Cheet Sheets 1995 April/May/CHEET40.ZIP/3OLONIZ.TXT

Text File | 1995-05-07 | 9KB | 240 lines

~Colonization


A selection of hints and tips for beginners  -  By Simon Burrows


`Before I start, one quick point.  The decisive aim of the game is
`to win  the revolution  with  maximum  points.  Obviously,  then,
`everything you do must be aimed at reaching this end.




~`City Types
~`──────────


`There are basically two types of cities :-


`■  Firstly, there  is  the mega-city.  These, as explained below,
`   are specialist cities, each of which will have one predominant
`   job in  your grasp  for power.   Since these are so important,
`   they need  to be  very heavily  defended at fortress level and
`   with at least five items of artillery.


`■  Secondly there  are supply cities.  Their job is to supply you
`   with all  the raw  materials you will need to succeed, such as
`   tobacco and  cotton.   Since these are temporary settlements -
`   you will  keep them  only until the material they supply dries
`   up or  you no  longer need  it -  they do not need building up
`   with a wall and all the other mod cons of a mega-city.  If you
`   lose them  it should not be a big loss at all, and they should
`   be easy  to desert  when the  time comes.   These small cities
`   will often  be built up from settlements you have captured, or
`   those on  small islands with little scope for expansion.  When
`   you reject  these cities,  you can make the inhabitants depart
`   as either  soldiers and dragoons so they will take the muskets
`   and horses  with them,  or as  pioneers so  they will take the
`   tools with them.




~`Mega-City Specialization
~`────────────────────────


`Unlike in  many similar  games such  as  Sim  City  and  Genesia,
`Colonization gives  aspiring  entrepreneurs  the  chance  to  run
`several cities  all at  once.    Remember,  then,  that  slightly
`different tactics  will need  to be  followed.  Instead of having
`several cities  of equal  size which do all the jobs a far larger
`city in  Sim City might do, you must have several cities, each of
`which specialise on one particular job.  This will save resources
`and help maximise production.


`Here are some of the specialist cities you will need :-


`■  First of all you will need one of your cities assigned as your
`   iron-making  capital.   There  you   will  need  to  build  an
`   ironworks, and send your first three master blacksmiths.


`■  Another  city  will need to become your weapon-making capital.
`   There, build  an arsenal  for musket production, and post your
`   first three master gunsmiths as soon as they become available.


`■  At least  one of  your cities  will need to specialize in  ore
`   mining.  Those that do will need to be  appropriately situated
`   for that  task, and  should be  sent all  of your  expert  ore
`   miners.


`■  You will  also need  an ore-gathering  city  situated  in  the
`   mountains for best productivity.


`■  Finally  there  is your  city specializing in horses.  This is
`   covered in more detail below.


`Attempt to construct your custom house in the same city which has
`upgraded production  such as  the textile  mill, or  rum, fur  or
`cigar factories.




~`Wooden Worries
~`──────────────


`The distribution  of your lumber collectors can be managed in one
`of two ways: either, you create a lumber super-centre, collecting
`the majority  of your carpentry work-force in one place, and your
`expert lumberjacks on timber symbols generating more than 30 each
`turn; or,  you distribute  your lumberjacks so you have 1, 2 or 3
`in each  city, and then send one carpenter to each city too.  The
`latter of  these options  seems to work very effectively allowing
`immediate access  to lumber whichever city you look.  If you find
`that one  city's stocks  are too  low, extra lumber can easily be
`brought in  on trains  from any  city which has over-satisfactory
`lumber-levels.




~`Production Maximization
~`───────────────────────


`Remember not  to let  your residents  waste production  time.  If
`they can't do their job because they have run out of the relevant
`raw material,  set them to do something else as soon as you can -
`you can  always return  them to  their skilled trade once this is
`possible.  Don't let them have a week of bank holidays!!!

