settlers 2

[child of Thor]

playing a game without its native sound is a bit like.......erm.........im not sure, maybe watching a Pink Floyd concert on a small black+white tv?

[Adagio]

The sounds in the game aren't that grerat, so you're not missing much

[Skanky Burns]

The geologist noise is rather cute, but beyond that you aren't missing much. And avoiding the sound of the water well is worth a considerable amount.

[DrSpike]

The theme to the original Settlers, on the other hand, set a new standard. I *still* hum it, over a decade after its release.

[lord of the mark]

I finished Chapter one, and am about an hour and a half into chapter two. My border has finally reached up to the native settlement. Im behind them in area and pop, but well ahead in military and gold, so this seems like it would be a good time to attack them, IF war is inevitable. So how do I do that? Is war triggered by an event? Is there something I need to do?

And how do I get soldiers to the buildings I want them at? It seems the game only lets me allocate among frontier, outer, and inner areas. I only have 2 soldiers at my fortress - not sure how to get more there. Why are so many soldiers kept back at HQ?

Is there any advantage to wheat farm-pig farm - slaughterhouse chain as a food source vs wheat farm-mill-baker?

What good does the brewer do?

Is there any table somewhere, at a website maybe, that indicates production rates for the different buildings, optimal relations of input buildings to output - eg best number of woodcutters/ sawmill? This was easier in Caesar 3, IIRC. and some explanation of how long it takes a mine to be exhausted. And how the radius around a geologists discovery where its desirable to put a given type of mine.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
All except for the 1602 reference. I haven't played that game.

another city builder/RTS type game, with a relatively granular economic model - plantations of different types feeding processing buildings, etc. It was set in a vague 17th century new world. You had warehouses filled with LOTS of different items, as in S2, and you had to make sure not to run out of tools - but in 1602 the tools were generic, not specific, OTOH in 1602 you had typical citybuilder style luxuries and building effects, houses, IIRC. In keeping with its theme, there was an emphasis on using ships to transport goods among different islands that tended to specialize. The later game in the series was 1503.

Settlers is odd, in that it has such a detailed economic model, but housing, and food (apart from the mines) is abstracted away.

It seems different, and interesting. Doubt it will end up on my top 3, or whatever, but ive got a ways to go.

Its already well justified its cost.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
I finished Chapter one, and am about an hour and a half into chapter two. My border has finally reached up to the native settlement. Im behind them in area and pop, but well ahead in military and gold, so this seems like it would be a good time to attack them, IF war is inevitable. So how do I do that? Is war triggered by an event? Is there something I need to do?

To attack you just need to click on the enemy building (you can only attack buildings with soldiers inside) and chose the number of soldiers to attack with (the icons might be a little "weird", but you should get used to it soon. Among other things you can also decide if you want your best soldiers to attack or stay home (depending on if you want to play offensive or defensive)

The number of soldiers you can attack with depends on how many soldiers are nearby (the icons in the attack menu is about from how far away you want your soldiers to come from)

Originally posted by lord of the mark
And how do I get soldiers to the buildings I want them at? It seems the game only lets me allocate among frontier, outer, and inner areas. I only have 2 soldiers at my fortress - not sure how to get more there. Why are so many soldiers kept back at HQ?

Is your fotress too far away from the borders? Your soldiers only go to fortress/guard towers/etc if it's very close to the borders. There is an option to change how many soldiers should be in towers depending on how far away from the borders they are.
The reason this is optional is so the player wont get mad when he finds out that all his soldiers are hidden away in towers in the other side of the "settlement"

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Is there any advantage to wheat farm-pig farm - slaughterhouse chain as a food source vs wheat farm-mill-baker?

IIRC there's not much difference... maybe someone here actually remembers this?

Originally posted by lord of the mark
What good does the brewer do?

IIRC you need beer to get a new soldier (of course you also need a sword and shield for this)

[Adagio]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
another city builder/RTS type game, with a relatively granular economic model - plantations of different types feeding processing buildings, etc. It was set in a vague 17th century new world. You had warehouses filled with LOTS of different items, as in S2, and you had to make sure not to run out of tools - but in 1602 the tools were generic, not specific, OTOH in 1602 you had typical citybuilder style luxuries and building effects, houses, IIRC. In keeping with its theme, there was an emphasis on using ships to transport goods among different islands that tended to specialize. The later game in the series was 1503.

I tried to like 1602 and 1503, but I never really got into it...

Originally posted by lord of the mark
Settlers is odd, in that it has such a detailed economic model, but housing, and food (apart from the mines) is abstracted away.

It seems different, and interesting. Doubt it will end up on my top 3, or whatever, but ive got a ways to go.

Its already well justified its cost.

Yep, it's not just some typical game... I believe you either like/love it or hate it... though for people who didn't play it when it was just released I could imagine it being much harder to get to love the game...

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Adagio


I tried to like 1602 and 1503, but I never really got into it...

The notion of 17th century islands being independent, with no host country relations beyond first settlement, stretched willing suspension of disbelief. Settlers at least has a story to account for that. Also the small size of the islands made fitting farms in annoying, and there was this mad rush to get deep mines, so that you didnt keep running out of iron, that was also a tad annoying.

[Skanky Burns]

Is there any advantage to wheat farm-pig farm - slaughterhouse chain as a food source vs wheat farm-mill-baker?

They both cost 1 wheat and 1 water per unit of food and require processing at two different buildings. The advantage is that you have two different food sources rather than just one, so twice the chance of food getting to your mines in time to keep your miners working. Don't forget that mines have a maximum of two of each type of food they can store in their mine at any time. If there is only one type of food coming in, they will have eaten one and will then stop work while the other unit of food is delivered to their mine. With two types, they have 3 spare slots for food after eating one.

Fish are of course the first type of food you should get - if the level allows.

And as bADGer said, 1 beer 1 shield 1 sword (and 1 civilian pleb) = 1 new soldier.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Skanky Burns

Is there any advantage to wheat farm-pig farm - slaughterhouse chain as a food source vs wheat farm-mill-baker?

They both cost 1 wheat and 1 water per unit of food and require processing at two different buildings. The advantage is that you have two different food sources rather than just one, so twice the chance of food getting to your mines in time to keep your miners working. Don't forget that mines have a maximum of two of each type of food they can store in their mine at any time. If there is only one type of food coming in, they will have eaten one and will then stop work while the other unit of food is delivered to their mine. With two types, they have 3 spare slots for food after eating one.

Fish are of course the first type of food you should get - if the level allows.

And as bADGer said, 1 beer 1 shield 1 sword (and 1 civilian pleb) = 1 new soldier.

So multiple food sources eases the inventory limits at the mines. Helpful, if subtle.

And yes, ive figured out about the fish.

[lord of the mark]

finished chapter 2.

have sort of gotten used to the unique approach to combat, though its still faintly amusing when a group of my guys goes to a native building, one native soldier comes out, and one of my guys goes one on one with him, while the others stand around.

And when taking a military building pushes the border, resulting in the other buildings collapsing, and workers scurrying out.

Especially when I take the HQ, which I did before I took the post near the gateway. When the HQ goes down its like you overturned an anthill, and huge numbers of workers go off in all directions.

An odd game.

[Adagio]

Always fun to take out the HQ

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
An odd game.

I prefer the term 'unique game'.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike


I prefer the term 'unique game'.

Whats really annoying is how EVERY building has its door to the southeast, and depending on where the flags on the roads are, this can mean connecting up to the road network requires all kinds of odd loops. Creates bizarre and inefficient road nets.

Unique indeed