Civilization IV: Colonization Anticipation Thread

[Flasch186]

well im starting over as I definitely made a bunch of mistakes in game #1.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

well im starting over as I definitely made a bunch of mistakes in game #1.

Thumbs up? Thumbs down?

[Flasch186]

Thumbs up, for the price $29.99 it cant be beat. Im downloading the BlueMArble mod and another new mod just out that adds to and tweaks.

[Alan T]

Ok, went ahead and bought it (I'm weak)..

So far I have no idea what I'm doing.. but I did find out that CTL-I is almost necessary.

[Buccaneer]

To me, in all of the Civ4 patches and expansions, the single greatest fix was making Ctrl-I stick. I really, really like uncluttered interfaces.

[Tasan]

Man, its been too long since I played Civ 4, what was Ctrl-I?

[Cork]

There is a demo out that allows one to play the game for an hour. The link is here:

hxxp://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=72365

You can purchase the game from the demo as well.

I played for about 20 minutes, and generally liked it. It felt like Civ 4, but at the same time it felt like the original Colonization. So far I like it, but am not sure if I will purchase it at this time.

-Cork

[Tasan]

Excellent find on the downloadable demo. I'll give it a spin tomorrow when I have the time.

[Tasan]

Okay Alan, quit holding out on us. How is it?

[Alan T]

Hmm.. well it is prettier looking than the original game which of course is obvious.

I think the interface is clunky and annoying and it actually bothers my immersion into the game.

I think it is a pretty decent colonizing simulation, for whatever that is worth. The original was an outstanding game, so it wasn't like they had to do much to keep that level here. They didn't really break alot that was right before.

My biggest issue is just immersion.. I feel like I am just clicking buttons right now, and any time I feel that way I don't usually play it for long. I haven't found many writeups online at various forums of people with general hints or suggestions on how to get going.. but I've been mostly self-sufficient on that just using common sense thus far.

I'll have to see how the later part of the game is, but I don't think this one would last too long for me right now. Maybe multiplayer would change my opinion on that, but since I rarely played MP Civ, I doubt I would play this MP either.

[Tasan]

Hmm....this sounds a lot like the new Railroad and Pirates games. Pretty, but nothing much to hold your attention like the originals. I reallllllly want a good Railroad Tycoon game again, Rails just didn't do it for me.

I'll see on this one this afternoon. The demo download is almost done, and I should have some time for it tonight.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Hmm....this sounds a lot like the new Railroad and Pirates games. Pretty, but nothing much to hold your attention like the originals. I reallllllly want a good Railroad Tycoon game again, Rails just didn't do it for me.

I'll see on this one this afternoon. The demo download is almost done, and I should have some time for it tonight.

There is almost no change in gameplay from the original. It feels more like that game with updated graphics than a CIV IV modded with a colonization scenario.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Tasan

Hmm....this sounds a lot like the new Railroad and Pirates games. Pretty, but nothing much to hold your attention like the originals. I reallllllly want a good Railroad Tycoon game again, Rails just didn't do it for me.

I'll see on this one this afternoon. The demo download is almost done, and I should have some time for it tonight.

yeah.. I didn't like the new "Rails" and the new Pirates game either, nor did I even buy the new SimCity game, wheras I loved the older, better versions of all of these.

I think lately these games seem to be reducing complexity and improving appearance in attempts to get a completely different audience than me or gamers like me.

That said, I don't think I am as down on this game as I was on the other ones mentioned.. This isn't a bad game.. but I think I'm a little let down as there was more promise that wasn't taken advantage of.. and also like I said earlier, I am just having problems getting immersed into this game

[Buccaneer]

They don't make games like they used to, even Sid (excepting Civ4 of course). This should just be a glorified scenario, from what I am reading.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

They don't make games like they used to, even Sid (excepting Civ4 of course). This should just be a glorified scenario, from what I am reading.

I think it is different enough from Civ4 that i don't really feel it would just be a glorified scenerio, but the big issue is that I am not sure if I like this better than what I would imagine a glorified scenario would be like!

[GMO]

They're going for the casual gamer - someone who comes home at night and wants to relax playing a game but not think too much.
They'll probably do well going for that type of gamer.

[Flasch186]

Its taken me awhile to figure things out again, but the last game was a bit more succesful and I seemed to have a better grasp on how things worked and had more fun. I think it'll get better and better as we go.

