization will shock and yield an efficient war. You don't want to be losing troops. They are expensive to replace.
After reading the forum, rather than comment in little articles, I thought I'd post thoughts on how to play an Advanced Game. I'll add that I welcome thoughts and suggestions, and do not profess to play "the best" CivCol game. Still, my gameplay has evolved where I only play on Revolution Setting, and I usually win under any and every game I play.
I liked Dalgo's post with helpful hints very much. I'm hoping to post a few open threads about various phases of the game, and what tactics I've either learned or poached from others.
Starting Position:
I personally think the starting city location is misutilized by a lot of players (judging by some screenshots and posts I've read).
Three things are absolutely paramount:
1) Lumber
2) Food
3) Proximity to Europe
Lumber and Food are critical. Without Lumber, you're home-base will find it very difficult to build things. And while you can start a second city to be a lumber base, doing so early-on will increse tensions with natives and creates problems. Secondary resources, like a cotton, sugar, tobacco, silver, et al. are nice... but are not nearly as important as food and lumber.
I demand a capital with at least one food resource (fish, crab, corn), and 2-3 Forests. If I'm lucky, I can get two food and 3 Forests. From a strong lumber base, I can make this capital city a huge hub for Europe and built lumber Mills, refineries, and FF Points.
Early FF:
Getting an early FF is very doable without earning any Liberty Bells. Obviously the key is to use your Lumber and Mill to earn FF Points (Political Points being the crucial points).
I find only two early FF to be, if not crucial, at least very helpful. Cabal, cutting Europe time in half, greatly aids the building of economy and transporting new colonists. Minuit, reducing purchase price by 25%, is great because all of a sudden you can buy cheap cannon, cheaper specialists, etc. Over the long haul, this duo will yield, quite literally, Tens of Thousands of Gold.
How to do this? Lumber and Mills yield the hammers. If you can recruit, or straight-up buy a lumberjack and Carpenter, this will yield a lot of points. Early on, 1 Colonist will yield 6-7 lumber, and two colonists (any type) will work the Mill to creat six hammers. Combined with the 1 hammer early, this gives you 7 hammers, or 21 FF points. You can turn this on and off as needed. I put mine on quickly, i.e. use both startig colonists, to race of Cabal. Note, by doing this the REF will never grow! So don't use Bells, use Political Points. Note, at higher difficulties, using bells from an early era, while giving you some advantages, will ultimately yield an ungodly amount of REF. And then it takes forever to kill them all, or they overrun you.
Note: Most intermediate players haven't figured out how, why, and when FF's can benefit your community most. Experiment, but most of all, sit down and think about it... I mean, how can you maximize that FF, and is it worth his acquisition? Sometimes, if you're starved for troops, getting a FF like Bart Las Case (+%50 Conversation Rate) or one that gives two free IS or two free CN's, is a solid option. But, without free Liberty bells, you have to realize that Political Points come at a cost. You can either build stuff with your lumber (And Docks, Schools, Lumber Mills, and a "shop" of some sort to match your specialist or two... these are all critical builds), or you can generate PP. Often the cost/benefiit isn't there for generating PP... so use them wisely, check out how close you are to a FF and aim for a one that's not merely "helpful," but will lead a ton of profit.
Seasoned Scout:
Crucial to building up early funds. Almost always, the Immigration dock will give you a chance to recuit one. Save your gold and then "buy" one, i.e. rush his immigration. He'll go scout terrain, earn explortation FF points (necessary for Cabal), and give you lots of gold. Ruins, Meeting chiefs, etc. And you can build his experience. Getting him faster, -1 terrain movment, is a nice, as is getting him bumped up to a City Killer (+20, +25 Settlement attack). Later, when you give him guns, he can be a top Dragoon.
Using Gold wisely:
Once you start accumulating gold... Don't waste it! Use it to either rush immigration (which starts out cheap, i. 100-150 for the first five) and helps you shuffle the deck to maybe luck out into a Carpenter, Lumberjack, Firebrand Preacher, etc. Also, trading with natives is great... Look at how Europe's prices rise and drop. When Trade Goods or Tools drops to 1/2, you can buy 200 for $400 and trade with the natives for double profit. If you're the Dutch, take advantage of the Merchantman and try to buy 300-400 of a good. The native price will be highest per transaction, i.e. two transactions of 200 Tools will yield one good price and one bad price. 1 Transaction of 400 Tools/Any good, will lead one good price. So, when possible, trade in bunches of 400, if you can manage it. Otherwise Always trade in at least bunches of 200 with Wagons, Caravels, etc.
