Imperialism 2/notes from demo

Free download of demo (dated December 1998) from US Archive. No multiplayer; some other restrictions. Tutorial has 17 episodes; demo (which has only the tutorial) ends after 75 turns even if you have not finished the tutorial.

Tutorial "Episode 1"

Gets you to develop a grain farm - two turns with Builder. It seems terrain produces nothing useful until developed. We have $25,000 and the year is 1502. (The map is random, not resembling Europe, but the province names are recognizably European.) We control the orange country, with Amsterdam looking like the capital: yes, its grain farms each contain 2 silos and have hot text "2 Grain: Max Transport = 4". Pick a grain farm near Overijssel. Hot text for other terrain types indicates what they produce (0 at present) or what they are, e.g. "Unexplored Barren Hills".

"Help for Episode 1:Building a Grain Farm" has five parts:

• "How can I tell if a unit is working?"
• "What does "deploying" mean?"
• "Can I change my orders?"
• "How do I find a Grain Farm?"
• "How do I use the Builder?"

Much of that had been answered in the "Tips" section of the Goals Window.

OK, next turn?

"... Main Map screen, turn # 2". 1504. Next turn:

1506, still $25,000. Builder has finished and that's the end of Episode 1.

We see some resources again at bottom right: we have 59 lumber, 54 cast iron, 8 bronze, 0 steel.

Development	Costs
Road	1 lumber, 1 cast iron
Port	5 lumber, 5 cast iron
I	3 lumber, 3 bronze
II	4 lumber, 4 bronze
III	5 lumber, 5 steel

"Episode 2: Roads"

You get an Engineer, who will help with the goal of Episode 2, which is to connect the grain farm to the capital with roads. For a resource tile to be useful it must be, or be next to, a tile with a road in it - or be on or adjacent to a port - with each such road needing to connect in an unbroken line with your capital or another port. Building a road from one tile to the next takes 2 turns going onto swamp, hill, or mountain but 1 turn for easier terrains.

"Help for Episode 2: Development" has four parts:

• "How do I use the Engineer?"
• "How do I connect a Farm?"
• "When is a tile "connected"?"
• "How do I use the unit cycle buttons?"

- and there is a link back to Episode 1 help, which now has a new link forward to Episode 2 help

Turn #4, year 1508. The road is next to the grain we developed, and the grain farm's hot text now says "1 Grain: Max Transport = 1".

"Episode 3: Prospecting"

You get an Explorer, who will search desert, hill, mountain, and swamp tiles for minerals, one tile per turn. When you find some, your Builder can build a mine. Tin appears only in swamps. Coal, copper, and iron ore appear in hills and mountains. There may be other types of mineral in other nations.

"Help for Episode 3: Prospecting" has two parts:

• "Where are the minerals?"
• "How do I use the Explorer?"

- and there is a link back to Episode 2 help, which now has a new link forward to Episode 3 help

A table at bottom right shows that we have 14 mountains, 14 hills, 9 swamps, and 0 deserts. Icons below each one hint at minerals not yet mentioned. Coal icon is black and lumpy; the reddish one is presumably copper; the silvery one associated with the swamp must be tin; so the grey one must be iron ore. We try the nearest potential mineral site, a swamp.

Beginner's luck? We struck tin. So the episode ends.

"Save and Quit". We get a promo screen for the full version, which is said to have over 100 technologies, 30 military units, and 12 ships.

No indication of where it is saved. That becomes clear when the shortcut is clicked, because the only workable option is the Tutorial, reached by clicking the scrolls. Clicking anything else tells you what that does in the full game. Click "Resume" on the next screen.

"Episode 4: More Developments"

Goal is to link two more developed tiles to the capital. We send the Engineer to link our second grain farm and send our Builder to build a Tin Mine (right beside a road, so that may save time). Explorer tries the nearest hill.

"Help for Episode 4: More Developments" has two parts:

• "Gaining connected resources"
• "Is a development connected?"

- adds very little to what has been said in the description and tips, but there is a point about roads initially being able to transport only one unit per tile.

No minerals on that hill; icon "X" and pickaxe, familiar to players of Imperialism; try another close hill. But we have achieved our goal, with the mine and the second grain farm connected. A discussion screen talks of the need to go on improving tiles for the industrially-important timber, iron ore, and wool and the food essentials grain and cattle.

