Any hints for Carthage?

[QuintusSertorius]

Colony points don't return to the queue when you cancel construction, they're lost forever. Nothing we can do about that, it's a vagary of the way the script works.

[qwertykov]

Colony points, for all factions, are stored within the system via script and there's no way the player can see accurately. Luckily, whenever you put a colony in the building queue, it is automatically deducted from the pool, and when you cancel it (before starting to build it proper, I assume), it returns the point. So you can use that to estimate with some accuracy how many colony points you can have.

There are no cons to establishing Carthage colonies. All colonies that use the pool system are 100% beneficial and, arguably, vital for the factions. Carthage needs settler colonies in the settlement in order to establish higher level factional governments (until reform). The only thing that really holds their colonies back is that fact that, at game start, they only come from Carthage proper, and you need to invest in your other three core cities until their colonies get to level 3 in order for them to start contributing to the pool. Furthermore, you will get at most +4 points per 4 years when it is all done, so it is not a very large colony pool (compared to say Greeks). You better chose carefully where you establish.

So in a sense do "colony points" sort of represent available colonists ready to move out from Carthage to establish settler colonies in newly conquered settlements? And said colonies have to attain a certain level of Carthaginian culture and development before they can create colonists of their own, adding to the supply of Carthaginian settlers from which to populate more cities of the Mediterranean?

[RodriguesSting]

Sorta, what you described is more akin to Greek colonies. You set up a Polleis (not the Military Settlement, which is another "colony" building they get), and after it gets to a certain size, it contributes to your pools.

Carthage, you can get colonists from only 4 settlements. Cartage, and the 3 immediately surrounding cities (including Lilibaeum), when they reach the maximum factional government level, Council City. That will require the maximum Settler Colony in said cities, and they are the only ones that can acquire your maximum (pre-reform) factional government. Everywhere else will be, at most, Allied Poleis, requiring only the second level of Settler Colony.

So in that sense, Carthage is far more limited regarding colony options than the Greeks. But, they're beating the Romans and Boii as far as pooling colonists go.

Edit: So Carthage, you get from Council Cities, 4 at most, 1 colonists per 4 years per Council City.

Greeks get 1 colonist every 4 years per 3 Medium Poleis, and 1 per Metropolis.

At least with Carthage you don't have to build two separate colony lines in a city to get access to troops. But I think a powerful Helenic player can snowball out of control very quickly.

[Jervaj]

Sorta, what you described is more akin to Greek colonies. You set up a Polleis (not the Military Settlement, which is another "colony" building they get), and after it gets to a certain size, it contributes to your pools.

Carthage, you can get colonists from only 4 settlements. Cartage, and the 3 immediately surrounding cities (including Lilibaeum), when they reach the maximum factional government level, Council City. That will require the maximum Settler Colony in said cities, and they are the only ones that can acquire your maximum (pre-reform) factional government. Everywhere else will be, at most, Allied Poleis, requiring only the second level of Settler Colony.

So in that sense, Carthage is far more limited regarding colony options than the Greeks. But, they're beating the Romans and Boii as far as pooling colonists go.

Edit: So Carthage, you get from Council Cities, 4 at most, 1 colonists per 4 years per Council City.

Greeks get 1 colonist every 4 years per 3 Medium Poleis, and 1 per Metropolis.

At least with Carthage you don't have to build two separate colony lines in a city to get access to troops. But I think a powerful Helenic player can snowball out of control very quickly.

There is a coutnerbalance though. Hellensitic colonies are basically just for recruitment and conversion. They do also unlock some governments but its not a big deal and the first level of colony is usually enough. Economically they are actually a malus. Carthage colinization is more difficult but I feel like they get more out of each one they get. And with only 1 point you can decide to go down the trade colonziation path which can boost your economy and improve recruitment without much colonist expense. It does favour slower expansion though indeed. Specially until you get the reform so you dont ahve to use allied goverments left and right.

[RodriguesSting]

(Helenic) settler colonies will eat away some of your food production, but it is not too bad, as they tend to contribute to law which is always nice. Furthermore, they offer free garrison slots and Greek Units are, in general, a step above the Carthaginian roster (Hoplites are a dime a dozen, and compare pretty well to Citizen Hoplites). They are meant to mostly work in conjunction with the Poleis (that are a fantastic investiment all around), just complementing the military potential of the Poleis that is mediocre by itself.

Furthermore, saying the Carthaginian Trade Post "improve recruitment" is a huge overstatement. Yes, you can use it to immediately pop out 6 units, often for garrison duty (as intended, I suppose, as the system is very similar to Free Cities of the Romans), but you will only be seeing new units there after 9 years, 36 turns. One-Time recruitment, and they are fairly expensive to set up (compared to other colonies, including Carthaginian Settler and Helenistic Settler/Poleis).

So yeah, basically, I just build trade posts as Carthage when I have literally no other option. As I am sticking to the Western Mediterranean though, Settlers are the way to go.

Something neat about Carthage, furthermore, is that Settler Colonies offer local merc recruitment, so if you think Carthage's roster is at fault in any aspect (I don't, I find them more balanced than the Greeks and with better numbers overall too), you can easily integrate folks from somewhere else.