[Big Fo]

Originally Posted by GMO

They're going for the casual gamer - someone who comes home at night and wants to relax playing a game but not think too much.
They'll probably do well going for that type of gamer.

The thing is that I'm not sure how much the premise behind C4:Col appeals to the typical casual gamer.

[Flasch186]

Alright, I officially dont like it. With the mods available to Civ4 I just dont see myself playing this. It's too structured for my liking. hmmm, Ill keep it in case some mods come out to truly grow it but as is, I just dont see the point when I like civ4 so much.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

Alright, I officially dont like it. With the mods available to Civ4 I just dont see myself playing this. It's too structured for my liking. hmmm, Ill keep it in case some mods come out to truly grow it but as is, I just dont see the point when I like civ4 so much.

I'm thinking I feel the same way after playing it the past two nights. I won't have time to play it any tonight, and likely going out with my wife Friday night.. I'll try it again over the weekend, but otherwise I think I'm likely going to shelf it.

[Passacaglia]

I got this Wednesday, and will have a large chunk of time over the weekend to play for the first time. Since it sounds like it's a lot like the old Colonization that I've already played, I'm not going to bother reading the manual. Any beginner's advice to help me avoid realizing I made a crucial mistake and starting over?

[ColtCrazy]

Well, I picked it up yesterday. I have only played one game...like those earlier, made tons of mistakes, but I really enjoyed this game. The trading feature makes it pretty interesting and you really have to think on how to structure the military and economic areas of every colony. By the time I backed out of the first game, I had a decent economy going between 3 colonies, each specializing in something and able to build items I could sell back to Europe. Had even had a few "parties" and was still making some good money. Then, I stupidly attacked some natives and just didn't have the army to do more than stalemate with them.

Colonization is a big part of the 5th grade standards, so that probably made it even more interesting for me. For $30, it's worth the buy. Lord knows I've had less fun and spend more on games in the past.

[Passacaglia]

Been playing a little, starting over a lot. Does the game seem really dark to everyone else or is it just me? It's like I have to squint to see everything.

[Flasch186]

I think im going to play some more tonight but I have a hard time maintaining any level of troops so Im always on the verge of being wiped out which maybe is accurate for how it was back then. I cant imagine fighting the motherland's troops though.

[Tasan]

I picked it up yesterday from Frys for $24. I've enjoyed it so far, its almost exactly like the original.

One thing I'm having an issue with though is BSODs. I've gotten two of them so far. Its not something my computer does, ever, and I've got up to date drivers all around. Anyone see or hear about this?

[henry296]

Originally Posted by Cork

There is a demo out that allows one to play the game for an hour. The link is here:

hxxp://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=72365

You can purchase the game from the demo as well.

I played for about 20 minutes, and generally liked it. It felt like Civ 4, but at the same time it felt like the original Colonization. So far I like it, but am not sure if I will purchase it at this time.

-Cork

Is there any good explanation why it would take 12 hours to download if I'm not on dial-up.

[Celeval]

Took about 1.5h for me.

[Passacaglia]

Geez, at that rate, just go to a store and buy it.

[ColtCrazy]

Played my second game today. Did better in that I finally had a decent economy going and had a respectable army built up (10 troops, 2 dragoons, 2 warships) but my colonies were spread out so I spent most of my time transporting items and never got my revolution slider built up. The game ended and I was only at 15%. Will have to try to centralize my colony in the next game. Very good game though, glad I got it (any game that put my Madden playing on hold is good for me)

[Passacaglia]

Another Q: The natives just "gave" me one of their settlements. It doesn't look like I can use it as a colony -- what good does this do me?

[Brian Swartz]

They didn't give it to you, they abandoned it.

It's mostly like the original, but the more I play the more I see a lot of differences as well(some subtle, some not-so-much).

[Alan T]

I played this more over the weekend. I'm still not sure that I'll play this a bunch more once I actually do manage to beat it. Seems to be a ton of "tricks" to it that are almost necessary to do well.

[Passacaglia]

Here's another question -- how many colonies do you guys usually have throughout the game? I usually end up building one until it gets huge, but it seems like I "should" be starting several little colonies.