"Episode 5: Production"

Goal is to use the Production Orders screen to make lumber, cast iron, and fabric. Fabric helps recruiting immigrant labor and building sailing ships, and the others have several uses, both, for example, being used by the Engineer, as noted in the above table.

Year 1514, turn # 7, explorer has found iron ore and moves to a mountain. Engineer moves back to a road bend and finds that (as in Imperialism) he can't start work in the same turn as a move. Builder starts work on the "Undeveloped Iron Ore : Max Transport = 0". Now we are invited to "End turn or go to an Orders screen." Puzzling!

But we see a new feature on the ribbon at the bottom of the screen and we remember reading about a button on the "ribbon toolbar": it's a picture of a factory, called "Give Industry Orders", and we see a totally different view when we click it: the "Production panel". Warehouse, labor pool, and processing plants: familiar, in principle, to players of Imperialism but with more detail cleverly presented though without pretty pictures of buildings in various stages of expansion. Available processing plants (which, though with not all the same names, do the same as in Imperialism, unless noted here) are:

• Textile Looms
• Lumber Mills (separate from paper mills)
• Paper Mills
• Bronze Foundries - 1 copper + 1 tin = 1 bronze
• Iron Smelters - 2 iron ore = 1 cast iron

The greyed-out lines say "No technology for":

• Cotton Weavers
• Steel Mills
• Sugar Refineries
• Cigar Factories
• Hat Factories

Labor icons on the left show available labor and four types of worker (starting with "Peasant Laborer"), with additional icons below saying "No Starvation" and "No Illness".

"Help for Episode 5: Production" (accessed from the question-mark on the scroll handle at top right) has four parts:

• "How do I get to the Production Panel?"
• "The Warehouse"
• "Using Sliders"
• "Laborers and Resources"

The Warehouse (fortunately not needing to be opened or moved each turn) tells us that cattle and fish both count as meat (contrary to what one summary of the game suggested) and there's no sign of the fruit that Imperialism uses to round out the balanced diet.

A ribbon above the warehouse looks as if it has room for more icons. At top left is an option to get the computer to manage the production. It will reconsider orders each turn unless you intervene, whereas orders you set will remain (prerequisites permitting) from turn to turn until you change them.

Setting our four peasants to produce fabric (because, as the tips told us, we haven't enough labor to produce all three of the "goal" materials in one turn), we return to main screen and click for next turn.

Next turn our civilians continue doing logical things with a tendency to move further from the capital, and we switch production to the remaining goals.

"Episode 6: Labor"

Goal is to recruit two laborers and make three materials each turn. We get to the Labor panel from the Industry screen now that there's a new icon at the top. "2 Cloth recruits 1 Peasant". Cloth is what was called "fabric" in the background notes and when we produced some. We recruit two, as recommended. A single one can't do anything except consume food, and there's no instant training as in Imperialism yet.

"Help for Episode 6: Labor" has four parts:

• "How do I get to the Labor panel?"
• "How to Recruit Peasants"
• "How much food is the population eating?"
• "What are the faded sliders on the Labor panel?"

No option to let the computer run this panel. As in Imperialism, the recruits don't arrive until next turn. We get them working on the third material, give our civilians orders where appropriate, and get congratulated on finishing the episode.

"Episode 7: Building Ports"

Goal is to build a port in your own nation. Engineer will have to tear himself away from the exciting business of road-building. Heads for south coast but sees lots of "Barren Tundra" so moves inland to a resource-rich river tile. We continue recruiting and making stuff, ignoring warnings about food because we know we have enough surplus until we produce enough.

"Help for Episode 7: Ports" has four parts:

• "What is a good site for a port?"
• "Using the Engineer to build a port"
• "Troubleshooting Port Construction"
• "Comparing advantages of roads and ports"

Next turn, Engineer tries to build port, but is not allowed to. There's enough lumber and cast iron, and he's on a swamp, not a hill or mountain, so what's the problem? He moves while building a useful road.

Next turn, same problem on a grain farm. He builds a road out to a coastal town.

Next turn, he can start a port. Maybe the demo didn't have the river-port software.

Eventually the port is built and the episode closes.

"Episode 8: Transport"

Goal is to ship four resource units. New coach icon on bottom ribbon menu. Seems inappropriate when all of the new transport is by ship. We see that five fish units require ship transport, but we stick with four, leaving two of our six ship spaces for "Trade". Resources coded blue must be moved by water. Fish are blue - though three fish are produced around our capital and have a green (= land transport) section on their slider.

