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- COLONIZATION
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- Colonization is the follow-up game to Civilization. It is not a
- true sequel, but focuses on the exploration of a New World and
- ultimately the birth of a new nation.
-
- There are 3 ways the game ends in Colonization, with one outcome
- being the most positive. The two least positive outcomes, from a colony
- score standpoint, is to have the game end automatically.
- The first endgame happens if you have NOT declared independence.
- The game will end automatically in 1800 and your colony score will be
- tabulated.
- The 2nd endgame happens if you have declared independence, but
- have not won as yet. The game will then end automatically in 1840. This
- is a detriment because once you declare independence you cannot found
- any more cities/colonies. And a long protracted war drains your
- resources and ultimately your score.
-
- So.. the 3rd and best way to maximize your colony score is to
- declare independence on or before 1776 and win before 1800. Further
- discussion on this is as follows...
-
- 1. Maximizing your colonization score -
-
- There are 3 basic components that determine the bulk of your
- colonization score. The first one is population, but with a twist.
- Each criminal or indentured servant gives a +1 to the colony
- score, each free colonist or native convert gives +2, and each skilled
- colonist gives +4. So, as can be see, the score is fully realized for
- each trained specialist you have. This makes
- schools/colleges/universities very important.
- The second component of colonization score is the independence
- multiplier. If you are the first to declare independence, as compared
- to the other European colonies, your base score is doubled. If you are
- the 2nd to declare independence, you get a 50% bonus on your score. If
- you are the 3rd to declare, you get a 25% bonus. If you declare last,
- then you get only your base score without any multiplier.
- The final component of colonization score is how early you
- declare. For every year before 1776 you declare, you get a bonus point.
- These bonus points are added to the base population score before the
- independence multiplier is used.
- Additional components of the score are Native genocide penalties
- and monetary bonuses. For every Native village you destroy, you lose
- points based on level of difficulty. At discover level this penalty is
- 1 point per village destroyed. At Explorer level it is 2 pts per
- village destroyed, and so it adds up. Monetary bonuses are +1 point for
- every 1000 gps you have in the treasury.
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-
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- 2. Strategies, Game Startup -
-
- The strategy for winning at Colonization begins with where you
- choose to play, how tuff you choose to play, and who you choose to play.
- First off, the best scores are going to come from playing the
- Americas. Why? Because you know the lay of the land before you start.
- Secondly, the more difficult levels will give a higher score, but
- they are also tougher. Each person should play where they have at least
- a 50% chance of winning.
- Finally, who do you play as? I personally choose the Dutch. The
- reason is the relative flatness of the cost of goods back in merry old
- Amsterdam, and the free merchant ship to start. Dutch goods do not
- fluctuate as wildly in price as do the English, Spanish, and French
- ports do. This means you can count on a somewhat steady income when you
- take your goods to Europe as opposed to the price dropping with each
- load you take there.
- The English advantage of immigration is almost as good, as you can
- count on a steady supply of colonists coming to the New World. The
- Spanish advantage of conquest is good only if you want to wipe out the
- Natives ( but this impacts negatively on your final score). The French
- advantage of Native cooperation can be approximated through the use of
- Founding Mother Pocahontas.
-
- 3. Strategies, The First Colony -
-
- When you get to the New World, you do NOT want to locate your
- first colony on a tiny island, such as in the Caribbean. It is much
- better to sail to the mainland and start there. An aside, avoid placing
- any colonies near the Arawak Natives. They are quite bloodthirsty and
- will attack at the drop of a hat.
- The first colony should be located near a specialized tile of
- land, in some fashion. This could be a mineral deposit or a beaver
- tail. You get much better results by locating the colony so.
- It is most important to allow at least 2 squares distance between
- any Native village and the first colony. This gives you room to grow
- without paying for Native land.
- After you get the first colony located, move the soldier around a
- bit while your ship is returning to Europe. This gives you a full view
- around your colony, and allows you to make peace with the Natives right
- off if they are close by.
