Colonization (computer game)

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Colonization
Developer(s)	Microprose
Publisher(s)	Microprose
Designer(s)	Brian Reynolds, Sid Meier
Release date(s)	1994, 1995
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Amiga, DOS, Windows, Macintosh

Colonization is a computer game by Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier released by Microprose in 1994. It is a turn-based strategy game themed on the early European colonization of the New World, starting in 1492 and lasting until 1850. It was originally released for DOS, and later ported to Windows (1995), the Amiga (1995) and Macintosh (1995).

[edit] Gameplay

A screenshot of the map in Colonization, during an early game. The player is English, identified by red flags on colonies and red squares on units. Visible also are Dutch colonists, Arawak braves and village, and a Cherokee village.

Colonization has many similarities to Sid Meier's previous title, Civilization. Both games pit the player as a godlike leader of an embattled civilization, the objective being to gain supremacy over rival civilizations, primarily through military means and discovery, but also through diplomacy, economics, and the strategic transformation and utilization of the land. In Civilization the player begins the game in 4000BC, with a ‘primitive’ tribe which “gradually builds up a sophisticated conglomeration of cities... infrastructure, units, resources” (Poblocki, 2002) and scientific know-how, “nearly everything is quantified (not only money, production of units, and infrastructure but also science and culture). (Poblocki, 2002) With increasing levels of sophistication of the population of the cities, the player controls the differentiation of the people, some become farmers, others soldiers, scouts, diplomats, scientists etc.

The Colonization experience begins in 1492. The player is asked to select one of the four world powers (England, France, The Netherlands, or Spain). The journey begins with two units traveling on a ship to the new world; as the ship moves into the unknown, the map is revealed. Subsequently, the new world is discovered, the Indians are met, a colony is built, colonists begin to change the land to be more productive, the ship is sent back to Europe to collect more colonists, any superfluous items are sold and the exploration of the world begins. The game revolves around harvesting food and manufacturing and trading goods. Resources gleaned from the land are converted into commodities and either used or sold (usually back in Europe). The prices of commodities fluctuate depending upon supply and demand. The more of a commodity you and the other three colonial powers sell, the less the markets will be willing to pay for them. With money, a player is able to buy goods, recruit new colonists, or buy ships or artillery. While maintaining an income, the player is also required to protect his colonies from potential invasion through employing soldiers. Moreover, the player is required to manage his citizens effectively, educating the populace in various skills to increase their productivity in areas such as farming, gathering of resources, or manufacturing. There are three areas of employment in the Colonization world, primary resource gatherers, secondary resource manufacturers, and the more specialized units such as soldiers, statesmen, pioneers, Jesuit missionaries, and preachers. The geography of the land determines the productivity of a colony. For instance, some squares produce great amounts of food, while others may produce greater amounts of ore or silver. Thus it becomes necessary to link various colonies together via roads (roads also grant increased mobility of units) or sea trade routes, to transport goods from colonies where there is excess to those where there is demand.

Specialist buildings and special squares, as in Civilization, have greater output. Specialists, who produce more per turn, can be trained or recruited. Indentured servants and criminals are as good as ordinary colonists in primary production but not so good at manufacturing or statesmanship; but they can be transformed into improved unit types by education. Missions established in Indian villages eventually encourage converts to join a colony; they are better than ordinary colonists at most outdoor pursuits, but not industrial ones.

Horses can be bought and sold, but they also multiply in any colony that has two or more of them and a food surplus. They help any colonist move further in a turn, add to military strength, and allow Scouts to meet with native settlements or foreign colonies.

Ships of several types (Caravel, Merchantman, Galleon, Privateer, Frigate and Man-O-War) can be purchased or built (only Man-O-War can be recruited during the War of Independence). They move goods, horses, and colonists around, and some can attack. Wagon trains (which are built in colonies) move goods and horses on land, and can be used to trade with the native tribes.

Relationships must be carefully maintained with Indians and other colonial powers, from waging war and maintaining strategic defenses to offering tributes or recruiting peacemakers (Benjamin Franklin and Pocahontas). Destroying native settlements yields a quick profit and makes land available, but prevents the substantial long-term gains to be made by friendly bargaining and trading. Destruction of native settlements also counts against your final score.

