More Newbie Qs around Spain...

[unmerged(25223)]

Hi,
A few more Qs...

1. How do I retain El Capitan?
I find that soon after reclaiming Serra Nevada, a new leader arrives and takes over that army - and I don't seem to be able to change back to the first one. This new guy just isn't as good as El Grande Capitan (and with a name that I like to translate into 'The Fattest Officer', I want to keep him just for the name).
The only way I've found so far is to put Fatso into his own (small) army, as it seems the New Leader (Prospero) assumes control of the largest army. Is there a better option?

2. A few times now, I've "discovered Asia" as soon as my first ship heads south. This is great - the Persian COT is empty and lucrative - but what triggers it? (Please don't say that it's "random" - I _like_ that COT.)

3. America vs rounding Sth Africa?
With only one explorer, I want to get a foothold on the Americas early, but so many postings here say that India is the way to go. The problem is that it's very hard to get support colonies up on the West African coastline without Conquistadors.

4. Conquistadors apparently move more slowly into Terra Incognita than over known ground. This appears to be the same for explorers. Is there a ratio for it? (As an aside; other than "experience" is there a way to know how long a given sea journey will take?)

5. (Last one!) I've noticed that sometimes an explorer can go past a land province and it stays unknown, yet it might become known the next time he passes. Some places lost the TI status the third or fourth time the explorer passed them. Is there a known % for this?

Phew! So many Qs. But your help lately has been great. There's just sooo much to pick up...

M_W
P.S. Yes, I know that few real players respect those who play as Spain ... but I'm not a serious player yet - I'm still getting the rules and mechanics clear in my head.

 

[Rex Francorum]

1. How do I retain El Capitan?
I find that soon after reclaiming Serra Nevada, a new leader arrives and takes over that army - and I don't seem to be able to change back to the first one. This new guy just isn't as good as El Grande Capitan (and with a name that I like to translate into 'The Fattest Officer', I want to keep him just for the name).
The only way I've found so far is to put Fatso into his own (small) army, as it seems the New Leader (Prospero) assumes control of the largest army. Is there a better option?

The only option is to split your army. Then could re-organize the two new armies. When a new so-ordinary leader appears in the same army of a good leader, I split-reorganize, so that the new dumbass will have only 1000 soldiers and my good leader, the remaining forces.

2. A few times now, I've "discovered Asia" as soon as my first ship heads south. This is great - the Persian COT is empty and lucrative - but what triggers it? (Please don't say that it's "random" - I _like_ that COT.)

The Persian CoT exists at the beginning I think. Some areas are pre-determined, like Jakarta, Goa, Australia-New Zealand, but Persian CoT exist in 1492.

3. America vs rounding Sth Africa?
With only one explorer, I want to get a foothold on the Americas early, but so many postings here say that India is the way to go. The problem is that it's very hard to get support colonies up on the West African coastline without Conquistadors.

India gives you $, yes, but it is harder than Northern America. NA continent is, with Australia, the safest. If you want to expand in Asia, try to colonize Table in South Africa. It is a somewhat rich province, it constitutes a check point to prevent countries to expand in Asia and, the most important, a harbor for your ships coming from Europa and going to Asia. It prevents attrition. It can provide your expedition in men and ships. Table is a valuable province on economical and strategical levels. Eventually, try to build a colony in India. Doing this thing, you will be able to expand on southeastern Asia then Australia.

4. Conquistadors apparently move more slowly into Terra Incognita than over known ground. This appears to be the same for explorers. Is there a ratio for it? (As an aside; other than "experience" is there a way to know how long a given sea journey will take?)

It is normal. They are discovering the provinces. I don't know the ratio.

5. (Last one!) I've noticed that sometimes an explorer can go past a land province and it stays unknown, yet it might become known the next time he passes. Some places lost the TI status the third or fourth time the explorer passed them. Is there a known % for this?

I don't know the ratio. However, I think the navy technology influence that because during a 18th century scenario, with a better navy tech than in 1500, I discovered always the seashore provinces I was exploring.

 

[unmerged(21523)]

Once you reach "Early Optics", which is either naval tech level 11 or 13, your ships discover any province they sail by. Colonies in India and most of Africa will have a negative population growth rate, meaning you'll have to keep sending more colonists if you want the provnce to grow. Colonies in North America generally have a positive population growth rate, making colonies easier to establish there. America isn't as wealthy as India, but there are plenty of provinces that will produce high-value items like tobacco, furs, sugar, and gold to make an American empire a lucrative investment.

 

[Cow Pie]

Hi,
A few more Qs...

1. How do I retain El Capitan?
I find that soon after reclaiming Serra Nevada, a new leader arrives and takes over that army - and I don't seem to be able to change back to the first one. This new guy just isn't as good as El Grande Capitan (and with a name that I like to translate into 'The Fattest Officer', I want to keep him just for the name).
The only way I've found so far is to put Fatso into his own (small) army, as it seems the New Leader (Prospero) assumes control of the largest army. Is there a better option?

Should be an arrow thing beside the leader name that lets you switch back to him.

 

[Rex Francorum]

Yes, but even if you switch the leaders, it will turn back eventually to the previous hierarchy. The only durable solution is to split the army.

 

[Braedonnal]

Yep, I split reorganize also as generals have different ranks and often a lesser ranked general has better stats. Ever be cruel to your lousy generals and send them to their deaths say exploring India with 1,000 men or on crazy suicide battles against a massive army?

Okay, maybe I am a bit too warped but it's so fun!