I'm assuming we will see 2 come along eventually. No reason why a company like Ubisoft would agree to let GOG only sell one old game instead of all of them.

Man, those two games drive me crazy because they're both SO close to being perfect.

What I liked about Imperialism 2 more:

-New World provided a great opening land rush without the guilt and stigma of invading minor nations. It also delayed gang piles from knocking people out too early.

-The simplified internal transport system.


What I liked about Imperialism 1 more:

-Flavor and look. So so much more fun theme and cleaner look going on. The production screens in Imp2 are just so bland in comparison.

-Money and technology. Imp2's tech advancement just seemed like it was copying every other 4x game. Whoever hit ironclads first pretty much won the game.

-Resources. Imp2 the scarcity and importance of tin was crazy. You were pretty screwed if you didn't start with any.

-Attacking. At a certain point, it was completely impossible for anyone to successfully attack a properly defended fort. The unit limit on attackers was just too small and brutal.

- IMP2 has a much better combat system
- A drawback in IMP is the transport of goods. It's free if the resources are connected by road to your capital but you need transport capacity otherwise. This gives Major powers with several minor nations on their island a big advantage,
- In IMP1 there's little reason not to train most of your workers to the max (leave some lower ones to train troops in emergencies) as long as you have cash and paper, IMP has a more balanced approach to training workers.
- In IMP you can send explorers to minor nations without the need for a trade consulate or embassy. This allows you to explore them before deciding which one to invade.
- I really like the way you have to discover the new world in IMP2
- I don't like not being able to build forts in my colonies in IMP1

I felt about the combat system in Imp1 the same way I felt about Imp2: it was so much more fun before forts entered the picture. Imp2 the forts are cheaper AND start every battle with heavy artillery already there! It was absolutely insane how cost effective forts were.

It was also way too hard to attack forts. You needed a huge numerical AND technological advantage to take any reasonably defended fort. Later on when technology evened out, it was literally impossible.

I also swore the computer cheated big time. Once again you could wipe out his merchant fleet and cut off his capital from everything, but he would still be able to upkeep his massive army.

The worker system...I could only ever play using the simplified worker resources option. It got too micromanage heavy (not to mention silly) keeping track of specific resources for specific workers. We're losing our most skilled workers because we're running out of coon skin hats!

If they could combine the best parts of both games and polish the combat, you would have the perfect strategy game to end all strategy games.

Imperialism 1: Not sure if it's just me, but I never quite figured out diplomacy between powers. Very very rarely do I see them make peace once war breaks out...even if they run themselves into stalemates.

And pushing a major power back into its own capital ended my chances of taking them out. I've spent myself into ruin building units without being able to take a well-fortified capital city.

Yeah your only hope of taking out major power capitals is the first turn you're adjacent to it (land wise
or amphibious landing wise). You have a chance of winning the offensive battle and then
surviving the rush of reinforcements that arrive after. If you wait even one turn then forget
it.
My most recent game I literally eliminated every aspect of a major power except for his capital.
Home regions, conquered regions, colonies, merchant fleet, all conquered and reduced to
nothing. But he was still able to maintain 30 heavy artillery in his capital and it was
literally impossible to touch him. I tried 3 separate attacks with max units: one of all light
artillery, one of all infantry + combat engineer, and one all cavalry + combat engineer. None
of the attacks had even one unit make it to firing range. Literally impossible to win.
The diplomacy is definitely frustrating. Major powers will never ever accept peace until they
become so weak that it's easier to just conquer and finish them off. Would like for them to have
the ability to realize when wars are just pointless stalemates and end them.

I've never made a maxed out attempt before, but would it be possible to starve out a capital, or does the AI cheat when it comes to basic resources like money & food. I've blocked ports and sea zones but never with dozens of ships in a attempt to cut off all imports/exports.

I know it's possible for a player to starve, but I've never seen it happen against a computer. Like my above example, you can reduce a computer to just his capital (seizing every single home territory, conquered territory, and colony), reduce his merchant fleet to zero, and keep up a huge blockade (I had 6 raiders and 17 ironclads) but the AI can indefinitely maintain his economy (the graph said he was making 2/3rds of my overseas profits (which was $8000/turn) despite me having conquered all his owned territories???), workforce (he still had 2nd place labor), and army (he had 30 heavy artillery).

WAAAAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Awesome! I'll pick it up shortly!

In imp1, the only way to take out those major forts i've found is wait until you upgrade your horse artillery and attack on the very next turn. The computer has usually not upgraded all of the hometown arty before you attack it.

Or. Do lots of horse artillery only and some generals. You'll lose a lot, but I usually end up winning. Or maybe having to attack next turn with same tactic and new army :op

Have a few skirmishers ahead of your upgraded horse artillery in IMP 1. Cheap to train and resistant to barrages.

Actually looking at the manual, only first generation light infantry/cavalry have more health than regular/elite infantry. The other generations have equal health. The light is still cheaper and faster though.

Anyone ever find elite infantry to be worth it?