I'm going through the missions rather quickly. Anyone know if there's any plan to publish new missions for the campain? 15 seems a bit low.

Well, given the fact that it only takes a few hours to completely master this game, the developers probably didn't expect people to spend much time playing the game. I guess they made it easy so we'd get bored with it!

The real power behind this game is its replayability. I recommend sandboxes, as they are very open-ended and you can custom-tailor the challenge that you get. Some people will be able to play the same island hundreds of times by approaching it from different configurations, and trying to build their perfect Caribbean paradise. And, of course, there is a fairly robust, functional random island generator that is a lot of fun, as well.

Kaelon Wrote:The real power behind this game is its replayability. I recommend sandboxes, as they are very open-ended and you can custom-tailor the challenge that you get. Some people will be able to play the same island hundreds of times by approaching it from different configurations, and trying to build their perfect Caribbean paradise. And, of course, there is a fairly robust, functional random island generator that is a lot of fun, as well.

I'm with you on that. In fact, I haven't even touched the campaign or challenge islands at all. I like building up to a certain playstyle, trying out new strategies and perfecting them to a fine point.

I'm currently working on the farmer background, a pick I would never have dreamed of in T1. There is still some testing to be done, but I can tell you it is more powerful than it seems on the surface.

It's just not that fun anymore once you realize that the game is too easy to "win." (And yes, you do "win" or "lose" this game. It's not quite The Sims.)

@Pinstar:

Pinstar Wrote:I'm with you on that. In fact, I haven't even touched the campaign or challenge islands at all. I like building up to a certain playstyle, trying out new strategies and perfecting them to a fine point.

Exactly. I've played a couple of campaign islands, and browsed some of the top-score earner profile islands, but I absolutely adore the Sandbox. And the replayability here means being able to approach each island differently, if I wanted to. Right now, I've been working on creating the best "all around" island within the fifty year time-limit (though, obviously, I will keep playing to improve after the game-proper).

@Crosstalker:

Crosstalker Wrote:It's just not that fun anymore once you realize that the game is too easy to "win." (And yes, you do "win" or "lose" this game. It's not quite The Sims.)

I think if you approach if from the perspective that each island is a game intending to be "won", then, yes, obviously, it is a win or lose proposition (though I'd like to see those of you who want a challenge try out islands with Rebel Yell and Free Elections turned on). However, for city-building enthusiasts like myself, the real fun is being able to play ad infinitum ty perfect your ideal island's geography, economy, and layout. In that respect, it basically is a never-ending simulation.

I did not have the 'perspective that each island is a game intending to be "won"', but wanted to go through the 15 islands to find out which I would like to use most for my perfect carribean paradise. The problem is that there is some setback after the first campaign maps. The size of some of the islands is not necessarily increasing, thus you can't really quarter too many people. In mid campaign the years to be played decrease again, so you drop from 35 years to 25 years or even 20 years playing time again. And for example the next to last map requires 200.000$ to be earned from oil exports. Did that by 1969 after 19 years. By that time there wasn't really a need for proper infrastructure at all. So you get a strong focus on the early game only.

Good point, Dukat. In fact, I think that the Campaign is actually an extended tutorial (or a "real" tutorial, given how brief and perfunctory - if that - the actual Tutorial is). For the real game, I consider the Sandboxes and the Challenges to offer the real test of your Caribbean Dictatorship skills.

For me, "Winning" the sandbox game is technically possible...but on my own terms.

My goal with sandbox is to have a game in which every square inch of the island is pressed into useful service in every way, and on a not so-small island either. So far I've only usefully blanketed 1/3 of a sandbox island before my game ended, so I have quite a long way to go.

As someone noted in another thread I believe they should have given an option in the sandbox mode to have no ending time. I had fifty years with the largest island and still didn't get to build everything. I only had one construction office through the whole game play. I like to rethink things and continuously tear down and rebuild. So an option to continue to play after the time limit would be nice for the sandbox.