Colonization is here!

Colonization announced!
Check the top of this mag!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/ ... cgamer.jpg

Are you kidding me?? Is it true?

please god let it be true!! Links anyone??

"Major announcement from a legendary PC developer" in the August issue of PC Gamer.. It's censored on this page though: Gamesradar

Could it be?

Where did you get this fregglez?

What?????!!! If it's true then WOW this is really great news!

Is it real? maybe fregglez photoshopped the cover, the mag isn't out yet..

Alright, but maybe not.

When I read here that Pirates! and both major RR's Tycoon's were released bundled, I knew that the best ones of those would get another shot. After all, some games are so simple they become difficult. Any ideas (such as MMORPG) how this could be any different, or just the hoped-4 C'n. 2, sequel?

In light of the latest rumours, I’ve decided to re-visit some of my own wishes for the next Colonization. Well, here they are, in no particular order..

Of course, they should incorporate some of the newer features from Civ IV, among these being: Better graphics, better AI (one of the worst parts of Colonization), automated functions for Pioneers, patrol function for soldiers and ships, and a building queue for the Carpenter’s projects.

More European Powers. (Portugal has to be included).

There are some issues relating to the Founding Fathers that have to be addressed:

For those who have played Civ IV: When they made Civ IV, they tested the game extensively by playing it over and over to find any imbalances in the game. This led to the exclusion of the Industrious/Philosophical leader trait, because it was simply too powerful a combination. So how does this relate to Colonization? Well, after playing it over and over you soon discover that some of the Founding Fathers are very powerful, some could easily have been excluded for lack of effect one way or another, and some are downright destructive.

For example: Thomas Jefferson is extremely helpful (+50% liberty bells from Statesmen), de Sepulveda is not really helpful at all, at the point you get him he is more annoying than anything else, and Jakob Fugger is just plain destructive. Fugger usually joins the Congress late in the game, at which point you’ve probably thrown a lot of valuable cargo into the sea and adjusted to become more self-sufficient. When Fugger joins at this point, the result is that you will lose even more valuable cargo.

So, a clean-up in the Continental Congress would be great. Also, new ones should be added. Examples: Vasco Da Gama (Maybe opening the possibility for trade with Africa/Asia) and there could be many more.

New Colonists:

Colony Doctor – A doctor in a colony would prevent disease and heal military units present in the colony. One doctor could be able to treat up to 10 colonists, meaning that when you have 11 colonists you would have to assign two doctors to the Doctor’s House or something like that. (Or one doctor’s effect divided on total number of colonists making some sort of calculation deciding the probability of disease etc) Seems pretty strange that there are no elements of this in the game, knowing how big of a problem disease actually was.

Cowboys/Hunters – We know that Europeans brought cattle to the New World, and we know that they hunted buffalos. So maybe Hunters could be sent out (automated) trying to kill buffalos (some could be more effective after learning from the natives), returning from time to time with meat. Cowboys could have designated areas for raising cattle etc. We also know that cattle helped plow fields in the new world, so maybe pioneers could be more effective when there are cattle present?

And when we are on the subject of pioneers: they should be able to build forts on strategic locations.


Military units:

They should probably have a health-bar, healing faster in colonies with doctors present. Experience is another feature, knowledge of the land being of great importance. As we know from history, George Washington worked as a surveyor as a young man, which is why he knew so much about the native terrain. Soldiers could gain knowledge of the land (experience) when fighting out in the open or one could have the option of sending them out on surveying missions so that they gain experience over time. There are countless possibilities here.

Morale is one of the most important aspects of military units, so I hope this could be incorporated; gaining morale when winning battles and when resting in colonies, losing morale when ambushed by natives, losing battles etc. I find the lack of the morale aspect in military units to be totally unrealistic, because it is such an important factor of a unit’s efficiency.

Maybe some units could become generals/leaders over time, boosting morale in surrounding troops?

Diplomacy:

This is also an area which has to be made more nuanced. Diplomacy in the original Colonization is far too simplistic: Pay tribute or prepare for WAR – that’s a bit black & white don’t you think?

More options for alliances, teaming up against other European Powers or natives. Maybe negotiate deals, think about the Louisiana Purchase for example. This leads to another important point – territorial claims. There should be some sort of borders. One of the most irritating parts of the game is when the computer fortifies his units outside your colonies. In real life, there would be more respect for territorial claims, unless at war of course. When at peace, units should be able to enter the same hex as other powers.

Missions:

Here are some ideas for missions and missionaries. When a missionary settles in a native settlement he would learn their language after a while. There could be some sort of trust-level, where missionaries gain more trust over time. A high trust-level would make them more effective in performing certain tasks, for example: ask Indians to spy on others, ask Indians to join up with other tribes to eliminate European rivals, negotiate cease fires with other tribes etc. there are many possibilities. I know, some of these things are possible in the original, but they should be more nuanced. Maybe missionaries could convince the natives that trading a certain cargo would be very useful to them etc.