The king of your home country meddles in your affairs from time to time, mostly by raising the tax rate. Occasionally they might force you into wars with your rivals. The player must also pay attention to political developments and the recruitment of Founding Fathers (roughly corresponding to the Civilization Advances of Civilization), to ensure the best possible chance of success.

On the easiest level, the action essentially takes place at the speed in which you want it to. You are left to your own devices, learning the mechanics of the game. With each increase in difficulty level, the restrictions that bound successful endeavors become more pronounced. The game is eventually won by seceding from the motherland, signing the Declaration of Independence and defeating the armies which are sent to usurp your ‘unalienable rights’. Successful navigation through the game requires the player to strategize and to effectively make use of what resources are provided, to explore and cultivate the land and to negotiate between rivals.

While the military aspect of the game is important, it is less so than in the Civilization series, focusing more heavily on aspects of trade and the inter-relationships between peoples and colonies, which make up the New World community. In doing all these things the player is required to develop certain fundamental notions which influence both the game world and the real world, such as: infrastructure restrictions and requirements, methods for increasing productivity, the importance of economic and civic growth, the centrality of trade, that some natural resources are more useful and more valuable than others, the importance of education, that newspapers and diplomats influence public opinion, that religion can affect people's allegiances, even that it’s more sensible to use those member of your population who aren’t proficient in a trade or profession, as soldiers, the influence of historical figures on colonial New World societies, and the list goes on.

[edit] European Powers

There are four European powers available. The player may pick to play as a colonial leader of any one of these powers, and the remaining three powers will be the computer-controlled competitors. Each power has certain bonuses.

[edit] English

• The English get a bonus on production of Crosses, which is what prompts new free colonists to appear on the European docks. This will make it easier to expand the colony and build up the cities. This bonus alludes to "religious unrest" in England in the 1600s, such as that which led people such as the Puritans, Quakers, and Amish to come to America.
• Your player color is red.
• Your default player name is Walter Raleigh.
• Your default territory name is New England.
• Your starting non-military unit is a pioneer.
• Your starting ship is a caravel.

[edit] French

• The French have a reduction in the rate at which they generate tension with the Natives. This leads to easier negotiations, trade, and coexistence with the natives, which can be cultivated as a military alliance as well. Also, all French fur trappers are experts.
• Your player color is blue.
• Your default player name is Samuel de Champlain.
• Your default territory name is New France.
• Your non-military start unit is an expert pioneer.
• Your starting ship is a caravel.

[edit] Spanish

• The Spanish have a 50% military bonus against native villages. Using this skill leads to a lot of treasure and maybe converts, and eliminates a potential threat (but also potential ally). This bonus alludes to the aftermath of the Reconquista, which left the Spanish with a huge eager military with nothing to do; they were then sent to colonize the Americas, ultimately wiping out some of the land's most legendary tribes.
• Your player color is yellow.
• Your default player name is Christopher Columbus.
• Your default territory name is New Spain.
• Your military start unit is a veteran.
• Your starting ship is a caravel.

[edit] Dutch

• The Dutch have a more favorable fluidity of prices on trade with Europe; the prices are more stable (when large quantities of a certain product are bought or sold) and they return to their usual levels more quickly. This ultimately results in better profits and more money.
• Your player color is orange.
• Your default player name is Michiel de Ruyter.
• Your default territory name is New Netherlands.
• Your starting vessel is a Merchantman, with twice the cargo space of the starting vessel for the other nations, the Caravel.

[edit] Founding Fathers

Analogous to technologies in Civilization, social and industrial advances are achieved by the addition of "Founding Fathers" to your "Continental Congress", which are gained by generating a sufficient number of "Liberty Bells" through the colonial pride of your settlers. These are all named after real figures in the histories of American colonies.

[edit] Exploration

• Francisco Vázquez de Coronado - Makes all existing colonies (of all European powers) in the New World visible.
• Henry Hudson - Doubles production of fur trappers.
• Sieur de La Salle - Any colony with 3 or more people automatically gains a stockade. (This is sometimes undesirable, as it makes colony removal impossible, as noted above)
• Ferdinand Magellan - All ships gain one extra move point, plus travel from the Pacific to Europe is sped up.
• Hernando de Soto - All land units gain 2 sight points, plus Scouts will no longer be lost on "Lost City Rumor" (goody box) squares.