`In production-specialized  cities, make sure that you balance the
`production of  goods such  as cigars,  rum and coats.  To do this
`simply move  your citizens around jobs regularly to produce equal
`proportions of  each.   And, as  I've said  above, if  you have a
`tobacconist, for  example, who  has run out of tobacco to produce
`his wares,  get him  going on  something else  until  opportunity
`arises for him to continue his preferred trade.

`If you  have nothing  to build,  don't sit around staring at your
`little people  milling around, start building artillery.  Because
`of the aim of the game, you will, at some stage, need to become a
`war-time super-power,  so eventually all your cities will need to
`become devoted to artillery-construction anyway.




~`Horse Business
~`──────────────


`The best  place for your specialized horse-breeding-capital is in
`an  area   of  high   food-production,  because  this  speeds  up
`production.   Therefore if  you have  an area with wine lakes and
`sugar mountains  then this  has your  best potential.    In  your
`chosen area you will need to build large warehouses because these
`beasts will  need stables to sleep in.   As you find your stables
`overflowing, send  off your  horses in  hundreds to other cities.
`Don't send  them off more than a hundred at a time because if you
`keep as  many horses as possible in one area, the quicker they'll
`breed and the more you'll have to send off later on.




~`Education Cuts?
~`───────────────


`In order to train your community you will need a university town.
`It may  be of  use to  have two  universities, in  fact,  because
`expert farmers  and veteran  soldiers will be essential in making
`your life  easier and  success greater.   The  university will be
`essential for  training your  citizens in horse sense.  The extra
`learning facilities  mean you can educate workers in those trades
`which you  find a  severe lack  of experts  in.   A  good  tactic
`sometimes is  to clear  the specialty of some of your inhabitants
`and pack them off to university to be re-educated in trades where
`they will be of maximum use to you.




~`To Buy or not to Buy?
~`─────────────────────


`The most  important thing  to buy  if you've got money to burn is
`ships.  Of course, you may also need to buy recruits if you don't
`already have  enough on  your docks  to fill the holds.  When you
`have enough  ships  (and sometimes too many is not enough!), then
`its time  to start  saving up your money.  This will give you the
`leeway to  purchase mercenaries, train soldiers and buy a load of
`artillery just before you go into war.

`One thing  you won't  need to  spend money on, of course, is free
`colonists.   Keep these  emigrating in  as fast  as you can, then
`pack them  straight off to your universities  -  which is exactly
`where they want to go   -  so you can get the best out of them.

`The most  important things NOT to buy are the useless trade goods
`which you can certainly do without.  Also, don't go wasting money
`on the  outrageously   high back taxes.  A good way to save money
`is to  buy only  10 of what the Indians request, rather than 100,
`because they  don't seem  to mind  just as  long as you give them
`what they ask for in one quantity or another.




~`War on the High Seas
~`────────────────────


`Until you declare independence, naval power plays a large part in
`anybody's success  in Colonization.  As you'll probably know, you
`start the  game with one cargo ship.  Use this to full effect, by
`all means, but don't waste money on building any more since these
`are pretty  useless.   Instead, when  you have set-aside cash for
`naval building,  concentrate on  privateers and frigates.  If you
`have Francis  Drake on  your  continental  congress,  privateers'
`strength is  increased by  50% making  these  particular  vessels
`cheap and  lethal.   Concentrating on  these, therefore, can be a
`good move.

`In order  to bring in new colonists and transport trade goods for
`sale at  market, you  will need  several ships going between your
`lands and  Europe.  You should also have one explorer vessel with
`at least  one scout  and even  a dragoon.   This ship should be a
`privateer due to its great speed.

`The remainder of your privateers are best used as hunters.  Those
`with a  cargo of  200 muskets  will  be  a  great  force  against
`opposition vessels.   If it seems that you are gaining a lot from
`high-sea battles,  it may  be worth  getting a few frigates since
`these give you more power.  However, don't spend too much on this
`option as privateers are cheaper and will often do.

`Remember, once  you have  declared independence,  ships are  just
`about useless  since you  will be  given all the battle ships you
`need by your allies.



`                            ═════════════
~`                        By: Simon Burrows
`                            ═════════════