Why aren’t there any wars between the different tribes in Colonization? Europeans could be caught in the cross-fire of native wars, being forced to take sides or to negotiate peace etc.

And by the way, once a scout has visited a native settlement, it should be possible to check that settlement for trade preferences and what skill they teach. When a mission is in place, one should be able to get reports about population, military strength etc.

Cargo:

As mentioned earlier, I would like to see buffalos and cattle.

Whaling: Whaling would be a historical accurate profession in the New World.

Coffee: The coffee plant was brought to Europe by the Dutch around 1616, and crossed the Atlantic with a French naval officer some time after 1714. He stole a part of king Louis the 14th coffee tree, presented to the king as a gift to be placed in his botanical garden in Paris (if that story isn’t in the right spirit of the game I don’t’ know what is :-D). Anyway, he stole the coffee tree and brought it back to the New World, where it spread quickly to other parts of the Americas. By 1800 Brazil produced large quantities of coffee. Coffee could be introduced later in the game, which brings me to my final point.

I think one of the problems with Colonization is that the early period is very challenging and fun, but once you have discovered all there is to discover, and started producing everything there is to produce, it just becomes “more of the same”. The introduction of new commodities in later stages of the game would be historically accurate and make the game more fun in the long run.

For example, coffee was introduced some time after 1700. The same is true for gold. There was a “gold rush” in Brazil around 1690, yet this commodity does not exist in Colonization.

If the player knows that new resources will be discovered in later parts of the game, he or she will have something to look forward to. These new discoveries could be unlocked by a certain year, a Founding Father, or maybe scouting patrols (for gold) and agents in Europe (for coffee).

Well, lots of ideas, and there are many more, but I’ll leave it at that for now. What do you guys think should be added in the next Colonization?

It's official:

http://ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=315205

It will be based on the Civ IV engine. Full name will be:
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Colonization™ for Games for Windows®

This is GREAT news people!

also making the European rivals harder. Even when you play in the most difficult mode, the only big event you have to encounter is your own nation.
Ow and please remove the damn population limit.

Second that!

Wonder if there will be a any new features in this version or if it will be a remake of the original. I hope they put in some new stuff.. but in any case, a better AI will be the single most significant improvement from the original, not to mention some new sweeeet civIV-engine graphics :-D

I hope we can play indians factions, it should be very fun.
For european nations, objectiv are independance, but for indians what is ?

Hi, I'm new here. I just learned yesterday that Colonization is coming back. As a big fan of the original game, which I think it's close to perfection, I'm not too impressed with what I've seen so far.

Of course, I know nothing of the way it's going to play, but I really hate the graphics. I don't see the need to bunch together these huge scale differences in a very dark, crowded screen. The brightly colored borders, borrowed from CivIV, are completely ugly.

I know a lot of you would disagree with what I say, but from the little I've seen, the old graphics are much easier on the eye. Of all the versions of Civilization, CivIII has perhaps the nicest graphic designs; why didn't they stick with that?

Anyway, it's something to look forward to when the kids go to sleep early for school! Heheheh....

Hello rocaluma, and welcome!

I have to disagree with you on the part about the graphics, but you already said you expected that response so that's no shocker I suppose..

Anyway, I think I know what you mean.. a game shouldn't mainly be about graphics. It's the same principle as with good movies: a lot of action and fancy effects do not make a movie great, you need a quality story for that imo. I've seen a lot of bad games with awesome graphics, but I do not stop playing a game I enjoy because it lacks state of the art graphics. And I think Colonization is the perfect example of that.

I was a bit sceptical when Civ IV came out, for the same reasons that you mention, afraid that there would be too much focus on 3D graphics etc, but as I discovered it didn't ruin the game at all. I don't know if you are familiar with Civ IV, but if you just avoid zooming in you have the same great overview as with older versions. And that explains some of the screenshots I guess, because all of them are zoomed in - to show off the great graphics. I never play a game with max zoom.. what's the point in having one unit visible on the monitor? You want that great empire-building overview so you know where units are and can plan ahead.

I wouldn't worry about it, I think the new version will be great. In fact, I'm guessing that, come september, those poor kids of yours will have to go to bed earlier than usual because "daddy's got some important work to do". Just make sure you're not late for work the next day

Hi Napoleon, I'm hoping you have a point there. I've just seen the zoomed in screenshots, and maybe you can even de-activate the borders (I hope). But in any case, if the game mechanics are there, the rest is unimportant. I remember this game called 1612 (I think), about trade, great idea, with stunning graphics, but poorly put together. It was hard to throw away because it had so much that could and should have been good that wasn't.

I agree with you that great graphics or stunts don't make a good movie or game. In fact I remember having more fun with the first Civilization (I still have the original box, manual and even the receipt, which was I think about 50 bucks!), than with the subsequent ones. It was amazing. Same with Colonization, which I still play.

Anyway, it was great to know that an updated version is coming, and also to find this site. It makes sense that there would be so many people that loved this game.

Will re-install it this weekend and will stay in touch