For a coherent colony system

[theNiceOne]

Like Bongo, I use cities as colonies, unless there's great mountain range with a resource that simply cannot be settled.

But it's a shame that a game feature is so close to totally useless as colonies are.

My suggestion to fix it, is the following:

*Give colonies a cultural influence as a zero-culture city. (although even a new zero-culture city two hexes away should "steal" the middle square).
*A colony with military units will never be assimilated by another civ's cultural influence, but an empty colony will be assimilated as today.
*You should be able to build harbour/airport in colonies, by spending a worker.

Now, colonies would actually be useful, but still not great.

[CerberusIV]

I would like to see colonies function as harbours, at least for connecting resources. I usually play continents maps and from time to time a strategic resource pops up on a small island, often within my cultural boundary if it is late in the game but I can't access it. I really don't want to build a city in that situation and maybe take tiles away from an existing city. It is even possible to have an island consisting of two or three mountains where you can't build a city even if you wanted to so a colony that functions as a harbour to connect a resource would be the best answer.

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by dannubis
As colonies can be regarded as places to work, they have no cultural importance and as a consequence they can't culturally flip.

But in the real world the problem with colonies was that they did develop an independent cultural identity. That's why they didn't work.

I only use colonies in a very limited way. That is in the somewhat rare case that I don't have a settler ready to make a city right away and I really want the resource.

Look at it this way. A colony is a temporary solution to a problem. Eventually, the people in the colony will want the full fights as citizens (or at least what to be part of a country). Then you build a city there.

[bobbo008]

but in the game, colonies only "disappear" when absorbed by another civ's culture

[Datajack Franit]

Yup-instead, the former "population" of the colony should join the new city

[brianshapiro]

oh geez. overseas cities can revolt they cant form a new civilization which is bad , but they can to another . these are 'colonies'. game 'colonies' are just small plantations

[Trifna]

I guess colonies should be possible to make between civilizations (like England that had India). And ideally, there should exist minor civilizations (or if not really "civs", some populations) that could become colonies and all. In such a way, where you put a colony there was already population there, to which you may add some of your own (depending of the colony type).

[dannubis]

OK, look at them as if the were mining concessions... There are plenty examples of countries having mining concessions in other parts of the world.