Beating Colonization

[ravagon]

One other point I'd add is to pay attention to the notices that come up as the EF begins the offensive.
If you attack from outside a city square you get the equivalent of the standard terrain defense rating added to your attack rating (or something like it).
Hence if you leave a mountain square as the only viable landing point you get +200-odd % bonus to all units attacking European forces on said square as long as they're attacking from a non-city square.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Fascinating! ravagon - thanks for that. I never knew that little tidbit before. I go off now to try it out (if Col will work for me in Win2k).

[H Tower]

the EF will land wherever it wants, and the game just says that your forces are captured if they happen to land on a square occpied by one of your units.

[Fighter]

I got realy annoyed when I decided to prevent the REF from landing by covering the coast with Dragoons...Lost like 6 drags in one turn.

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt
Whereas I finished many a Coloniz game, just never yet a Civ3 game

Originally posted by OPD

OMG!!!!!!!!

Whoops. I said too much...

[tonic]

I follow the tips by early players (a Google search should show the site(s)) by building only 4 colonies (to reduce the late game micromanagement tedium) with only two on the coast. This will limit the landing sites for the REF on declaration of independence. I've confirmed their hypothesis that the REF will attack the lesser defended colony, so that one could prepare ones forces to ambush the landing. Of course you need to have an adequate number of horses, muskets and veterans to maintain your defence and carry the counterattack through. I have found trading with the more "developed" Indians like Incas and Aztecs most profitable and have never gone to war with them.
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[H Tower]

the indian situation really depends on how much your willing to suck up to them later in the game. They start demanding food, tributes, etc, etc. Some of their cities take up prime colony sites too. If the incas or aztecs have cities close by mine, most of the time I declare a genocidal war and kill them off so that they stop being annoying

[Fighter]

Apart from the ONE game when I decided to play Spainiards specificaly for genocide, was bored and wanted to see if I could pull it off, Ive only ever gone after one group for little provocation, the Inca's. They are tough to fight when they attack first AND their cities are LOADED.

[tonic]

Originally posted by H Tower
the indian situation really depends on how much your willing to suck up to them later in the game. They start demanding food, tributes, etc, etc. Some of their cities take up prime colony sites too.

I personally find it quite easy to appease them. Most of the time a steady trade with them not only keeps them happy but also gives more profits than trading with Europe back at the docks (particularly if you offer them what they need most). To further placate them one can give them some cheap yet attractive (to them) items eg trade goods bought cheaply in Europe.

On the the issue of acquiring prime real estate that they occupy, one can usually get away with a bold occupation ("This land is mine now"). I always get Pochahontas to facilitate my friendly approach to the Indians. Some fortification is usually sufficient to defend against the occasional surprise attack.

[Playa del Carmen]

Originally posted by Fighter
I got realy annoyed when I decided to prevent the REF from landing by covering the coast with Dragoons...Lost like 6 drags in one turn.

I had a similar rude awakening.


I usually have no more than 4 permenent colonies. One (MAYBE two) for producing tools (for finishing forts and fortresses) muskets and horses (for arming/re-arming soldiers) and producing a lot of food (so I get free colonists often.) Two for trading goods (sugar/rum, tobacco/cigars, cotton/cloth). By the time I'm ready for the War of Independence, I'm well-equipped and have just as many dragoons as I can (which can be a whole lot). But then again, I always play on the easiest levels.

As for the Incas, I say trade for silver until the the bottom falls out of the silver market, then get rid of them. You can get a lot of gold from their cities and use it to buy ships, free colonists, specilized colonists and veteran soldiers.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Playa del Carmen
As for the Incas, I say trade for silver until the the bottom falls out of the silver market, then get rid of them. You can get a lot of gold from their cities and use it to buy ships, free colonists, specilized colonists and veteran soldiers.

Chew 'em up and spit 'em out. You're so evil.

[Playa del Carmen]

Originally posted by Sagacious Dolphin


Chew 'em up and spit 'em out. You're so evil.

Oh yes. I havevn't even started to tell my tales of the great Tupi conflicts.

[Sikander]

I build up hugely, with two seperate tools - muskets and or artillery systems. Most of my cities focus on only doing one or two things economically (though they all focus on cranking liberty bells). I usually play the English btw to get all those colonists. Be sure to use your colleges to get veteran troops. Artillery is pretty cheap too, though it doesn't have a lot of staying power. Build big, build a lot, fortify. Too bad you don't have the option of taking the war back to the mother country.

[Illyrien]

Kindbud

well, just do 3 thing.

1. Build up an industry...selling stuff to Europe is nice, but not too important. Getting setting up a tool-industri is! Tools is the most important factor in growth and this industri can be geared towards military purpose pretty fast (and muskets sell for a great price)

2. Instead of using islands or the costline along continents, push inland all you can. Inland cities are wont get attacked. Those few port cities that you have should have mountsains/forest along the coastline so that when the intervention forces land, they land on forest. Then just kill them outright, not too difficult to do, since you know exactly where the enemy is about to land.

3. Use lots of wagons to but horses and muskets in, and place these in the port cities so that defeated soldiers can resuply.

This these tips and you will be beating the game at high difficulty levels pretty fast. (I have only managed the second hardest myself...that last once eludes me)

[War4ever]

yeah ,tools/mustkets are key.......and only a couple of coastal ciites since you get the ambush bonus