[Big Fo]

I've explored pretty much the entire map and it looks like there are only native countries (6 or 7 of them), and no other European colonies. Is this supposed to happen? It being my first game, I chose the third hardest out of the seven difficulty levels if that has any affect. I guess I'm just competing against the clock here then.

fwiw I'm in 1615 and built four cities (size 6, 4, 4, and 2 thus far), making my money off coats and cigars. I'm about to build my first armory and want to get a decent gun stockpile going for down the road. An expert statesmen has been pumping out liberty bells since the beginning and I'm at 11% support independence. The REF is already looking pretty tough. Hopefully I'm not too far off the right track on my first game.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Big Fo

I've explored pretty much the entire map and it looks like there are only native countries (6 or 7 of them), and no other European colonies. Is this supposed to happen? It being my first game, I chose the third hardest out of the seven difficulty levels if that has any affect. I guess I'm just competing against the clock here then.

fwiw I'm in 1615 and built four cities (size 6, 4, 4, and 2 thus far), making my money off coats and cigars. I'm about to build my first armory and want to get a decent gun stockpile going for down the road. An expert statesmen has been pumping out liberty bells since the beginning and I'm at 11% support independence. The REF is already looking pretty tough. Hopefully I'm not too far off the right track on my first game.

Maybe the other colonies got wiped out by natives? They should be out there.

Your REF is getting tough because you have been pumping out liberty bells since the beginning. That is one of the "tricks" I referred to earlier.. The more liberty bells you pump out, the larger the REF gets. You have to wait to produce liberty bells until later in the game and then quickly pump it all out fast all at once.

[Big Fo]

Hmm, I guess it's too late now since the force is already pretty big. We'll just need lots of guns and citizens, better start pumping out those fur coats, cigars, and crosses.

[Passacaglia]

That's a good tip Alan, thanks. Is there still the rule that if a colony gets above a certain number of citizens (I think 8), it has to have 10% rebels?

[Buccaneer]

I don't see any links to ordering a download version at any of the official sites. Are they legit?

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I don't see any links to ordering a download version at any of the official sites. Are they legit?

I did the Direct2Drive version which is a legit download version. Gamersgate is a legit site as well, as it is the primary online purchase/download location for Paradoxplaza games.

I can't comment on the other locations as I haven't ever used them.

[Buccaneer]

Sounds like Civ4:Col players need to keep up with the changes Dale/Snoopy are making.

Dale/Snoopy Patch Thread - Apolyton Civilization Site Forums

[Brian Swartz]

Your REF is getting tough because you have been pumping out liberty bells since the beginning. That is one of the "tricks" I referred to earlier.. The more liberty bells you pump out, the larger the REF gets. You have to wait to produce liberty bells until later in the game and then quickly pump it all out fast all at once.

FYI, unless they changed something major with this version I don't know about, this is a common and false theory. I haven't yet gotten to declaring independence yet(scrapped my first game and am at the beginning of my first 'serious' one), but if you play your cards right and know what you are doing, you can defeat a REF of virtually any size with relative ease. Also, by pumping out liberty bells right away, you get the benefits of them(founders points, productivity increases, etc.).

Since there seems to be some interest in it here I'll report on how it goes once I get to independence, but I strongly dispute the quoted opinion. It seems to me, and I don't mean to be arrogant by saying this, but there are a lot of people spouting this who don't understand how Colonization works. The same thing happened in the original game, and by the time I was ready to declare independence I was never worried about whether or not I could win -- just how fast I could win.

[Buccaneer]

I've been slowly getting into this game, reading what I can and trying to understand the mechanics (esp. not playing the original). I think a number of civers are waiting for the first official patch to get serious. There seems to be some exploits and some balancing issues, plus a rather narrowly defined path to winning. But seeing that there are truly some non-Civ4 elements, it does feel more than a glorified scenario.

[Buccaneer]

Just finished my first game on Explorer level, mostly just working out the mechanics and priorities. It ended up being very easy that I won, without trying very hard, by 1656. I only had one large city plus two tiny cities, one for sugar/furs and the other for a little bit of silver. Got my economy going ok, with a number of good specialists, and started buying guns, horses and cannons. I was pretty much ready by 1600 and then cranked up the Liberty Bell machine. Only took about 30 turns to get to revolution. I then shut down everything, converted the remaining units to Dragoons and waited. I had 16 Dragoons and 9 Cannons against a total of 15 Regulars, 5 Dragoons and 11 Artillery and easily won all of the battles. I basically had twice as many troops than was needed, so I could have started the mechanisms earlier. Would've been the same results though.

