Giving up on Col2 for now - PATCH NEEDED!!!
 

Well, I'm sorry to say that I've shelved this game for now...

Two reasons:

1.
REF build-up is totally flawed. The only thing that influences REF build-up is liberty bell production. :( The idiot designer that came up with this idea should be shot!
It's incredibly easy to win WoI. Just don't produce any bells at all until you're ready to start the WoI. Then set your statesmen to work to increase rebel sentiment. In about 20-25 turns you should have about 50% rebel sentiment, while the king has added 1 louzy unit per turn to the REF (which was already too small (on higher levels) to start with). So you get a really small REF, and you can beat it easily if you've prepared well.

2.
Bad programming of AI fighting units in war-time. Especially naval units.
If you found your first colony directly adjacent to a coastal native village, the REF's Man-O-Wars will sooner or later end their turn in that village after bombarding your village. After which you can take out all the ships that are there with a single dragoon...

It's no fun playing like this... :(

+1

Especially annoying is that AIs build their first colony with soldier while their pioneer is running building improvements. You can just sail with your starting soldier in caravel and kill them all even on a large or even huge map.

Also, even on the highest levels, the game can be won within a maximum of 50 turns just by scouting, buying statesmen and a few guns (to trade with natives and to arm your force) and then blowing up bells through the roof to 100% while pop is still low but there is enough force to defend against starting REF.

Yes, the game is broken in quite many ways, or so it seems, and it needs a decent patching.

Agree with the REF being badly designed.

It should start with a much higher number of soldiers and increase slower on bells (s.t. one might consider producing some bells earlier for FFs)

And other factors should be accounted as well. Maybe even pure pop. Units. Guns. Whatever.

You've worded my sentiment very well. The finishing touch was finding out that not even buying military units from the docks add to the REF. Sloppy programming, that's what it is.

I think you could add a third reason: your exports have little impact on European economy.

Somehow I doubt we'll see a patch soon, or ever: with civ Firaxis is usually quick to correct some of their many blunders. This game seems to be low on their priority list.

There are still a lot of bugs which actually make this game quite broken and essentially unplayable. While unofficial mods and patches address those quite adequately, the only thing Firaxis needs is just to incorporate those into an official patch (like Blake's AI) and this might be do-able even with low priority.

I still hate the interface. If you have essentially the same interface as CIV, why flip the darn thing and make me hunt and peck for what I am looking for? It is also hard to manage the MM of your city. Why wouldnt your citizen always go to food resource?

I like the trading, and concept of the game play, but damn it is boring starting out. I have started a total of 6 games and still havent continued through and fought the king.

Why do the natives love you so much at the start? Why cant they have random "wild indian attacks" or something in the beginning?

KC x 10

+10, see the WTF thread. Still on an evaluation license btw. [;)]

2k, Firaxis, if you bother to read this: you're missing revenue.

Well, you actually have unless doing it with a scout or better seasoned scout. And I don't think they love you a lot unless you trade them guns and horses. I've had Monte declaring on me within the first 20 turns and this happened twice. Also, sometime even a scout might step on some burial grounds and natives will declare war. IMO, this is somewhat broken but not completely broken since actually natives were quite friendly to all Europeans in the beginning.

I honoustly think that the 1994 original is better......