Africa, Burgundy and colonization

[Aegisthus]

I've started several games now with the latest expansion and I noticed the following:

- Colonization of the Americas by Portugal and Spain (especially) is much more lacklustre than historical. Something should be done to boost their expansion to the Americas
- Portuguese (and other European_ colonization of Norhtwest Africa is way too aggressive/early. Can some changes be made to limit this and make it more historically plausible?
- I like the new setup of Burgundy, however the Burgundian inheritance event does not result in historical or gameplay desirable results.
- Colonization of Asia-> I don't know how to improve this needs some serious improvement

 

[Pro]

I think the problem with european colonization of Africa, at least early on, is that the main deterrent is supposed to be the many agressive natives, but the AI can more or less ignore native agressiveness. And once the player becomes big enough to afford to keep a stack there permanently, or tech advances to the point were it's ok to be seriously outnumbered by natives, so can they. I think there needs to be maluses to settler growth and chance from having many agressive natives and natives need to stay militarily relevant longer.

The problem with Asia I think is that the AI in general is too passive when it comes to wealth it could easily aquire. By 1700 most european powers could seize the centers of trade in Asia and become phenomenally rich, but they don't.

 

[Danfish77]

Northwest Africa? You mean, like, Senegal and Cabo Verde? Or Tangiers/Ceuta? Those were historically colonized, they're perfect for early-game Iberian powers. I'm not sure what the problem with that is. Now, interior West Africa (Mali, Yao, Benin, etc), that shouldn't be colonized too early, but in my games it never is. They often get left until the very end, although Jolof almost always becomes a protectorate.

 

[Demetrios]

If the OP is meaning Spanish/Castilian colonization of the Sierra Leone area, that's due to unintended consequences of moving the first idea group to ADM 5. Portugal discovers the region early (due to their explorer at game's start), while Castile, struggling with a 0/0/0 Enrique, a potential civil war, and the ADM costs of coring conquests, tends not to get to ADM 5 and take Exploration until just as the discovery spread of those regions begins (the mid 1490s). Thus Castile often doesn't have time to explore its own areas to colonize before these open African provinces become known to it, and thus has a tendency to go for them first.

I've done a lot of research on this and related colonization/exploration issues (England going for South America, exploration missions being ridiculously short or ridiculously long) in the last week or so, and I'm going to write up a detailed issues/proposal post here in the Suggestion subforum once Wiz is back from vacation.

 

[Grand Historian]

If the OP is meaning Spanish/Castilian colonization of the Sierra Leone area, that's due to unintended consequences of moving the first idea group to ADM 5. Portugal discovers the region early (due to their explorer at game's start), while Castile, struggling with a 0/0/0 Enrique, a potential civil war, and the ADM costs of coring conquests, tends not to get to ADM 5 and take Exploration until just as the discovery spread of those regions begins (the mid 1490s). Thus Castile often doesn't have time to explore its own areas to colonize before these open African provinces become known to it, and thus has a tendency to go for them first.

I've done a lot of research on this and related colonization/exploration issues (England going for South America, exploration missions being ridiculously short or ridiculously long) in the last week or so, and I'm going to write up a detailed issues/proposal post here in the Suggestion subforum once Wiz is back from vacation.

I was planning on doing something similar for Japan. Small world, huh?

But this was one of the unintended side effects of removing Castile's cores on Granada. If they had stayed, it might have at least cushioned the blow. The issue, I believe, can be solved if Natives affect the AI, or if that breaks them, at least make the AI programmed to take into account the natives like a human would when colonizing a province (essentially a smoke and mirrors as it wouldn't still affect them, but it would hopefully deter them).

 

[Aegisthus]

If the OP is meaning Spanish/Castilian colonization of the Sierra Leone area, that's due to unintended consequences of moving the first idea group to ADM 5. Portugal discovers the region early (due to their explorer at game's start), while Castile, struggling with a 0/0/0 Enrique, a potential civil war, and the ADM costs of coring conquests, tends not to get to ADM 5 and take Exploration until just as the discovery spread of those regions begins (the mid 1490s). Thus Castile often doesn't have time to explore its own areas to colonize before these open African provinces become known to it, and thus has a tendency to go for them first.

I've done a lot of research on this and related colonization/exploration issues (England going for South America, exploration missions being ridiculously short or ridiculously long) in the last week or so, and I'm going to write up a detailed issues/proposal post here in the Suggestion subforum once Wiz is back from vacation.

I didn't notice the Sierra Leone colonization by Spain so much although I recognize everything else you're saying.