It's a lot harder.

[Dinner]

I remember Colonization 1 being something of a push over but Colonization 2 is a lot, lot harder. In my first game the king had over 500 infantry and over 350 warships!

[DarthVeda]

Yeah it's out of control. I'm not entirely sure what the distinction between the difficulty levels is.

[Ijuin]

I liked the old setup whereby expansions to the REF were funded by the money that you paid to the King. It made for an interesting trade-off: you could keep the REF size down by restricting your volume of trade with Europe or by making a lot of tax protests (which reduced the number of types of goods that you could sell), but this reduced your profitability as well.

Having it tied to Liberty Bells here greatly reduces the value of having Liberty Bells in the first place (Rebel Sentiment bonuses, Founding Fathers).

I would like to see (either in a patch or a mod) a setup where X% of the money you pay to the King (higher percent on higher levels) goes to buy new units for the REF. Alternatively, as has been proposed, refusing the King's demands for cash could lead to an immediate purchase of a new unit for the REF, while purchases of new units would be fairly slow if you paid up every time.

[DarthVeda]

That second solution seems like a much more workable solution for this particular incarnation of Colonization.

Particularly if there is little or no buildup of his forces otherwise.

[Ijuin]

Yes--it pushes you into another trade-off situation. Do you pay off the King and lose a lot of cash, while keeping the REF size down, or do you keep your cash and incur a penalty for your War of Independence?

[Dinner]

Man, I'm getting slaughtered. It's my second game since buying Colonization 2 and my 100 odd military united are facing over 800 of the king's units. Can you get a foreign intervention like in Colonization 1?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Ijuin
Yes--it pushes you into another trade-off situation. Do you pay off the King and lose a lot of cash, while keeping the REF size down, or do you keep your cash and incur a penalty for your War of Independence?

In this game it seems like you have to use your money fast before the king extorts it from you or else you end up way out numbered.

[DarthVeda]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Man, I'm getting slaughtered. It's my second game since buying Colonization 2 and my 100 odd military united are facing over 800 of the king's units. Can you get a foreign intervention like in Colonization 1?

Not in the same manner. I suspect you may be able to solicit the powers on the map (Natives, other Colonies) to aid you though.