[edit] Military

• Hernan Cortes - Conquering native villages always results in treasure and all treasure trains are transported to Europe for free, although you must still pay the prevailing tax rate. (Treasure must be taken to Europe to be cashed in and normally you must use your own galleon, or pay the Crown a hefty percent.)
• Francis Drake - Increases combat strength of privateer ships by 50%.
• John Paul Jones - Receive a free Frigate unit.
• Paul Revere - Non-soldiers will defend a colony under attack, if there are no soldiers but there are muskets in the colony stores.
• George Washington - Non-veteran soldiers are promoted to veterans upon winning their first battle.

[edit] Political

• Benjamin Franklin - Colonial powers will no longer go to war with you simply because of the political situation in Europe. Negotiations with other colonial powers are more favorable, and peace is always an option. (Normally, when the European nations go to war, their colonies go to war as well.)
• Thomas Jefferson - Increases liberty bell production by 50%.
• Thomas Paine - Liberty bell production is increased by a percentage equal to the current sales tax rate of your European parent power.
• Pocahontas - Reduces all tension between your colonies and native villages, and reduces the rate at which it grows.
• Simon Bolivar - The percentage of independence-minded colonists in all of your colonies increases by 20.

[edit] Religious

• Jean de Brebeuf - All missionaries from now on become Expert Missionaries.
• William Brewster - Player can select from a short list of colonist types whenever new colonists appear on the docks in Europe, which will not include criminals or indentured servants.
• Bartolome de Las Casas - All natives (currently) working in colonies become regular colonists (This can lead to a decrease in effectiveness for agricultural tasks, but an increase in manufacturing or skilled labor.)
• William Penn - Increases cross production by 50%.
• Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda - Attacks on native villages are more likely to result in a "convert" joining your colonies.

[edit] Trade

• Jakob Fugger - All European boycotts on your goods (the result of "tax parties") are forgiven.
• Peter Minuit - Native land is free to use. (Normally, natives demand one-time payment for agricultural use of their land.)
• Adam Smith - Factory buildings can be built, which generate 50% more processed goods per unit of raw material (compared to non-factories).
• Peter Stuyvesant - Custom House can be built, which automatically sends any amount of selected materials over 50 units straight to Europe, without need for manual shipping.
• Jan de Witt - Allows you to trade with foreign colonies, and adds information to your colonial intelligence screen.

[edit] From Resources to Commodities

One main driving impulse in Colonization is the harvesting of natural resources, such as lumber (for building), ore (for manufacturing), and food (for population growth). Squares on the map have basic values of resource output (depending on the type of terrain and if a river runs through it), but certain 'prime' squares have double or higher output values. Inside the town, any colonist can work the field for the basic resource output. However, specially trained units can typically harvest twice as much, such as the Lumberjack (wood), Export Ore Miner (ore), or Farmers and Fishermen (food).

Another key ingredient is the production and collection of raw goods that can be converted into commodities for sale in Europe, to the Native American tribes, and to some extent the other European powers playing in the game. These commodities start out as cotton, sugar, tobacco and furs, and eventually get transformed into cloth, rum, cigars and coats (respectively). In addition, a player can mine for silver which is ready to be sold 'as-is'.

Accordingly, there exists a certain connection between the resources available and the units that can harvest them most efficiently, along with the buildings that workers use to transform them into commodities. For example, Cotton is generally available in prairies, but there are also 'Prime Cotton' squares with far greater output. Inside a town, a colonist can harvest a basic amount of Cotton from the fields (starting at 3 per turn), but a Master Cotton Planter can generally harvest twice as much (6). Once the raw materials have been collected - or perhaps at the same time - another colonist can make Cloth from Cotton (3 per turn). Again, a Master Weaver can produce twice as much Cloth (6) from existing stores compared to anyone else. To further improve this efficiency, a Weaver's Shop doubles the production rate of either the regular colonist (from 3 to 6) or the Master Weaver (from 6 to 12). Additional factors can affect the final output, such as the existence of a factory (+50%) or the town supporting you at 100% (which adds a slight bonus to most colonists working in the town). Finally, each building supports up to 3 workers at one time.

