Colony Exploit

[Sarxis]

I wish colonies actually did something. Right now, they just let you take up resources and territory. But let them produce some shields or trade or something!

[Harovan]

Fosse has it right. If you have 2 supplies, you lose your own first.

There is a much nastier colony exploit. I've seen it on undercrowded maps with large unsettled areas and no chance to expand further. The AI will build colonies to get resources and luxuries and then guard them with units. So far so good. But if you now pillage the road, you can screw it seriously. First, it's not an act of aggression, since it happened outside of cultural borders. And second, instead of just sending a worker to repair the damage, the AI withdraws the unit from the colony, leaving it for pillaging by barbarians, which are very numerous on maps like this.

[bongo]

I can think of one way to make colonies wortwhile, give back the worker when the colony disappears because it is swallowed by someones cultural borders.

[Alex]

Originally posted by bongo
I can think of one way to make colonies wortwhile, give back the worker when the colony disappears because it is swallowed by someones cultural borders.

This is an interesting idea.

[Stuie]

Mod the game so that cities cannot be built in tundra/desert/jungle/forest and you'll need colonies. I use them all the time.

[dearmad]

But does the AI then? Or does it just make it too easy for the player?

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
Fosse has it right. If you have 2 supplies, you lose your own first.

There is a much nastier colony exploit. I've seen it on undercrowded maps with large unsettled areas and no chance to expand further. The AI will build colonies to get resources and luxuries and then guard them with units. So far so good. But if you now pillage the road, you can screw it seriously. First, it's not an act of aggression, since it happened outside of cultural borders. And second, instead of just sending a worker to repair the damage, the AI withdraws the unit from the colony, leaving it for pillaging by barbarians, which are very numerous on maps like this.

Ran into that in your "BYE BYE PTW" game, SR?

I admit that in the early game, if a unit of mine comes across an AI road that travels through neutral territory, I pillage it. I know, I know, I shouldn't do it. A human oppponent would recognize it as an act of war and respond accordingly. So I'm taking advantage of the AI's lack of "I." But it's so inviting!

-Arrian

[Stuie]

Originally posted by dearmad
But does the AI then? Or does it just make it too easy for the player?

The AI builds them as well. It's nice to see colonies actually getting some use.

But like Sir Ralph mentioned, you can cut the roads outside their borders and they don't see it as an act of war.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Fosse
This happened to me in one of my first games ever. I had been trading iron to Egypt, and one of my sources ran dry. I couldn't build anymore tanks and could NOT figure out why since I could SEE the iron.

Side note--had you modded the game? Why on earth would you need iron to build tanks? I thought all one needed was oil and rubber...

[eewolf]

Originally posted by dearmad
But does the AI then? Or does it just make it too easy for the player?

Actually the AI builds colonies a lot if it needs to. In my current game (last PTW)

I have made mods as listed above and also no cities on hills. No cutting down forests or jungles, either. The map is 200x200 with 12 civs and it is still pretty fast in the late industrial age. There is a lot of open land and many colonies have sprung up.

I actually have 1 lightly guarded colony (soon to be 2) on an island where I have no cities. I am using Viking harbors to ship. Reenforcements are on the way and I am being very kind to them to keep this open as it is my only source of silks.

There are exploits, though. The AI does not utilize the undeveloped lands to mount invasions, so I don't. The AI does not pillage roads to colonies. Nor I. But they have attacked 1 of my colonies that was next to one of theirs.

eewolf

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Thats an interesting pic eewolf, puts a whole new dynamic on colonies. How many cities do you have around your core ?

[eewolf]

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Thats an interesting pic eewolf, puts a whole new dynamic on colonies. How many cities do you have around your core ?

i had about 15 cities on my island. not being able to build cities in forests, jungles, tundra, deserts, mountains and hills makes city placement interesting. and my gems were all in the north country where i couldn't settle. early colonies and their roads needed to be defended from the raging barbs. i set up outposts and guards to protect as much as i could.

my 1st ptw game was babylon so i ended it with them. i wanted a cultural win and i got that (100,000). regent/200x200 arch/80% water/12 civs/many mods as listed above + wheeled galleys not allowed in ocean.

i conquered rome and carthage on a neighboring isle. 1 new lux + some extra that i had locally. did it mostly because i like watching legionaries throw their swords up in the air as their trampled by my knights. (rome didn't have iron so i traded some to them for 20 turns then went to war ) a few wars with the mongols and germans that didn't net anything. the vikings landed a pretty big force on the mongol island (6 galleons of cavs and rifles). they were cut to ribbons by mongol cavs.

it was about exploring, building and planning colonies. even with the lighthouse, i was exploring into the early industrial age.

it was for pure fun.

on to c3c...

eewolf

[GarP2]

Wait a minute! You can ship resources from some friendly Civ's harbor to your harbor on another continent?

Wow! I had no idea.

GarP2

[bongo]

Well, you can use friendly roads and waters so it makes sense. Glad that implemented it though

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by GarP2
Wait a minute! You can ship resources from some friendly Civ's harbor to your harbor on another continent?

Wow! I had no idea.

GarP2

Yep, that's the same way other civs can trade their resources to you - with routes they have set up.