Overall, it was fun, simple game with some gamey elements. I really had fun working the economy and trades, as well as exploring. By 1600 though, the Founding Fathers started coming up fast and furious and within a few decades, I had maxed out nearly every single category. Once I had enough (actually, too many) troops, there was no reason to do anything else since the game ends when you win Independence. And I kept those troops out of cities so I could attack the King's troops very easily.

Not sure if bumping up the difficulty level will make much difference, the game will play exactly the same way: set up 1 coastal city (plus 1-2 feeder cities), trade to get gold to buy guns, horses and cannons, and then convert everyone to Dragoons.

[FrogMan]

Couldn't find an impressions threads, but anyway, had a $20 gift card from Wal-Mart last Saturday and saw that game on the shelf. I figured for $10 it was well worth a try. Been playing around with it, trying to get the hang of things and it's been fun so far. Not very heavily strategizing or anything, simply playing around.

While it's definitely different from Civ4, the feel is about the same so you are not completely lost. I like it so far. I've already got my $10 back in enjoyment in one week.

Started with a random leader at the very easiest level, ended up with Frontenac and got a real kick out of the name of my first two settlements: Quebec and Montreal.

FM

[gi]

I'm waiting for patches that may or may not have already came out to fix some of the issues being reported. I'll check now...

[Passacaglia]

Anyone still playing this? I picked it up again last night, but I got annoyed when someone offered to join my Continental Congress. I think I liked it the old way, where I got to choose whatever was available once I had enough liberty bells. It actually got me wanting to just fire up the old version. Anyone else feeling like this, or are there people thinking they couldn't go back to the old version, now that it's been a few months?

[Ksyrup]

I had such high hopes for this game. I played the hell out of it for the first month or so, kept up with updates/posts on a couple of the boards, but honestly, haven't touched it in quite awhile. I think reading some of the comments from people involved in the development of the game really killed it for me. There seemed to be a dual focus of (a) tailoring the game to be played with the goal of creating an army to fight for independence almost immediately from the moment you found your first city, and (b) eliminating/squashing all the elements of the original Colonization that made the game too easy or allowed players to "cheat." Both of these robbed the game of any fun.

First of all, one of the great things about the original COL was the leisurely pace one could take before deciding to ramp up on building guns and getting prepared for war against the homeland. You want to go rampage against some indians, take on another European colony, etc.. no problem. You still had plenty of time to get serious later on. Here, if you aren't preparing for war immediately, you're screwed. And that's not only not fun (for me), but it's not realistic, either. And, it makes no sense in terms of increasing unhappiness with the King, etc., if the people are hellbent on breaking away from Europe on Day One in America, to the point where they are trying to build guns immediately.

Second, I lost track of how many times the answer to, "Why did you take that out?", or, "I liked the way the old game did such-and-such because it was fun," got responses of, "It made the game too easy." Things like Custom House, for example. The fact is, I'm playing against myself, so if I want to cheat myself or create house rules, it's up to me. What the hell should the developer care if I take advantage of game elements that work, but make the game "too easy." I just hated what I understood to be the entire development process for this game.

Now, it's been probably 6 months or more since I touched this game. I'm sure some patches/mods have cleaned a lot of this up. Anyone stuck with the game enough to share some insight into what's been going on with the game, post-release? Because honestly, the game was such a disappointment to me that I don't think it's worth spending my time trying to wade through everything to determine whether to give the game another shot with patches and certain mods that might make the game feel more like the original.

[gi]

There were a couple of deal breaker bugs in the game for me that I waited for the patch for. Patch came out (and I used mods to get around the bugs) and it didn't draw me in. I still fire up the old version if I want to scratch that itch. Maybe after two patches, if they ever get around to it. Took forever to get the first patch.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'll have to check on the patch. I was having similar graphics issues to the ones that plagued me when Civ4 was first released. Hopefully they fixed it.

[Buccaneer]

I suppose I got to bring this up again since I played it twice more this summer and enjoyed each game immensely. The key was to use the Age of Discovery II mod

Latest version: Download here! - Civilization Fanatics' Forums

Numerous changes to the very, very weak vanilla game, including have an REF that was very difficult to defeat on higher levels (Patriot or above).

ps. There is a mod on top of AoDII called Age of Further Discovery - I do not recommend this mod at all.