"Help for Episode 8: Transport" has five parts:

• "Getting to the Transport screen"
• "Using the transport sliders"
• "How much do I have already?"
• "Limits on transport by ship"
• "Food Consumption"

"Episode 9: Exploration"

Goal is to find part of the New World, using a ship to see more than just coast. We are introduced to the "Zoom out" button, which is almost essential for easy ship movement (and no hang-up problems with Windows Vista as in Imperialism). Off we go. It takes a while. Finally we see some coasts in the east, and next turn we move the ship up to the coast, seeing the whole of several coastal tiles, and start our explorer on a New World hill, fulfilling the goal of the episode. At home our peasants are nearly all idle because we have very few processable resources coming in after the stockpiles were exhausted. Doubtless in a real game we could acquire another builder and/or engineer. (Or not order new peasants until there was more prospect of continued work!)

"Help for Episode 9: Discovering the New World" has six parts:

• "How to order a selected Fleet to move"
• "Exploration"
• "Other orders you may give to a Fleet"
• "Selecting a fleet"
• "How do I order a particular ship in a Fleet?"
• "How can I see all my Fleets at once?"

Bit of a nuisance that you seem to have to reach the end of an episode to save; maybe you don't?

"Episode 10: The New World"

Goal is to find a tribal capital, necessary before you can trade with tribes. If you can't find a coastal one with a ship, you need to use an explorer to go inland. He can prospect in the same turn as uncovering new territory. The New World has the same minerals as the Old World but also diamonds, gems, gold, and silver.

"Help for Episode 10: Discovering the New World" has three parts:

• "Using an Explorer to Explore"
• "Tribal Capitals"
• "New World Minerals"

Move the ship. Explorer has mineral success with his first landing but not with his second. Ship, however, finds Running Bear village in its first move and another village, Elon, on its second along with "Iroquios" [sic], the capital of the territory now shown on the "Zoom out" as "The Iroquois" [sic].

Episode ends. We are told that the next episodes will introduce diplomacy and trade using the Old World but that the principles apply equally in the New.

"Episode 11: Diplomacy"

Goal is to become the favorite trading partner of a Neutral State (the distinguishing term for Old World minor nations).

"Help for Episode 11: Diplomacy" has five parts:

• "How do I get to the Diplomacy Orders Screen?"
• "Information Overlays"
• "Step 1: Choose a country to pursue"
• "Step 2: Establish a trade consulate"
• "Step 3: Give a trade subsidy"

Frog City's proofreader seems to have been getting drowsy when checking this part of the tutorial. We initiate trade consulates in three neutral states (including the only one that exports copper) and the Iroquois. Seek alliance with the other really great powers (those with 8 provinces).

Next turn we offer 5% subsidy to all MNs with TCs, and they immediately show us as "Top Trader Partner" and we see that England has agreed to alliance.

At end of turn we are congratulated on achieving the goal. Incidentally, our explorer has found the Mayas with their capital Mayapam.

"Episode 12: Trade"

Goal a sale of material and a purchase of a resource. All somewhat familiar to players of Imperialism. You can bid on up to three items (but more after later research). As with Imperialism, buyers provide the ships, but any sales to MNs must be transported in the GP vendors' ships.

"Help for Episode 12: Trade" has five parts:

• "How do I get to the Trade Orders screen?"
• "How do I buy?"
• "How do I sell?"
• "Responding to trade offers"
• "Pickup and Delivery"

To maximise our trade ships, we stop the fish transport. We notice, while on a transport slider, at top right a key: "Green = Land Transport, Blue = Sea Transport, Red = Endangered Sea". The red had not been mentioned in briefings, but it will doubtless be mentioned at a relevant time. Raw material prices are all $100, horses are $250, and materials are varying prices just above that. We bid for iron ore, timber, and copper (resisting the temptation to bid for cotton or the luxuries sugar cane, tobacco, or fur) and offer fabric and paper for sale.

Both Diplomacy and Trade have optional computer control.

At the stage in the process when buying is possible, we can click on the right-hand scroll to see the whole market for a commodity we are buying (and markets for what we offered - so we may get an idea why our offers are not being accepted). A help window suggests that we can click the question-mark "for strategy tips on using market information to plan ahead and decide which offers to accept or reject" - but clicking there produces nothing of the sort: it produces only the tutorial help that we have already seen. And we are told that our remaining number of holds can be seen at the right; it can't, but it does appear in the summary window that accompanies each offer presentation.

