The original domain has been suspended, but the article was insightful and of geek/hacker interest. The link can be replaced by the web archive, as has been done by someone else in the comments.
The Digital Antiquarian's analyses of these issues is always worth reading. Thanks for sharing!
(I liked Colonization back then, but I now acknowledge the issues. Even back then I thought it was bizarre that the French, Spanish and Dutch were expected to echo the experience of the US!).
My dad was obsessed with this game while I was growing up and I was so proud to learn how to use DOSBox so that he could play it again. A very formative game for me and I get a nostalgic itch to revisit it every few years. Just seeing the title, I can hear the music playing.
It's only hard if you actually try to engage with all of the game mechanics.
- Play as the Dutch to get their four-item capacity ship
- settle near Ore
- build only one or two cities, and make them as populated as you can. Wagon train food and raw materials in if you have to.
- produce Tools and Guns, nothing else.
- Early on, sell shiploads of basically anything from Europe to the tribes to jumpstart your economy. You don't need any other dealings with the tribes or other Europeans.
- Put your carpenters to work building fortresses, universities, and cannons.
- Once you have a university, start training up soldiers. Clear all special skills not involved in growing food or producing guns so you have an large number of civilians to train up.
- Put a tall stack of professional soldiers and cannons in your fortresses.
The page author doesn't seem to be a big fan of the Civ IV total conversion, but I actually had a lot of fun with it over the Christmas break (the Steam version is included in a bundle with Civ IV). I haven't played the original though, so I'm not attached to any features that might have been dropped.
when I was a kid, I was frustrated by the difficult choices of colony placement: "here, I get ore, but one tile over there's bonus food!" and wished I could create a "perfect" map.
This was possible in the Civ IV: Colonization version! However, it appears that the more productive you are, the bigger the Royal army is. I wish I understood the precise mechanism of that.
Loved that game! Fiddled around and figured out how to hack what price goods sold for and to change who (indentured servants vs. skilled trades people) was willing to cross the ocean.
Off topic but, Phantom wallet blocked this domain when I clicked on the link as being 'malicious'. I also found out I still had that extension installed on this browser profile.
leonidasv|9 months ago
jolux|9 months ago
Philpax|9 months ago
simlevesque|9 months ago
selfselfgo|9 months ago
[deleted]
the_af|9 months ago
The original domain has been suspended, but the article was insightful and of geek/hacker interest. The link can be replaced by the web archive, as has been done by someone else in the comments.
flohofwoe|9 months ago
jpm_sd|9 months ago
https://www.filfre.net/2020/12/ethics-in-strategy-gaming-par...
the_af|9 months ago
(I liked Colonization back then, but I now acknowledge the issues. Even back then I thought it was bizarre that the French, Spanish and Dutch were expected to echo the experience of the US!).
MattSteelblade|9 months ago
ahmeneeroe-v2|9 months ago
FredPret|9 months ago
- Play as the Dutch to get their four-item capacity ship
- settle near Ore
- build only one or two cities, and make them as populated as you can. Wagon train food and raw materials in if you have to.
- produce Tools and Guns, nothing else.
- Early on, sell shiploads of basically anything from Europe to the tribes to jumpstart your economy. You don't need any other dealings with the tribes or other Europeans.
- Put your carpenters to work building fortresses, universities, and cannons.
- Once you have a university, start training up soldiers. Clear all special skills not involved in growing food or producing guns so you have an large number of civilians to train up.
- Put a tall stack of professional soldiers and cannons in your fortresses.
- declare independence and win.
awjlogan|9 months ago
flohofwoe|9 months ago
AceJohnny2|9 months ago
I vaguely recall the embedded Python being accused of poor performance. I wonder if that's why they switched to Lua in later engines.
AceJohnny2|9 months ago
This was possible in the Civ IV: Colonization version! However, it appears that the more productive you are, the bigger the Royal army is. I wish I understood the precise mechanism of that.
jrs235|9 months ago
AustinDev|9 months ago
SirFatty|9 months ago
ricardo81|9 months ago
frshOffTheBoat|9 months ago
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