[edit] Native tribes

Aside from European colonial powers, the NPC powers include eight Native American tribes, in three main categories. Aside from the lifestyle/sophistication categories, some tribes, such as the Arawak, are more prone to unrest and preemptive attack than others. Also, each Native American settlement can convert one regular colonist into a specialist (such as an Expert Farmer or Cotton Planter); the specialist type varies in each settlement, with the capital settlement able to convert multiple times. When a scout unit tries to enter a settlement, results may range from monetary gifts, to the revealing of nearby lands and the occasional being tied up for target practice (usually only if the natives are wary of your actions or growth on their lands).

[edit] Nomadic

Nomadic tribes live in teepees.

• Apache
• Sioux
• Tupi

[edit] Agrarian

Agrarian tribes live in longhouses.

• Arawak
• Cherokee
• Iroquois

[edit] Civilized

These tribes live in larger cities. Conquering them is harder, but yields more treasure. On the standard map they typically have fewer settlements than the other tribes.

• Aztec - warlike, cities of golden ziggurats
• Inca - peaceful, cities of stone villas

[edit] Game Modification

Colonization allows for some basic game modification, mostly in the form of altering text files that control certain aspects of the game. The primary file is "names.txt", which contains information such as square-types and their output of natural resources, but also on the goods and their prices in Europe. One can alter the starting prices, the min/max values, the drop and recovery levels, etc. By setting the min/max values to be the same, one can effectively "fix" the price of a particular item. Note: be careful, as the prices you set are good for the 3 rival nations that travel back to Europe as well.

[edit] Criticism

While popular, the game received criticism because it completely ignored the fact that slavery was a major component of the European colonization of the Americas. While it is possible for players to bring in indentured servants and petty criminals, these settlers can be progressively educated into a free citizen and then specialists.

Also, while Native Americans can join colonies if they convert to Christianity, the game does not address the Spanish hacienda system, which effectively pressed native tribes into slavery.

It has been speculated that this is the reason why Colonization, unlike Civilization, has never been re-released.

More practical reasons why this might be also include:

1. Inability of the player to adopt a different goal to "win" the game. Warfare is not equally enjoyable by all players of strategy games. The Civ series offers at least a few other options to the player, and independence from the Mother Country was not necessarily the goal of all, or even most, colonies at the time. In short, the option to remain part of the Mother Country is not open to the player who might want a more diplomatic or trade based game.
2. The treatment of the native Americans in-game has given some critics cause for concern. The game tries to represent them humanely, because the in-game Indians resent large-scale European settlement in the New World. If playing as Spanish, it is usually in the players interests to defeat or subjugate them or convert them to use as cheap labour. If playing as the French, it is usually beneficial to trade with them and treat them as allies.
3. Restriction on founding of colonies is limited to a maximum of 38. While possibly more historically "accurate", this causes "empire builder" player types to become disenchanted when the computer players start to erode their previously huge lead as the computer player adds more and more colonies, while the builder is limited to only fiddling with their existing colonies. There is another limit on the total number of units. Once this is reached, new units simply vanish. During the war of independence, converting a soldier to a dragoon can cause the unit to vanish, so you are left with neither soldier nor dragoon.
4. Inflexibility in salvaging colonies needing relocation to more profitable terrain once the consequences of the previous limitation is realized. It is so cumbersome that it is generally far easier to simply start the game over, but the loss of time and effort is discouraging and undoubtedly contributed greatly to the lack of popularity of the game, which is otherwise quite a pleasant Civ variant. The only way to delete a colony once a stockade is built is to starve the inhabitants.
5. The creators omitted the Portuguese among the European colonial powers, claiming in the manual that Portugal was under Spanish control for much of the period the game takes place in. In actual history, the dominions of Portugal in the Americas (and also in Africa and Asia) were far larger than those of France or the Netherlands (which did not exist in 1492), yet it is excluded from the game. Due to this, Colonization was strongly resented in Portugal and Brazil. It should be noted that the existing nations can be switched to others by editing some text files in the game folder, but historical figures and civilizational strengths/weaknesses are not customizable.

[edit] Platforms

[edit] See Also

• FreeCol, an open source Colonization clone

[edit] External links/References

• The Unofficial Microprose Colonization Home Page
• Colonization at MobyGames
• Open-source clones:
  • A work-in-progress open source clone (probably abandoned)
  • SweCol2 - Open source project aimed in to develop Colonization II
  • FreeCol-Project
• Amiga Power's review of Colonization
• CivFanatics Civilization Site
• Apolyton Colonization Site
• Russian Fan site Colonization