Eventually we buy and sell enough to reach the goal.

"Episode 13: Units and Population"

Goal to create a military unit. The Industry Orders screen now shows a unit-building panel, used for military, ship, and civilian units, in the Armory, the Shipyard, and the University, respectively. The recommendation is that we build knights and pikemen initially.

"Help for Episode 13: Units" has three parts:

• "Getting to the Unit Construction screen"
• "How to build a military or naval unit"
• "How to build a civilian unit"

All units take one turn to build after being ordered. Ships and military each take from the population a peasant (who continues eating), but civilians do not: civilians, however, each require $500 and three pieces of paper. Ships and military have various requirements in addition to the peasant. There is no equivalent to the arms required in Imperialism.

The only ship currently offered is a carrack, which needs a peasant, 2 fabric, 4 lumber, and 2 cast iron. Its data are:

• Firepower 2
• Range 4
• Armor 95
• Hull 25
• Speed 3
• Cargo 3

Each army unit currently available needs a peasant and a fabric; Peasant Levies need no more. The other six need at least one metal material or lumber and two need a horse or two. Data about each is shown as numbers against each of five factors:

• Firepower - four have "0", others 3, 5, 8
• Melee - three have "1", others 3, 4, 5, 6
• Range - four have "1", others 3, 4, 5
• Defense - two have "2", others 3, 3, 4, 5, 6
• Speed - 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 6

We order a knight and a pikeman as suggested but also a builder and (just to see what the tutorial does about it) a spy.

"Episode 14: Building an Army"

Goal is to build three pikemen regiments to invade a New World nation (easier than Old World nations).

"Help for Episode 14: Building an Army" has one part:

• "Dealing with a shortage of Peasants"

- a bit irrelevant to us because we have too many. Order the regiments.

"Episode 15: Invasions"

Goal a beachhead in the New World. With the New World, no declaration of war is necessary.

"Help for Episode 15: Establishing a Beachhead" has five parts:

• "Choose a New World province to invade"
• "Choose an invasion fleet"
• "Get your fleet in the right position"
• "Establish the Beachhead"
• "What should I be doing with the Pikemen?"

Beachhead ordered, in a 2-camp province. And two more builders because food is running low. End of turn brings end of episode.

"Episode 16: Battles"

Goal is to capture a New World province.

"Help for Episode 16: Attacking" has five parts:

• "How do I select Military units?"
• "Moving Military units to adjacent provinces"
• "Attacking adjacent provinces"
• "Attacking overseas"
• "Battle Results"

Send knights and two pikemen. Attack costs $300. It's against the Huron, not one of the tribes we have befriended; some consolation?

Next turn Montreal is now a province of Holland. We are advised to build a port and extend roads as in the Old World, and maintain a garrison. Note about battle report suggests that there may be spoils of war in some battles. Episode ended.

A couple of turns later, when we had built and sent three cannon, we took the Huron capital and found some spoils of war: over $3,000. The port will be handy too. (The picture is not from this run. Note the French invasion too.)

"Episode 17: Technology Research"

Goal is to discover a new tech. To get one in under 10 turns after ordering it, you pay more per turn and in total, e.g. for those that have minimum "$100" you can get them in 7 turns for $1,400, 5 turns for $1,500, 4 turns for $2,000, and 3 turns for $3,000.

There's much more of a "tech tree" than in Imperialism. The interrelationships and how to organize them may take more than one reading of the help screens. See proposed page Technology (Imp2).

"Help for Episode 16: Technology" has six parts:

• "Getting to the Technology screen"
• "Starting a Project"
• "Canceling a Project"
• "Using your computer advisor"
• "Choosing a Goal and then Selecting Projects"
• "What do the little flags mean?"

We will be on our own for the remainder of the tutorial.

One of the medallions at the right shows what we have discovered so far. One example is "Level 2 Grain Gathering"; is that a waste of effort until roads are upgraded to take 2 units? We select the road upgrading just in case; it has two immediate prerequisites; one of them we will get in 4 turns.

In 1590, still with $7,530, we achieve the goal and are presented with two options: Quit or start new game; no option to look at the tech screen again or continue our military spree. Seems if we want to get 75 turns of play we have to delay that research!! "Start new game" takes us back to the start where we can either resume (with very little point now) or start tutorial again with the same map.