Learn Trading opportunities! Most Indian Tribes don't value fur or silver... so you always, always, want to send a ship to buy fur and silver from them. It's free money. Also, if you happen to get an early fur trader specialist from Europe, you can simply turn the fur into Coats. Again, free money. Always be curious to buy or sell, and don't waste opportunities. Don't just sell 100 guns are tools for a quickly profit. Wait until you can sell at least 200 to maximize your gain.
Missionaries:
Convertated Natives are great to get, but they depend on your position. If you're France, the bonus means you need to set-up 2-3 missions if you can. Also, it's a good use of "lesser" recruits, i.e. Petty criminals or indentured servants. So, if you set up a mission closest to your first main city, that "investment" of one colonist, buyable early on for 100-150 gold, will yield several converted natives to plug-in to you cities. They are good lumberjacks, miners, farmers.
My use of these varies by gameplay. Sometimes I generate a ton, othertimes I practically ignore them... depends on what's around em. Also, sometimes I'll splurge for the FF which gives you 3 Jesuit Missionaries. These can form faster conversion rates, and help spit out men.
Scouting:
It's vital to set-up food bases. In other words, see where you can find 3 Food resource city squares... as your colony grows, it's easy to be stagnated for new workers, soldiers, etc. Creating a super-food base, with a dock, expert farmer, and 2-3 Expert Fishmerman (depending on terrain) will yield 33-40 food a turn, i.e. 1 new Colonist every 6-7 turns. This is crucial to building up an edge on the AI. So, whether you have to buy land from a native, or will need to wipe out a nearby tribe to gain access to 1-2 key city points, plan for that.
Indian Wars:
Tribes are great resoures. You can quickly train fisherman, farmers, cotton/sugar/tobacco/fur specialists, etc. Also, you can make a ton of money in trade. Also, once you are at war, you can't "not" be at war unless you either wipe them out of use a FF. So only attack once you've got 2-3 cannon and a 2 Dragoons or so. If you've scouted the area, you know which Tribe is on land that you want. Do not trade guns with this tribe! And try to prevent some other European nation from doing so, if possible. Basically, set-up a quick army and be ready to blitz them. I always buy cannon from Europe. After Minuit, they are cheap. you can buy 4 for under $2000. And so long as you accept all tax raises (which you should do, anyway), it won't affect REF.
King:
Always accept tax raises. These are neglible on your economy and will ultimately HELP you. Getting FF which use Tax rate, will help down the road. Now, as far as lump sums... Generally I acquiecse, provided it's never more than 200-300 Gold. If I happen to have a large treasury of $1000+ after a trade, and the King wants a lot? I refuse. To valuable to give him, but less than $250? Not worth Hageling over, unless that $250 is earmarked for someone valuable and you can't afford the 5-10 turn potential wait to recoup it. So, always acccept tax raise, sometimes accept lump sums unless they are high... then never do.
Army:
Each soldier is also a worker... so a standing army of troops costs you lost goods. Hence, you want to maintain as small a force as necessary. You need to buy guns from Europe to give you some weapons to defend yourself if attacked by a Tribe, and often times it's nice to have a Dragoon or two for the Tribes to look-at... this will discourage them (and increases your power rating). But don't simply keep troops in solider form unless you have a large enough colony to use such protection. I always use my opening solider for economy, and I never situation a solider in my cities for the first 20-30 turns. Keep the weapons, stock-up if you need to, but don't waste man-power unless you feel uneasy.
Likewise, don't ignore the military. Building you economy can lull you to sleep and if you get attacked withoug adequate guns, you're in trouble. Likewise, sometimes a military opportunity to seize European cities are wipe out a native tribe comes along... so if the guns and soldiers are there, a quick mobilization will shock and yield an efficient war. You don't want to be losing troops. They are expensive to replace.