- Once your ship returns to Europe, you should procure, in order, a
- Scout, 52 horses, and an Expert Farmer. carry these to the new world
- with all due haste. The Scout will allow you to explore the continent
- and see where the other competing colonies are. The 52 horses allow you
- to use 50 to change the Soldier you have in the new world to a dragoon,
- and leave 2 horses as "seed' for developing a horse herd. The expert
- farmer will get the colony off to a good start food wise, so you can use
- the next colonist or two as a lumberjack and carpenter.
-
-
-
- 3. Strategies, The First Colony (continued) -
-
- Once you have the scout and dragoon in the new world, use the
- scout to locate the competing colonists on your continent. Then use the
- dragoon to conquer the competing colonies. This accomplishes two
- goals. First, you keep them from attacking you which they will surely
- do. Secondly, you capture their colonists and goods stored. You can
- use the ship to sell their goods for much needed cash. You can send the
- captured colonists overland to your first colony to build it faster.
- If fact, by leaving the dragoon in the general locale of their
- first colony, you can capture more as they disembark from the enemy
- ships. Thus, you build up your populace faster. It is also a cheap
- way to get those skilled carpenters and such that are expensive to train
- at the start.
- Once you have the initial colony up to 3 population with at least
- a farmer, a colonist as a lumberjack and someone working in the
- carpenter shop, you can start on the buildings in the colony. In order,
- you should build a lumber mill, a warehouse, a stockade, then a school.
- You are now ready to move past the start of the game.
- An aside which may be most important of all. You need to build
- colonies fast and furiously. Thus until your city/colony count is 10-12,
- you should not increase the pop of first colony above 3-4. You can
- start new cities with the extra colonists, which increases Liberty bell
- production and cross production, which are most important towards
- successful game completion.
-
- 4. Strategies, Founding Fathers -
-
- Similar to advancements in Civilization, Colonization has Founding
- Fathers. each of these brings an enhancement to the colonies. You gain
- founding fathers thru liberty bell production. Once you reach a certain
- amount of liberty bells produced, you get a new founding father.
- Based on the need to produce liberty bells, Jefferson is probably
- the most important one to get. It is a close call between Jefferson,
- Minuit, and LaSalle. I typically choose LaSalle, then Minuit, then
- Jefferson. LaSalle gives you a free stockade once colony pop hits 3.
- Minuit removes the Natives demand for cash payment for their lands.
- Jefferson increases the liberty bell production of statesmen by 50%.
- Next, in order of importance, are Pocahontas, Stuyvesant, Drake,
- JPJones, and Bolivar. Pocahontas removes native tension, Stuyvesant
- gives the Custom House (absolutely req'd during War of Independence),
- Drake give privateers 50% attack bonus, JPJones give you a free frigate,
- and Bolivar increases liberty bell production across the colonies by
- 20%. Beyond those you need to choose the Founding Father which best fits
- your needs of the moment.
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-
-
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- 5. Strategies, Game Play -
-
- * In order to have less complicated growth, it is almost
- imperative you eliminate the other colonies on your continent.
- Otherwise you will be fighting their dragons almost continuously.
-
- * An added benefit of eliminating the other colonies is you get
- their colonists. Often you get free carpenters, free pioneers, and
- other such specialized colonists. Of almost equal importance is you get
- to plunder their saved up stores. You always get food, and most often
- gets needed tools and muskets.
-
- * Once you eliminate their colony, leave your dragoon in the
- general area. Their ship will continue you to bring colonists to the
- new world, and you can capture them for your own.
-
- * Do not attack the Natives, as it just reduces your score and
- costs you valuable horses and muskets if you lose. Instead, trade with
- them, especially the Aztecs and Incas. For 100 tools or trade goods you
- can get 100 tons of silver for 50 or 75 gps. 100 tons of silver
- usually sells for 1800-2000 gps when shipped to Europe. Trading with
- the other natives gives you much needed raw materials to produce
- manufactured goods.
-
- * Send an indentured servant or free colonist to every Native
- village you can find. You get expert farmers, sugar cotton or tobacco
- planters, or expert ore or silver miners for free. The specialized
- colonists are 2-4 times as efficient as regular free colonists.
