First Impressions / 1st Game So Far...

[Mad-Kat]

Love the interface, everything you need is right at hand. Neat touches are being able to double click in the Nation manager and have it focus on that city. Useful to see if it's a border city and needs to be building defenses or settlers. Being able to select all cities from the nation manager and then append or insert a new build order globally without destroying current orders is great! Way useful when you run out of caravans and need a rush order Welcome return of the City screen! I used to love cycling through my cites to see what defenses they had or what they needed building wise. Glad it's back. The mayor is real useful for building terrain improvements, and seems pretty good at picking the right thing for the city also. Set to defence, he would always build a unit if needed, then walls and maybe a Ballista tower. Of course my favorite thing is national borders. This is the feature I've been missing in a game like this for ever. AC doesn't count! Don't dig the future space thing. Borders really focus your attention on where to build next and where to relax your eye and focus on growth. So cool!! Trade is also kick ass. Set to all you can easily see what will be the most profitable route. Needing multiple caravans for distance is also a nice touch.
First game I decided to stick to easy just to get a feel for the new stuff. Started as the Scots of course (my home nation). First string of cities I built on a river and had about four small cities going before I encounted to Native Americans. They seemed like a decent sort so we signed a peace treaty and exchanged maps. Now that I knew where they were, I started maximizing my territory on their border before they swallowed it up. The Irish appeared next and we also made peace and exchanged maps. They are further West of the Native Americans and are of little concern to me right now. My real life nemisis the English popped up next and once again things went well and we exchanged maps. They did have a little wander though my nothern border and I made them leave, to which they seems to do. Though I'm watching them very closely. Right now I'm trying to extend my border toward the English. I imagine it will get quite interesting once everyone runs out of free land.

[quinns]

Great review Mad-Kat! Makes me want to go out and get CTP2 today!

[Rainstorm]

Great job, Mad-kat. I'll add my own first game so far, I always love to read these things before I can get a game.

Started as Australians on a beginner game, not sure why. Built a few cities, soon found out I was on an island. Appropriate, I guess. Expanded to several cities and built some small boats, and soon found the Americans on a continent nearby. Made a peace treaty easily enough and traded maps. I decided that since I was on an island and I saw some spices near Botany Bay, I would be a naval/trading nation. This is working out very well so far. I have focused on naval technologies and getting to Electricity, and am far outstripping all my AI competition. My Carracks can carry settlers to nearby islands and the far side of a bay, so I can secure valuable trade goods that are marked on the map. So far I have routes going trading Spices, Crab, Elephant, Bear, and Oil. Collecting over 250 gold per turn from trade alone. Of course, I have to build a lot of caravans to keep these trade routes going!

I am at peace with all my neighbors, though the Irish are at war with several nations, no one seems on verge of collapse. I have the luxury, being much more powerful than my opponents, of exploring the map and supporting very few army units. This fits well with my Republic style of government, and lets me keep scientific production going. With plenty of food coming in, I raised rations through the Empire Manager, making my people happy. Crime is still a problem, and is taking a chunk of everything from foodstuffs to my science budget. Need to build some more Courthouses. I've gained several wonders, including the East India Trading Company, which lets my ships move faster and increases oversea trade income, perfect for me! My first Ironclad rolls off the drydocks in 3 turns, and then I will be unquestioned on the sea. Not sure if I'll crush everyone, or keep the trading going.

So far:
Love the diplomacy, love it love it love it.
Trade is a wonderful addition.
Lots more naval units, very good.
The unit selection seems spotty...sometimes it will auto-select a unit with no orders, other times it won't.
The game crashed once while reloading a saved game, other than that, no problems.
No sleep for me the next several nights.

[Mad-Kat]

Cool, your game is going sea based while mine is on a massive continent. I've uncovered almost all of the map now and and the land is getting thin. On my push north toward the English I found a few American cities. It appears that the English won the war in this history as they have a few American cities. The Americans have been reduced to a narrow band of fairly big, but few cities between me and the English. It also seems that the Irish have captured a few Native American cities. I still have had no trouble from any race, although the Americans were reluctant to share maps. Maybe the English have worn them down to a state of paranoia
I'm way ahead in technology as you would assume on easy, but have not had the need to put my awsome power to the test. He he. Don't know how long the Americans are gonna last when I run out of land
As for it not selecting units, I've had this too. Best to press o before ending your turn and make sure that the end turn icon is flashing.

[Mad-Kat]

There is no longer a neutral zone between the nations. I have commanded my eastern cities to begin production of settlers to take the unused space between me and the sea before another nation decides to snap it up. I have been moving cannon and catapults to the border with the American / English. For now it is calm, but I fear the storm is building.