-
- * Use the scouts to uncover every gold coin on the map. If you
- have Founding Father DeSoto the results will always be positive. If
- you are lucky, you will get a „Fountain Of Youth‰. This lines the
- colonists up in Europe eager to flock to the New World.
-
- * Create trade routes to bring food surpluses all to one city.
- This gives you a new colonists faster. Indeed, you can get a new one
- every turn with 3 or 4 trade routes pouring food into the city. With a
- University built, you can train new statesmen every 2-3 turns.
-
- * Use pioneers to plow the plains and savannas. The food
- production goes way up with an expert farmer, and brings you more
- colonists quicker.
-
- * Using privateers, plunder the enemy colonists ships. There is a
- pseudo-patrol mode in the game. When it is the privateer's turn to
- move, use the mouse. Go to a spot on the ocean where you want the ship
- to go to. Click and HOLD the mouse button, until the mouse pointer
- onscreen says GO TO, then release the mouse button. This gives the
- order to the privateer to go to that spot in the ocean. By spacing the
- privateers appropriately, you ca have a long line of ships patrolling
- the ocean. And can attack enemy shipping at will.
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- 6. Strategies, War of Independence -
-
- * Have as many cities as possible be at 100% for rebellion. Each
- of these cities will upgrade their dragoons to continental army status.
- Thus, they get better attack and defense bonuses. The increased
- liberty bell production will also bring foreign intervention on your
- behalf sooner.
-
- * In the coastal cities, have at least 3 artillery each. You can
- use them to deadly effect on the attacking Tories.
-
- * Most importantly, hit the Tories while they are on the beach
- as it were. Sentry dragoons one tile away from the shoreline around
- each city. When the Tories land in front of you, attack them fast and
- furious using your ambush advantage. You can wipe out the whole
- attacking Tory force before they get a chance to hit the garrison in the
- city.
-
- * Almost as important as sentrying the dragoons 1 tile off the
- ocean is to have the Natives fight on your side. The well mounted
- Natives almost always defeat the Tory dragoons, who are no match for the
- Native fighting tactics.
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- 7. Frequently Asked Questions
-
- >>>1) When I built the custom house I checked and found under help that
- it was supposed to handle all logistics for me--it doesn't.<<<
-
- It handles all trade logistics for you, within bounds. A custom house
- will not sell anything if there are less than 50 units of it in the
- warehouse. It triggers to sell something when it reaches 100, and sells
- stuff until 50 of each item are left in the warehouse.
-
- >>>2) Also, it highlighted various goods that apparently it was going to
- take care of; is there any way to tell it _not_ to accept control of
- certain goods?<<
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- Yes. click on the custom house. then remove the bullet from in front of
- each item you do not want to sell. to enable selling of an item, click
- o the item until the bullet appears. Hit ESC to remove the custom
- house menu.
-
- >>>3) On the cargo space of wagons and ships could you fix it so that
- they handle 200 units rather than just in terms of holds? <<<
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- Not that I know of.
-
- >>>4) The Indians in the game attack way too frequently even though I
- take a pacific attitude and approach to them. Is there any way to
- adjust that? <<<
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- Yes and no. Depends a lot on where you put your colonies and which
- tribe you are dealing with. The Arawaks, based on the Caribbean tribes
- who were mostly cannibals, are the most violent and seem to attack
- regardless of what you do. The other tribes base their reactions on
- what you do. Keep at least 1 sqr between your colonies and the native
- cities. Two is preferable. Maintain at least 2 sqr spacing around the
- native capitols. In order of preference, to help keep peace between
- you and the natives.. get Founding Person Pocahontas, put missionaries
- in every native city you can get to, ad trade with the natives.
- Peaceful trading adds to their tolerance level.
-
- >>5) In the game the Indians are experts/masters at various skills why
- not let us hire them or trade with them on a frequent and regular basis?
- Instead of hit and miss. <<
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- Use scouts to see what skill is taught in each native city, and then
- send colonist/ind. servant there to learn that skill. An aside, the
- most rare skill is tobacco planter. Usually only one native city, in
- all the native cities combined, teach that skill.
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